Chapter 37

Peter sat with Luciana in the depths of underground Maine. The tunnel where he held her captive was damp and cold with only small amounts of dim lighting. The two of them sat across from each other in the confined space.

Luciana's arms were folded in front of her chest, and a melancholy expression lingered in her eyes despite how hard she was trying to hide it. Her throat burned with thirst, as Peter made sure she her meals were few and far in between. She'd attempted to escape several times at first, to no avail. Peter was far too fast for her and Olivia's scent lingered heavily in the chambers of their hideout.

"You know," Peter spoke, after hours of silence, "If you're thinking of escaping, which I'm sure you are, I'd think twice about it this time."

Luciana refused to look at him, or acknowledge his attempted taunts.

"You see, what Olivia didn't tell you is that we have people watching Seth and your father."

Her eyelashes flickered, as her attention to the details he was informing her of increased, though she continued to look away.

"If you try to escape again, all Olivia or I have to do is make a phone call, and from the force we have on either one of them, Seth especially, will cause their lives to end violently and abruptly."

"Yeah, okay," she said, calling his bluff, "Like you two have the power to take down my father."

Peter laughed, insulted by the fact that she didn't believe his lie. "Well, it's up to you if you want to take that chance."

Luciana tried to ignore him, though was frightened by the fact that his words could be true.

Peter reached down and found a stray branch that had been left behind by someone over the course of time. He held it in front of his face, making eye contact with Luciana for the first time in awhile. "We'll snap Seth's neck..." he cracked the piece of wood in half, "...like a twig."

Luciana found it increasingly harder to control her black eyed glare. Her cheeks were clenched and she grinded her teeth.

"Keep giving me attitude like that and you won't eat tonight," Peter said with a wink, "I hate when women sass me."

"You don't even know who you're messing with," she told him.

He smiled again, revealing his devilishly charming dimples, "I actually know them all pretty well."

"Well, then you're pretty stupid," she shot back, "Because between the Cullens and my father and all of my uncles, you just dug your own grave."

"Honey," he said in a mockingly sweet tone, "They don't even know where you are. You're on our terms now, and so is Aro and the rest of them."

"You're not even gifted," Luciana said.

"Tell that to Alexandra," he smiled, "You don't even realize how easy it was to manipulate her.. or you and the others for that matter."

Olivia's footsteps marched roughly down the hall at a moderate, controlled pace. She entered where the two of them sat, dressed, as always, in a pair of combat boots, cargo pants and an olive green tank top that pressed neatly to her thin frame. Her hair hung down around her shoulders and she flipped it back over one shoulder before cracking her knuckles.

"Do you know why I'm doing all of this?" Olivia asked Luciana, cocking her head to one side slightly.

She shook her head, "There's no legitimate reason."

"Oh, but there is," she insisted, "You see, long ago your father killed one of my children. He destroyed my reason for living. At least then I still had Nicholas, at least until he came across the Cullens and Carlisle killed him."

"Because he was kidnapping me," Luciana insisted roughly, "It was his own fault, he got what was coming to him."

Peter glanced over at Olivia and saw her halfhearted expression turn cold. She waltzed over to Luciana and squeezed her face, "Say what you will, but know, I will return the favor. I intend to do to your father and Carlisle exactly what they did to me."

Luciana's dark eyes examined Olivia's cold, red ones as they sat only inches apart from one another. "You don't stand a chance," Luciana breathed out, decorating Olivia's nose with an extra ounce of her breath.

"A little fight in you, Luciana..." Olivia said through gritted teeth.

"Don't forget who's daughter I am," she boasted, "And I can't wait to see what he does to you when he gets here."

"Why don't we just kill her now," Peter suggested roughly from the side.

Olivia remained silent and continued to glare at Luciana, who remained strong in her posture.

Peter watched hastily right next to them and Olivia finally backed off and eyed Peter, "Interesting thought..."

He smiled wide and arrogantly.

"But I want to wait for Aro to witness it." She turned abruptly without looking at Luciana again and exited their area.

Peter put his hand on Luciana's face gently and she smacked it away immediately. He gave a menacing laugh that echoed through the concrete walls around the before sitting back down in his original position.

Luciana remained solid and strong, though inside she'd never felt more frightened in her life, not to mention the burning in her throat became more torturous by the second. She hoped and prayed that her family, either family, would soon come to her rescue.

Masen and Leah had checked in successfully to a nearby Marriot. Masen had already phoned Carlisle to let him know of their arrival and after an important, yet brief, conversation, the two of them said goodbye and went along with their separate responsibilities. He took it upon himself to order Leah room service with a number of foods he knew she enjoyed. As much as she continually said she was fine, Masen knew better and thought it would be in her best interest to get as much food in her system as possible.

Following dinner and dessert, Leah immediately made her way to the king sized bed and folded herself up beneath the comforter, perched in a half sitting, half laying position. Her expression was somber and her body language matched.

Masen kicked off his shoes and joined her under the covers, immediately letting her lean her head near his upper chest and shoulder.

"I'm scared for Seth," she said in a low whisper.

Masen rubbed her arm, "He'll be okay."

"He's really upset; overemotional," she shook her head, "And he's immature. He could act on impulse and get himself killed."

"No one will let that happen. My parents are there, Edward, Bella, Emmett, Jasper, Alice... all of your tribe. Sam... they won't let him get hurt."

"I hope Luciana's okay."

"Edward will be able to get a read on their thoughts once he's close," Masen assured her, "Then they'll ambush her, just like we did the last time. Think of how many of them we had to take on last time. There's only Peter and Olivia."

"But what if Aro intervenes. What if he's so angry with Seth for not protecting Lucy and he does something.. or worse if something bad happens to Lucy and then Aro acts out on Seth... or your parents."

"We could sit here and 'what it' to death," Masen said, switching his hand so it stroked her hair, "You need to rest your mind. Rest everything."

Leah sighed and slumped down a few inches.

"Try to sleep," he said, looking out the window into the darkness. The digital clock next to the bed red 11:35 p.m.

"I'm not tired," she insisted.

Masen kissed her on the top of her head, "Just try. I'll wake you if I get a call or anything."

"How can I sleep?" she asked, looking up at him with tired eyes.

He ran his thumb underneath her eyes where the beginning of bags from exhaustion had formed, "You need it," he whispered softly.

"We need to talk about everything that's going on," she said back, just as softly. Both of them glanced down at her stomach.

"We will," he said with a smile, "After you get some sleep."

Leah wanted to protest, but the long journey and the mental anguish she was currently experiencing provided an effective combination that left her feeling drained. Within five to ten minutes, she felt herself slowly drifting to sleep. As bad as she tried to fight it, her eyes got heavier and heavier until the world around her disappeared.

Masen laid back with Leah on his chest as her breathing progessively became steady and repetitious. Her mouth hung slightly open and her petite back bounced lightly up and down as she inhaled and exhaled. He slunk his hand over to the nightstand where he'd placed his cell phone and put it on vibrate in case someone called so it wouldn't wake her. He wasn't sure how long it would take for his family to find them, but assumed it wouldn't be long before his father sent him some kind of word one way or another.

The television was on with a very low volume, though Masen's hearing allowed him to hear it perfectly clear. A comedy was on that he remembered watching with Emmett at a young age and the memory of it made him smile. There was something innocent about his earliest year of life that made him feel loose and relaxed for about a minute. He wished that he'd spent more time with Emmett, as he had during that year. His mind drifted to how the two of them were inseparable and thought of the mischeif they'd gotten into together when he was just getting used to life.

Leah stirred on his chest and brought him back to reality. He smiled looking down at her and kissed the top of her head again thinking of how lucky he was. As great as his numbered adolescent days were, there was nothing, not even the carefree child life he'd once lived, that could ever compare and make him feel as free as he was with Leah She was his world now and he wanted to promise her that nothing would happen to her brother.

Masen let out a sigh and refocused on the movie, causing his thoughts to bounce back and forth from memory to memory - some involving Emmett, others involving Leah, his parents and Alexandra. He suddenly wished that he, too, could fall asleep to escape all the 'what if' thoughts that were beginning to take over the thoughts of his fondest memories.

Not more than a minute later, Masen's phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he looked at Leah t make sure she didn't wake before he grabbed it. As if his thought processes were answered, Emmett's phone sent the text message: We found them! Sit tight little brother.