She didn't see him toss the humans into the water, but when they resurfaced, screaming, Alice felt her chest tighten.

He had, minutes before, rearranged his hold on her, freeing up one of his arms so that they'd be able to quickly and efficiently take control of the boat. She'd watched, in her mind, as he decided between a good dozen or so among the docks, before settling for one already out on the water.

One, speeding by, and full of humans.

It wasn't until a voice began screaming at them in Spanish, when Alice realized James had missed one. It wasn't until she saw what he was about to do that she tried calling out.

"Wait, no—"

Her airways were once more cut off as he rearranged her in his hold again. This time, one hand around her throat was all the contact he kept. She was small enough that it's the only grip he needed to have on her; his hand nearly wrapped all the way around her thin neck.

She hated the way his eyes trailed across the exposed skin of her neck, as if she was the one he was about to sink his teeth into.

"What?" He blinked at her. "You want him?" Then, he flashed a grin and laughed, as if enjoying his own joke. "What would your people think? If their last memory of you was with you red-eyed, like a normal vampire?" He seemed genuinely curious. "What are their moral hang-ups anyways?" Alice barely saw as the human on the boat produced a gun from some storage area and fired two shots against James' back.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his head slowly to gaze back at the man. "Really?"

The man's rage shifted to horror as he shakily lifted the gun again. "¿Que mierda eres?"

"Unlucky for you, I'm a little thirsty," he turned back toward her as he spoke, but began to move his feet toward the panicking human, who was now loudly unloading the gun on them. Bullets ricocheted around until some shrapnel embedded itself in the human.

Alice was finally grateful that James had her airways fully blocked, because the sight of the blood was enough to attempt to awaken something primal in her. She didn't know if her self-control would've been able to handle the scent of it, too.

When James flashed before the man, Alice still in his grasp, she forced her eyes closed as he sank his teeth into the human's delicate flesh. The man screamed for a couple more seconds before falling silent.

Alice just closed her eyes once more, imagining she was with her family. With Jasper. Somewhere safe, and not traveling down the Rio Grande with her captor.


For several hours, they followed behind Victoria and Bella. With the two scents leading them along the same trail, it making it so that with every few dozen miles they travelled, Edward's anxiety and horror would kick into overdrive, and Jasper would be left to actively combat the emotions. The last thing he needed was for Edward's panic to make his grow any stronger.

And he was certainly panicking.

Alice wasn't the type of person to draw worry out of him. Not anymore at least. In the beginning, when this calm, quiet lifestyle was still so new to him, he worried constantly. The future she'd promised him was filled with such foriegn concepts—love, peace, and a family—that he had doubted the legitimacy of her ability.

Even after they'd found the odd Cullen family, for years it felt like he was waiting for an abrupt end to it all. For something to happen amongst this strange party of vampires that would mark the end of the peace.

He'd feared, from the moment they realized Edward had some sort of… connection with this human girl, that it could cause a ripple effect. That it would trigger something bigger than any of them could see.

At first, they all assumed that this would simply be how Edward would find his mate. Certainly unconventional, but if any vampire on the planet would find a human to fall in love with, it would be Edward.

But from the start, Jasper knew it wouldn't be that simple. There were other factors involved. The Volturi, for starters, would have a fit if they knew Edward had revealed himself to a human. There was the fact that other members of their kind very much still existed—as emphasized by the outrageous situation they were in now.

Not to mention the asinine fact that Edward had no intention of ever granting Bella immortality.

When he felt of tick of irritation from Edward, he knew that the boy wasn't entirely caught up in his own thoughts. He was probably focusing on Jasper's thoughts here and there to distract himself from his own.

Carlisle and Emmett weren't with them, but they weren't far away. Carlisle made a good point in insisting that they still take the car. If—when, he corrected himself quickly, when—they found them, it would do a world of good for Carlisle to have it with him.

Despite the situation, they did need to keep the charade up. And if Bella was found, bleeding or injured, there was a chance that even Carlisle's doctoring wouldn't be enough in comparison to what an actual hospital could provide.

And, doctor or not, showing up, glittering in the daylight, carrying a broken human on foot through the front doors of any medical facility would certainly get the human authorities involved.

God. This was a nightmare.

The little silver cell phone felt heavy in the pockets of his pants. And as they ran East, following the erratic trail that Victoria had left for them to follow, he watched as the sky began to darken, the sun setting behind them after this long, horrible day.

Alice was smart. Alice could not only handle herself, but she was quick and strong enough to get herself out of most situations. Her gift made her unimaginably powerful because of that. A force to be reckoned with.

Without Bella's involvement in this, he may have been a bit calmer.

Maybe.

But now that the human was also in their grasp, Jasper knew that Alice wouldn't be using her gifts to get herself out of the situation, and that self-preservation wouldn't be a priority to her if they didn't get to Victoria before she got to James.

Because Alice was loving. And Alice was kind. And despite not yet knowing her, Alice adored Bella. And Jasper knew that Alice would do anything to make sure Bella got out of there, too.

Which meant absolutely nothing good for the outcome of the situation. Psychic abilities be damned.