A/N: Sorry for delay, I've been super duper sick. Every time I opened my laptop I needed to vomit. Not the most pleasant of times. I'm absolutely loving all the reviews though. Making my days so much better. I got a jam packed chapter for you. Cheers.
Chapter 46: Get Home
Alice POV:
My world had crashed in a matter of seconds. Bella's eyes were looking at me so desperately. And then they rolled back as she fell backwards to the ground loudly.
"EMMETT THE WINDOW!" Rosalie screamed in terror, eyes darting every which way for more signs of danger. Jasper had already run out to find the sniper who made the shot. I fell to my knees, clutching at Bella's body.
"What the hell happened?" Carlisle burst through the door coming from the garage. Obviously he had heard the commotion inside. He looked down to Bella and me, then panicked at Rosalie. I tuned out as Rosalie explained quickly.
"Carlisle! Carlisle he's Volturi!" Jasper and Emmett came in holding a red eyed vampire with a gun. I snapped and went for the kill.
"Alice no! We need to question him." Esme and Edward had grabbed me before I reached the killer. The person who murdered my mate. "Boys take him down to the basement. I'll meet you down there." Carlisle ordered and then moved quickly to his office. The guys struggled with taking the vampire downstairs, so Edward had to join in the effort. Rosalie went to take his place of holding me back, but I had other plans. I ran over to Bella's body, put on a brave face, and got her phone out of her pocket.
"What are you doing?"
"Shhhh!" I shushed Rosalie while dialing. "Hi is this Colt?"
"Yes this is. Who am I speaking to?"
"Um this is Alice Cullen. We have a situation here."
"What happened?" His tone changed immediately. He was all business now.
"We have a Volturi member here who-who shot Bella. Through our window." I choked a little at the end, looking down at my fallen mate.
"Is she-?"
"Yes." I interrupted him. I couldn't bear to hear anyone confirm her lifelessness.
"Ok. Ok. Did you check for any more?"
"I'm on it." Rosalie said viciously and stormed out the door.
"Is said vampire dead yet? Or do you have them in custody?"
"We have him alive. For now." I growled out.
"Ok. Shit ok. Bella really would have been the best for questioning, but plans change. Use your venom if he doesn't talk easy. It doesn't do what it does to Bella, but I'm still told it hurts like a bitch for regular vampires. If that doesn't work just kill him. The time spent on him won't be worth it. But right now I need you all to start moving. If he got a message out saying Bella's whereabouts you are not safe. Do not go back to her place, I can lock that down remotely. I can get a jet ready at the nearest airport but I can't oversee you getting there. You need to take backroads and detours. Is Bella's car there?"
"Uh yes." My mind was reeling with all the information. Esme was taking notes.
"Alright. She usually has some weapons stashed in the trunk. Arm yourselves for the worst. Call me when you're on the road. See you soon." The man hung up abruptly, probably to warn Liam. Esme ran to Carlisle to give him the message and I took a deep breath. I was going to stay calm this time. This was a life and death situation.
"I couldn't find any other scents. What's the situation Alice?" I explained everything that was just conveyed to me to Rosalie. "Ok. I'll go through Bella's car. Can you put her in? You can drive her car with Jasper, I'll take my car with Emmett and Edward, and then Carlisle can take Esme in his." I nodded and we both started moving.
"Come on Bella. I'm gonna take you home." I whispered while picking her up gently. The faster we got out of here, the better.
Carlisle approached me when I was carefully putting Bella into the passenger's seat.
"Alice would you like to donate some venom?"
"Oh yes please." I took the syringe from him happily. "You'll tell me when you find anything out right?"
"Of course. And when the time comes you can do the honors."
"Thank you Carlisle." He patted my shoulder and left for the basement. I stayed with Bella, waiting for a signal.
"Heads up we got incoming!" Emmett ran upstairs with the grave statement. "Alice, Carlisle said you can finish this asshole now. He didn't give us much, but he did say he got the message out to the Volturi main guard." I nodded and ran downstairs so we could get a move on quickly.
The vampire was a pathetic mess when I arrived. I reminded myself to thank Carlisle later for showing no mercy. Jasper handed me a lighter and I ripped off the culprit's head with ease. There really wasn't time to savor the revenge.
"Ok, Emmett can you be the lead car? Alice will take middle and I'll bring up the rear." Emmett nodded at Carlisle's orders and grabbed his keys. I ran my way back to Bella with Jasper following close behind. It made sense to have him in our car if she woke up earlier than expected. Her emotional barriers were down last time this had happened and he could feel her confusion. Of course he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but at least he could understand how she was feeling.
"It'll all be fine Alice. Just relax." Jasper told me calmly from the backseat as we drove. I kept stealing worried glances at Bella next to me. Still lifeless. My hand made its way to the tag resting on my chest. It was one thing not to hear her heart beat anymore, but another to not feel it. I'll never forget that terrible moment when it felt as though the bullet went straight through my chest as well. It was a pain I hope to never experience again.
Emmett was expertly leading us through the backroads of Washington towards safety. It took a while, but we all made it to the airport in one piece. Everyone was still on edge though, and probably would be until we were up in the air. Colt had given me instructions on how exactly to get to the checkpoint where we were needed. This is when we switched lead cars so they would follow mine.
"Are you the Cullen family?" A young man in a uniform asked when we got to the gate.
"Yes sir." I said nervously. The man leaned over and looked towards Bella's body next to me.
"I'm sorry to do this but can I ask to see her ID tags real quick? Protocol." He really did seem sorry to ask. I carefully pulled at the chain around her neck, now coated in blood, and showed them to him. He nodded and opened the gate for us. Once placing them gently back where they were, I pulled in and drove towards the large aircraft. More people in uniform gave us instructions on where to park and go. Jasper emptied the car of any personal items while I took care of Bella.
"This way ma'am." All eyes seemed to be on me and her as I was led into the plane. Another young gentleman showed us where everything was once we settled in. The pilots were already in the cockpit, waiting for the all clear to take off. "All set?" The man asked us once we were all buckled up and nervously looking at each other.
"I think so. Right?" Carlisle asked all of us. There were some nods and 'yeah's, this was all so new and strange.
"Alright then. We'll have you all up and out of here in no time." He took once last glance Bella's way, frowning, and then shut the door. I shut my eyes and breathed in calming breaths. We were going to be ok.
I did not open my eyes again until we were wheels up. Everyone seemed to let out a collective breath as well.
About halfway to D.C., Bella woke up gasping for air. It was still a terrifying thing to witness. Jasper and Carlisle went over asking her how she was and what she remembered. It took longer this time for her to get her bearings and mind set. But she eventually did and started firing questions while holding my hand. Once the boys had filled her in on everything, we were about to land.
"How are you feeling?" I finally asked her after staying silent for so long.
"I'm fine. A little stressed with everything, but really I'm ok. Are you alright?" She studied me closely. The last time she had been killed in front of me I was an absolute mess. But I hadn't had time to be as upset today, with all the drama and things that needed to be done. I was just happy she was safe with me right now.
"I've been better. But you're safe and sound and that's all that matters." She smiled and squeezed my hand.
If I wasn't already kind of disorientated already, I sure was after the in processing. Even Carlisle was a little frazzled by it all. Luckily Bella knew everyone and everything in the place.
Suddenly out of nowhere, someone tackled my mate to the ground. Emmet who was still on edge, threw the person off her right away.
"Easy big guy! It's just me." Liam stood up while dusting his jeans off.
"Oh sorry dude. It's been a rough day."
"I can imagine." He went to hug everyone briefly, with Esme holding onto him for dear life.
"You have any trouble?" Bella asked once I helped her up.
"Nope. Zoey and I got out right away without a scratch. They're still processing her in right now. Honestly I think you were the main target Bells." She grumbled annoyed at the whole thing. That did not make me feel better at all.
"Why just Bella?" Carlisle asked concerned for his newest daughter's safety. Liam shrugged nonchalantly.
"They really don't like her. I don't know if you noticed this, but Bella's kind of a pain in the ass." It was so strange how they could joke about these things so openly. There were literally psycho killers after them.
"Doctor Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you." A grizzled looking man came up to greet us, obviously the famous Michael Colt. Carlisle jumped in surprise and shook his hand eagerly.
"Yes sir it is." Bella was gazing at the two of them confused.
"Liam why don't you show Bella what I was just debriefing you on. Then I can get our guests settled in." Liam followed his orders right away, taking a reluctant Bella away from me. I whined pathetically, wanting to stay by her side. But she gave me a reassuring nod before leaving.
The next few hours were all a blur. It was a combination of confirming our current information and various background checks. But eventually the time had come where I got to be reunited with my wolf again. She was chatting with Liam and some girl who I assumed was Zoey in the lounge area. Bella immediately jumped up at the sight of me and wrapped me into a warm hug.
"I missed you too." I mumbled into her chest. She had changed shirts now so she wasn't still covered in blood.
"Here, let me introduce you to Zoey." The girl stood up and shook my hand politely. She sort of reminded me of Bella when she was human. Are all humans shy? Well I guess I would be too around so many vampires.
"Alright Cullens. Let me show you where you'll be staying." Colt had come back to lead us to our new place.
"Staying?" Bella looked from us to Colt furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Aren't you going back to Forks?" Carlisle and Colt both gave me a 'go ahead' nod to tell her.
"Um, no Bella. Carlisle has a new job here. He's actually had it for quite some time. We've decided to move here with you."
"What?" She had the same face I had when they first told me.
"Clean your ears sis. We're living right next to you now. As a family." Emmett beamed at her. She just continued to stare in complete disbelief.
"When did-? How did-? When-? Did you know about this?" She asked me after several failed attempts. Now I felt slightly guilty.
"Well, sort of. I only found out right before Christmas time. And really I never truly lied to you. We were going to tell you after graduation. But obviously things have changed." Bella kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish.
"You broke her." Liam laughed hysterically from the couch.
"Why did you do all this for me?" She finally managed to choke out.
"How many times do we have to tell you that we're a family now Bella? You're stuck with us." Rosalie said before pulling Bella into a tight hug. The whole family joined in and it was a very sweet moment.
"Ok, enough with the gooeyness. This way to chateau Cullen." Colt chuckled from the corner and led everyone outside. I went to follow but Bella had stopped me.
"Bella I want to see where I'll be staying." I whined when she started to pull me somewhere else. "Where are you taking me?"
"It'll just be a second. Come on." She tugged me down the hall where there were a few doors. Taking out a key buried deep in her pocket, she opened one of them.
It appeared to be a beautiful loft inside. Fully equipped with a kitchen, bedroom, living area, and a massive bathroom and closet. I couldn't help but notice that the style was very much like my girlfriend's own, modern and chic. All the details and décor that stood out were screaming Bella's name. The place was coated in her lovely scent.
"Is this your place?" I asked after she had silently given me a small tour.
"Well, yeah." She started to rub her neck like she always did when she was uncomfortable or uneasy. What was making her so nervous? "Um, well, I wanted to ask you, Alice would you like to move in with me?"