Closing in on the last few chapters, darlings! Hope you enjoy this double update. I loved exploring the differences between Jasper and Edward in this scene. Let me know what you think!

Chapter 15: The Major

Bella had never given much thought as to how she would die. She didn't think most teenagers probably did. But, as she sat alone in the back of the cab on her way to save her mother, she decided that dying in the place of someone she loved wasn't the worst way to go.

She did regret how it had to happen though. She didn't even get to say goodbye. She couldn't have, of course, without giving herself away, but she would've liked to kiss him one last time before she died. To hear him call her darlin' in that sweet drawl of his. To tell him she loved him. They'd alluded to it so many times. Shared moments beyond what words could ever convey. But she wished she could have told him. Now she'd never have the chance.

She assumed he'd realized something was wrong by now. Noticed that she'd been gone far too long to simply go to the bathroom and make a private call to Charlie and her mom. It was almost too painful to picture his face when he realized what she had done. And he would realize it. It was simply a matter of time. She could only hope that her knowledge of Phoenix would give her an advantage. Had Jasper ever been to Phoenix before? In this decade? She made a mental note to ask if she survived all this.

The tracker had made it pretty clear she wouldn't during their brief and absolutely terrifying phone call.

The ballet studio was exactly as she remembered, and exactly as Alice had described in her vision. Entering the largest studio in the building, she heard her mom's voice. "Bella? Bella, where are you?"

"Mom? Mom, I'm here!" she called, beginning to run toward her.

"Bella? Bella!"

"I'm coming! Mom, I'm here," she shouted again, trying to provide any reassurance she could. She came to a large storage closet and ripped open the doors only to find an old VHS player hooked up to a small TV.

"Bella, there you are," her mother said on the video, kneeling down to talk to a little Bella who was wearing her tiny pink ballet outfit.

Her ears began to ring. It was all a trick. Her mother wasn't here. She'd walked right into his trap. And she'd done it alone. "Fuck."

A dark chuckle echoed behind her and chills raced down her back. She turned to see James standing a few feet behind her, his eyes so dark they were nearly black. "Now that's my favorite part. Such a stubborn child, weren't you, hmm?"

He stroked her hair back from her face and brushed his hand along her cheek in a way that made her go completely rigid. He shoved her against the wall and inhaled deeply, his nose brushing against her neck and cheek. Tears sprang to her eyes. "You really made it too easy," he whispered. She was trembling as he ran one icy finger along her jaw. "So," he continued, "to make things more interesting, we're going to make a little film of our time together."

He grinned at her and her mind reeled. Control. She needed control and a plan to get it. Her odds weren't good, she wasn't stupid, but she refused to go down without a fight.

James pulled out the video camera, the one he'd taken from her house, and flipped it open. "And... action!"

Bella did her best to glare at him.

"Oh, come on. Smile. It'll break Jasper's little heart."

Something snapped. She found the courage to step forward. She shoved him back. "He has nothing to do with this!"

He pushed her against the wall again, one hand still holding the camera. "Oh, but he does. His rage will make for more interesting sport in his feeble attempt to protect you."

When he stepped back, Bella pulled out her mace and sprayed him right between the eyes, just like her dad had taught her, and prayed it would have some effect on a vampire. She ran for the door, but knew she'd never be fast enough. James dropped down in front of her and threw her to the ground, knocking her head against the corner of a baseboard. She groaned and winced when she gently touched the back of her head, blood staining her fingers.

James was on her in an instant, stalking toward her with the camera still rolling. "Beautiful. Very visually dynamic. I chose my stage well." He grabbed her hand, drawn to the blood, and growled. "It's too bad he didn't have the strength to change you. Instead, he kept you this fragile little human. It's cruel, really."

Then, with absolutely no warning, he snapped the bone in her leg with a sickening crunch. She screamed louder than she even knew she was capable of.

"Tell Jasper how it hurts," James said gleefully but with an edge to his voice as he continued to film her. "Tell him to avenge you! Tell him!"

No, no, no, she chanted over and over in her head. It had to end here, with her. "No," she managed to cry out, "Jasper, don't! Please!"

"Tell him!" James screamed at her, his face twisted in a dangerous rage, the first time she'd seen a vampire truly monstrous.

And suddenly, he was across the room, pinned to the floor by a worn black cowboy boot over his throat. Jasper's lips curled back in a ferocious snarl.

"The Major joins us at last," James chuckled. "I was just telling Bella how much you'd enjoy our little film, but here you are to see it live."

"I've thought long and hard about all the ways to kill you, slowly and painfully," Jasper hissed, applying pressure to James' throat before hauling him up by the lapels of his jacket, "but you talk about her again, an' your tongue will be the first thing I cut out."

Bella watched as Jasper threw James across the studio, sending him crashing into one of the mirrors, shards of glass spinning along the hardwood floor.

Jasper wasted no time getting to Bella, pressing his lips to her forehead in a breathless kiss. He didn't dare breathe so close to her while she was bleeding. He needed to stay focused. Get her out and safe then he would find James and kill him.

He went to jump up to the balcony, and the exit door that was there, but no sooner had his feet left the ground then a hand wrapped around his ankle and yanked him back down. He lost his hold on Bella and she crashed to the ground. He heard her scream as she rolled into the glass that littered the floor. In the second he turned his head to find her, James hauled him up and threw him into the air, shattering a skylight window. Jasper pulled himself up onto the ledge in time to turn back and see James sink his teeth into Bella's wrist.

The growl that left his throat was more animal than man as he leapt from his perch and crashed into James, tearing up floorboards as they wrestled against each other. They got to their feet and Jasper punched him across the jaw before pinning him to the wall. "Now what's your plan, Major?" James spat. "If she survives this, how long do you think it will take until she finds out all you've really done?"

"If you know so much about my past, then you know you ain't walkin' outta here alive," Jasper said, his voice as dark as his eyes. James didn't have a chance to respond before Jasper flipped him around, locked one arm around his neck and ripped the other vampire's head off in one clean and practiced motion.

He tossed it to the side and dropped to his knees with a groan. He could hear Bella, crying out and gasping in pain. But he could also smell the blood. So much fucking blood. Sweet and warm... He screamed and slammed his fist against the floor, gauging yet another hole in the wood, trying to control the monster raging inside. He could do this. He had to help Bella. He could. He could...

"Oh God, Bella!"

Alice's voice rang out and Jasper closed his eyes in relief. "Carlisle!" she called to their father, and he heard footsteps rushing toward her and, surprisingly, to himself.

"Jasper," Emmett's voice reached his ears. "You okay, man? You hurt?"

"No," he ground out, eyes still shut tight as he tried to focus and breathe as little as possible.

More footsteps, light but quick, and a small hand on his back. "Jasper," Alice said softly. "Bella needs you."

"I can't," he groaned, digging his fingers into the floor, "if I move I might..."

"Hey," Emmett cut in, "you told me a vampire's not dead until we burn the pieces, right?"

Jasper's eyes flashed open in an instant. "Right."

"Focus on that. Bella's not safe until this asshole is gone for good. So let's make ourselves a little tracker bonfire, huh?"

Jasper slowly made his way to his feet, then stood over James' decapitated head, staring down at his bright red eyes. He turned back to Emmett and Alice. "Grab the floorboards."