Online Predator Chapter 65
"Where the hell is everyone?" Bella asked as she walked into the Cullen's house.
Edward and Riley were in the living room, playing chess, which Bella thought was bizarre considering Riley was still a newborn. Emmett and Rosalie were in the kitchen, cooking something. Alice and Garrett were sitting on the stairs, wrapped up in each other's arms. And Carlisle was standing by a window, looking out with a frown on his face.
"Hello?" Bella said when no one answered her.
Still no reply.
"Where is Jasper?" she asked. "Where is my father? Are they off hunting together?"
She didn't think they were because she was sure they would've told her. Last she knew, Jasper was meeting the mysterious person out on the reservation. He was supposed to message her, but he hadn't. Had it been a trap? Was he taken? Did Maria have him?
"It wasn't a trap," Emmett said, coming over to Bella.
She glared at him, how did he know exactly what she was thinking? What was his gift?
"Jasper just got some bad news is all," Emmett said, "he's gone off to process that, away from everyone so he doesn't hurt them."
"What do you know?" Bella asked, getting in his face. Then, it hit her. "You," she said. "It was you."
Emmett warned her off with his eyes and when that didn't work, he tried sending her some trust, but he had no idea if it worked or not as he hadn't spent enough time around Jasper to figure out his gift yet.
"Maybe we can go somewhere and talk," Emmett suggested.
"I need to talk to her too," Carlisle said, stepping away from the window.
"Emmett can go first," Bella said.
"But it's about your father," Carlisle said, "and I don't know how much time we have."
Bella weighed up the two options, but in the end, she went with her mate. Her father was grown, she wasn't the boss of him, and why wasn't Carlisle dealing with whatever was going on. Charlie could wait.
Bella got into Emmett's jeep and he drove them away from the Cullen's house.
"What's going on?" Bella asked when they were far enough away. "What's your gift? Where is Jasper? Did you hurt him?"
Emmett gripped the steering wheel tighter, he didn't want to tell anyone about his gift, but he knew Jasper would most likely tell Bella anyway.
"I can use other people's gifts," Emmett said, releasing his tight grip on the steering wheel. "Alice's gift of seeing the future, Edward's gift of mind reading."
"Shit," Bella said, "so we don't need any of them, we can just come to you?"
"Well," Emmett said, "ever since I made the decision to stay human, it's been fading. I think, when I was certain I was going to become a vampire, my mind started preparing for that, but now that I'm staying human with Rose, well, it sees no use for it. I'm happy for that. If I'm staying human, I don't want a gift, and Jasper… Well, I read his mind, he wants to kill me, he thinks I'm too powerful, so it's good it's fading."
"I would never let him kill you," Bella said.
"I know." Emmett smiled at her before looking back at the road.
"So, you know what's going on with Maria?" Bella asked. "You're the one who sent Jasper all those messages about it?"
"Yeah," Emmett said, "Jasper needs to bring the fight to her, the sooner the better. We can't allow her to come here, too many people die if that happens."
"Will Jasper kill her?" Bella asked.
"Sometimes," Emmett said, "it all depends. Sometimes it's him, sometimes it's Peter and Garrett. It all depends on when it happens, where, and ultimately what happens."
"Does it matter?" Bella asked. "If he isn't the one who kills her, does it matter?"
Emmett could read her underlying thoughts, how she was afraid that if Jasper wasn't the one to kill her, that he'd be forever stuck to Maria even in her death.
"I don't know," Emmett said, "Jasper's strong and his salvation lies within you. Killing her would help him on his healing journey, but if he's not ready, if he's forced into it, well, it'll hinder things. I think as long as you're there, he'll be alright."
"Do I die?" Bella asked. "Does she kill me?"
Emmett gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Emmett?" Bella's voice shook.
She didn't want to die, she didn't want Maria to kill her. Jasper had been so afraid of that and it might actually happen... Bella's thoughts shifted.
"Where is Jasper?" she asked. "What did you tell him?"
Emmett pulled the jeep over. "I told him the truth."
"And?" Bella prompted him when he didn't continue.
"If Maria brings the fight to Forks," Emmett said, "she will kill you."
Bella gasped.
"It's not one hundred per cent certain," Emmett said, "there's factors. In some instances you're just changed into a vampire and not killed, but the odds are not good. I let Jasper know this, I was hoping it would force him to realize that he needs to bring the fight to her."
Bella's thoughts raced. I'm going to die. She's going to kill me. Jasper was always right. Why did I never believe him until recently? Why didn't I tell him to kill her when he asked me to?
"Bella, Bella," Emmett said, shaking her by the shoulders, "you need to snap out of it."
Jasper doesn't want me to die. He wants to protect me. She's going to kill me. If she does, he won't be able to live with himself. It's all he's ever wanted, all he ever warned me about. He won't let this happen, he won't let me fall. He only wants to protect me, that's all he's wanted for a long time. He went back to her to protect me…
"Where is he now?" Bella asked, her voice frantic. "Emmett, where is he now? Search the future, where is he?"
"I… I don't know," Emmett said.
"Try," Bella pleaded, "look into his future and see."
"It doesn't work like that," Emmett said, "he has to make a decision and the last decision he made was to run to the water, so he could be alone and think things through."
"He's gone back to her," Bella said, her heart breaking at the thought. Not only had he gone back to her again, but if it was to protect her, well, he'd either rejoin her army, or he'd do something stupid like try to kill her on his own.
"We don't know that," Emmett said. "The future's still the same, nothing's changed. He wouldn't leave you, Bella, I'm sure of that."
Bella didn't believe him. She knew Jasper best and he'd done this before. Hearing that Maria was going to kill his mate wouldn't make him want to bring the fight to her, it'd make him want to be near her. If he was there, he'd be able to make sure she didn't hurt Bella. He'd done it before and Jasper was a creature of habit. He'd been in the wars for 150 years and he was going back.
"Take me home," Bella said.
"No," Emmett said, "I'll take you back to the Cullens, but I'm not taking you home. We all saw how you reacted when he left last time, but this time would be worse. You can't be alone, Bella, I won't allow it. I might not be able to read your thoughts right now, but I can sense them. You're either going to try and go after him, which will fail, or you'll do something stupid, like try and provoke one of the vampires to change you. Let's just go back to the house. We'll get Peter and Garrett, Charlotte too. You can tell them what you think happened, they know him too, and if they agree, then I'm sure they'll go after him. Please, Bella."
Bella didn't argue, she knew there was no point. Jasper was right, Emmett's gift was too powerful. She just wished she wasn't human, she wished that she was a vampire, that she could hunt down Maria and kill her for everything she'd put Jasper through.
"Bella," Emmett said, already back on the road, "you've seen how Riley and your father are, newborns can't think straight, you wouldn't be able to do it. You might come out savage and that could last a year. Plus, you're Jasper's, he'd want to be the one to change you. Please, just don't do anything rash."
Bella focused on her shield, she could feel its power, just. She put if over her mind, locking up her thoughts and feelings. She didn't know if it worked or not, but when Emmett groaned, she knew it had. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but the idea of not only rescuing Jasper from Maria, but being the one to kill her too, well, it sounded too good to pass up, but little did she know, if that happened, it would result in nothing but her and Jasper's death.