"Where was the last place you saw Jasper?" Izzy asked.
Sitting with Edward was one of the most difficult things Izzy had ever done. There was nothing she could do to heal his broken body. Every labored breath and whimper of pain took her one step closer to a mental breakdown. In sharp contrast, Izzy felt oddly calm as she laced up her boots. This was the kind of situation in which she thrived. There was a job to be done and she had the tools to do it.
"In Edward's room," Emmett replied. "One of the agents asked him a question and he bolted!"
"How long was that?"
The warmer the trail the better. Izzy hoped Jasper didn't have too much of a head start.
Emmett started pacing back and forth in front of the window. "I don't know, maybe an hour?"
Izzy cursed under her breath. How could she have been so stupid? A situation like this was all hands on deck. She should never have allowed herself the luxury of sleep.
Izzy finished tying her boots then stood. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going to make sure he didn't go back to Edward's room. If he hasn't, we'll search the entire building from top to bottom."
"But we've already searched the clinic!" Emmett protested. "He's not there!"
While the clinic wasn't a large building, there were still plenty of places a person could hide.
"This is Jasper we're talking about," Izzy said. "He probably just found some out-of-the-way place to hide. He always was good at that."
Emmett smirked. "Hide and seek world champion of 2018."
How did you even get in there? Bella asked.
She didn't know it was possible for a person to bend that way.
"I think the more important question is 'why did you get in there?" Edward said..
Edward had no right to judge. He still had a leaf in his hair from the last round. They'd had to borrow a ladder from one of Alice's neighbors to get him out of that oak tree.
"It doesn't matter!" Jasper shouted. "Just get me out of here!"
They could have played Monopoly, Risk, or Clue. But no, that would have been boring. Like fools, they'd decided to spend the day playing an extreme game of hide and go seek, each hiding spot more adventurous than the last. Now Jasper was trapped and no one knew how to save him.
"Just hold on, Jazz," Alice said. "Help is on the way."
"What do you mean, help?" Jasper asked. "Who did you call?"
"You'll see," Edward said, smirking.
Emmett, wearing his fireman turn-out gear, came thundering down the stairs like a herd of baby elephants. He was carrying a toolbox and an ax. Bella hoped the ax was just for show. Her father would blow a fuse if the Cullens killed another one of his appliances.
"No need to fear, citizens!" he shouted. "The Fork's Fire Department is here!"
"No!" Jasper wailed. "Why did you have to call him!"
What else were they supposed to do? As funny as it was, they couldn't just leave Jasper stuck in the dryer twisted up like a pretzel.
"Who better to get you out than your kind, innocent older brother who totally isn't going to grab a quick selfie for future generations!" Emmett pulled out his phone. "Smile, Jazz. Say "Hide and Seek 2018 World Champion!"
Bella had no doubt that the image would reappear in two weeks on Jasper's birthday cake. What would she do without those goofy, lovable Cullen brothers?
Emmett's smile vanished just as quickly as it appeared. "What if we don't find him?"
"We'll find him," Izzy replied.
Izzy was the go-to tracker in the Black Back. Give her six cities blocks and she'd have no trouble finding the stray cowering under a rusted-out car. Jake called it her superpower. Izzy often thought of it as a cruel joke. Why couldn't her power have made itself known in time to save Edward?
"What if we're too late?" Emmett asked, staring at the darkening sky outside the window. "What if…they got him?"
Izzy knew he didn't mean Esme, Alice, or the clinic staff.
"We'll find him," Izzy said. "Odds are that he didn't go far."
They couldn't think that way. Jasper couldn't just vanish. Not again.
"Odds are that we could take one stupid bachelor trip without ending up in a cult!" Emmett snapped. "Screw the odds!"
Odds were that his biological parents wouldn't get murdered. Odds were that his little brother wouldn't get cancer. Odds were that he wouldn't fall victim to bloodthirsty monsters. Emmett wasn't wrong. The odds have never been in his favor.
Izzy took a few steps back to give Emmett some space. Given the horrified look on his face, that was the wrong move. She was definitely failing at finding the right things to say and being supportive. She wished Jake was there to give her some pointers.
"I'm sorry," Emmett said, his eyes wide. "I didn't mean to bite your head off."
While normally happy go lucky Emmett's outburst was a bit jarring, Izzy couldn't blame him given the situation.
"It's alright," Izzy said. "You're just worried about your brother."
While she was doing her best to put on a brave face, Izzy was worried about Jasper too. She'd seen dogs dart out into oncoming traffic to escape being captured. What if Jasper ran straight into the arms of his former captors to avoid the perceived threat of the FBI and his family?
"I'm worried about you too," Emmett said. "You look almost as bad as I do."
Emmett had to be exaggerating. Izzy snuck a quick glance in the mirror. She looked tired and her hair could use a good brushing, but that had been the case for much of the last five years. Who cared about inconsequential things like sleep or grooming when lives were on the line?
"I'm fine," Izzy said automatically.
She wasn't the one who'd spent the last five years being tortured.
"No more lying," Emmett said, crossing his arms. "You promised, remember?"
While Emmett came off as a class clown with his head in the clouds, he could be annoyingly perceptive at times.
"I'm just a little tired," Izzy said. "That's all."
Tired of worrying. Tired of wondering what if. Tired of not being able to do anything to help.
"I imagine so," Emmett said. "You must feel like someone dropped a live grenade in the middle of your life."
More like a hydrogen bomb.
"You probably have a million things going on in your life that are more important than playing nurse to a couple of guys you haven't seen since you were a teenager." Emmett continued. " I wouldn't blame you for wanting to just go back to Forks and wash your hands of this mess."
Izzy was quick to close the gap between them. "Listen to me, Emmett. I'm genuinely happy that you guys are back."
"Don't you dare think for a single second that you're an inconvenience or a burden," Izzy said, taking one of Emmett's scarred hands in hers. "You always have and always will be worth it."
How many times had she had this same conversation with Jake? Too many to count.
"So you're not planning to leave?" Emmett asked. "I wouldn't blame you if you did. This all has to be a lot for you."
Emmett needed reassurance. A promise that she wouldn't leave. Unfortunately, that wasn't a promise she could make. The Cullens weren't the only ones counting on her.
Izzy hoped Emmett didn't notice her brief hesitation. "Right now I need to be here with you guys." Izzy picked her jacket up off the floor and offered it to Emmett. "Let's go find your brother."
Izzy came to two unfortunate realizations when she stepped foot outside the hotel. First, it was absolutely freezing. A threadbare hoodie and ripped skinny jeans offered little in the way of warmth. She didn't even want to think about the possibility of Jasper wandering around outside in a flimsy hospital gown. Second, demons weren't limited to the past. Some of those demons owned cameras and weren't afraid to traverse the frozen Alaskan terrain to score an incriminating photo.
"Izzy, Izzy!" over here!" Someone shouted. "Is it true that you're here for rehab!"
"Have you quit the Wolves? Another voice demanded. "Who will replace you?
Knowing they'd find a way to twist her words, Izzy didn't answer a single question.
"Is it true that the Wolves have connections to the Denali family?" a female voice asked. "Have you been using donations to fund their lifestyle?
The flash of cameras was blinding. Izzy looked over her shoulder. While she was used to being mobbed by the paparazzi, Emmett wasn't.
"What's going on?" Emmett asked, wincing each time a camera flashed. "Who are all of these people?"
"Just cover your face and don't talk to them!" Izzy shouted over the onslaught of questions from the photographers. "I'll explain later!"
Izzy grabbed Emmett's wrist and rushed him across the street.
"I'm holding you to that, Swan," Emmett said, pulling the hood of Izzy's jacket over his face. "You have some serious explaining to do!"
Outside the hospital they found a security guard dragging a scrawny man out of the building by his collar. The scrawny man struggled and shouted but was no match for his much larger captor.
"This is public property!" the skinny man shouted. "I have every right to be here!"
"Not in the ICU, you don't!" The guard growled.
Izzy's blood boiled when she noticed the camera clutched in the guard's hand. What kind of sicko took pictures of injured people to make a quick buck? She'd smash that stupid thing to bits if it turned out he'd gone anywhere near Edward.
"If I find you within a hundred yards of this clinic again you will be arrested." He raised his voice in case any other scum bags were waiting to pounce. "The same goes for your vulture friends! If you know what's good for you you'll be on the next flight back to whatever cesspool you crawled out of!"
"Can I at least have my camera back?" the scrawny man asked.
"Sure," the guard said, smirking. "Here you go."
He hurled the camera out into the street. It made a satisfying crunch when it hit the ground.
With the guard's approval, Izzy and Emmett slipped into the building. They found Alice searching the lobby.
"Emmett!" Alice shouted. "What were you doing outside! I told you to go lay down!"
"And I told you that I'm not to laze about in bed until we've found Jasper," Emmett said. I went to see if Jasper went to the hotel. I didn't find him, but I did find Bella who has a freaking fan club waiting outside with cameras!"
"The paparazzi are here?" Alice asked Izzy.
Izzy nodded. "They'd probably follow me to the moon."
"Izzy Swan and Alice Brandon in the same building." Alice said, sighing "Those vultures are probably having a field day."
Izzy didn't even want to think about tomorrow's headlines. By this time tomorrow people around the world think the two of them had joined some sort of murderous vampire cult.
"Alice, Bella," Emmett said. "I love you two like sisters, but someone really needs to explain what's going on. Why do the paparazzi care about you?"
"We'll talk about it later," Alice said. "What's important now is finding Jasper."
They didn't find Jasper in the ICU, cafeteria, or doctor's lounge. There was only one room left to search. As usual with Izzy's rotten luck, the path Izzy least hoped for appeared to be the only one left. Izzy took a deep breath and pushed open the double doors.
Unfortunately for Izzy, it wasn't her first time in a morgue. She knew full well what was in the stainless steel drawers lining the walls. It felt strange to be hoping that there was a Cullen somewhere in the cold, silent room.
They found Jasper hiding under a thankfully empty table.
"Hey Jazzy," Alice said, keeping his voice low and even. "You okay?"
Jasper scooted further under the table. Being questioned must have been an excruciating ordeal.
"Why don't you come on out," Alice said, crouching down to Jasper's level.
Before Izzy could stop her, Alice reached for Jasper. Jasper bared his teeth and lunged forward.
You're the Major.
You fought till the bitter end.
You won your war.
But lost your life
You're gone but never forgotten.
Singing was probably the worst possible action for Izzy to take, but somehow it worked. Jasper was staring at her, any aspirations of harming his former girlfriend forgotten.
Emmett was the first to speak. "Since when have you been able to sing?"
"Emmett!" Alice hissed.
Izzy didn't take offense at Emmett's comment. In high school, she silently mouthed along during choir and birthday parties. No matter how much Edward pleaded or Emmett teased, she refused to let a single note pass her lips. Emmett was going to get the shock of his life when he found out that the same girl who fainted on stage during a choir concert now played packed stadiums without breaking a sweat.
'"We've found Jasper," Emmett said. "Now are the two of you going to tell me what's going on or not?"
"Let's take this conversation upstairs to Edward's room," Izzy replied, rubbing her temples. "It's a long story and I don't have the energy to tell it twice."