Alice was waiting on the doorstep when they returned, seeming like her usual chirpy self. She listened in eager excitement to Emmett as he recounted what he had seen of Luned and Bella's dip into the fountain, and she chided the other girls for going shopping without her. Rose gave Bella a look that clearly said 'see, I told you she was fine.' Bella in turn hoped desperately that her friend was right.

"So you're taking my Isabella here out again?" she asked Edward sternly, her eyes twinkling with amusement and the joy that can only come from watching two people that you are fond of grow closer.

"Only if she'll agree, of course," he responded, his gaze lingering on Bella, who was blushing furiously again.

"Oh, I have no doubt she will," Alice said airily. Bella watched her friend closely. They'd known each other for what seemed like forever, and though Alice was putting on an excellent façade, it was clear to Bella that she was acting out a performance worthy of an Oscar. The laughter was slightly too shrill, the smile just a smidgen forced. Most people would never see it, but Bella was not most people, and Alice was her best friend.

"Al? Could you help me in the kitchen?" She gave her friend a pointed look that left nothing to the imagination.

"Oh! Sure Bells. Excuse us, Edward, I'll just be torturing her until she agrees."

He smiled at them as Bella dragged Alice into the light filled kitchen. "Right, out with it," she said as she pushed her friend down onto one of the dining chairs. "What's up with you and Jasper?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Alice said smoothly. She leaned forward and gave her friend a conspirital wink. "You'd better start yelping so he knows I really am hurting you."

Bella frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Alice," she said warningly.

Her friend looked up at her with wide, innocent grey eyes. "I have no idea…"

Bella huffed. "I've been your best friend since we were kids, and I'm not in my own world quite like Rose. I know you. Now spill."

Alice sighed and dropped her gaze to the table, began running her fingers along it, a habit she had when she was upset. "He won't speak to me," she said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just that. I try to talk to him, he brushes me off, I call him, he won't pick up the phone." She looked back up at Bella, her eyes filled with tears and pain. "He's into something bad, I know it."

"Like what?"

"I don't know…but I can feel it. I'm certain of it, but I…he won't tell me!" She finished on a sob.

Bella sank into a chair opposite her friend, her hands reaching across the table for her best friends cold and shaky ones. "You're probably wrong, Al," she denied softly. "He probably wants to surprise you with something, and he knows how likely you are to find out."

Alice smiled but said nothing.

"You know, you can't always be right," she grinned. "After all, my knight was riding a black horse. There's a multitude of shades between black and white."

Alice giggled.

"C'mon, we'll tell Edward you are an expert in medieval tortures and I caved easily under your ministrations."

"Do you really like him, Bell?"

Bella flushed and smiled. "Yeah. I really do."

"I'm glad," Alice said happily, pulling her hands away and wiping the tears that had spilled onto her cheeks. "And you're probably right. I'm probably getting carried away."

Bella nodded, stood, and waited for Alice to rise also before linking her arm through her friend's. "You and Jasper are meant to be, Al, like chocolate and a good book. One without the other is great, but both together are mind-blowing, and once combined--there's no separating them!"

The two girls wandered back into the living room, giggling.

"I did it!" Alice called across the room to Edward, who was deep in conversation with Jacob. "No bruises where you can see, but her answer is yes."

He stood slowly, his over six foot frame moving with remarkable grace fluidity. "Perhaps I shall find those bruises later and…kiss them better?" he said softly.

Alice erupted into uncontrollable giggles. Bella's face flamed.

"Tomorrow, then?" he continued with the crooked smile that was particular to him. "Wear something…comfortable."

Bella nearly died.

* * * * *

Luned watched through Bella's window as Jacob left, her frustration increasing. She was completely confused. When he'd brought her home after their date, he'd acted like he was happy to leave, as though what they had done was something he was unhappy about. Luned had been thrilled. It was her belief that once a man knew you physically--you had him. And when he had helped her at the mall, she had been sure that the time after they had woken had been nothing more than confusion. He had brought her clothes to her, offered his own shirt if she wished, and had not moved from her side until they had returned to Isabella's. But once they were there, he had frozen again, had avoided her carefully, had made sure to spend time with everyone but her. With a huff of frustration she tossed the curtain back into place and sat carefully on the edge of Bella's bed, her mind whizzing. She had no time for miseries; instead she planned. Her life thus far had proved well for planning and plotting and this was the perfect time to exercise her skills. He was the deer and she was the hunter, and she had absolutely no intention of failure.

* * * * *

Laurent lounged back, enjoying his few moments of alone time. It was difficult--pinpointing the right girl, gaining her trust without the interruption of friends who may remember him. And this time==well this time the job had proved that much more difficult. Multiples were always difficult, and keeping his movements under the radar of certain investors--even harder. He'd come to the conclusion that just one would be enough for now, as long as she was the right one. He had a lot of money riding on the correct decision. He was sure she was it. The other would have to wait. The mobile in his pocket vibrated. He always kept it silent, just in case.

"Laurent." Of course, the one man he could do without. Except for his financial input, of course.

"J."

"I'm not sure…"

Laurent covered the mouthpiece, growling in frustration. This man had been an excellent partner--silent, no questions asked, money always plentiful and on time. Unfortunately the go between had slipped recently and his partner had found out the true origin of his enormous returns. Apparently, he was a moral one. Laurent hated the moral ones.

"It's fine. Nothing's going down like that. All above board."

"Really?"

"Of course. All legit business."

"I think we should meet."

"I disagree. Same deal as always. I'll transfer the money once a deal has been made."

"With her permission?"

"As I said, of course. All above board. They know what they're getting into."

"Right." Laurent frowned at the doubt in the other man's voice.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked silkily.

The silence said more than a no could have.

"Don't think about it," Laurent said finally. "I know what I'm doing." He clicked off the phone.

At the other end of the line, Jasper held the cordless phone to his ear, the dial tone fading into his unconscious. Of course he knew what he was doing. He was a professional; he'd been doing it for years. That was what was worrying Jasper the most. Because that meant nothing would have changed. Across the table from him Jason Jenks sat silently, waiting for the phone to be returned to the cradle it belonged in.

Instead, in a shocking move, Jasper threw it across the room. Jason cringed and his skin began to crawl. Jasper could be the perfect gentleman; suave, elegant, cool. But then there was another side of him--brutal, unforgiving and unrelenting. He'd seen him in action, had been horrified that a man could seem so passive one minute, so violent the next. He guessed it was part of the job description, but more than that, he'd hoped never to have that feeling turned on him.

Since he'd accidently broken the news of what Laurent really dealt in, though, it seemed that Jason was headed for an unhappy end. Jasper was furious. What he'd thought was petty crime had turned out to be something much more serious, and he wanted no more of it. Unfortunately, Laurent and Jasper were similar men--neither would give ground to the other, and both had tempers more dangerous than standing on the edge of an erupting volcano. Jason Jenks was the middle man. The middle man who was considering running. Only a fool would watch the lava rise and remain where he was.

* * * * *

Home now, and alone with her thoughts, Alice was daydreaming. Rose and Emmett had taken off for a romantic evening in Port Angeles, and the house was silent. Images flickered through Alice's relaxed mind, images formed in a way that was much clearer than ever before, at least in her waking moments. In her mind was another woman, another just like her--Allison. Briefly, Alice wondered if this thought was sparked by Bella's descriptions of the people she'd met in the past, for the woman in her head was dressed in medieval clothing, with long dark hair trailing down her back in a tight braid. Shaking her head to dispel the image, Alice smiled to herself. Foolishness.

Then came the flood. As though something had opened her instincts up into something much stronger, or maybe released memories she'd forgotten she'd had, she didn't know. But she saw Tanya, Edward's sister, shining with happiness, like in the pictures the Cullens had of her on their walls, but alive and moving. She saw Leah, as she'd been the last time she'd seen her and Jacob, delightedly flashing the ring on her left hand. In the background she saw Laurent. Always he, since she had seen him out of Bella's apartment window. He, with Jasper, both serious, both determined. And Tanya, and Leah, like the shadows of ghosts, hanging over the two men's heads. No, not Tanya. She was Laurent's own special ghost. Other men were far in the background, men with deep pockets and sickening fantasies…and there were other women, too. Nameless, faceless. All of them hung heavily in her mind.

Automatically, her fists had clenched with her thoughts. The hair on her neck and arms stood on end, and all over her body goosebumps had broken out.

The ghosts hovered, unhappy, resentful, pleading. Fresh faces interrupted the scene--the faces of her friends--Alice shuddered, desperate to remove herself from her visions, but unable to. All her friends--Rose, Bella, Luned. Rose's image was fainter, less sure.

Then for the finale--her face, her terrified face, and gun shots, and lights, and…

Overwhelmed with the horror and terror, Alice fainted dead away.