PETER'S POV
THREE YEARS AGO
"Who was that you were talking to?" Afton asks as he comes walking in with a couple cups of coffee for us along with our pizza we ordered.
I grunt. "Wrong number," I roll my eyes. "I may be a cop, but I like to fuck around with idiots who just won't take no for an answer," I lie easily to the man who has been my partner for the last seven months.
Afton snorts. "Don't you mean detective? I don't know about you but I'm starving, I'm betting the nimrod we brought in for questioning is even hungrier," he smirks. "Should we be nice?"
Should we be nice to one of your Volturi relatives and their bait Afton? No. No, we shouldn't be nice. I definitely shouldn't be being nice to you, but until such evidence shows its dreadful self…
"Well come on then, yeah?" I say louder than necessary as I stand up and grab my cup of coffee. "This mine? Thanks!"
Your time will come Afton. And when it does you better hope it's me that gets a hold of you and not my brother. Until then however, I will keep collecting and digging around you and once you slip, I will have you right where I want you. Then they'll have no choice but to believe you've been the mole this whole time.
BPOV
THREE YEARS AGO (One week after phone call)
No more this. No more that. No more this or that. Train. Fight. Head in the game, we can do this. Between all the self-defense training and boxing, Jasper has added in how to actually fight. This is by far my favorite to do which amuses him to no end which is fine by me. Of course, our down time is basically spent naked anymore which is also fine by me. I enjoy it.
Two weeks after phone call
"We're going to need to make a run into town," I tell Jasper as I finish the list for personal necessities and groceries. "Some things we could run lower on in stock, but I don't think we should push it too much further."
Looking up from his computer desk, he shuts down whatever he had and grabs his keys and wallet. "Promise to stay right next to me?"
I arch my eyebrow. "At this point, Jasper, I think if I were to run from you, I would've done so a year ago not wait until after I got in your pants."
Jasper's mouth opens and closes a couple of times much like a fish making me laugh as I realize I made him a bit speechless. "Touché," he finally admits defeat. "We'll go to a Walmart an hour or so away from here."
Right. Extra precautions. More so now that we are on our own and need to be careful not to be followed so close to home.
"I just need to change real fast," I tell him turning away from his office to go up to my bedroom closet.
Dressing comfortably in a pair of yoga flair pants and a long-sleeved shirt, I slip on a pair of socks and my workout shoes. Tossing my previous outfit in the hamper to be washed, I grab my coat and list before descending to the living room. Jasper too changed into different clothing and as I look to him for confirmation that we are okay to go, he frowns.
"What's wrong?" I question worried.
"I'm the one who got into your pants," he says jokingly cracking a smile making me let out a breath I had unknowingly held.
"Oh, come on and let's go," I say shaking my head and shoving him playfully.
-O- -O-
The drive to the nearest Walmart store out of town was just over an hour away which we made in companiable silence and low music. After Peter had called a couple weeks ago, Jasper told me he needed a new phone and that we needed to get one in town. He had been afraid I would have tried to run so he held me firmly to his body and a hold of my hand. When the salesperson went to hand him his paperwork to sign however, he found that it wasn't him holding me rather than the other way around. My hand had to basically be pried from his as I was so anxious, I hadn't noticed my unrelenting latch on him.
"I want to get a couple extra things while we're here too," Jasper breaks the silence as we pull into a parking spot. "We'll get what we need first and load it up before going back in though."
I nod my understanding.
It takes forty minutes to get our main shopping done and out of the way before we load up the car and head right back inside. This time when we go inside though, we make our way towards the back where the hunting equipment and the likes are. I watch as Jasper tosses several packs of targets in the shape of a dart board along with a few different sets of gloves, safety glasses, and ear coverings. The more he puts in the cart, the more anxious I become but try to stay calm, cool, and collected on the outside.
Jasper does a double check of everything inside the cart before leading the way with his hand on the small of my back to the small desk area with display guns. Wait, are those real guns? This is a Walmart; do they sell guns? God, I could go for a nap right about now.
"How can I help you two?" comes a deep raspy voice.
"My order should be here," Jasper tells the man. "I'd also like to add all these items to the order as well if possible but if not, we can pay separate."
"Of course, no problem. Can I get the name, Sir?" the worker inquires politely.
Is it getting hotter in here? My heart is gonna beat itself out of my chest if it doesn't slow down.
"Hale."
"Hale, got it, yes, it's in the back. Give me about five minutes and I'll come right back up."
"Thank you," Jasper replies smoothly and at this point I hear nothing but my heart pounding in my ears. "Bella," Jasper's voice is suddenly filtering close in my right ear. "Darlin, you need to breathe before you pass out on me. Focus long enough to get back to the car." I don't react until I feel and smell his still minty breath across my face.
Dragging in a much needed but shaky breath, I realize I had stopped breathing altogether at some point.
Jasper sighs in relief. "I'm sorry, darlin," he kisses my temple as I keep working on breathing deep gulps of air. "I didn't think this part through."
"I'm fine," I tell him.
-O- -O-
"Wouldn't it be safer to find a different place to move?" I question on our way back to Forks. "I mean- your brother is telling you not to trust anyone but him. Wouldn't that mean we're compromised somehow?"
"It's safer to get you in a place to be able to help yourself if there comes a time where you need to," he glances over at me. "Moving locations would be ideal if we knew where a safe place away from where the enemy is. But we don't. If we choose a place, it could very well be a place right next door to them."
"But aren't we just being sitting ducks?" I ask with a sigh.
"Sitting ducks that know our surroundings."
I look over at him intently with a frown trying to decipher his meaning. Shaking my head, I give up and look out the window for the rest of the drive home. I'm soon drifting off into an uneasy sleep.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I wake with a start gasping to find Jasper jerking me up out of the passenger seat into his arms and to the ground.
"I'm right here," he soothes rocking me back and forth. "You're okay, come back to me."
My whole body seems to be shaking and tears are streaming down my face as the gunshots of that night echo in my ears. Flashes of that night run across my eyesight clear as day as if it is happening all over again even with my eyes open.
"Focus on breathing, darlin," Jasper tells me gently wiping my face. "Deep breath in through your nose and exhale out your mouth."
It seems like forever before I lay in his arms like a rag doll, completely exhausted from my freak out. His breath across my face relaxes me further, my hands however still don't break their hold on his coat.
"Let's get you inside, darlin," he murmurs as he stands up, bringing me with him easily.
Once inside the house, he leaves me long enough to unload the car to get the groceries inside and put away before coming back to me where he left me in the living room and carrying me to his bedroom. Jasper makes his way into his master bathroom where he flips on the light on his way in and sits me on the counter. I keep quiet as he works quickly in silence turning on the water and pouring in some bubble bath. Standing between my legs as the tub fills with steaming hot water and bubbles, Jasper slowly begins to peel my clothes off my body. The top half goes first before I slide off the counter so we can work on the bottom half and when that is out of the way, Jasper leads me over to the now filled up tub and helps me in. I submerge completely, letting the water loosen my muscles and the smell of lavender relax me as Jasper keeps a perch on the outside of the tub and a hold of my hand in comfort.
"What did you remember?" he asks quietly about twenty minutes into the silence.
I blink back a couple of tears that for some reason make their way to my eye sockets. Swallowing the little saliva I have in my mouth to coat my throat I say, "The gunshots going off."
"I'm sorry I didn't warn you what- "
"I shouldn't need a warning," I cut him off angrily.
"Except you do and you need to accept that for now," he tells me squeezing my hand. "It won't be forever, Bella, you just need some time. It's why I tried to get you back into therapy when you abruptly stopped."
I shake my head angrily, tears now pouring out of my eyes as Jasper tries to console me. Minutes pass and I'm still a blubbering mess. I can't seem to help it. Maybe all the months that I refused to acknowledge Edwards passing and everything surrounding it has caught up with me. Maybe the lack of… no, just don't think about that. I'm not sure when Jasper pulled the plug on the drain and refreshed the tub, but my hair is being washed, his fingertips gently massaging my head. I didn't even realize he even got in with me until he tells me to tilt my head back to rinse my hair and my head hits his bare chest as my eyes bore into his face.
My eyes flutter closed as he carefully rinses my hair out and kisses my shoulder when he's done. Jasper then begins to take my body wash and pour it onto a loofa where he then makes quick work of washing my body before pulling the plug on the tub and turning on the shower head to rinse my off. After he helps me out and wraps me up in a towel and sits me on the counter, he jumps back into the shower to clean himself.
Making quick work, Jasper gets out where he dries himself off then works on me as he had in the tub. Towel drying my hair gently, he then pats my body dry and slips on a long-sleeved shirt of his over my head.
"Let's get some rest, yeah?"
I nod my agreement, letting him carry me into the bedroom and lay me down onto the bed before he goes to pull on a pair of boxers and joins me. Curling up in his side, I hold him securely to me and allow my exhaustion to overtake my body.
"I'll get you through this," I vaguely hear Jasper whisper. "I promise."
A/N: So, there's a mole in the force. Kind of a genius idea on the Volturi's part to send in one of their own if they don't want to be caught. While my stories are pre-typed, sometimes life gets in the way of me being able to upload my chapters, so I apologize for such a long delay. Leave me your thoughts!
-bellacullen166
