A/N If you'll strangle anyone who devulges the slightest detail from Midnight Sun, please stop reading now. Otherwise, I'll tell you about a detail so minor that it really doesn't constitute a spoiler, but it's the basis of this chapter. Edward mentions in passing that Maria came to visit them once in Calgary and that it had been an "eventful visit." Knowing this will clear up a few things in this chapter. Enjoy!

The phone on my desk buzzed, and I smiled apologetically at the drug runner opposite me. "I am sorry, Mr. Daniels. It's Maria, my new secretary," I said by way of explanation. "She doesn't appreciate how important a client you are."

He grunted noncommittally. "There's word that you're helping Aimes, too."

At my confused expression, he added, "In Portland."

Ethically, a lawyer wasn't supposed to take clients with rival interests. Those rules were for people who were stupid – people who got caught. "I don't have any clients in Portland," I answered completely truthfully. Mrs. Aimes lived in Lake Oswego in an upscale suburb. Maximizing her markets. Beautiful woman.

Daniels reached into his jacket and I inwardly groaned. Why did everyone always think that waving a gun around was the answer to everything? There was a reason I took these clients only on one day of the week.

Sure enough, he pulled out a handgun. I sat very still, my hands resting in plain sight on top of the desk.

I'd only kept him as a client for sentimental reasons. He was the first unofficial client Paul had trusted me with. Daniels was a grubby nobody, but he'd been my big break. It saddened me that I'd have to take a hit out on him now.

I startled in the tense silence when my phone insistently buzzed again, twice this time.

"Do you want your Customs certificates, Mr. Daniels?" I asked him softly. Soothingly.

"I want the truth," he snarled, "and nobody lies to a bullet."

He was as crooked as they came, and he wanted the truth?

A gust of wind changed the world that day. I felt it, like a fan on my face, and then Mr. Jasper was standing beside my desk, Daniels' gun resting carelessly on the polished wood within easy reach of the intruder's hand.

"My appointment begins now," Mr. Jasper said coldly.

He was staring down Daniels. I would have felt smug as he gaped first at Mr. Jasper and then at his empty hand – would have if I wasn't even more terrified than he was.

"Go." Mr. Jasper's melodious voice was rough, almost harsh. He didn't need to add if you value your life. The menace radiating off him was palpable.

Daniels cowered and slunk out of the office. I desperately wished I could follow my would-be assassin. At least a bullet was quick.

"I need new birth certificates for the entire family."

New birth certificates meant they were relocating.

Paul had warned me about this. If Mr. Jasper didn't call ahead for an appointment, then be very, very careful. The spontaneous visits felt the most dangerous. And watch the news.

I'd heard about the family in Calgary – a mother, father, and three kids had all been killed. Cadaver dogs found them a couple of days ago, buried up in the mountains. It wasn't until Mr. Jasper appeared in my office that I put two and two together. The youngest kid was only two. She was practically a baby. The Cullens hadn't even spared her. The family had been ranchers. They were nobodies. No money, no turf. They'd just been wiped out.

Why?

When I looked up at Mr. Jasper – he still stood, looming over me – I swear my heart froze solid. His lion-eyes were burgundy.

Fifteen years between me and Paul, and Mr. Jasper had never aged a day, never a different haircut or length, never a change in weight or build. I knew there was something different – otherworldly – about him. The fact that he never changed was all the evidence I needed.

But this!

I shuddered under his intense gaze but couldn't look away. The shudder became trembling, and he closed his eyes, turning to face the window. "Yes," he said softly. "We need to leave Canada."

I took a few deep breaths, trying to settle down. Yup, said a little voice in the back of my mind, should have left with Daniels and risked the gun.

I had tried not to speculate about it. Halloween made it hard. Was he an alien? Something angelic was unlikely; violent or mysterious death seemed to follow him. Something demonic? I wasn't exactly bound for heaven myself, though I'd seen too much to ever really have believed in it in the first place.

Whatever he was, the red eyes made this much certain – he was a monster.

"I need the usual papers for such an event." His voice was even. Professional. "US birth certificates, passports, school records, etc. And a new medical license for Mr. Carlisle. Make it Dartmouth University this time. You'll also need to hack in and make it official in the computer records."

"Of course."

"Can you have it done in two days?"

I almost choked. "Not if you want me to personally do it. I could subcontract – "

The words died in my throat. His eyes – already red – burned with fury.

"I'll do it. But I'll need a week at least."

"Fine. But I'll triple your rush fee if you can do it in less. Oh. And your new secretary? Fire her."

She'd tried to buzz me; I was the one who didn't pick up. If he were any other client, I'd just move her to my other office, but this was Mr. Jasper. Better her than me. I'd give her a good recommendation.

He strode from the room, inexplicably muttering, "I am never again speaking to any woman named Maria. Never."