A/N: Wow! 207 reviews. Over 49,000 hits. On 172 Favourites lists. 157 Alerts. When I posted the first chapter sometime last year I never expected that kind of response. I'm very touched—and proud—that you love my story so much and that many of you have been with me for a very long time now. THANK YOU! Thanks to everyone who took the time to review because it's the reviews that keep me going; and to everyone who alerted to me and who added Lifelines to their Favourites list because I appreciate that just as much as a review. Thanks to Owley and MaryMary123 who went through the trouble of reviewing almost every chapter, and to semper, who has been with me now for some time.

A very special thank you to my beta KayMarieXW, who's always supportive and whose many suggestions have made Lifelines so much better. You should definitely read her fics Resonating Light and Sweet Madness.

Since I started writing Lifelines—and before that Cross Your Heart—I got the chance to meet many wonderful people, for which I'm glad and very grateful.

This chapter may not be what some of you expected, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless. Please don't be too hard on me, but I would still love to hear what you think, even if you didn't like it! So please review!

Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm only borrowing.

26. TURNING POINT, PART 1

BELLA

When the stars threw down their spears

And watered Heaven with their tears

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?

The Tyger, William Blake (Songs of Innocence and Experience)

My first attempt at learning how to use my shield was a complete and utter failure.

Kate led me away from the house and into the trees, far enough that we were out of earshot and—or so I hoped—out of the range of Edward's gift. I didn't want witnesses. For that matter, I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about Kate's presence. I stared at her with mixed feelings as she ghosted through the trees ahead of me, her white hair gleaming like silver in the moonlight. I didn't have a clue how to go about training my gift, so I was grateful that she'd offered to help. However, we had very different reasons for wanting me to learn how to use my shield. Kate—and the rest of the Cullens—wanted me to use it to find Victoria. I wanted to use it to find and save Liv. That wasn't the same thing, as I was painfully aware, but I wasn't ready to give Liv up. Not yet. I'd only agreed to Edward's plan because I knew that they were right, that it was the best course of action until we'd figured out a better way to track Victoria down.

But deep, deep down I knew they hoped that I'd eventually see reason and realise that Liv was beyond help. They weren't cold-hearted—I knew that. But Liv didn't mean to them what she meant to me. For them, finding Victoria was of higher priority. Intellectually I understood that and if Liv wasn't my friend, I may have seen things that way as well. But Liv was my friend and that changed everything.

Kate stopped in a small clearing and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ears. I persuaded my lips to return her bright smile. Kate was clearly having fun, but I found it hard to share her enthusiasm. Liv's life was at stake, for crying out loud! I didn't say anything though, and if Kate noticed my lack of excitement, she didn't let on. Despite my apprehension, I was glad that it was Kate who'd offered to help me and not Edward, Alice or Jasper. It wasn't that I thought they wouldn't make great teachers, but I didn't want to see Alice's visions or share Jasper's empathy. And, above all, I never wanted to be thrown into the black void that was Edward's mind again ever again.

Of course I didn't know for sure their gifts would reflect back on me the way Edward's had. I hoped not, but it was best to assume that they would. Kate's gift was different though. It wouldn't be a distraction. I just had to avoid touching her.

Assuming I'd manage to spread my shield over her for even the fraction of a second, which I highly doubted.

I wasn't certain why Edward had left out this 'interesting' little twist of my gift when he'd told them about it, but I knew why I hadn't brought it up. I didn't want his family to know that I'd caught a glimpse of what was going on inside his head, afraid they'd ask me to tell them—not out of morbid curiosity, but out of concern. I'd noticed how worried they all still were and if I had noticed that, then so had Edward. Perhaps, I thought, shuddering as I involuntarily remembered the darkness in his mind, his reason for not telling them is the same as mine.

"Earth to Bella?" Kate asked, waving her hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Are you listening?"

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I was wool-gathering."

"Obviously." Kate laughed. "I said let's get started."

At least one of us is having fun, I thought with a quiet sigh that Kate fortunately pretended not to notice. I wanted this to get over with, so I shoved Edward and Liv to the back of my mind and focused on what Kate was saying.

Kate was very patient, which was a good thing because I definitely wasn't. I realised that my impatience was complicating matters unnecessarily, but I couldn't help it. The elusive layer that was my shield kept slipping away from me, much like Victoria always being in our peripheral vision, but never in our sights. I knew it was there because I felt it, but that wasn't enough. I needed to see it in order to grasp it and I needed to grasp it in order to use it. I said as much to Kate, who immediately suggested I should envision it as whatever I thought would work best for me. I tried and tried and tried and tried, but when the first hint of daylight filtered through the trees, reflecting off what little snow had fallen on the forest floor, I still hadn't managed to grasp it, let alone project it over Kate.

"These things take time," Kate said calmly, placing her arm around my shoulder to comfort me.

I merely nodded. I didn't trust myself to speak, afraid I'd vent my pent-up frustration on her and she didn't deserve that. "You'll figure it out," she continued, "never fear! Let's try again tomorrow night!"

The Cullens had left by the time we got back to the house and my car wasn't in the driveway, so I assumed Jake had taken it to drive home. I didn't mind. I needed to be alone for a while to clear my head. I said goodbye and set off, taking my time. I still had two hours before I had to leave for work, plenty of time to get home and shower and change.

I didn't want to try again tomorrow. I wanted to find Liv and not waste time trying to master something that quite obviously didn't want to be mastered. If only I knew how! If only Victoria hadn't found a way to escape Alice's visions!

If only none of this had ever happened!

You can't change the past, reason argued. Don't dwell on it and focus on the present! What else can you do? Besides, right now you're operating under the assumption that Liv is still alive. What makes you think that? Would you have kept her alive if you were Victoria?

No, I admitted unhappily. No, I wouldn't. But I don't know that for sure!

Perhaps not, reason continued. But you know Victoria. You know what she's capable of. She wants to make you suffer and what better way to do that than to kill your best friend, given that she's been unable to get her hands on you and Edward?

"Wonderful," I said to nobody in particular, suddenly realising that I was having a conversation to myself. In humans, that kind of thing was usually the first sign of a mental breakdown. I didn't know about vampires, but it couldn't be healthy. "I'm losing my mind." Somewhere above me a bird chirped nervously. It probably agreed with me.

"Bella?"

Surprised, I looked up to find Rosalie perched in a tree a little distance away, her back pressed against its trunk and her knees pulled up against her chest.

"Hi," I said uncertainly as I stopped beside the tree. "I thought you all went home?" I was at least half a mile past the point where I would have had to turn left had I wanted to get to the Cullen's house. What was Rosalie doing here?

Rosalie shrugged. "They did."

Lost. That was the first word that popped into my mind when I took a closer look at her. She looks lost. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair carelessly braided and pinned away from her face. I'd never seen her like that and I felt sympathy stir. I didn't think she'd gone home at all in the past few days. Her family was so angry with her, especially Emmett. Rosalie's self-centredness may make her oblivious to other people's feelings, but she wasn't a bad person and she shouldn't be afraid to go home.

"Are you okay?" I asked slowly as looked up at her.

"I don't know," she whispered, which wasn't the answer I'd expected. The Rosalie I knew would never admit to being uncertain. "I screwed up," she asked without looking up, "didn't I?"

"That's one way to put it," I replied, surprised I didn't sound as accusing as I feared I would.

"I didn't mean for her to run away," Rosalie said unhappily, no trace of the sarcasm I'd come to expect from her in her voice. Instead she sounded almost distressed. "I just… I wanted our family to be together again. I wanted us to be 'us' again, the way we were before we left Forks and before Edward… before he fell in love with you. I know how it sounds," she added quickly, her eyes meeting mine for the fraction of a second before she lowered her gaze again. "It's not that I don't want Edward to be happy. I do. He's my brother and can be an idiot, but I love him and I wish him all the happiness in the world. But I want to be happy too. Does that sound terribly selfish?"

"No, it doesn't," I said softly. "Everyone wants to be happy and everyone deserves to be happy. I just…" I paused, unsure of how to word what I wanted to say. "I just don't understand why you seem so certain that I'll get in the way of your happiness. I know you haven't liked me from the beginning, but I'd like to know why. Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you," Rosalie whispered. "I hate—hated—what you being a part of Edward's life meant for us. What it meant me for me. Will you… will you let me explain?" she pleaded, despair flashing in her eyes when she finally looked at me.

"Yes, of course," I answered immediately. I wanted to know. I needed to know because as Alice had said a few days ago, I was part of her family now and we had to learn to get along. As Rosalie didn't seem inclined to leave her perch, I climbed a tree a few feet away and settled against the trunk.

"Has Edward ever told you how I came to be a vampire?" Rosalie asked, her voice very low.

"No, he didn't," I replied equally low. Rosalie surprised me by angling her body towards me as much as possible without falling out of the tree.

"My life as a human," she began quietly, "was perfect. My parents were middle class, but they were relatively wealthy, mostly because my father was one of the few lucky people who wasn't affected by the Great Depression. I had two younger brothers, but I always knew that I was my mother's favourite because of my beauty. My parents were never content with what they had. They wanted more and they saw my beauty as a way to get what they wanted." Rosalie smiled thinly. "At the time I didn't see it that way, of course. There were so many things that I wanted—a beautiful wedding where everyone would admire me, a big elegant house, servants—and I knew that there was no way that I wouldn't get exactly what I wished for and more. I wanted the material things in life, but I also wanted to have a family of my own. My friend, Vera, had a beautiful little boy with dimples and curly black hair and I was jealous of her. I was ready for it. I wanted a baby and a husband who'd kiss me when he got home from work. I wanted it all." She sighed. "Looking back, I realise how shallow I was. If I'd been a different person, if I'd wanted to marry for love instead of wealth and admiration, then maybe things would have turned out differently. But I wasn't and they didn't."

"What happened?" I asked gently when Rosalie didn't continue. I hadn't lied. Edward had never told me what had led to Rosalie becoming a vampire, but he'd hinted that it had been similar to what had almost happened to me in Port Angeles the night I figured out that he was a vampire.

"Royce King happened," Rosalie said, her lips twisting into a bitter smile. "He was the son of the man who owned the bank my father worked at. That's how we met. His courtship was short and he asked me to marry him after only two months. Naturally my parents were ecstatic and so was I."

"You were engaged?" I asked, wondering if that was why Rosalie was so bitter, because everything she'd ever wanted had been already in her reach.

"Yes," she replied, still that strange smile on her face, "yes, I was. And that makes what happened to me so much worse. It was a few days before the wedding, three or four," she continued. "I was on my way home from Vera's, worrying about the weather because I didn't want to move my weddings indoors, when a group of drunk men called out to me. I didn't recognise them at first, but when one of them stepped into the light of a streetlamp I saw that it was Royce and his friends. I'd never seen him drink before, but I didn't think much of it. I was so embarrassed by the way he was acting! I told him to go home and sleep it off and that I'd see him in the morning when he was sober. He grabbed me just as I turned to leave." Rosalie must have seen the horrified look on my face because she said, "I'll spare you the details."

After that she fell silent. All her self-confidence and arrogance seemed to have left her as she sat there on that branch, huddled up like a scared child. I wanted to put my arm around her, but as I didn't know how she'd react to that, I folded my hands in my lap to resist the temptation. Was this the real Rosalie? Was her usual arrogant and confident self just a facade? I didn't even want to imagine something like this happening to me. I'd seen so many rape victims, both in the ER and the morgue, that I knew how violent an attack on body and soul it was. And to be betrayed so cruelly by someone you knew and trusted… Edward had betrayed me too, but his betrayal paled in comparison to what Rosalie had had to endure.

"I've come to terms with it, sort of," Rosalie said after a moment. "I got my revenge. I killed them all. I knew even before I went after them that it wouldn't undo what they did, but I couldn't allow them to live either. But," Rosalie paused and when her eyes met mine they were pleading, "I wish Carlisle hadn't saved me."

Why? I wanted to ask. The question was already on the tip of my tongue and then I remembered— very, very faintly—that I'd wanted to die too. I had begged Jake to kill me before I'd been swept away by the blazing fire of the change. I hadn't wanted to be a vampire and if I was completely and totally honest, there were still times where I found myself wishing that Jake had granted me my wish.

"What does all that have to do with me?" I asked instead.

"It's… complicated," Rosalie replied, her tone almost apologetic. "The reason I didn't like you in the beginning was, well…" Embarrassment flashed in her eyes, which surprised me. "Carlisle changed me because he hoped that Edward would fall in love with me. He didn't want him to be alone anymore. It didn't work out as he'd hoped. It wasn't that Edward didn't like me. He does, in a very brotherly sort of way. But he didn't want me and my entire human life people had wanted me. I needed to be wanted and that he didn't made me so furious. And then he fell in love with you, a plain human girl that was so clumsy she couldn't walk over a flat surface without tripping over her own feet. I didn't understand what he saw in you." Rosalie drew a deep breath to steady herself. "Because of that I didn't like you. I began to hate you when you so willingly would have thrown your human life away to become one of us. I would give everything to be human again, Bella. I would give everything to have a family, to grow old and die. I'd even give up Emmett if that's what it took to be human again. And there you were, your entire life ahead of you and you just wanted to throw it away."

Silence again. Rosalie held my gaze as I contemplated what she'd confessed. In a way I understood why she'd felt that way about me. She would live forever without ever getting the only thing she truly wanted. I could have had those things and that I'd just wanted to give them up must have been a slap in the face for her. I hadn't really understood what being a vampire meant then. I'd wanted to be a vampire because it had been the only way to be with Edward forever. But when Victoria had returned into my life I'd been reasonably happy, as happy as I could have been without Edward. I'd have preferred death over change, but things didn't always turn out the way you wanted them to and here I was. But if Rosalie couldn't get over the fact that I'd become a vampire, then I didn't see how we'd ever get along.

"I didn't want this, you know," I said hesitantly, gesturing at myself.

"Oh, I know," Rosalie replied, twisting her lips into a strained smile. "What I said in the car… I wanted to apologise. I was out of line. Seth, he told me what happened. Don't be mad at him," she added quickly. "I made him tell me. I wanted to know. I won't tell Edward if you don't want him to know. That, I can promise. That's not the reason I was acting–"

"–so hostile?" I asked, surprised that I wasn't angry at Seth for telling Rosalie. The entire pack knew what had happened. Jake couldn't have stopped them from seeing it in his mind even if he'd wanted to.

"I was going to say like an idiot, but that works too." Rosalie's tone was so wry that I laughed once and her smile grew a little more natural. "I was furious at you because you were the reason my family broke apart. Things were different after we left Forks. Edward was different. I know I could have been angry at him or even at Jasper. If he hadn't tried to kill you, we would never have left Forks. But I chose to blame you. I kept telling myself that it was all your fault, that we only had to suffer so much because of you. It was so very easy to convince myself that I was right. But I wasn't."

"I don't know what to say," I admitted quietly, my mind spinning. Part of me was surprised that Rosalie had opened up to me, but another part was apprehensive. Why now? Was it only in reaction to Freya running away and to the collective anger of her family that was directed at Rosalie? Had she apologised to me because she wanted me to talk to them, because she wanted me to speak on her behalf? That was certainly a possibility, but I didn't think that Rosalie was trying to manipulate me. The pain that I'd seen in her eyes when she'd told me her story had been too real.

"You don't have to say anything," she said quickly. "Thank you for listening." Then she leapt off the tree, slowly heading the way I'd come a few moments earlier. It was obvious that she didn't want to go home, but she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Except…

"Rose?" I called, deliberately using her nickname as I jumped down as well. "You can stay at my place if you don't mind that it smells like wet dog."

Rosalie turned around very slowly as if she wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. "I would love that," she said eventually, her voice tentative. "Thank you."

xxx

"Spit it out," I told Jake.

"What?" he asked innocently, although he knew exactly what I was talking about. Jake was as aware as everyone else that Rosalie seemed to have befriended Seth—and vice versa—but judging by his sour expression when I'd come home with Rosalie in tow, that wasn't a development he was very happy about.

"Oh, you know what," I replied, carefully manoeuvring the Porsche through morning traffic. A pedestrian with a death wish jumped in front of me, narrowly escaping becoming a figurehead on the Porsche's hood. He sent a string of profanities my way when I glared at him.

"No," Jake said as he stared after the pedestrian, probably regretting that he couldn't arrest him for jaywalking. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Suit yourself," I muttered. If Jake didn't want to discuss Rosalie and Seth, then I wouldn't force him to. It was none of my business anyway, but he'd better not continue to sulk—which was exactly what he was doing; not that he'd see it that way if I told him. My house, my rules. I could invite to stay whoever I wanted, even if the person in question happened to be Rosalie.

"Do you have your backstory straight?" I asked after a while. The security guard posted at the gate to the parking lot waved at me like he always did as I drove past him. Smiling, I waved back and headed to the garage. Danielle's decrepit VW Beetle was already there, although we'd left almost an hour before I normally would have. Then again, Danielle was the most curious person in the world, except for maybe Alice, so of course she'd be here to meet Jake.

And to find out if my taking off so many days in a row had anything to do with the murders.

Jake rolled his eyes. "What backstory? I moved here last week. I needed a job and remembered that my old friend Dr Bella Swan heads the Department of Pathology at the Alaskan Regional. End of story."

Knowing Danielle, I highly doubted she'd leave it at that. She was already convinced that some sort of psycho killer had it in for me, so Jake's unexpected arrival was bound to make her even more suspicious. She was right of course but although I was touched that she worried about me so much, I couldn't tell her the truth, never mind how much I hated lying to her. At least I wouldn't have to explain Emmett's presence as well because the fact that hospital security was chronically understaffed was well-known. Although I was still a little peeved that the others were convinced that I needed a personal security detail, I also knew that they were right. I'd be dead within a matter of minutes—as Esme had so charmingly and unfortunately correctly put it—if I ever found myself face to face with a vampire who knew how to fight.

"I warned you," was all I said to Jake as we stepped out of the car and went inside where Emmett was waiting for us, leaning casually against the wall beside the doors. I was a bit surprised that Danielle was in her office at the other end of the hallway and not busy batting her eyelashes at Emmett because he was the kind of man she would normally throw herself at.

"I came prepared," Emmett said when I asked him, grinning broadly as he flashed his golden wedding band at me. "We talked a bit and I told her that if my wife ever found out she flirted with me, she'd bite her head off. Which," he added, the smile vanishing, "she would."

Jake was busy looking anywhere but at Emmett and me, so it was up to me to come to Rosalie's aid. After this morning's conversation I found it hard to stay mad at her even though I hadn't been that angry with her to begin with. She hadn't exactly apologised, but she'd tried to explain the reasons for the way she acted and her remorse had been sincere. That was enough for me.

I sighed. I didn't want to meddle in Rosalie and Emmett's relationship, which was none of my business after all. I usually didn't give relationship advice because, in my experience, it always found a way to bite you in the backside later, no matter how good your intentions had been. But I also didn't want to hear Emmett talk about Rosalie that way, not when she was trying so hard to make amends.

I was saved by Danielle, who walked out of her office just then with a stack of envelopes under her left arm and a key in her right hand, heading towards my office. Seeing me, she smiled and waved. The envelopes slid out of her grip and skidded over the floor.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath as she began picking it up. Jake and Emmett rushed to her side to help her. Danielle had that effect on men, married or not. She was very pretty today, wearing a smart grey pantsuit with a crimson blouse underneath. Her hair fell over her shoulder in a deliberately loose braid. I looked down myself, feeling self-conscious. I'd picked a pair of black slacks and a white shirt, my usual working attire. I hadn't been in the mood for any of the colourful clothes Alice had bought.

"Thanks," Danielle said, smiling.

Emmett returned her smile, winked at me and disappeared around the corner to begin his round. As he didn't officially know Jake and me, he had no reason to stay.

"You must be Jacob Black," Danielle continued as she firmly grasped Jake's outstretched hand. "I'm Danielle Grey." She giggled and I tried very hard not to roll my eyes. "We spoke on the phone. It's so nice to meet you!"

"Call me Jake," Jake said, at which Danielle beamed at him.

Maybe I should have warned him about her, I mused as I let myself into my office two minutes later, Danielle having offered to show Jake around. I'd wanted to do that myself, but it would Danielle keep distracted and away from me for the time being. Hopefully she wouldn't get a chance to corner me and ask unpleasant questions until it was time to go home. I didn't count on it though.

While Danielle introduced Jake to our filing system—a doubtful pleasure—I got started on the mail she'd thrust into my arms before she and Jake had disappeared into her office. It was one of the few aspects of work that I truly loved, probably because it had very little to do with my job per se. It was mostly just advertisement catalogues and while I didn't have the budget to buy any of the equipment, I enjoyed looking at the catalogues. Today I also found a letter from my bank, although I usually didn't get personal mail sent to work.

They probably mixed something up, I thought as I sliced the envelope open, pulled out the letter and unfolded it. I scanned the contents, expecting it to be advertisement as well, then blinked and read the few lines again, very carefully this time. The letter was to inform me that that my bank accounts had been successfully merged, but that couldn't be right. I'd never had more than one bank account, not to mention that the end sum on the enclosed bank statement was preposterously high.

Grumbling, I reached for the phone. Why was it that trouble always attracted more trouble? I hoped I'd be able to clear this up in one phone call. As I waited to be put through to the bank director, I read the letter again. Ten million dollars. I'd have to work two hundred and seventy-seven years, give or take a few months, on my current salary to earn that much money.

"Hello, Dr Swan," a male voice boomed on the other end of the line, breaking into my reverie. "I'm Stanley Finch. How can I help you?"

"Hi," I replied, "I got a letter from you that says that my bank accounts were merged, only I don't recall having more than one bank account. Is it possible you have another customer by the name of Isabella Swan and that there was some mix-up?"

"Let me see." I heard him typing swiftly. "No," he said after a moment. "Everything is in perfect order. The second account was opened last Wednesday and the money transferred on Thursday. The accounts were merged yesterday. I can assure you that everything was done according to your cousin's wishes."

I blinked. My cousin?

"I understand," he continued, sounding amused now, "that Ms Brandon wanted it to be a surprise."

I blinked again. Then realisation finally set in and I had to resist the urge to crush the receiver.

She didn't!

"Alice Brandon?" I asked slowly, trying very hard not to growl at the poor man.

"Mary Brandon," he replied, still unconcealed amusement in his voice. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No," I managed, "no, thank you. I'll give my cousin a call now. She and I have very different definitions of the word 'surprise'. Thank you for your time." With that I hung up. I fished my cell phone out of my bag, already dialling Alice's number. I remembered that she was at school at the moment only when my call went directly to voice mail.

"Hello Mary," I said sweetly and not even Alice would be able to mistake that tone for gratitude. "I got your present. Thank you so much! Why don't you come by after school so that I can thank you properly?" I hung up and tossed the phone back into the bag.

"I'm going to kill her," I muttered darkly. Alice knew exactly how I felt about presents. I could live with the fact that she'd practically exchanged my entire wardrobe while Edward and I had been in Chicago—barely, but I had decided that I'd have to pick my battles if I wanted to win once in a while. But this… Alice couldn't just give me ten million dollars, for crying out loud!

"Who's 'her'?" a voice asked from the door, startling me.

I glanced up to find Emmett hovering on the threshold and looking at me expectantly. "Your sister," I growled, pointing at the bank statement.

Sauntering over, Emmett picked it up and whistled quietly. "Sweet," he said. "I was wondering what that trust fund was for…" Seeing the look on my face, Emmett trailed off and swallowed visibly. "You know, I have somewhere else I need to be. See you tonight." He spun around and flinched when I suddenly appeared in his way, gently closed the door and locked it, slipping the key into my pocket.

"What trust fund?" I asked icily. I was aware that I'd never be able to stop Emmett from leaving if he really wanted to, but in order to do that he'd have to get the key first. Of course he could always break in the door, but I doubted he'd do that with Danielle only three doors down. "What trust fund?" I repeated.

Emmett looked at the locked door and then at me, grimacing when he saw that I was serious. "Fine," he grumbled. "I only know this because I saw the records a few years ago and not because Alice actually told me anything. She created that trust fund a few weeks after your eighteenth birthday, setting it up so that another million was added to it each year. She doesn't know that I know—or at least she didn't—and I never asked about it. I figured she'd seen something about you in her visions."

I grimaced, torn between feeling touched and annoyed. I couldn't accept that amount of money, not even from Alice, and although I knew she'd never ask anything in return, I'd be forever in her debt. "Well, I can't take it," I said eventually. "I'll just have it transferred into one of Alice's accounts first chance I get."

Emmett suddenly looked thoughtful, an expression that made me instantly suspicious because he didn't wear it very often.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest. He didn't intent to side with Alice, did he?

"Don't think of it as a gift," Emmett told me. "You're part of the family now and what's ours is yours. But if you still want to go after Alice," Emmett looked me up and down as if he doubted I'd succeed and he was probably right, "I won't stand in your way. Just do me one favour, will you?"

"And what would that be?" I asked suspiciously.

Emmett grinned broadly. "Let me watch!"

xxx

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