Chapter Twenty Eight

Bella

The villa was so cold and empty and so big with Jasper gone but most of all I missed him. I think we both knew there was something that was growing between us but we were both too unsure to bring it out into the open. I sat in the huge back room on the tatty leather couch that was slowly mouldering away and closed my eyes. When he was with me I felt safe certainly, but it was more than that. I felt whole, as if there had always been a chunk of me missing that he'd been holding. Now I was alone again the space the chunk had occupied while he was here ached and no matter what I did it wouldn't stop. I sat my knees drawn up to my chest thinking about how he'd saved me from the Volturi and how he'd told me I was responsible for his being able to fight Jane. If he was right then according to Alice he was someone I loved. I rather thought she might be right but was I still just a job to him?

I heard a car on the track, was it Emmett? I really hoped so because I hated being alone here. I looked out of the cracked hall window and saw a strange car appear, perhaps Jasper had to hand his rental car back. That would explain the strange car but the driver didn't look big enough to be Emmett so I stayed out of sight, praying it wouldn't be the Volturi. When the driver got out I saw it was Edward Cullen and I shrank back out of sight. What was he doing here? I heard his words clearly in the silence of the empty house,

"Bella its OK you can come out. Emmett got caught up in something in Forks and I volunteered to come in his place."

That seemed unlikely after Alice had told me he was called by my blood but she'd also said I was safe with him, that he'd never hurt me. I hesitated then hobbled out to the front steps. He saw me and smiled,

"Hi there hop along. You OK?"

I nodded feeling very nervous at the longing on his face.

"Jazz sent me to move you from here. He says it's not safe long-term."

"He never said anything to me. I thought I was staying here until he got back."

"Back? He's not coming back Bella"

"What? He told me he was"

"Yeah well you're just a job to him don't forget. He's needed elsewhere, they found another child to protect."

"Why didn't he ring and tell me?"

"I guess he thought it would be OK coming from me. He's not the most thoughtful person Bella. He's a soldier really."

I thought about what Edward was saying and it sounded plausible but...

"You want to ring him?"

Edward held out his cell phone and I stretched out a hand before letting it fall to my side,

"No its OK. I believe you. So where are you taking me?"

"Well he thought you might be safer out of Italy, so he suggested Switzerland for a while. Does that sound OK to you?"

"What about Charlie?"

"Carlisle spoke to him and he's not happy but he accepts that you are with Alice. I think he feels happier knowing that you're with a female friend. He knows Renee's death has been hard on you."

I nodded

"When do we have to go?"

"He wants you to move straight away for safety sake. If we don't get a move on I'm going to be in trouble and to be honest he scares the hell out of me"

I had to laugh at that, I knew what Edward meant.

He helped me to the car from the porch and we drove away from the villa swiftly. I felt empty, I'd been right about Jasper the first time but I couldn't help being grateful he'd come here to Italy to save me even so.

Emmett

It wasn't easy to find I'll grant Jasper that, it took me two hours and a lot of wrong turns before I finally found myself outside the villa. I expected Bella to be waiting outside but it was silent, only birds and rabbits around. I guessed she was probably nervous and hiding out until she knew who'd driven up and I didn't blame her, this place was enough to frighten the life out of anyone. I slammed the car door hoping she'd look out and see it was the car Jasper had driven off in then stood leaning against the hood arms crossed to give her a good look at me. After a few minutes I got bored and decided to look round the place,

"Hey Bella its Emmett. You hiding girl?"

My shout got a response from the birds who took flight and the rabbits who scattered but there was still no sight of Bella and I started to wonder if this was the right place after all. I went up the steps and into the villa looking for signs of habitation. There were scuffs in the dust on the tiled floor and I walked through to the back where Jazz had said he and Bella based themselves. I could smell her scent and his so I stopped and listened. That's when it hit me, I couldn't hear a heartbeat or smell blood.

Jasper

Peter and Charlotte met me at the airport and drove me back to Forks.

"Charlie is doing his nut. He thinks Bella ran off with or because of you and he won't listen to anyone, even Carlisle. He's gunning for you Major."

"Let him, she's safe and that's all that matters."

"Well Edward took off too just to muddy the waters."

"Where's he gone?"

"No idea, he just suggested the more of the guys that are missing the more it will confuse Charlie."

I didn't see that because Edward was still here when she disappeared but I didn't really care what he was doing. As long as I showed myself in Forks alone without Bella then she couldn't be with me. When we got to the Cullens Charlie's cruiser was parked outside and I could hear raised voices,

"I assure you Chief Swan we haven't seen Bella and she's not with any of the family except Alice. They were wrong to go away without asking your permission but I know she was upset about Renee."

"Its got nothing to do with my late wife and where's your boy Jasper?"

"I'm here Charlie, what's up?"

He spun round at the sound of my voice.

"Where's my daughter?"

"I have no idea. Is she missing?"

"Yes and she was involved with you last."

"Charlie, Bella and I saw things differently and broke up days ago. I thought she was seeing Jacob Black."

That stopped him in his tracks because I was right. He knew she was upset because we'd stopped seeing each other.

"Where have you been?"

I looked at him steadily,

"Not that it's any of your business Chief Swan but I had an interview for college."

He wasn't completely convinced but he could hardly take matters further with nothing to go on.

Emmett

I wondered if Bella had gone for a walk then remembered Jazz saying she had a bad ankle so what did I do? Wait a while or start ringing alarm bells. As I walked back through the hall I got another whiff of a familiar scent and swore. I flipped open my cell phone and rang Jasper, this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation but I needed to know what he wanted me to do.

When he answered he sounded pissed,

"Em?"

"Jazz we have a problem"

"What's wrong? Is Bella OK?"

"I don't know. She's not here"

"What do you mean she's not there? Where the hell have you been Emmett?"

"Hey I got here eventually but your directions weren't very helpful to someone who doesn't know Italy. Anyway she wasn't here when I got here and I've spent the last few hours trying to find her. The place was empty and there's no sign of a struggle or anything but...I think Edwards been here"

"Edward?"

"Yes I could smell him in the hall but I don't think he's been inside it was very faint."

"The point is what's he doing in Italy?"

"He must have heard us talking about me coming over and beat me to her"

"So where's he taken her and why?"

Neither of us wanted to answer that question, we both knew he was drawn to her blood and maybe the temptation knowing she was alone and unguarded was too much for him.

"Em try to find their trail. I'm coming back as fast as I can."