"Miss Swan, can I help you?" Seth called to me as I bumbled through the lobby with my duffel, laptop and suitcase with only one good arm. He jogged over and took my suitcase and duffel from me.
"Yeah, I called a taxi and I could use help getting my crap outside." I admitted quietly. I didn't meet his eyes; I didn't want him to see how red and swollen my own were.
"Are you meeting Mr. Cullen? I just saw him run out of here a little bit ago." He asked as we walked through the revolving doors.
"Nah, just going to hang out with some friends." I lied as my eyes swept up and down the street. I hadn't had a chance to ask Mike what kind of car Aro's men were driving before Edward had abruptly ended the discussion, so I didn't even know what I was looking for. But I had to take the chance; I figured if I could just get into my apartment safely I'd be home free.
"Seth, do you mind waiting with me until the taxi comes? It should be here any minute." I said.
"Sure, no problem. Saturday nights behind the desk are usually boring. Just a bunch of food deliveries."
"So when is your fiancée due?" I asked. Seth had told me excitedly one morning that his fiancée was pregnant and that they were expecting a boy. We talked about cribs and baby names for the next few minutes until my taxi pulled up. I held out a folded twenty dollar bill and Seth shook his head vigorously.
"No, Miss Swan. It was my pleasure."
"Seth, stop it. You always look out for me and I appreciate it." I told him, thrusting the money at him.
"Thanks, Miss Swan." He said with his trademark smile as the taxi driver put my bags in the trunk. He took the money and slid it into his pocket.
"Izzy." I said.
"Izzy. I'll see you later…?"
"Bye, Seth." I said as I got into the cab. I gave the driver my address and settled into the worn seat. As we drove down the familiar street approaching my building, I couldn't help but think back to the first night Edward and I shared a cab back to my apartment, the crazy stupid idea that started it all. My eyes watered but I willed the tears not to fall.
"Hey, can you help me carry my stuff up to my apartment? I'll tip." I promised when he pulled to a stop. He nodded and put on his four ways and we both exited the taxi. I grabbed my computer bag from the trunk and he took my other bags. A tall black man with long dreadlocks walked behind the taxi driver, very closely, and suddenly the taxi driver was on the ground convulsing and muttering in Arabic as his limbs flailed, my bags forgotten on the street. The black man kept walking down the street calmly, not glancing at me or the taxi driver who was writhing on the ground. I reached down to help the unnerved driver up and I felt a hard nudge in the small of my back.
"Don't fucking scream and you won't get hurt. Walk with me and act like you know me." A familiar raspy voice whispered. I nodded.
"Hey, let's go grab a beer, sweetie." He said out loud, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into him.
"Sounds good." I said, faking a smile. I was face to face with the gruff voice I'd heard a couple hours earlier. He was younger than I'd expected, thirtyish, and more attractive. He was tall and slim, with long sandy brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. His dark eyes were watching me carefully as we moved to the sidewalk. He reeked of cigarette smoke, his arm around me made my skin crawl, and my heart was beating faster than a hummingbird on meth, but I tried to act natural.
"Miss…your bags?" the driver choked out, still unable to move.
"Oh, just leave them on the sidewalk. We'll get them in a few. Here you go, buddy." My captor said, tossing a hundred dollar bill at him and pulling me down the street.
"What did you do to him?" I whispered when we were out of earshot.
"It was just a Taser-he'll be fine. He probably thinks he had a seizure or something." He said tersely.
"You can let go of me now." I told him through gritted teeth.
"If you try to run, I will shoot you. Don't test me." He growled as he released me from his firm grip. My cell phone began to ring from my jeans pocket with Edward's ring tone. He looked at me and squinted.
"Answer it." He demanded.
"What?"
"Answer it and tell whoever it is that you're tired and that you're just hanging out at your apartment tonight. And no funny business or I will fucking break your other arm. You got me?" he snapped. I nodded and fished my phone from my pocket.
"Hello?"
"Izzy! I'm so fucking sorry for losing my temper. I know you're mad and you have a right to be but I want to talk to you. I need to talk to you. Where are you? Back at Alice's?" Edward asked. He sounded contrite.
"No, I'm just going to stay at my apartment tonight. I'm super tired." I said.
"You went back to your apartment? I don't feel comfortable with you staying there by yourself. You don't have to stay with me, but I'd rather you stay with Alice or Rose."
The raspy voiced man was motioning for me to end the call.
"Nah, I think I'll just stay in and watch television. Oh, I didn't make it to the grocery store earlier so you'll have to go."
"Grocery store? I thought we said…" he murmured, trailing off, his voice baffled. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay, princess. I'll take care of it. I love you. So much, baby. So much." He said emphatically and I knew he understood what I was trying to convey.
"I love you, too. Bye." I whispered. The man tugged my cell phone from my hand and threw it onto the sidewalk, smashing it under his boot.
"Come on." He grunted. He pulled my arm and we continued down the street. He pushed me roughly against an old Lincoln.
"Get in." he commanded. I opened the back door and slid into the corner of the backseat and the raspy voiced guy jumped into the passenger seat.
"You can't fucking bring that computer with you." The dreadlocked ebony man barked at me from the driver's seat with a French accent.
"Please, I need it. It has all of my work documents on it. I can't leave it!" I pleaded.
He grabbed the bag and wrenched my laptop out. He swiftly pulled it apart and threw all of the various pieces into the bag and tossed the bag into the backseat with me. He pulled away from the curb and into traffic without another word.
"Where does he want her?"
"He said meet him at Teterboro."
Oh fuck. I tried not to cry as reality hit home. If I got on a plane with Aro, no one would ever see me again. Trying to hold on to my computer seemed pretty pointless now. Deafening speed metal filled the car as we weaved through the streets of Manhattan and pulled onto the George Washington Bridge. We were on the inside lane, moving quickly, when I noticed another car to the right keeping pace with us. The man in the driver seat of the silver Taurus was staring at me as if he knew me. He motioned for me to put on my seatbelt when we made eye contact. I furrowed my brow but followed his instruction. His window slid down and I saw him discreetly raise a black gun and aim it at the car I was riding in. He pointed at the front tire on the passenger side and pulled the trigger. I braced myself as the tire exploded and the car swerved and careened into the divider at full speed, causing the airbags to inflate. The impact spun the Lincoln into the middle lane of the bridge.
"What the fuck!" the raspy voice guy yelled as the SUV behind us was unable to stop in time and crashed into the rear of the car and the car spun again, coming to a stop in the far right lane. I wasted no time; I immediately opened the car door, jumped out and ran, pulling my bag with me as I sprinted along the white dotted lines between the lanes. I tripped on a piece of road debris, my knee hitting the concrete before I caught myself with my left hand. I got up and ignored the debilitating pain in my knee and kept running. The silver Taurus pulled up next to me.
"Get in." he demanded. I opened the passenger door and he peeled off before I'd even closed the door. I turned around and saw that traffic on the bridge going toward New Jersey was at a complete standstill.
"I gotta switch cars and then I'll take you to your boyfriend's parents' house." He told me. He lifted a cell phone to his ear.
"I got her." He said into the phone.