Chapter Eighty Four

Jasper

We made for the airport yet again, Peter bitching about getting frequent flier miles until Charlotte threatened to cut off his conjugal rights! Bella and I were just happy to be together again.

"Everything seems to conspire to keep us apart Jazz. Lets find ourselves a nice secluded island and buy a couple of Rottweilers to guard the place."

"Anything you want my love."

I kissed her and it brought back memories of our time together by the lake, after she woke as a vampire and forgave me. I wanted her so badly but we still had business to settle.

"Bella. You know who set you up?"

"You mean who is ultimately responsible for Charlie's death? Yes I do."

"So what do you plan on doing about it?"

She studied her fingernails for a few minutes,

"You know how you warned me that you were a dangerous man to know? How you were a monster, a killer?"

I remembered it only too well, it hadn't made the slightest difference to her then and I doubted it did now but it intrigued me, why she'd brought it up.

"Yes I remember."

"Do you remember telling me that if I asked for your help I would have to accept that it had to be your way?"

"Yes"

Both Peter and Charlotte were listening curiously now.

"Well I now know what you were saying. So this time its my way or no way. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Its your way."

Bella

As a human I'd never felt this way but now I was furious, not in a hot-headed call a few names and give a black eye way. This was the cold-blooded vampire fury that screamed for vengeance, for blood and carnage in retribution. Alice Cullen had caused my fathers death and she would pay for that but I wanted her to know the pain of loss, the terrible gut wrenching pain that came from losing one close to you for something they had no part in.

"I'm still working on the details. As soon as I'm sure I'll lay it all out for you. Until then lets just live our lives the way we had planned. A home of our own close to Peter and Charlotte. The only family I either have or want now."

I saw Jasper eyeing me with concern and I knew he was feeling my emotions but I didn't want to discuss my feelings in front of the others, not yet.

Peter

Bella was feeling all the raw emotions of a newborn if not the rage, and she was controlling it all well but it was building in her like a pressure cooker and if Jasper didn't help her dissipate at least some of the tension she was going to explode, and I for one wanted to be as far away as fucking possible if and when. But I knew we'd stay and help her in any way we could. As a human she'd got under all our skins, as a vampire she'd got into our stony hearts too and we'd do anything to make her happy again. I just hoped she wouldn't take too long to outline her plan, whatever it was.

Bella

On the plane we couldn't talk much so I reclined my seat, closed my eyes and held Jaspers hand tightly as idea after idea flitted through my mind being discarded or filed away to be re-examined. The one fact I kept coming back to was that Alice needed to feel the loss of a close one, a loved one, as I did every day with Charlie and the only person Alice cared about was Jake. Jake, my friend, the one who'd tried in his own way to keep me safe, Jake who had been used by his own friends to try to kidnap me. I couldn't even in my vampire spite see Jake dead. That just wasn't going to happen but I wondered if Alice knew me as well as that. I thought not, Carlisle might doubt it but Alice would see it as just retribution, the problem was getting her visions tricked into believing I had killed Jake. That was the one stumbling block to my plans, I needed help.

"Jasper?" I whispered in the dimly lit cabin.

"Yes darlin'"

"Do you know of a way of tricking Alice's visions?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean"

"Well, is it possible to trick her into believing something if she hasn't seen it?"

"You mean Jakes death?"

I sat upright in surprise,

"How did you know what I meant?"

"It's the only way to make her pay for Charlie but I know you would never really kill Jake. But you're looking at it from the wrong end. Alice can't see Jakes future, he's clouded to her. She can only see him as he appears in her own future and if she believes he's dead then he wont appear in her future."

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that"

"But it can't be you who kills him."

"Why not? That would be just."

"She'll never believe you'd kill Jake, whatever the reason. But she'd believe it of me or Peter."

I considered this. He was right of course, whatever Jake had done, short of endangering Jasper, I would always be unable to kill my best friend."

"OK, Then you and Peter, but I get Alice."

"About fucking time I got in on the act." Peter mumbled from the seat behind.

I heard a muffled thud and knew Charlotte had hit him.

"What the fuck was that for?"

"Mind your own business Peter. Bella wasn't talking to you"

"Well she'll be telling me about it soon. I'm just saving her the trouble"

I couldn't help a chuckle at that.

Jasper

MY Bella would always have a soft spot for the wolf man and much as I would like to rearrange his limbs for putting her in danger when she was kidnapped I did understand he'd been duped and for her sake I was willing to give him a get out of jail free card, just the one, mind. Alice was more of a problem where I was concerned, she deserved to die, but Bella again wouldn't allow that because to kill Alice would be to kill Jake too. She was a very lucky girl as far as I was concerned because by agreeing to Bella's way or no way I had agreed to Alice's continued existence and that hurt.

Bella

I knew Jasper was thinking the problem through and he wouldn't like the conclusion but he had agreed to do it my way. I agreed with him that Alice Cullen deserved to die for what she'd done but I couldn't do that to Jake. Pain was all I could inflict on Alice so I would have to be content with that and hope that Charlie would understand. Whenever I thought of my Dad it brought a lump to my throat, he'd died for such a petty thing, as a distraction, when he should have been there to see me happy in my life with Jasper. He should have been coming to our house to hunt with Jazz and Peter, to sit and talk. I should have had years more of memories but she'd taken all that from me and bitterness welled up. Jasper took my hands and held them as he leaned in and kissed me gently then pulled me into an embrace that I melted into for its healing touch.