Author's Note:

Thank you so much to those who have reviewed! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story, and I hope you will continue to let me know if you're enjoying it!

Here's part 2...what kind of stunt does Bella try to pull? Will Edward catch her? And will it ultimately get them caught or cause her to become even more Edward's prisoner? :)

Chapter 2

'Bed time. Come on, Bella.'

ooo

Edward put me on my feet and quickly steered my towel-clad form gently but firmly back into the bathroom. When he accomplished that without getting closer than a foot away from me other than his hand on my back, and then when he looked anywhere but in my direction as he handed me Emmett's bag that he had found for me in the Jeep, it didn't take long for me to put two and two together and realize that Edward would be much more comfortable as soon as I was clothed. If I hadn't scared him so badly with my hysterics, I was certain he'd have insisted on it far sooner and with a lot less contact than we'd just shared on the ground, where panic had prompted him to kiss me as desperately as I kissed him.

With a shiver of breathless excitement at the realization that Edward had been affected and maybe even tempted by my state of undress, I dropped the towel and slipped easily into my new panties and Emmett's huge t-shirt. The sweatpants were a little more problematic. I had to cinch up the drawstring waist and roll the legs up many times over just to keep them from trailing the ground.

I didn't expect anything else momentous to happen that morning, other than me falling asleep and staying that way the rest of the day. But suddenly, my heart was pounding in my chest at an alarming rate.

I had knelt to retrieve the clothes I'd been wearing earlier, wondering absently if the hotel had a washing machine anywhere. I mentally refused to just keep buying new clothing every day, especially not on Edward's dime. But as I gathered up my jeans, I felt something flat and hard in the pocket - something that I hadn't noticed when I'd been wearing them or taken them off. Frowning, I reached in and pulled out the object, my eyes growing wide and my heart starting to race as I realized what it was.

Holy crow.

A credit card.

I had Charlie's credit card.

Mind racing with possibilities, I remembered Charlie handing it to me that morning over breakfast when I mentioned that I needed to go grocery shopping, insisting over my protest that I should just hold onto it until I got a chance to go. I must have forgotten I had it in my pocket. As though I thought Edward had developed X-ray vision, my head shot around to the door, half surprised not to find him standing there with a disapproving look as he confiscated it.

But the door was still closed and he wasn't standing there, and since he couldn't read my mind he had no idea that I'd just gained back some control over at least the issue of who paid for what. Getting far enough away from him to actually use the card might be problematic, but I could work that out later. I didn't even have to feel guilty about using it. Charlie had wanted to just give me the card for over a month now, and had repeatedly told me that I had continual permission to buy whatever I needed. Since he knew I hated to shop, he knew he had little to worry about with that decision. In fact, it seemed to worry him that I didn't buy myself enough stuff.

"Bella?" Edward's voice through the door made me jump, and I nearly dropped the card on the ground. His vampire hearing would've been sure to hear that.

"I'm coming!" Cringing at how guilty I sounded, I quickly balled up the dirty clothes, wrapping the card into the middle of them as I schemed. When I went out of the bathroom to my bags to put away my dirty clothes, I would just surreptitiously slide the credit card into the pocket of the brand new jeans I'd bought. Then I'd have it on me when we eventually left the hotel. It was absurd how excited I was by this small rebellion.

"Bella?" Edward sounded very alarmed now, and I heard his fingers rap gently against the door. "May I come in, please? Your heart is racing. What's wrong?"

And I'd been worried about dropping the card on the ground. My own heartbeat was betraying me. With a sigh, I swung the door open before he could give up on asking permission and decide he just needed to break it down. I held still while his eyes swiftly appraised me to ensure that I wasn't bleeding and there were no broken bones.

I smiled too brightly at him, and his eyes narrowed. "No it isn't. I'm fine. See?"

There was no way in the world he was going to let me get away with that, and I gritted my teeth as I wondered just how long it would be before I broke and had to give up my newfound prize.

But to my surprise, instead of starting an interrogation his face just twisted into a mild scowl as he looked me up and down again, more obviously than he would normally consider to be gentlemanly. Feeling a little self-conscious, I fidgeted. For once, he definitely did not look like he liked what he saw. And that bothered me. A lot. Even if he had kidnapped me.

"Edward?"

His eyes snapped back to my face, and his features softened into a smile. But there was still something uneasy in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Bella. I know you're exhausted. Come on, love. I'll help you get to sleep."

As he took my hand to lead me toward the bed, I looked down at myself in confusion, looking for what had upset Edward. There was nothing out of the ordinary, other than Emmett's huge clothes.

Oh...

A tiny smirk lifted my lips. Of course...

ooo

I managed to put my dirty clothes in one bag and sneak Charlie's credit card into my new jeans for later, keeping my back turned on Edward. So far as I could tell, he didn't suspect anything.

Soon I was lying in his arms in the middle of the hotel bed, smiling again into his shoulder as I recalled the slightly jealous scowl that covered his face when I emerged in his brother's clothes. Edward might be a 108 year old vampire, but he was also still a 17-year-old male - and a very possessive one at that; one who was almost absurdly well-practiced at everything else in the universe, but had never had a girlfriend before. Even ten minutes after I came out of the bathroom, as I lay in his arms with his fingers toying constantly at the hem of Emmett's 'short sleeves' that reached my elbows, he still seemed a little bothered.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, trying to sound as innocent as I could. I already knew the answer.

Even if I hadn't shifted to where I could see his frown, it was evident in his voice.

"I'm not certain that I wouldn't prefer the giant smiling faces."

"Not me," I shuddered, recalling just how much I had dreaded wearing deranged smiley-face pajamas in front of him. "Besides, these are soft, and they smell good."

"They smell good?" he repeated in disbelief, and I caught my mistake instantly. I really hadn't been trying to goad him. Emmett's clothes did smell good - nowhere near as good as Edward's, of course. But I had inadvertently stepped on Edward's male pride.

He was frowning even harder now, his speech quickly slipping into the formality he didn't always realize he was reverting to. "When this is behind us, I would most definitely prefer that you not wear Emmett's clothing in the future, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. For some reason, the return of 1918 Edward bossing me around - and a jealous 1918 Edward, at that - always left me with the near irresistible urge to shock the heck out of him. Usually I restrained it. But usually he hadn't kidnapped me and herded me around like cattle all day, either. So I injected a little pout into my voice.

"But why not? I mean, these smell really good. Do all of Emmett's clothes smell this good?" I hid my smile in Edward's shoulder as he sighed in exasperation. 'Oh, Edward,' I thought. 'I haven't even gone in for the kill yet.'

"I'm certain that I wouldn't know," he informed me sullenly, his arms tightening around me. "Aren't you sleepy, Bella?"

"Mm-hm." As much as I wanted to score a victory, I couldn't help but press a kiss to his neck as I snuggled closer, subconsciously softening the blow. "But I just can't help wondering... is that how good I smell to you? Suddenly I think I understand." Waiting for the explosion, I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Bella, honestly!" came the exasperated response as he disentangled me from him, holding my shoulders as he held me just far enough away to look at me. Aggrieved frustration filled his unbelievably handsome face. "I've lived with Emmett for decades, and I've never once felt the desire to smell his clothes. I fail to understand your sudden fascination. He doesn't smell that much different than me!"

I couldn't hide my smirk any longer, and after just a moment realization dawned in his eyes; some of his scowl faded, and his lips twitched as he studied my face. Graciously, he allowed me my small victory as he realized he'd been played, his body relaxing and a slow smile spreading across his face. I suspected if he could have blushed, he might have. A small chuckle from him seemed to light up the room. "That wasn't nice, Bella," he chided, his smile softening the words. "You had me seriously contemplating violence against my brother."

"Yeah, well you deserved it," I retorted, and was mesmerized as his crooked grin grew wider. "And you were doing that before I said a word."

"Perhaps," he murmured, leaning in to kiss me. He took his time about doing it thoroughly, possessively, and left me so dizzy I'd almost forgotten what we were arguing about. He traced my face with his fingers. "You have no idea what you can do to me with a single word, Bella," he whispered against my lips.

Maybe I didn't. But he definitely knew what he could do to me with a single smile or touch, and he was taking full advantage of it. Trying to recover from his dazzle long enough to finish making my point, I breathlessly stood my ground. "Doesn't mean you didn't deserve it."

Pulling me closer, he rested his forehead against mine and shrugged. "I'll give you this: there aren't very many people who can put one over on me."

"That's because you cheat," I reminded him, tapping my finger gently against his temple to show what I meant. "And you really did have it coming."

He quirked an eyebrow in question at my insistence on that point, so I clarified - unable to resist the urge to twist his own words and throw them back at him. "You kidnapped me. But I'll give you this: there aren't very many people who can get away with kidnapping the police chief's daughter."

It was the wrong thing to say, I realized too late. He didn't find anything about me getting kidnapped to be very amusing. His face became too serious again, his jaw tightening and his arms pulling me back down to rest on his chest, holding me even more protectively than I was used to.

"And that list begins and ends with me," he informed me. "That's why we're here, Bella. I'm going to make sure nobody else even gets a chance - not James, not Victoria. Not anybody."

"But Edward," I started, intending to question him again about why it had to be this way, when I was fairly certain that if he had simply explained what he saw in Alice's vision to his family they would have helped us. His sigh was so deep that I felt my body rise and fall with his chest as he heavily inhaled and exhaled.

"Not now, Bella. Please, just rest. You have all day. We'll leave at twilight."

He began humming my lullaby and I eventually drifted off, but not quite as easily as normal.

ooo

We spent the entire bright, sunny day in the hotel room, and I spent the vast majority of it asleep. Edward had had the foresight at Wal-Mart that morning to pick up a variety of quick, easy food and drinks for me, so to make him feel better I attempted to choke down some of it the few times I did wake up. Never in my life had I had less of an appetite.

True to Edward's word, just as the sun started to go down I felt his cool lips against my brow gently kissing me, followed by his velvet voice in my ear. "Bella, sweetheart? Can you wake up for me? It's time to go."

Spending the previous night strapped into a Jeep and then sleeping all day had left me with a pounding headache. I opened my eyes and tried to focus on him, only to wince in pain as soon as light hit my eyes.

Misinterpreting that reaction as my being unhappy to see him, Edward offered me a tiny, sad smile. "It wasn't a nightmare, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, love. I know how you feel about all this, and I promise you I understand why. You have my word I'll take you back to Charlie as soon as you're out of danger." His body tensed when I didn't say anything, and he briefly closed his eyes, nodding his head slightly in agreement with whatever it was he assumed I was thinking. It seemed as though he had to force himself to reopen his eyes and focus on me. His next words were slow, hesitant. "And then if you never want to see me again...I'll respect your wishes."

The thought was too horrible to even contemplate. I suddenly felt horrible for teasing him about kidnapping me. I'd been asleep within moments after my unfortunate joke, but Edward had clearly been torturing himself over it the entire day as I slept. My eyes filled with tears of contrition, and his face fell, his eyes closing as though he couldn't bear to see my pain.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but Edward laid a gentle finger across my lips. He seemed terrified to hear what I would have had to say. "Please don't hate me for all of this, Bella. I'd do anything to keep you safe, but I can't stand that it's making you unhappy. Please believe me on this point: I may have kidnapped you and I'll do what's necessary to protect you even from yourself, but you're not my prisoner."

In a flash, I went from guilt to frustration. I should have let it go, especially considering that I didn't really want to hurt him. But I was in pain, tired, hungry, hormonal, worried about Charlie, and even a little scared - though certainly not of Edward.

"Then what am I?" I snapped at him, immediately wishing I could take it back. He just stared at me sadly, but I couldn't stop. Sitting up on the bed, I turned to face him. "If I'm not your prisoner, then does that mean I can go home? I can call Charlie and let him know I'm okay?"

Edward grimaced, pain filling his features. "You know the answer to that, Bella. You know I can't let you do that, and you know why. Please don't make this harder."

I couldn't take my eyes off of his strangely determined features. His look of determination sent an uneasy chill down my spine. I didn't normally see Edward as a vampire - not really. But at the moment, it was difficult to ignore. I wasn't sure I wanted the answer to my next question, but I had to ask.

"And if I try? What if I decide to run? Or scream for help?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes dropping to the floor. He seemed to understand that I needed to know exactly how far he'd go.

"I'll stop you, on both counts. I won't hurt you, Bella. But I will stop you."

His words rendered me speechless, but his eyes were absolutely paralyzing as he suddenly appeared nose to nose with me and brought them up to my face in a piercing gaze, some of his perfect control shaken. His hands framed my face softly.

"Bella, I'm begging you. Please don't try to do that. It will be useless to fight me, and I don't think you can understand exactly how much I loathe the idea of keeping you quiet by force. It would kill me, Bella. I'd much prefer that you come along with me willingly. If you attempted such a thing and I were to accidentally hurt you..." He couldn't finish that thought, but the look in his eyes gave me some indication of just how badly that would destroy him.

My mouth was so dry it felt like it was filled with cotton balls. I couldn't have forced speech past my lips if I'd tried. I'd asked Edward for honesty, and he'd given it. Numbly, I nodded my understanding and mechanically got up to get dressed and gather my things - mostly because I clearly had no choice in the matter.

ooo

I somehow managed to get myself dressed in the new jeans and sweatshirt we'd bought at Wal-Mart that morning. I was a little surprised to find Charlie's credit card still safely lodged in the pocket where I'd hidden it. I had half expected that Edward would just know and that it would be missing.

I climbed willingly into the Jeep with him, but balked when he reached for the straps of the off-road harness to secure me in the seat.

"Edward, no!" I protested, probably looking a little more horrified than was really necessary. My head was still pounding and I was feeling sick to my stomach.

Edward froze, the horrified look on my face clearly taking him aback.

"Is this really necessary?" I amended in an attempt to sound more calm, hating how completely freaked out I sounded.

Uncertainty was written all over his face. His hands hovered, one strap dangling from his fingers - but he didn't move to fasten it, at least. "It's safer, Bella."

I shuddered. I'd had enough of the harness by the time we got back to the Cullens' house from the baseball field, when Emmett had strapped me in at Edward's orders and then restrained my hands to keep me from getting out. After that, spending the entire previous night in it after Edward kidnapped me had just been overkill. I thought I might throw up if he put it back on me.

"Please, Edward? I won't try to get away, I promise. You're strong enough to keep me from getting away without it anyway. You said so yourself. Please don't put that thing back on me. Please."

I was starting to sound a little hysterical, and feel a little sheepish at the same time. What was wrong with me? It wasn't as though he was trying to shackle me in the basement and torture me. He was trying to protect me from the sadistic vampire that wanted to kill me as part of some sick game.

But it was too late to behave more reasonably. Edward dropped the strap like it had burned him, his face more horrified than mine had been at the beginning of the conversation. His eyes searched mine wildly.

"You thought..." he began, but couldn't finish. He looked a little shaky as he brought a hand to his face to pinch at the bridge of his nose, speaking without looking at me. "You misunderstand me, Bella. I truly felt it was safer, in case James found us and I had to leave the road for rough terrain. I wasn't trying to...restrain you."

It sounded like he almost choked on the word restrain, and I realized just how much the implication bothered him - how much all of my implications bothered him. But I didn't seem to be able to stop. I wanted to be with Edward, always; but the fact that I wasn't free to go seemed to hang constantly over my head, making me irritable and crabby.

But at that moment, if I could have crawled under the seat, I would have. I'd just negated every single thing I'd said to Edward since we met, every last word trying to convince him that he wasn't a monster. None of that mattered when I treated him like he was one. I'd been so caught up in the idea that he had kidnapped me against my will that I'd forgotten all about why - he was doing all of this to keep me safe. I wanted to say something, anything to make him feel better but I was paralyzed.

Before I could even begin to process what to do next, he spoke again, so hesitant and unsure of me that I wanted to cry. "I don't know if my word even means anything to you right now, but you have it anyway. I won't put that on you again, Bella, unless we find ourselves in a situation where it's absolutely necessary for your safety."

His jaw muscle worked, his fingers clenching the wheel as he cranked up and pulled out of the parking lot. His next words were so low I barely heard them. "If that wasn't such a real possibility, I'd tear it out of the seat right now." I didn't doubt him. He was clearly considering destroying it anyway.

When his eyes glanced uncertainly at me and I saw them focus on the regular seatbelt, I knew he was mentally weighing my safety against my sanity. In an effort to reassure him, I voluntarily reached for the regular seatbelt and quickly fastened it so he wouldn't have to ask, then offered him a tiny smile. His eyes closed briefly as he inhaled deeply, and then he turned to me with gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Bella."

"You're welcome," I murmured. After five minutes of long silence, my next words were even quieter. "I'm sorry."

ooo

True to his word, Edward didn't try to strap me back into the harness any more that night. At times, it was almost easy to pretend we were just on a road trip. The more I relaxed, the more Edward relaxed, and we even spent some time laughing and talking like normal.

Near morning, Edward pulled into a hotel that I suspected was much more to his tastes. The front of it looked like a castle. It even had its own gas station, which he pulled into after first bringing me into the lobby to check in with him. He stepped out to refuel the Jeep so he wouldn't have to do it when we needed to leave - especially if we needed to leave in a hurry. But as I watched him get out, my heart suddenly started pounding. Directly beside the hotel, almost in the same parking lot, was a small, brightly lit grocery store. This was my chance.

Stepping out of the Jeep, I made it two steps in that direction before Edward abandoned the gas pump and appeared by my side. He didn't grab me, but he was certainly poised to. Uncertainty and caution filled his face, and I knew he didn't want to do anything to further convince me that I was a hostage. "Bella? Where are you going?"

I kept my voice calm. "I have to go to the bathroom."

I almost felt sorry for him. He clearly hated the idea of me going off alone, but he was afraid of pushing me over the edge again. Why was I insisting on putting him in this position? I didn't know the answer, but I did know that the desire for just one tiny ounce of freedom was almost overwhelming. I'd have to be sure never to break the law - I'd never be able to handle prison.

"We'll be in the room in just a few minutes, Bella," he tried reasonably.

"I know. But I'd just like to look around the store too."

His reaction surprised me. He blinked, and then a split second later his handsome face looked almost overjoyed at my showing interest in something, and my making a request that he could actually grant.

"Of course," his velvet voice smiled happily. "Let me finish here and I'll take you."

"No!" The reaction was automatic, but his face fell and I regretted it instantly. "I mean, I'd just like a few minutes alone. If that's okay." I swallowed hard at the hurt look on his face, but pressed on anyway. "You can read minds, Edward. You already know there's no one dangerous in the area. I'll be fine, and I'll be right back."

He was grinding his teeth at the thought of letting me out of his sight, but I could see I had won. I felt more than a little guilty for manipulating his obvious desire not to have me see him as a prison guard, but still a little giddy at having won a victory. He nodded his assent, and I took off for the store at a near run.

I looked around for a while, trying to decide what to buy. It almost seemed anticlimactic that after all my planning for what to buy for myself, I settled on a simple bottle of water. I went quickly to the front and paid for it with Charlie's card, probably looking like some type of prison escapee. I kept glancing all around, looking for Edward to appear out of nowhere.

Shoving the card deeply back into my pocket, I emerged from the store with my bottle of water, clutching my one little symbol of independence and rebellion very tightly. I spotted the Jeep instantly, parked directly in front of the store in the closest parking space.

But my feet pulled up short when I saw that Edward wasn't in it.

A stab of terror shot through me. Had James found us? Had my insistence on something so childish put Edward in danger? Suddenly, as desperately as I'd wanted five minutes to myself, I needed Edward back. I was almost ready to scream his name in panic as I spun in a circle looking all around me, when I finally saw him.

He walked toward me at human speed, from the side of the store.

"What are you doing?" I called out in relief, half running toward him.

He just looked at me grimly, the pain in his eyes more evident. "Waiting where I could watch both doors."

Realization dawned. He'd thought I intended to take off out the back of the store. Two feelings warred for dominance in me: regret at having made him think I was so eager to escape his company, and a little bit of unease at the fact that if I had decided to make an escape attempt, I'd have made it no more than 3 steps before I found myself in his unbreakable grasp again. It was a little unnerving. Did he have to think of everything?

"Bella?" The tone of his voice had my attention instantly, and my stomach dropped when I saw the look on his face. "How did you buy that?"

Dumbly, I glanced down at the water in my hands. Mentally, I'd only planned as far as buying something for myself. It'd truly never occurred to me that I'd have to explain it.

"I, um..."

"Did you have some money on you?" he pressed.

Slowly, I nodded. "I...found something in my pocket yesterday," I told him truthfully.

Edward seemed to accept that, though not happily. Putting a hand at my back, he guided me back toward the Jeep, opening my door for me. He sighed as he appeared in the driver's seat. "I wish you had told me you were thirsty, Bella. I'd have been happy to buy you anything you wanted."

My eyes widened. There was a topic I hadn't considered.

Thirst.

I grabbed his arm urgently. "Edward...are you thirsty?" I hadn't been paying attention, but I studied him closely as I asked and I knew the answer immediately. He'd been spending so much time with me even before the baseball game that I knew he hadn't been hunting as much as he probably should. He wasn't dangerously thirsty yet, but he would be within a few days.

"I'm fine. I'll be fine until this is over."

"So you think your family will find James soon? Are they even looking?"

He'd pulled by this time into a spot in front of the hotel, presumably near our room. Both of his hands gripped the wheel tightly. "Yes, they're looking. I'm sure of it. But it could take some time," he admitted tightly.

My heart pounded in my chest. I wasn't sure how this hadn't occurred to me before. "So what happens when you get really thirsty? Edward, you have to hunt at some point."

He looked as uneasy as me, and suddenly I knew that he already had some type of plan for how to deal with that - and that I wouldn't like it. When he did speak, I also knew that was the reason he was more short with me than he'd ever been before.

"I said I'd be fine and I will. Let's not worry about that now. I don't intend for that to happen."

But how could I not worry about it, when I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out just how badly I'd react to whatever he had already decided to do if - when - his thirst became a danger to me and he had to either leave me to hunt, or take me with him.

ooo

My headache, irritability and general all-over misery made more sense later that day when Edward tried to wake me up. I'd fallen asleep in my clothes within 15 minutes of entering the hotel room and turning on the TV, and I had no idea how many hours I'd slept.

But at some point it had begun to rain, so he wanted to get back on the road and get even farther away from Forks. I suspected he had some destination in mind, but if he did he hadn't told me.

The thought of getting back into the Jeep made me want to throw up. Rolling away from him in protest, I pulled my knees up to my chest and groaned. I heard his affectionate chuckle as he ramped up his efforts to wake me up.

That was when he pressed his lips to my forehead and realized I had a very high fever. Right after that was when I heard a word come out of his lips that I hadn't heard from him before - and it sounded panicked.

Indecision seemed to fill him as he tried to decide if it would be safe to just leave me in the room while he made the short trip to the store I'd been in earlier. The only feeling more predominant on his face was regret, and I knew he blamed himself for my being sick. There was little I could say to that - stress and lack of sleep were almost certainly responsible, and any way that I argued it he would be able to determine that he was at least indirectly to blame.

I don't think a single raindrop hit me when a very concerned Edward carried me from the room to the Jeep. I also don't think one hit me during the few steps from the handicapped parking spot where he illegally parked to the entrance of the store. He shielded me too perfectly, glaring fiercely at the one departing customer who had the audacity to give him a dirty look for parking where he had when he was obviously in pretty good shape. He let me walk inside the store myself, but there was very little weight on my feet. Most of it was supported by his arm around my waist.

As he was prone to do, Edward went overboard with purchasing supplies to take care of me. I was too sick to really care, so I didn't say a word. He got me a hot meal from the deli section, a meal that I knew I wouldn't be able to eat. But there would be no point in telling him that, so I wisely kept quiet. He bought detergent, and I somehow knew he probably intended to handwash my clothes for me while I slept so he wouldn't have to leave me to buy anything or use the hotel washer. I still couldn't bring myself to care, so long as he didn't find the card.

When we returned to the room, Edward carried me into the room and laid me on the bed before making an extremely quick trip back to the Jeep to bring everything in. While he was gone, I managed to hide the credit card under the cushion in the huge, ornate chair that probably cost more than all the furniture in my bedroom at home. Then I fell right back onto the bed. He was back by then, of course, but I fell asleep immediately.

ooo

The next two days passed in a blur. I was vaguely aware of cool hands and lips gently touching my face, my forehead, my arms and hands, almost constantly. I was also aware of unpleasant medicine tastes and being coaxed into swallowing some fluids and some broth.

But the next thing I was truly aware of was waking up, once again dressed in Emmett's soft clothes. Had Edward changed my clothes? It was the only possible answer, and it made me blush. But knowing him, he'd probably done it at vampire speed.

Edward was right there by me, of course, his increasingly black eyes even darker than they probably would have been because of his worry.

"Bella?" he searched my eyes.

"Edward?" I asked, watching the way his worry increased when he heard how hoarse I sounded. I cleared my throat, intending to try again and reassure him, but only managed to strangle myself and was quickly taken by a coughing fit.

I hadn't realized his arm was already under my back holding me until he used it to quickly sit me up, gently rubbing my back with his other hand. "Shhh...easy, Bella. Just breathe." I wondered how often that'd happened in the past couple days.

Not wanting to lie back down, I leaned sideways until I slumped against his chest. "How long?" I managed to rasp.

"Two days," he answered grimly and a little shakily. "You scared me to death, Bella. And that's not easy to do."

"I'm sorry," I rasped, and his arm tightened around me.

"No, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. "

I would have told him it wasn't, but a much more horrifying thought struck me when I realized we'd been in one place for 48 hours. I struggled to sit up, clutching at Edward's shirt.

"James!"

Edward soothed me, making soft shushing noises. "Shhh...Bella, please relax. You're very weak. James is nowhere near and neither are my family. I can only assume that they are tracking him instead of pursuing us, and that they are keeping him busy evading them." He kissed my forehead, gently rubbing up and down my arms with his cool hands in an effort to calm me.

I tried to relax, but a million fears were swimming through my still tired and sick brain, giving me a headache again. "How do you know they haven't caught him already?"

"I don't," he told me simply. "I'll call them when we get where we're going. But I'm getting you somewhere safe before I risk communicating with anyone. For now, we're safe here, and this is where we're staying until you're well."

ooo

It was another two days before I began to get some of my strength back.

The skies were overcast, so I convinced Edward to take me back to the store. I was beginning to go stir-crazy within the four walls of our room, and I needed some fresh air.

He agreed willingly, and even agreed that we could walk rather than taking the Jeep the short distance across the two parking lots.

Now that I was feeling better, I had been a little less harsh with him about kidnapping me. I still felt flashes of irritation about it, but nothing approaching my earlier fury. He held my hand as we walked, and for just a moment I imagined us being on some grand adventure, or even a romantic getaway - just going to shop for groceries as a couple.

But that wasn't fated to last long.

Everything changed a moment later as we approached the store from the side, and I saw a familiar looking police cruiser pulling into a parking space in front. To my amazement, my dad got out and briskly walked toward the entrance of the store; tension and worry were evident in his frame.

Not thinking about anything other than making my dad look less miserable, I let go of Edward's hand and took a step forward, opening my mouth to call out to him.

My breath left me in a whoosh as one hard, cold hand landed over my mouth creating an airtight seal, and what felt like an iron band wrapped firmly around my waist. My feet left the ground, only to come to rest again with my back firmly pressed against the brick wall of the store, out of sight of the entrance.

Terrified, I looked up, relaxing only slightly when I saw Edward's face and realized it was he that was holding me in place there, facing me with his body pinning me to the wall. He hadn't hurt me, but he wasn't relaxing his grip in the slightest either. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and I knew he was listening to Charlie's thoughts.

Suddenly, I knew what he was hearing. I was the police chief's daughter, for God's sakes. How had I not thought of this? Charlie had tracked me down with my credit card purchase.

Edward's eyes closed, his jaw muscle jumping repeatedly. He inhaled deeply as though trying to calm himself, but my heartrate raced as every muscle in his body suddenly tensed and his eyes snapped open even darker than before. His deep breath had produced the exact opposite of the intended result. Rather than calming him, it had drawn my scent deeply into his nostrils; and for the first time, I was truly afraid of him.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note:

I guess we all know he won't really eat her, but things just got worse for Edward and Bella! What will it be like now that he REALLY doesn't trust her (and vice versa), and what's going to happen when he realizes he has to go hunt SOON?

If you're extremely curious about those things, make me write faster! Write a review. I promise they motivate me. :)