Everything was fine until Alice froze mid-pitch. From there everything went wrong. The nomads Alice had been so sure were headed to Canada had heard the ball game and decided to turn in our direction. Bella was impossible to hide; her scent was mouthwatering, and as Rosalie stated could be smelled from across the field, her heart was thundering in her chest and her eyes were unlikely to be mistaken for any variant of our golden. The only similarity she held physically to our family was her paleness from the fear that had drained the color from her face, though a faint flush could still be seen. Trying to hide her long enough to get her away without suspicion had been a poor choice.
I was honestly surprised that the ruse lasted as long as it did before the wind shifted. James' reaction told us how this was going to proceed, his eyes locked on Bella and he was reluctant to leave the field. The fight should have taken place there, even if Edward had run with Bella the odds of seven to three would have been much better without giving them the time to plan. As soon as the nomads were out of sight Edward grabbed Bella and ran for the Jeep. Carlisle sent Emmett and Alice with him while the rest of us traveled as a group back to the house.
Jasper was tense, his jaw locked and there was a look in his eye I had only seen two times before, both when approached unannounced by lone violent nomads. Jasper was mentally preparing himself for the fight and I couldn't help but do the same. Carlisle was still hoping that James would see reason and the three would continue north to Canada like they had originally planned, but that hope was dashed when Alice called to let Carlisle know that Laurent had split off and was heading toward us while James and the woman were sticking close to Edward and Bella, waiting for an opening.
"The girl never should have been there." Rosalie hissed angrily while Carlisle and Jasper took positions by the door, waiting to see the intentions of the third nomad. I silently agreed, we should have known better than to bring Bella while knowing that there were nomads in the area, but we were all guilty of being lulled into security by Alice's gift, we all had thought the nomads were a non-threat. Esme looked to Rosalie admonishingly before continuing her task of securing the house.
"I'm not happy about it either, but there's nothing we can do about it now." I said softly as I stuck close to Rose. Rose opened her mouth to talk about whatever she was going to say was cut off by Jasper's growl when the third nomad came into view.
"I come in peace." He stated as he approached the house.
"I've come to warn you of the others intentions." He explained. Carlisle looked to Jasper, trying to gauge the man's honesty. Jasper looked conflicted but after a moment gave a nod. Carlisle opened the door and allowed the man inside.
"James is intent on the girl. He thinks this will be his greatest challenge yet." He continued before the sound of two vehicles could be heard pulling up the drive. At first the room tensed till we recognized the sound of the engines. Emmett's Jeep and Bella's truck, Alice, Emmett, Edward and Bella came bursting through the door moments later. Emmett let out a growl when his eyes locked-on Laurent, making the man tense for an attack.
"He's tracking us." Edward announced, pulling Bella to him while glaring at Laurent. Laurent frowned while Alice moved to Jasper's side. She whispered in his ear before Alice disappeared up the stairs. Jasper came to me, taking my hand and pulling me upstairs with him.
"What's going on?" I asked lowly. Jasper pulled me close to whisper in my ear.
"The two of us and Alice are going to be taking Bella to Phoenix, the rest are going to lead James and the woman away, they're going to try to trap and ambush him." I nodded and set to work throwing a couple things in a bag. I was pulling the zipper closed when Edward's enraged roar echoed through the house. I sighed when I could hear Rose arguing with Edward and left the rest of the packing to Jasper and Alice as I ran down stairs.
"For pete's sake I'll do it." I hissed at the two of them before gently picking up the girl and running back to Jasper's and my room. Jasper had already moved to his study to pack whatever he needed from there.
"What are we doing?" Bella asked breathlessly when I set her down.
"Trying to confuse the smell. It won't work for long, but it might help get you out." I quickly stripped out the top and pants that I had been wearing for the baseball game, they would be saturated with my scent and hopefully would overpower her scent long enough to get out of Forks.
"I don't think I'll fit..." Bella started to protest but I didn't have the patience to argue with her. I reached out and yanked her top over her head. She quickly started yanking at her own pants as I discarded her top onto the chair in the corner. As they fell to the ground I pressed my top into her hands. When she managed to get it on I handed her the pants and rushed to my closet, pulling on the first outfit I could get my hands on. I wasn't a fan of pants but I felt they would be more practical than any of the skirts I normally wore.
When I returned to the room Bella was fastening the button on the pants, they looked a bit tight on her but she'd be able to change once we got out of town. She could deal with a little discomfort till she was safe. Despite this I reached into the waistband and snapped the button that held the waist band tight. Without the button the waist relaxed and Bella released a breath.
"Thank you." She said and I hummed before grabbing her arm and pulling her to the top of the stairs where Alice and Esme were waiting. Esme moved past us to change into Bella's clothes while Alice took hold of Bella's other arm and we ran down to the garage where everyone else was ready to move.
Edward and Emmett stood near the kitchen while Carlisle was handing a phone to Rosalie, she took it, shoving it into the pocket of her jacket while Carlisle rushed toward us and handed Alice another phone while I moved to stand beside Jasper.
"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella." Carlisle said as he moved passed her. Bella nodded though she wasn't looking at Carlisle, she was looking past him to Rosalie who was glaring at Carlisle before shifting her glare to the window that you could see Bella's truck sitting outside.
"Jasper, take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south." He explained and Jasper nodded.
"We're taking the Jeep." Carlisle finished as Esme joined us dressed in Bella's clothes.
"Alice, will they take the bait?" Carlisle asked and we all watched as Alice closed her eyes. After a moment they opened and she nodded.
"He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Carlisle nodded before looking around the room.
"Let's go." Carlisle said. Esme gave him a kiss before he started for the kitchen. Emmett pressed a kiss to Rosalie's head before following. Edward moved to Bella's side, his hands cupping her face before he kissed her. Jasper and I moved to the door to wait, trying to give them some privacy. I heard Edward leave and then after a moment I could smell Bella's tears. The room was tense as we listened to Emmett's jeep as it pulled away and faded into the distance. It wasn't more than a moment after the noise faded that the phone Rosalie had passed to Esme buzzed. When she answered it Carlisle spoke quickly before hanging up.
"Now." She said and Rose stalked out the door while Esme stopped in front of Bella.
"Be safe." She bid before disappearing out the door. Bella's truck roared to life and Jasper's shoulders shook in silent mirth as we heard Rose's teeth grind together in her aggravation. Bella would be lucky if her truck was still in one piece after this. The phone Alice held buzzed and this time it was Edward's voice on the other end.
"Edward says that the woman is on Esme's trail. Abi and I will get the car." I looked to Alice in confusion, but she motioned for me to follow. I wasn't certain what she was up to but I followed. Alice didn't speak till the garage door shut behind us.
"Bella's an emotional mess. Bella wouldn't believe me if I comforted her, but she's not expecting it from Jasper. This way she'll be calmer during the trip." I nodded though I didn't see why it was completely necessary, with or without Jasper the girl would have to deal with own emotions eventually.
Alice drove the car around front and ran inside while I remained in the car. Jasper opened the door for Alice so she could slide into the backseat with Bella before running around to the driver's seat. When Alice shut the door, Jasper pulled away from the house. Some of the tension dissipated as we passed the 'You are now leaving Forks' sign and Jasper pushed the car faster than before while flipping off the headlights, but we remained completely silent till Bella fell asleep, some where between Seattle and the state line.
"What's the full plan?" I turned to ask Alice. Alice was sitting still as a stone in the back seat, Bella had fallen asleep leaning against Alice's shoulder and Alice looked afraid to move in case it would wake her.
"We take Bella to Phoenix to hide out till the others manage to corner James and kill him or till Edward meets us in Phoenix and takes her on the run. There wasn't much else we could come up with so quickly. Edward didn't want to take Bella home but she insisted and she was right, it was the only way to keep Charlie from searching for her and that would complicate things later if Edward tried to fly, with or without Bella." I nodded but sighed. It wasn't much of a plan and it mostly hinged on James.
Jasper reached across the partition and took my hand, holding it over the middle compartment as he rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. It was calming and I tried to relax into the car seat.
