20
Jasper shoved his phone into his pocket and reached for his weapon as he hurried down the front steps. Sam Uley's smile turned into a smirk before he pulled away from the curb and sped down the street. If there hadn't been civilians on either side of the street, clearly wondering what the police were doing at Emily Young's house, he would have fired. But he couldn't risk hitting an innocent victim, so instead, he sprinted over to his truck, and jumped in, cranked the engine, and started his hunt on Sam Uley.
He laid his gun on the seat next to him and dug his phone out of his pocket, trying to close the distance between the two as he dialed Garrett's number.
"Cullen? Are you really calling me from outside?" he grumbled.
"I'm in pursuit of Uley, Cap," Jasper snarled, making a sharp left hand turn behind Sam, who almost hit a mini-van full of children. "Son of a bitch!"
"He was here?" Garrett quipped and Jasper could hear him moving from inside the house.
"He was sitting outside. I'm following him right now. He's in a silver Nissan Z. Looks new. License plate is Adam, Tom, X-Ray, One, Four, Eight, Two. Plates are Washington. We are heading northeast on Grande, toward Coulter."
"Jesus fuck, Cullen," Garrett swore. "I'm calling for backup. Do not do anything stupid. Ya hear me?"
"Yep."
"Cullen, I swear to fucking God," Garrett gritted out.
Jasper dropped the phone as Sam took a sharp right. "Motherfucker," he snarled, ignoring the way the car he had just cut off honked at him. "Son-of-a-bitch."
He could hear Garrett yelling at him through the phone, but he couldn't pick it up. Once glance at his speedometer told him they were going almost a hundred miles per hour through the outskirts of Seattle, heading straight for downtown. Sam took another sharp left, straight toward a set of railroad tracks, the mechanical barriers that indicated a train was near were lowering. Sam quickly zipped around the barriers, but Jasper had to slam on the brakes, feeling the backside of his truck spin toward the right, just moments before a passenger train flew by.
"Cap, I lost him," Jasper snarled, picking up his phone. "I got caught at a train tracks at fifty-ninth and Marks. Uley was heading west, toward downtown."
"We'll catch up to him, Cullen," Garrett muttered. "Head back to the station house, and before you argue with me, that's an order."
"Yes, sir," Jasper gritted through clenched teeth.
Twenty minutes later, Jasper parked in the back of the station house and headed inside, finding Newton and Crowley standing in front of a large map with Garrett. There were red pins marking Emily Young's house, where Bella had been picked up by patrol, and the handful of landmarks Jasper had called out during his pursuit of Sam Uley.
"Any word?"
"Car was reported stolen three days ago from Olympia," Garrett told him. "Patrol just called in, said they found it abandoned over on States Avenue. We have officers on foot trying to track him down. A canine unit is on their way to pick up his scent."
Jasper nodded and gripped the back of his neck. "He was right there, Cap. I should have just taken him out when I had the chance."
"No, you shouldn't have," he countered. "There were innocent bystander there, Cullen. Children who didn't need their lives to be put at risk. We're going to find him."
"What if he finds her first?" His phone chimed with a new text message. Jasper pulled out his phone, looking down at another text from Emmett. This one telling him to call in the next thirty seconds or he would tell Alice. Emmett would, too. "I'll be right back."
"Don't leave the station, Cullen," Garrett called out.
Jasper waved him off, not intending the leave the station, but needed a minute alone. Not only to talk to his brother, but to process the last handful of hours. Every time he thought he knew what they were dealing with, he'd learn something new. He walked into one of the interrogation rooms and called Emmett, who answered after the second ring.
"What part of 911 and call me A.S.A.P. did you not understand, Jay?" Emmett yelled.
"Been kind of busy," Jasper grumbled. "Emily Young killed herself this morning, after telling me that Sam Uley didn't just molest her, Em. He fucking raped her. Her and Leah. The fucking Tribal Council knew, too, and didn't do a goddamn thing to stop it."
"Jesus fucking Christ, Jay," he swore.
"I know, man, but we're closing in on him. Now, what's so fucking important, Em?"
He heard Emmett sigh. "She . . . Bella, she told us . . . Shit, I don't even know how to say this, but apparently after he kidnapped her, they were living somewhere near water. He . . . he had another girl with them, Jay?"
"Are you fucking kidding?" Jasper snarled. "Did she give you a name?"
"No, she told us that . . . Shit, Jay, she says the police came to the house where they were staying, questioned Sam about this girl, about her stealing food or something. The police . . . the police didn't help Bella, didn't help that girl. Bella says Sam killed the other girl before they left, Jay. That Sam said she had caused too many problems, and he killed her. That's how she ended up on the streets. He fucking killed that girl because she'd drew the attention of the police."
"Sweet mother of God," Jasper muttered, leaning against the wall. "And she has no idea where they were?"
"No, just said it was a house by the water," Emmett said. "Jay, she said that little girl cried and fought, but she didn't. Bella said she let him . . . let him rape her, Jay, so he wouldn't hurt her . . . worse, I guess. You have to stop him."
"I'm trying, Em," Jasper argued. "Has Alice shown up yet?"
"About ten minutes ago."
Jasper gripped the back of his neck as he pushed away from the wall. "Look, nobody can leave, okay? Just make sure everyone stays until I give you the all clear. I'm going to see if I can get a couple of cars parked outside."
"You think he knows where she is?"
"I don't know, Em. I just . . . He scares me. Scares me a lot."
"Jay," Emmett whispered.
"I know, man. I know. Just keep our family safe, keep . . . keep her safe."
"I will. I'd better go. Keep us updated, okay? We worry about you being out there alone."
"I've got help," Jasper murmured. "Love you, man."
"I love you, too."
Jasper ended the call and took a deep breath, trying to keep from vomiting. How many other little girls had Sam Uley abused? And why would the tribal council cover for him?
Once he had control over himself, he shoved his phone back into the pocket of his pants and joined Newton, Crowley, and Garrett in the squad room, drawing their attention to him.
"You all right, Cullen?" Garrett asked.
Jasper shook his head. "Need a couple cars parked outside Carlisle's place, Cap."
Garrett's eyes widened. "That's where you're hiding her? With your brother?"
Jasper nodded before he explained, "A few nights ago, my brother was driving home from University of Washington Medical Center, where he works as a doctor in the ER. He was here," Jasper said, pointing to the corner of forty-fifth and Plains, "at a red light when a young, homeless girl ran out in front of his car. She took off, but Carlisle followed, catching up to her and making sure she wasn't injured. He talked her into letting him buy her some food, and when he pressed her to let him take her to the hospital, she bailed."
Jasper took a deep breath. "He called me the next morning, asked me to find her. Didn't take long, and by nightfall, patrol had picked her up. I met them at the hospital, and . . . That girl was Isabella Swan."
"She was living on the streets?" Newton asked.
Jasper nodded. "Had been for a while. She was . . . Well, she was filthy and almost feral. Barely responded a nod or anything when we asked her questions. I called Carlisle, figuring maybe she might be more comfortable with him, since she'd let him buy her food the night before. He brought her more food. She really like pancakes," he added with a chuckle. "Anyway, we pushed a little more for her name, her age, anything. She . . . she said she didn't have a name, gentleman. The look in her eyes, I knew . . . I fucking knew that girl had been through some shit. We got her to eat more and talked her into taking a shower. I had my wife bring her some clothes, trying to get her to trust us enough to tell us who she was, anything. But it wasn't after we got her into the shower, and Rosalie saw her that we learned that she's Bella."
"Why was Rosalie there?" Crowley asked, folding his arms in front of him.
"She's dating my brother Emmett. They were all there, to support me, support Carlisle. It's just how we are," Jasper rambled. "Point is, when we realized who she was, I knew this case was bigger than just a homeless teenager. I'd already known about Rosalie's family, and well, Carlisle and I knew we needed to get her somewhere safe, somewhere we could take of her. So, she went home with him and Esme."
Jasper leaned against the desk behind him, folding his arms in front of him as he continued. "I had to push her a little, or a lot, but she managed to give us the details of what happened the night Charlie and Renee Swan were murdered, the night Sam Uley kidnapped her. That's what led me to Forks," he said, gesturing to Newton and Crowley. "Over the course of the day, while I was with you trying to trace Sam's movements, my family learned that when Bella was about thirteen years old," Jasper muttered, trying to keep from becoming too emotional, "he'd impregnated her."
"Oh, my God," Crowley groused, covering his mouth with his hand. "She had a baby with him?"
Jasper nodded. "A little girl. She'd be almost two right now, if she's even alive. He . . . he took the baby from her. We have no idea where he took her, or . . . if he killed her."
"I've got people searching for her," Garrett said, clearing his throat. "I have them searching for abandoned babies, open and closed adoptions . . . dead infants found during that time. Sadly, there's a lot cases to sort through."
Jasper swallowed against the bile in his throat. "I just learned that when Sam Uley took Bella, he kept her in a house by some water, and there was another girl with them."
"Who?" Garrett asked, standing straight.
"She didn't give a name, Cap. Told Emmett that while they were at the house next to the water, though, police came by to talk to Sam about the girl. Apparently she had stolen some food or something from a local store, and . . . Anyway, Bella's saying that Sam killed the girl after the police left, and that's when they started living on the street."
"What the fuck?" Newton muttered. "How'd he go unnoticed? I mean, we did a criminal search on Sam. There's nothing, Jasper. Not a goddamn thing. Not even a fucking traffic violation!"
"I know," Jasper said, shaking his head. "I don't get how someone like Sam Uley hasn't been on someone's radar before now, but he hasn't. Now, he knows that we're on his scent, so to speak, Cap," Jasper said. "I need protection for my family."
Garrett nodded. "I'll make the call," he said before turning and walking into his office, slamming the door closed.
"You said they were living by some water?" Crowley asked.
"That's what Bella's saying," Jasper confirmed. "Why?"
"About a year after Bella went missing, a body was found over on Bainbridge Island. A little girl, around the same sage as Bella. The body was badly decomposed, and we had thought, maybe it was . . . it was her, but the DNA wasn't a match," Crowley explained, shaking his head. "I don't think they were ever able to identify her remains."
"Gotta couple cars on their way to your brothers, Cullen," Garrett said as he walked back up to them.
"Thanks, Cap," he murmured.
"Local P.D. handle that case?" Garrett asked. "The body found in Bainbridge Island?"
"Yeah," Newton replied. "Think they assumed she'd gotten tossed into the water somewhere else, floated along until she hit the banks. Didn't match any missing girls in the area, except for Bella's."
"Let's, um, make some calls," Garrett said, but before he could give more directions, his phone rang. He gave Jasper a look before he yanked it out of his pocket and answered with a quick, "This is Mitchell . . . Where . . . Give us fifteen."
He ended the call and looked at Jasper. "Patrol found a body. Native American inside an abandoned building here," Garrett said, pointing to where patrol had found Bella. He gave Jasper a look before turning to Newton and Crowley. "You two stay here. Contact the police in Bainbridge Island and have them send over everything, and I do mean everything, they have on their Jane Doe, and then start nailing some asses to the wall until you get someone to tell you about the visit to Uley's place. I want to know how they could be at his front fucking door and not help those girls."
"We should probably check in with our captain," Newton said, putting his hands on his hips.
"No need, gentlemen, you're officially on loan to the Seattle P.D. Had a little conversation with Captain Yorke, explained a bit of what's going on, and he agreed that you'd be real useful here. He's going to follow up with the Tribal Council, find out why they ignored the brutal sexual assaults of two little girls, not to mention two cold blooded murders, and you are going to do as I said, and find out what you can on the body that turned up in Bainbridge Island. Is that clear, gentlemen, or do I need to speak slower?"
"Understood, sir," Newton grunted through gritted teeth while Crowley simply nodded.
Garrett motioned for Jasper to follow him, which he did. He could lie and say he hadn't enjoyed the verbal beat down Garrett had delivered Newton and Crowley, but it was nice not being on the receiving end for a change. While Jasper hadn't thought much of the two, he could tell the Swan girl had as much of an effect on them as she had on him and his family.
Fifteen minutes later, Garrett and Jasper arrived at a tall, multi-story building in the heart of downtown Seattle that had been abandoned years ago from the looks of it. There were dozens of patrol officers milling around, searching through the piles of rubble and garbage. Garrett and Jasper headed inside, following the trail of lights that had been set up to mark the path toward their dead body. They stopped outside a small room that smelled of rot and sewer. As they stepped inside, he looked around, noticing the pile of girl's clothes neatly folded in the corner, a stack of thick winter blankets, and what looked like a bag of rotting food.
"This is where she'd been staying, isn't it?" Jasper asked.
"Seems like it," Garrett murmured, drawing the attention of the six patrol officers gathered in the back corner of the room. "He's over there."
Jasper took a deep breath before he walked the ten feet or so, looking down at the body.
"Is it Uley?"
Jasper swallowed against the lump in his throat as he squatted next to the body and said, "No. His name is Jacob Black."
Thank you for all the amazing reviews! And before you get mad at me, you knew it wasn't going to be that easy, didn't you?
