Bella was watching Alice draw and her heart broke slightly when she moved on to drawing something else, a place closer to home.
"That's my mother's house. Dear god Alice, he's going after her!"
When Alice heard this, her eyes widened and went to get a phone to make a call. She really didn't want to be apart from Bella, but Edward probably would need to take her somewhere else while Jasper and her had to deal with James. He had thought to come here and this hurt Alice that she couldn't keep Bella or her mother safe. Moments later, Edward picked up.
"What's wrong." he sneered.
"James came here. I think he's trying to tempt Bella to go after her mother." Alice whispered.
"I knew her being away from me was a mistake, Alice. You can't provide her what I can no matter what you see. Let me speak to her, now." he growled.
"You can talk to her when you see her and don't think I'm okay with you hurting her. You left a bruise and you better hope Charlie doesn't see." Alice warned in a low voice.
He chuckled.
"They will long since heal by the time he sees or he will think Bella's being clumsy like always. It's cute to a point it can be pathetic. I am an ultimate killer yet she finds me charming and drawn to me. Most women would probably be repulsed yet I found the one who won't leave."
Alice was repulsed and she rolled her eyes.
"If Bella heard this, she would think you don't respect her. Now are you going to come here to get her? She...she could use you."
Alice hated to say those words. Edward was Bella's boyfriend but he was acting cold and calculated.
"I'm bringing Carlisle and Emmett with me. We will end this when we get here. Make sure you don't lose her until we get there." he growled.
"What about Charlie? You're just leaving Rosalie and Esme to deal with Victoria? Emmett could..."
"He wants to come tear away at James and so do I. Don't question my decisions. Tell Bella I will be there for her soon." Edward ordered.
He hung up and Alice sighed. She made her way to Bella.
"Edward is coming to get you. He, Emmett, and Carlisle are coming to take you somewhere to hide you." Alice told her.
"Edward's coming?" she asked.
These words should have been her life vest yet in some ways she was still gasping for air. She wanted him, but she also wanted Alice and Bella knew she wouldn't be with her.
"He's catching the first flight out of Seattle. We will meet him at the airport. You'll leave with him..."
"What about my mother Alice!"
"Jasper and I will protect her. We will stay until she's safe." Alice told her calmly.
Bella realized this was all a game to James, one she couldn't win yet.
"You can't protect everyone Alice! Don't you see what he's doing? Do you really think it's just my human family he can hurt me with? He can hurt me by hurting you, Alice!"
Bella embraced Alice and let the tears fall. Alice looked meaningful to Jasper as Alice wrapped her arms around Bella. They hadn't realized she would have formed quick connections with Edward's family, but Alice knew they had gotten close. Alice stroked Bella's hair and her pleasant scent filled her nostrils. There was this yearning Alice felt and she couldn't explain why.
"We have a few hours before we check out Bella. If you need to lie down, we will give you some privacy." Alice spoke softly.
When Bella stopped crying, she retreated to her room and locked the door so she could decide what she would do. Hours passed and nothing came to mind. She heard the phone ring and she quickly picked it up.
"Hello?" Bella answered.
"Listen to me carefully Bella. You know what I want and I know you'll know who this is."
It was James and Bella's blood that ran cold as soon as she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Bella? Bella? Where are you?"
"Calm down mom, I'm here." Bella spoke in as calm of a voice as she could.
James chuckled and he continued,
"I don't need to hurt your mother. All I want is you. Now can you get to the old ballet studio without your little vampires following you."
"I'll try. You will get what you want." Bella spoke.
"Good. Now repeat after me and sound natural. 'No mom please stay where you are'"
"No mom please stay where you are." Bella spoke.
"Good now say 'Mom, trust me. I'll be okay. I'll see you soon. I love you mom."
"Mom, trust me. I'll be okay. I'll see you soon. I love you mom."
"Good Bella, I will look forward to seeing you soon." James spoke.
He hung up and Bella felt cold. She took deep breaths and needed to be calm otherwise this plan wasn't going to work. If she wasn't careful, she would be dead, her mom would be dead. She returned to the hotel living room with her packed bag and Alice looked worried, did she see a vision of her phone call with James?
"Everything alright Bella?" she asked.
"Yes, my mom called. She was worried about me so I had to calm her down. I'm so scared, Alice."
"Don't be, we will protect her and we will protect you." Alice sweetly told her.
Bella noticed a letter set and envelopes. She would write a letter to Edward and give one to Alice.
"Mind if I write my mother and you a note? It would be nice to calm her down and... I want you to have something from me." Bella spoke softly.
Alice smiled a bit and nodded.
First, she started on Edward's.
Edward,
I love you and I am sorry. Don't be mad but I need to try this. He has my mom and I can't let him kill anyone I love. Don't blame Alice, she doesn't know I am doing this and she's been nothing but nice to me, her and Jasper. Don't think I will get far away from them but I need to try so James doesn't hurt my mom. Don't come after him, it's what he wants. I want no one to be hurt because of me, especially you or Alice. I love you and I am sorry. Bella.
Next, she moved on to Alice and she couldn't believe how much she had written for her.
Alice,
I'm so very sorry for leaving you. He has my mother and I can't bear for her to get hurt because of me. I couldn't tell you since if I did, he would have killed her. Make no mistake I wouldn't leave you unless it was a matter of life or death. I know I won't get very far once you see where I am going, I'm almost counting on it. You have made it very clear that we will have a future together and call it hubris, but I am confident in some way that will still be the case. You're never going to let me down and you're the most amazing friend I've ever had. I love you and I am so very sorry. Come find me if you won't listen to my warning and tell Edward if he doesn't keep his letter that I am sorry again for doing this. There are some people I am willing to give my life for and my mother, Charlie, and you are of those people. I'm thankful for our time together and I have hope we will get out of this and have more.
Love, Bella
Bella had realized that she hadn't mentioned Edward in the people she would give her life for. She glanced at her bruised wrist and remembered the look of malice on his face as he marked her. Edward was stubborn to listen to her plans and was starting to see Alice as a threat to him. Bella did love him right and when this dies down, he will be back to the romantic he had been. Still, Bella thought back to deep secrets she kept about herself and was thankful Edward couldn't read her mind. Edward and Alice would make it in time Bella thought and she placed her letter for Alice in an envelope. She wished she could have laced it with perfume but there wasn't the time since they needed to leave the hotel. Bella got her bags and slipped Alice the letters. The one for Edward would be left at her mother's house while Alice will open hers probably when Bella gives them the slip. Alice had a slight vision of the words 'I love you' spoken by Bella but Alice ignored them for now and smiled softly to Bella.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
Bella nodded and knew when she got a moment away from Jasper and Alice, she needed to make her way to the studio so James didn't kill her mother. She'd only hope she wasn't too late and that she will make it out of this with her life.
Meanwhile
Soon Cynthia thought as she worked on some art pieces. She had seen this human girl writing farewell letters to her sister and someone by the name of Edward in a vision. Disdain came across her face when she saw that name since it conflicted with a vision she saw of this human and her sister. Something had to be important with that Edward, something dark Cynthia thought. A key card clicked open and she glanced at the door to see Julian. She managed to smile briefly at him before returning to her art. He glanced at the pictures Cynthia had drawn with charcoal and ink pens he got her and cracked smiles at what he saw. The first was of her sister, Alice, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"Remind me why after we get Alice's scent from the studio you won't meet her? You've been waiting for decades." Julian asked.
Cynthia sighed and shook her head. If she intervenes too soon, the proper awakenings will not occur. Plus, she had an idea that if Alice did meet her now; Alice would want her to join the coven she was in and that did not sit well with her. She rather Alice and her form their own coven but for that, she needed to realize something about herself without her influence. Julian didn't have to have powers of mind reading to figure out why Cynthia didn't want to meet Alice yet.
"Let me guess, you want things to happen a certain way. It's funny how you're stubborn against helping and meeting your own sister yet you have a slight complex with humans. Didn't you get involved in other people's lives and decisions when you were a therapist? It's a job you love to do and don't understand why you didn't adopt it this go around." Julian stated.
When Cynthia realized she had powers to sever emotional ties and empower others, she thought being a therapist matched her powers. Cynthia in her human life wanted to be rid of the people who were horrible to her and had gotten revenge on her father and stepmother. It did take being a vampire for her to achieve that since in her human life, she was very weak and only managed to leave them from pure nerves alone. She didn't want people to be stuck in abusive situations, feel that they were weak, or not have any power in their own lives like she had felt at times in her time as a human. One thing she vowed to never do, was to use her powers against the will of humans. If they wanted to be set free, they needed to want that and ask that.
"That was different since they in the end made their own decisions and I was an unbiased ear to them despite what I wanted to do. I provided them my gifts of liberation when they wanted to and not when I deemed, they needed it. In this scenario, I am biased and I know what I want to happen. For that though, I must not make my moves until actions are made by key players. Edward will do something to show his nature, Alice needing to discover her true emotions, and the human…she needs to find herself, discover who she really is, and who matters most to her."
Julian seemed confused and looked at the picture next to the one of Alice and saw it was of the human. She was ordinary in appearance with brown eyes and soft brown eyes, but had her charm. He then realized that while separate pieces, they lined up together in the outer outlines and formed a heart. His eyes slightly widened and asked,
"You're thinking…this girl and Alice…"
"Bella, her name is Bella." Cynthia told him.
Julian chuckled softly as he looked at the drawings of Bella and Alice. It wasn't unheard of a vampire to love someone when they were human. Julian had felt a connection to Cynthia when she had been human. He would sometimes go to a very swanky bar in Mississippi to scout a meal or hit while Cynthia was doing research on her sister. Even before he had told Hamish about her, he knew she was his mate.
"Bella, a lovely song for your sister to have as a future mate."
A smile came across Cynthia's face and nodded. Variables made it harder to determine when her sister and this human would discover the true feelings for each other. They were testing waters now, but a shadow prevented their true discoveries, a possessive shadow.
"It is something I end up seeing, yes. However, I will need to be a player in this since both women are blinded by the connections they have with false mates. The human is worse since at least the vampire with my sister currently knows matters of heart and emotion. I need to figure out my moves." Cynthia expressed.
"And I assume the human is part of your first move." He asked.
"Yes…I feel something happens to her but I can't for the life of me can't get more visions. This means that the heart crushing event I am sensing isn't from my sister, though her being gone will make her heart grow fonder with her. It's that predator, Edward, no better than James if not worse."
Julian gritted his teeth since he knew James was scum and had tried in his years to track him, but failed. He wanted him to be destroyed for going after Cynthia and Alice and killing his father figure. Cynthia felt Julian tense up and she stopped her drawing. Her eyes were soft as she approached him and hesitantly placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it softly. Julian stared into her golden eyes and couldn't help but see the charm in the golden glow.
"I can see why you take to your diet; the gold eyes do have their charms."
Cynthia smiled a bit.
"They would suit you too Julian, if you give it a chance."
Cynthia removed her hand to finish her art work while Julian watched. Julian could tell it was a picture of Alice and Cynthia from their human days. They were on a hill with flowers with a picnic basket. Alice was brushing Cynthia's hair and both of them looked happy. Cynthia's smile was filled with sadness since the happy times, brought upon sad ones.
"Alice always knew when it would be sunny and clear. She took me to this special little place outside our home in Biloxi to have picnics. We would pick blueberries from our orchard for our dessert when we got home. Alice made sure to hang out with me when our mother died since our step-mother wasn't the greatest. She treated me like a pet, a doll of sorts and Alice wanted me to be my own person not tainted by her. I never understood my father, marrying six months after our mother died. He thought anyone would replace her but no one would and it's clear she married him since he was a pearl trader and was very rich. The only person I ever could trust with my life was Alice and my father took her from me. Alice was never crazy; she really did have her visions and I had some too.
There were times I would tell my visions to Alice and she would be proud of me. She liked to see if she and I saw the same thing. She comforted me when I had bad feelings and we savored the good. When Alice warned me about our mother dying, I believed her since I had a slight feeling that our father would be with another woman so soon after. We were close despite our age difference of nine years. It is sad that she was moved two counties away to an asylum and my father wanted to pretend she never existed and died. I couldn't forget, I never forgot, and when we meet each other again; I hope she will want to be my sister again."
"I bet she could Cyn. Maybe with me and Bella, we can have a little coven family. You've been alone too long and I do like the idea of settling down with you. Being with you is what I always wanted and you've helped to reform this rogue."
Cynthia scoffed and replied playfully,
"Hamish helped you with that. You were a mobster in Biloxi in the 20s and you were knee deep in selling drugs, alcohol in Prohibition, and illegal gambling. Remind me, what was your mobster name again, Julian 'Twinkle Toes' Flynt.
He grinned playfully and chuckled,
"It was Julian 'The Reaper' Flynt since if you crossed me, you would be down under. I was getting up there in the De Bacco family since I needed a way to make a living. Although I hated swindling innocent people and giving them drugs that they didn't need. If I didn't do my part, I wouldn't eat or get my own limbs broken. Last job was my last job since Hamish had gotten to my target first and he was appalled that a good-looking guy with smarts was working for the mob."
"Yes, I would agree with him, you are way too clever and chivalrous to have ever been in the mob. Killing people, swindling others out of money, and being a drug dealer were very crooked things for you to do." Cynthia scolded.
Julian shook his head in shame.
"I know, but the money and power were too good. Hamish told me I could have all that and much more if I ran with him and didn't have to kill all people, just the crooked ones. He wanted a family, a coven, and that I would be the second in command of it. Seems like a sweet deal since he was donned in rich snazzy suits and bling so I took it. Didn't think that meant being a vampire at the time but it worked out for the best. He was a better father to me in those few years then my old man was in his entire life. Had to join the De Bacco family to rid his debts and help my mother. When I never came back from the job, the boss put a hit on my folks and me. I got them all back and I went clean with Hamish ever since. Then...you can tell where my story continued."
Cynthia smiled if only slightly.
"You moonlit at bars as a hitman to get rid of nasty criminals the cops wouldn't dare touch since they were crooked. You also had your eyes on me when I went across counties looking for leads on my sister. Hamish told you I would be next since he had a feeling for us being mates and that my life would be in danger. He was right on most counts."
Julian sighed.
"Cynthia, I know in your heart you care about me and I care about you. I don't want to play these games with you and I do want an eternal life with you. Everything is working out now; your sister is a vampire, you and her can be a family, and you will both have someone to love as a mate. A coven of four would be a dream of ours wouldn't it. Small, cozy, maybe a bit wild at times." he whispered softly in her ear.
Cynthia's spine shuddered slightly and turned to him. She rested her head against his chest and, much to her delight and horror, she felt a deep yearning in her body for him. Cynthia pulled away and closed her eyes for a moment. Visions flashed a bit in her head and she was able to get the exact studio they needed to go to. She also saw Bella getting into a taxi to head there so they really needed to get going if the slightest chance they needed to fight off chance. Julian's eyes looked concerned as he held her close but Cynthia gave him a light peck on the cheek with a smile.
"We need to get going. If there's any chance, we can get my sister and Bella's scents to track them to their home, we need to get a jump on it. Who knows... we might get our revenge yet."
Julian grew excited at the news since he's been wanting this shot for decades. They were getting involved with matters...no if Bella was Cynthia's sister's mate, it did involve them both in stopping James if it came down to it.
"We'll take my truck with the tinted windows in case we need to stay in the car until action time."
Cynthia chuckled and nodded as she was on her way out. Julian made sure to take the drawings Cynthia worked hard on in case he needed them someday. If Cynthia was going to have Alice in her life again, she was going to need his help to achieve it.