Izzy stiffened when the officers entered the room. Had they no shame? The Cullens needed time to heal, not an interrogation.
"You're not speaking to them without a lawyer present," Izzy said, positioning herself between Edward and the officers.
"There's no need to get lawyers involved," Officer Hawk said. "We aren't pursuing any charges against them at this time."
At this time. More like, we don't have a reason to arrest them but we're hoping you'll provide one.
"We just want to talk," Officer Hawk said.
Yet another phrase that gave her pause. Leaving the sleepy town of Forks had taught Izzy that a badge didn't make someone a good person. While many officers were kind and just like her father, there were others who were different. There were monsters out there who believed the unforgivable crimes of having tattoos and being darker than a piece of Wonderbread should be punished with a bullet to the chest.
"Jake!" Izzy cried. "Let him go!"
Jake didn't do anything wrong. Sure, they were technically trespassing but it was for a good cause. The injured pup in the backseat would never have made it until morning if they hadn't intervened.
"Stay in the car, Izzy." Jake said as the cop forced him to his knees."Everything will be okay!"
The handcuffs were not okay. The red mark on Jake's neck was not okay. Most of all, the gun pointed at Jake's head was not okay. Losing him would never be okay.
In Spite of Jake screaming for her not to do it, Izzy opened the door and stepped outside. She'd either save Jake or die trying.
There was no way of telling which kind of Officers Hawk and Sparks fell into. Some things like the fate of her back from the dead friends, were too important to leave up to chance.
Izzy looked around the room for support. Misty eyed Esme was staring at her sons unaware anyone had entered the room. Emmett leaned back in his chair seemingly without a care in the world. Alice was smiling at Jasper who was still curled up in a ball sucking his thumb. The only one who seemed at all concerned was Edward. However, Izzy suspected he was more worried about her potentially leaving than being arrested.
Officer Sparks, who'd been staring at Izzy with wide eyes, spoke up. "Are you...her?"
Izzy sighed. "Yes. Izzy Swan in the flesh."
Being recognized in public had stopped being fun long ago. How she longed for the days when she could stop for a gallon of milk without being asked for her autograph.
"Holy cow," Officer Spark's said, chuckling. "I thought the bronze-haired guy was nuts."
"Told you we were telling the truth," Emmett muttered.
Officer Sparks pointed at Alice. "So does that make you Alice Brandon."
Alice sighed. "Yes."
It seemed fame was getting old for her too.
Officer Sparks scanned the room. "Does that mean Rosalie Hale is here too?"
Emmett winced. "No. Rose couldn't make it."
If she wasn't afraid to make any sudden movements, Izzy would have gotten up to give Emmett a hug. Thankful, Alice sensed Emmett's discomfort and squeezed his hand.
Officer Hawk tapped his foot impatiently. "You can fangirl later, Sparks. We have more important things to deal with."
"Oh, right." Officer Sparks said. "If you ladies wouldn't mind leaving the room for a few minutes we have a few questions we'd like to ask the guys."
"Questions about what?" Izzy asked.
"Eleazar Denali," Officer Hawk said.
"Eleazar is still out there!" Emmett exclaimed. "Why are you wasting time talking to us! You need to catch him before he hurts someone else!"
"That's where you and your brothers come in. We're hoping you may have some idea where he may have gone."
"We'll gladly answer any questions you have."
Edward nodded. Jasper shifted under the bed.
"Why don't you, mom, and Alice go get something to eat," Emmett said. "We'll be okay here for a few minutes." he paused and looked at Izzy. "And maybe get cleaned up too."
That was rich coming from Emmett who smelled like swamp water.
"I'll go call Mr. Jenks," Esme said. "He should probably know what's going on."
How could she have forgotten? The Cullens were one of the richest families on the west coast. Anything the guys had done could easily be overlooked with a call to the family lawyer and an "anonymous" donation.
"I'll get food," Alice said. "I saw a McDonald's on my way here."
Izzy hoped she would order the biggest, greasiest burger on the menu. Alice had lost a concerning amount of weight. She could easily be mistaken for a patient if she wasn't careful.
"I'll stay here with the guys," Izzy said, eyeing the officers.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather go have a shower," Esme said. " The guys will be okay if you need a few minutes to yourself."
Why was everyone so hell-bent that she was the one who needed a shower? She wasn't the one who'd gone years since her last encounter with a bar of soap.
"I have half a Bath and Bodyworks in my suitcase if you need to borrow anything," Alice offered Izzy.
Izzy sniffed her armpit. She smelled like wet dog and sweat. Back home, no one would have given it a second thought. They'd all had days when personal hygiene had to be put on the back burner. Unfortunately, she wasn't in La Push anymore. Maybe a shower wasn't such a bad idea.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Izzy asked Edward.
Edward nodded. "As long as you promise you'll come back."
Izzy gave Edward's hand one last squeeze before leaving the room. "I'll always come back for you."
Izzy sniffed the tiny bottle of hotel shampoo. It smelled like flowers and mothballs. She smirked when she saw the label that said Grandma's Garden. More like Grandma's Funeral. Score 2/10. Izzy wished Jake were there. Ranking and renaming crappy hotel toiletries was his thing. The name's he came up with were dark, funny and 100% Jake. He had no idea how much she treasured those memories of laughing until they cried in seedy roadside motels. A melody popped into Izzy's head. Maybe her next song would be about those carefree nights.
Izzy's smile turned upside down when she remembered Edward was laying in a hospital bed across the street. Their honeymoon was going to be a multi-month-long cross-country road trip. They were going to stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, ride every ride in Disney World and see a show on Broadway all while staying in the nation's finest hotels. Aside from the luxury hotels, Izzy ended up doing all those things and more with her bandmates. Would she rather have had those experiences with Edward? Did it make her a bad person if she didn't know?
As she dried herself off with a threadbare towel Izzy wondered what she'd be doing in a year. Would she be living in the lap of luxury at Ritz with Edward or goofing around in Motel 7 with Jake? Would she trade in her ripped jeans for designer dresses? Would she live in La Push or Forks? The thought of choosing made her chest ache.
Izzy realized she had a problem when she unzipped her suitcase. Packing had never been her strong suit. She always ended up underpacking what she needed and overpacking what she didn't. She didn't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times hotels had to mail her forgotten phone chargers and pajama tops. On that day, Izzy achieved a new level of packing failure.
Worn skinny jeans, edgy graphic tees, and a whole lot of leather were what made it into Izzy's suitcase. Great for a show in LA. Not so great for keeping a low profile in a remote Alaskan clinic. If that wasn't bad enough, half the clothes weren't even hers. Several of Jake's shirts, two pairs of jeans, and a pair of boxers Izzy hoped were clean had somehow made their way into her suitcase. In hindsight, mindlessly shoveling clothes into her suitcase hadn't been the smartest way of packing.
Izzy found one of Jake's hoodies at the bottom of her suitcase. It had a hole in the left arm and the Wolve's logo was little more than a memory. Glad there was no one there to judge, she buried her face in the soft fabric and inhaled. It smelled like bonfire smoke, rain, and just a hint of wet dog. . How she wished he was there to tell her everything would be okay.