Chapter 3
Laughing in an unnaturally joyful peal, he snapped shut the phone and Luke turned to Bella. She tried to stumble backwards, feeling the mud and wet grass slide beneath her scattering palms.
"Stop, stop, stop, wait," she tried to reason with him. But it was hopeless, she knew it. He was undeterred by her pleas, just as she'd known he would be, so she stopped talking. She pressed her mouth into a firm line. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
But it was so hard to contain the fearful cries. They trebled on the edge of her lips.
"What?" Luke asked in astonished delight. "Are you simply prepared to lay down and let me kill you then?" He leaned closer and nudged his nose against her throat.
The rain dripped off of him onto her face.
"Mmm, delicious. I'm surprised the mindreader hasn't given in to a taste yet. I might, you know. I'm not quite the masochist he is." He bent to take another inhalant of her scent. Her heart was pounding, but it was actually from anticipation. He mistook it for fear and was taken aback when she abruptly kicked him between the legs. Out of shock rather than pain, he fell off to the side and she scrambled to stand.
Rising on shaky legs like a newborn colt, she took off sprinting unsteadily. She could hear him. He was laughing. Bella wasn't. She knew it was foolish to think she could outrun him. But Edward was on his way and every second she ran was another second she gave him to arrive. She darted around the trees and while it chilled her to the bone to imagine him fighting Luke, she knew it was better than the alternative.
No.
She couldn't let herself imagine that possibility. She would run and give Edward time to come.
Give him time, give him time, she chanted to herself.
She wondered why Luke had not caught up with her yet—though she didn't want to press her luck—when that same evil stitch in her side caused her to stagger to a stop. It was then that she realized that he had simply been giving her time to tire. She kept trying to start running and then broke into a walk.
When, after she felt she couldn't run any longer, she stuck one palm on a tree trunk and leaned over her knees to catch her breath.
An icy hand plunged into her hair and tightened into a vise, knotting into her wet tangles. She felt her scream break off as she was dragged backwards. She was stumbling and trying to walk backwards with his quick stride to keep up with him. The stitch was burning her side and she was struggling to breathe through the wrenching pain.
"Now Bella, Bella, Bella," Luke spoke calmly as he dragged her through the raining wooded grove. Lightning flashed, lighting the forest frequently. "I would have thought you would have more concern for your dear friend Jessica." He tsked.
Bella stiffened in shock. Jessica … was she still alive? What had he done to her before he'd chased her down?
Her scalp was burning from his hold and tears were streaming down her face mixing in the rain. She wanted Edward. She wanted him here to tell her it was going to be okay. She needed him.
There was still hope.
"Don't touch Jessica," she gritted through her teeth.
His superb hearing of course, heard her. His chuckle spurned her anger. "A little too late to be concerned."
Fear rushed through her. What had he done to her? "She doesn't have any part in this," she said, knowing it would be fruitless.
He stopped short and yanked her up by the hair to stare into her eyes. She shuddered as she looked into his blood red ones. They were fiery as he tightened his grip to an even more painful hold. She gasped in suppressed pain. Thunder boomed.
"Much more resilient than I would have thought," he admitted reluctantly. "But you should know it doesn't matter who deserves it. The fact of the matter is, sometimes bag things happen to innocent people. Just like me. Maybe you should ask your mindreader what he did to me and then you won't wonder why."
With that, leaving so many more questions in her head, he dropped her down and she had a second of blissful relief before he started dragging her again.
It seemed like ages, but it was probably more like minutes when they reached the car on the side of the road.
"We're back," Luke trilled cheerfully and thumped on the trunk. Bella's eyes widened in horror.
He opened the door and threw her in the passenger seat, zooming to slip into the driver's seat and speed off. It took a second, but it was in that second she realized Edward wasn't going to make it in time. He wouldn't be able to find her now.
That was until Luke opened up the phone.
"So you see, Edward, I'm afraid that you and your human may have to endure a bit of a … let's call it a trial separation period."
Bella realized that Edward had been on speakerphone—had heard Luke hunting Bella, had listened to their conversation as he had taken her back to the car. Edward must be going crazy. She winced in pain.
He pulled the phone away from his ear as he sped through the slick dark roads. "No, no, no," he taunted Edward and Bella's stomach turned sickly. She could hear Edward's muted angry voice. "I don't think I'll let you speak to her right now." He patted Bella on the head and she resisted the urge to hit him. It would only hurt her, she reminded herself. "Now," Luke made a face. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say there Edward, after all, I'll be in charge of keeping your human alive for the foreseeable future. I expect some decorum. How the Cullens have changed …."
So he knew the Cullens then? Bella's mind was racing. How? And what had Edward done to him?
"Now," Luke's voice was brisk as he got down to business. "I'm afraid I have to dispose of this phone, but I do have our number, so be a gent and answer the phone if a strange number rings in?" He paused and then rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I suppose you can say good-bye to your human—for now. It's not good-bye forever." She could hear the delicate yet hanging in the silence of his tone.
He held the phone to her ear. She was desperate for Edward's voice. "Bella! Bella?" He was shouting into the phone and even panicked and furious, his voice was the most beautiful thing to her.
"Edward, I love you. I'm so sorry, I was stupid."
"No, Bella, you weren't stupid. I should have seen this coming. I should have been there for you. I'm coming for you. I'll find you Bella. I promise," his voice was fury-filled with strength and anguish. "I promise I won't let him hurt you." His voice broke on the word hurt.
Bella's heart cracked at the sound, looking at the gleeful expression on Luke's face, she realized this was one promise Edward wouldn't be able to keep.
"I love you, Be—"
Luke cut off their conversation and pulled the phone up to his ear. "Shouldn't make promises you can't keep, Edward," he said, cementing what she already suspected and then he rolled down the window, tossing the tiny silver phone out into the rain.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you guys so much for all of the wonderful comments and for continuing to read this story. What do you think about the latest installment? Let me know! Comments are always welcome, encouraged, and appreciated! It makes my day to read them! As always, thank you for reading!
