Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns it all.

Rated M for several reasons.

Chpt 23 Catching Up

BPOV

With nothing to do I flop down a little further up the beach where I can keep an eye on everyone but in particular so I can watch The Major an' Demetri.

Now he's actually said the words out loud I can no longer pretend to myself that I don't know he's in love with me. I'm not mad at Jasper for not telling me before our few days alone together, I can understand why he didn't, in fact I'd rather not know now. I like Demetri, a lot, an' I feel real bad for him and want him to be happy but there is absolutely nothing I can do. My body, heart an' soul belong to Jasper. What I haven't really thought about properly is our, his, mating bond. Jasper knew he would be able to find me the night I ran away because he already knew that Demetri had formed a bond with me.

With a sigh I poke around with my finger, making swirly patterns in the sand.

I really don't understand it at all. I feel no pull towards him yet apparently he gets classic 'indigestion' every time he's away from me an' has done since we first met in Washington. How is that even possible? Is that the reason Chelsea was able to break Jasper's bond to me, because of Demetri's?

In some sense this whole mess heightens my respect for Jasper an' Demetri. It takes a big man, I'm guessing, to be able to accept that another has an 'unbreakable' pull to your wife an' possibly an even bigger one to live and live happily in an environment where the object of your affection so obviously belongs to someone else. Jasper an' I do not exactly keep our love or healthy physical relationship a secret.

Miserably I watch the two of them plot an' plan with Pete. They're so similar in size an' build, perfect specimens, one light, one dark. If Jasper hadn't become the center of my universe I am sure one look at Demetri would have had me rushing off to change my panties. As it is his not inconsiderable attractiveness just pierces me with sadness. Gazing on Jasper's physical perfection makes the butterflies dance an' fills me with warmth, Demetri's makes me want to cry bitter tears. I care for him enough to empathise with his pain an' wish it could be different.

I think it's ironic that after the shock an' devastation of Chelsea's actions, of the three of us I am probably the happiest right now. Jasper's feelings for me haven't changed at all an' as each day passes I feel more an' more secure again in his love. Jasper on the other hand is beginning to slowly freak out, I know the signs, about the loss of his bond to me. Torturing himself with guilt, misplaced, an' fear for the future, justified but futile. As for Demetri I'm sure if I asked him he wouldn't be able to find anything positive in this situation either, I know I couldn't if the situation were reversed.

Ah fuck it.

With a hefty sigh I shed my tattered clothes an' wade into the ocean thankful I did at least don underwear. I'm not the only one, half the Guard are in there, some of the older ones far less bothered about whether or not they wore underwear. I can't help but laugh as naked and semi naked vampires frolic about in the surf like pre-schoolers.

Before long a fairly vicious but light hearted water fight has broken out.

From time to time I look back to the beach to check up on the men. They are either looking down intently at their rough an' ready battle diorama or scowling over at the rest of us.

Stupid Serious Vampires.

I poke my tongue out at them an' wade back into the fray

Eventually my ringing cell pulls me back to the sand.

"Ma'am?" Evans asks.

"Hi Evans." I respond, shaking the water out of my hair.

"We have a situation here we may need your assistance with."

"Oh." Suddenly serious I plop down into the sand, motioning the dour trio over to me.

"Seattle." He continues. "There have been a number of incidents there over the last few months. We have been monitoring the situation but there has been a recent escalation and, well, we'd like you and Major Whitlock to take a look at it."

"What sort of situation?" I ask.

"The local police have been hunting a serial killer. However, we at the Service believe the pattern of attacks and associated damage fit with a more supernatural problem."

I glance up at The Major who shakes his head emphatically.

"We're out of the country right now." I tell Evans, as if he doesn't know. "But we should be back in a few days, some of us will head over there an' take a look."

"Thank you." He replies. "Please call me when you are on site."

"Will do." I answer flicking my phone shut.

"Let's deal with Rutilio first." Pete grunts. "Then go help out our delicious little friends."

I roll my eyes.

"Don't start." Pete intones with dignity. "I'm with The Major on the subject of how to treat food."

A flying conch shell smacks him upside the head an' he staggers backwards losing his footing in the sand, ending up on his ass.

All our heads turn toward the sea where Char, Simon an' Sergio are waving mischievously. Dear god, the Whitlock gene infects everything it touches, which makes me snigger.

Growling Pete leaps to his feet an' makes straight for his favourite target, Char, who dives beneath the waves an' disappears from view.

Demetri picks up the now cracked shell an' hefts it speculatively.

"If you will excuse me Master, Mistress. I believe some discipline is required."

The Major nods, a slight an' for once non sadistic smile tugging at his lips.

Alone for the moment he drops down in front of me twisting onto his back an' resting his head on my thighs. Unthinkingly I flip off his hat an' run my fingers through his hair.

After a while he starts up the steady thrum of a good purr an' we retreat into our own little world, practically oblivious to the shrieking an' shenanigans going on around us.

"What I wouldn't give for it to be just you an' me, alone on a tropical island." I sigh.

It's clearly not the sort of thing anyone's ever said to The Major because he stops purring abruptly an' becomes silent and still. Unfortunately I can see his face, what Char would call smacked ass, an' I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"Are you amused?" He asks quietly squinting up at me.

"Yes." I manage to squeak out. "Sorry."

"Humph." He snorts closing his eyes. "Your comment is duly noted."

An' he starts purring again.

Pete's cell rings.

Instantly he's out of the water to answer it. Mr Communication. One of his pies is obviously ready to come out of the oven.

"Whitlock."

"Pete?" A voice responds. "It's Garrett. I'm on my way up through Seattle to visit the Denali's."

"An' you called to fill me in on your love life?" Pete's voice is amused but the look he turns on The Major is deadly serious.

"No man." An answering laugh. "Although since you mention it, it's going great. There's something going on around here. I can smell vampire everywhere and judging by the furore in the local press they aren't being too careful about their feeding habits."

"Recognise any scents?" Pete asks, game face back on.

"Only one." Garret answers. "Don't know his name, he was at the party you guys threw, he was with that slimy little Spanish dude. The one who lit out of there with his ass on fire."

As soon as he mentions Rutilio The Major is on his feet an' I'm right behind him, scrambling back into my clothes.

"Sebastien." Pete growls.

"Whatever man." I can hear the shrug in Garret's voice. "Just thought you guys ought to know."

"Thanks Garrett. I owe you one."

"That's the idea Whitlock. Catch you later."

Pete closes his cell an' shouts Demetri in from the waves filling in him quickly. Spotting our little huddle Simon an' Char make their way over.

"Can you feel him, Sebastien?" Pete asks.

"Vaguely, he's way up north certainly not with Rutilio. Our quarry is much nearer." Demetri answers, frowning slightly as he consults his mental map.

"Ain't no coincidence." The Major observes.

"No." I shake my head, thoughts whirring. "It's deliberate."

Demetri looks at me oddly while Pete brings Simon an' Char up to speed.

Rapidly they begin making plans to return to the US as quickly as possible. I tune them out to give myself a chance to think.

"Quicker to head south, back to Rio, get the jet to pick us up there, we can go straight to Seattle." Pete is saying.

"Demetri." I interrupt. "Where is Rutilio now?"

"He's stopped moving Mistress." He shrugs helplessly. "The Caribbean somewhere?"

I huff.

"Sorry Mistress." He taps his forehead. "This gift does not come with Satnav."

The Major watches me expectantly.

"It's a trap." I explain.

Simon an' Demetri look at me as if to say, Duh!

"Trust my little sister." Pete suggests. "She's good at this shit."

"Demetri, he knows he can't get away from you." I continue. "The only thing he can do is distract you, us, long enough for somethin' to happen to take us out of the equation. It's his only hope. He wants us to go chargin' back to Seattle. He didn't find a high speed boat out here by accident. He knew it would take us time to get organised to follow him, that's why he's stopped in the Caribbean, he can hop about from place to place an' stay just far enough out of our way until somethin' happens to get us off his tail."

"It makes sense." Pete agrees.

"And?" Demetri asks.

"Maybe there's more to what's going on here than we think." I continue, becoming surer. "Maybe he's expecting that after Seattle we won't be a problem for him anymore."

"He must be nearly out of men." Simon points out.

"He had a newborn army here." I counter.

"And?" Pete asks this time.

"What if he's got one near Seattle?"

"I don't know sweet thing." Pete scratches his head dislodging some seaweed. "There's obviously somethin' goin' on up there but I ain't convinced its newborns."

"Either way. If I were him I'd have somethin' nasty up there waiting for us." I press.

"These newborns weren't trained." The Major says. "At all. Rutilio's armies were always extremely effective, until he came up against mine."

Ego much? I supress a smile.

"You think he could have a small army of older, better trained newborns up there?" Demetri asks.

The Major an' I nod.

"It might be his last chance to get us before we get him." I conclude.

"So what do we do?" Simon questions.

"We can't ignore the situation in Seattle." Pete sighs. "The Recognised Covens will be watching to see how we handle it. If I were him I'd fuckin' make sure of it."

"Exactly." I agree. "That way even if they don't wipe us out we'll probably be so busy fendin' off the others we won't have time to go after him."

"He's a slippery fucker." Char growls.

"He's underestimating our connection with the humans an' their capabilities." I state firmly. "So we do what he doesn't expect. We go after him, catch up to him quicker than he's anticipating. He's vulnerable now, travelling pretty much on his own."

"Seattle?" Demetri reminds me.

"We'll have to split up." There, I've said it.

"NO!"

Jeez, don't all shout at once. Pointedly I rub my ears.

"No." The five of them repeat, separately and a lot more quietly.

"Yes." I growl, having an 'I am woman hear me roar' moment. "Not many of us will be able to go after him so we need to choose carefully. The rest will need to deal with Seattle as quickly an' decisively as possible."

Taking a deep breath I fix my eyes on The Major. "We can't be seen to allow two such flagrant transgressions of the rules. It will weaken our position."

Eyes blazing an' lip curling, he nods tightly. How well he knows me.

"Who?" He demands, shoving his hat back on his head.