Chapter 5: Escape

"It will be all right, you know," Jacob stated matter of factly.

Renesmee tried not to roll her eyes at him as the vehicle sped down the highway.

"You sound so sure," she muttered, glancing out the window. The snow-capped mountains sparkled in the sunlight, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day; however, she still felt a little glum. Jessica's death was starting to sink in, and she realized after the night before that she could easily have been next.

She missed her friend terribly.

Jessica had always been a little wild and silly. She had never been known for her particularly good decision making skills. However, she had always been there for her and that was more than most of Renesmee's family could say.

"You're not next," he stated firmly, as though he had read her mind.

"Easy for you to say. No one is hunting for you."

"No, but…"

"Right," she said flatly. She looked at his statue-esque side profile as he drove along the highway heading north. She wasn't sure where they were headed, but wherever it was, the ride had been long.

"Not much farther til we get to the ferry," he replied.

"Where are we going?"

A grin broke out on his face as he turned off onto another exit. "Ferry to Vancouver. Then North."

"How much farther North, exactly?"

"Easy, Princess," he chuckled. "We're getting out of town, Charlie's orders. The farther we go, the better the chances that we'll knock him off your trail, so to speak."

"Sooo…where is it we're going?"

"North."

Renesmee blew out of puff of agitated air. "I can see that, you ass. I asked where we were going!"

Jacob laughed even louder. "Woo! You get riled up easy, don't ya? Don't get your panties in a twist, Princess. We're going to Canada to hide out a few days."

"Don't think for one second you had any affect on my panties, thank you very much. Don't flatter yourself," she snapped. "I asked a question, I wanted an answer. And stop calling me princess! My name is Renesmee."

He snorted. "Right. Well, you get awful worked up for nothing—"

"I just wanted to know where we're going."

"Does it matter?"

"It does to me!"

"Well, we're going there, whether you like it or not, Prin—Renesmee," he quickly corrected himself.

She fumed, even more irritated. Smacking her hand down on the dash, she gave him an incredulous look. "Re – nes – mee," she reminded him again, enunciating clearly.

"Yeah yeah, I getcha. Renesmee," he said, rolling his eyes. "That's quite a mouthful. Don't you have a nickname?"

"Ulgh, no," she replied haughtily, looking out the window.

He grinned, pleased that he had such an affect on her. "I'm going to think of one."

"You go right ahead. Good luck with that," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Let's see…Renesmee…Ness…Nessie. There. There it is," he chuckled. "Nessie."

"That's ridiculous," she scoffed. "Nessie? I sound like some sort of…backwoods Barbie!"

He laughed louder, beaming in a way that showed off his white teeth. "You're a piece of work! I give you a nickname, and you freak out! What's your deal?"

"My deal is that I don't do nicknames, all right? My name is Renesmee—"

"I'm still going to call you Nessie," he interrupted, stopping her rant.

"You go right ahead and do that. You see what kind of answer you get."

She sighed in defeat, leaning back against the seat. They drove for another hour in silence, although it was somewhat amicable. She already felt like she knew Jacob; he wasn't difficult to be around. He was easy on the eyes, laid back for the most part, and did a decent job at keeping her mind off of what was after her.

He also drove her completely nuts when he talked, but she was willing to overlook that.

For now.

She had more important things on her mind.

Someone out there is trying to kill me. Someone out there wants me dead, she thought to herself, as she stared out the window. Setting her jaw with determination, she silently vowed that would not to happen.

"Keep the change." Jacob pushed the remaining few dollars back at the cashier.

He walked away from the ferry's tiny snack bar with his two cups of coffee, absentmindedly wondering how she took hers. Cream? Sugar? Black? He wished he knew. Ever since he had seen Charlie's granddaughter down at the precinct, he had been completely obsessed with her. He had been drawn to her like a magnet after the first glance, and had been determined to talk to her. The fact that Charlie had practically begged him to take care of her safety had only been an added perk.

Making his way out to the deck, he looked around briefly, before spotting her bright, coppery curls. They moved in the breezy, chilly fall air, blowing around her face as she leaned over the railing.

He walked up to her, spying a few jealous glances from random men around them, who were also admiring her. Renesmee didn't blend in well; with her beautiful curls, pale, flawless skin, and brown eyes, she was easily the prettiest woman he had ever seen. And I've seen a lot of women, he thought with a smirk. Add in her small, petite stature and womanly curves, and she became a complete knockout in his book. Renesmee was just the type of girl he was attracted to – smaller in body type, but still muscular and curvy. The type of girl that looked killer in a low cut dress, could survive a strenuous hike in the mountains, ate steak and dessert for dinner, and most importantly, the type of girl that he wouldn't have to worry about breaking while in the sack.

Hmm…now that's a nice thought…

Renesmee's voice broke through his smutty thoughts. "Where did you run off to? I couldn't find you anywhere," she said worriedly, her perfect eyebrows pushed together slightly.

"Coffee," he said, handing it to her.

Renesmee looked down at the cup, and then back up at him in surprise.

"Oh…um…thanks," she replied.

He smiled at her, chiding himself for feeling so sorry for her.

"I at least make sure a girl has coffee in the morning after I sleep over," he replied cockily.

He was testing the waters and he knew it.

Renesmee rolled her eyes and sipped her drink.

"You know, you roll your eyes at me so much that they're going to get stuck that way someday," he quipped.

"Imagine that."

"Hey, don't you want sugar? Cream? I brought the works…" he offered, rummaging through his coat pocket.

She shook her head. "Nah…straight up is the way to go," she said, offering him a shaky smile.

"I like mine black, too," he said excitedly.

"Really? Cool," he replied stupidly. Chill, Black. So she likes her coffee the same as you. Not a reason to hop in the sack with her.

Renesmee gave him a strange look before accepting the coffee. She took the lid off and blew on the steaming liquid.

"Thanks," she replied, offering him a timid smile.

He sighed. He wasn't as smooth as he thought he was, apparently. He watched her look off in the distance to the other end of the large ferry. Her eyes went wide for a second before she shuddered.

"What?" he asked, following her gaze. He studied the crowd of people for a second, finally spying a blonde haired man with a slicked back ponytail. His hand went for his gun, which was hidden underneath his coat in it's holster. His hand went to her shoulder on instinct his eyes strained to stay locked on his target.

"Jake…" she whimpered, her body tensing. His breathing increased as his adrenaline pumped through his veins, preparing for his attack. He had to switch up the game; he was the hunter, not James. James was not the hunted. An offensive approach would have to help, right?

The man in the crowd turned around, and it was clearly not James. Jacob's shoulders slumped as both he and Renesmee breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Not….him," he said, relaxing from his tensed stance. His eyes met her panicked ones.

"It's okay," he assured her. Renesmee's shoulders dropped as she wrung her hands nervously.

"What's wrong? It's not him. I can go look just to make sure."

"No….it's fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

She sighed, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "I just wonder….is it always going to be like this? Every blonde guy with a ponytail I see? I'm going to have a heart attack…or a panic attack, or…or both. I can't be like this forever. I'll drive myself nuts."

"It won't always be like this, no," he said confidently. "Of course not. We'll get this guy. You'll be able to go on with life. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison. If I don't kill him first," he added with a growl to his voice.

"I can't stay say that I hate that idea," she sighed.

He nodded. "I wouldn't mind it either."

"I just don't want to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder."

"I getcha. And we'll get him. But first….first we just have to make sure you're safe."

Turning around, she leaned over the railing of the ferry, watching the waters churning below. Jacob watched as the cool breeze ruffled a few of the bronzed curls that had slipped out of her braid. She was silent, staring off into space. He wanted to say something, but each time he thought of something his mind went blank or told him it was lame.

"Whatcha thinking?" he asked, trying once again to spur up some conversation.

She shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "Nothing…"

"Doesn't look like nothing," he observed. Ducking his head, he leaned on the railing beside her as he tried to catch her gaze. From her side profile, he saw her blink back a tear as she gazed at the churning water below.

"Something is wrong…I can tell when a girl is about to cry, you know."

She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Why, because you have had so many of them sleep over?" she scoffed.

"No," he replied, nudging her. "Because I grew up with two older sisters. I had to sit through more than one teary-eye at the dinner table growing up."

She smiled, wiping another tear away. "My parents are on another continent. My best friend is dead. My family is all…so far away," she sniffed, "and last but not least…there's someone out there trying to kill me, Jacob," she added, turning to him. "He wants me dead."

His heart twisted in his chest as he watched a fat tear roll down her cheek. "Don't worry," he said, not hesitating to pull her to his chest. To his surprise, she allowed him to wrap his arms around her and hold her for a second.

"No one is going to get you. I'm going to make sure of that – personally," he replied in his most self-assured voice. Well, the best one he could muster, anyway.

Renesmee pulled away, wiping her eyes. "Here I am…the blubbering idiot," she groaned. An embarrassed laugh left her mouth as she looked away again. "I'm sorry."

"Why sorry? I'm here for you…it's my civic duty," he laughed. "I'm here because I want to be."

"And Charlie made you."

"Well, that, too," he laughed. "But honestly…I couldn't be happier that Charlie trust me with his only granddaughter. Means a lot to me that the old guy would put something like on me. Happy to do it," he added.

"I feel so silly…worrying like this."

"Why?"

"I feel…helpless. I just never thought I'd be the helpless girl, you know?"

"It's not such a bad thing. Not with guy like me around, anyway."

Renesmee rolled her eyes at his cocky comment, noting how she was almost used to them right now.

"You know, you say all this cocky shit and….I'm beginning to just get used to it. Is that bad?"

He laughed. "No. I'm known for being a cocky ass. I don't mean half of it. Just….slips out," he muttered, grinning to himself. He took another sip of his coffee, wincing as the hot liquid scorched his tongue.

Renesmee laughed as he painstakingly swallowed, cringing.

"Trouble?" she teased.

Jacob tried to look normal as he winced through the pain, but ended up nearly choking on the hot liquid.

"The uh….ow…coffee is really, uh, hot," he stuttered.

She looked at him with her wide brown eyes before they both erupted into laughter.

"You're funny."

Jacob leaned on the railing next to her, his arm brushing up against hers. She tried to ignore the way it made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"You think me getting hurt is funny?"

She shook her head, trying not to laugh. "Um…no," she giggled.

He nudged her with his elbow, trying not to chuckle.

"It's okay, my sisters always thought it was funny when I got hurt."

"I take it you do that a lot?"

He nodded. "I was always getting into trouble as a kid, coming home all banged up. But you know, not all guys would take a knife for a girl they just met."

Renesmee looked at him sideways, her gaze skeptical.

"I think he only grazed you…."

"But still!" he laughed. "It was a knife!"

She nodded in agreement. "Very true. Yes Jacob, you're very gallant and noble."

"That's more like it."

"I do appreciate this, you know."

"Could have fooled me," he teased.

Sipping his coffee, he gazed out across the water. "We'll be there soon. It's been a long day; you're probably tired. We can get back in the car, and you can sleep the rest of the way."

She nodded, smiling. "If I forget or…don't get a chance to tell you for some reason or another…thank you, Jacob."

Next time - Jake and Nessie arrive to their destination, and then the fun REALLY begins! Our lovebirds will be under the same roof whist hiding from James!

What do you think of their banter? Will they kill each other, jump each others bones, or both?

Please review!