Sweet Hostage - Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Bella looked over Jacob’s shoulder, squinting as she scanned the parking lot in the distance.
“How did you get here?”
“I took the Rabbit. What do you think? I ran through the woods with my only good pair of pants and shirt, rubber-banded around my ankle?” He smiled at her and then grew serious. “It’s parked in the lot.”
He looked around, scanning all sides of the huge fancy hall. He couldn’t see, smell or hear anyone outside, but he could see two of his brothers just behind the foliage of the trees about 200 yards from the hall exit doors.
“Stay here.” He ran over to dense brush and the two wolves took a few hesitant steps toward the clearing. Bella watched Jacob bend down toward the huge wolves, face-level, with his hands gesturing madly. She supposed he was telling them of her crazy escape plan.
He ran back to her and pulled her close as if they were resuming their dance. He spoke quickly in her ear as he maneuvered them toward the wolves.
“I’m going to lead you over toward Sam and Paul, then I’m going to run like hell and get my car and pull it around here. Be ready to move fast, Bells. I don’t know how much time we have before someone will come looking for us.”
He kissed her forehead before walking swiftly toward the parking lot. She ducked under a thick pine-needled limb, peering into the woods. As she focused, two pairs of eyes stared at her through the darkness.
She was embarrassed. All the drama she’d caused, insisting on having what she wanted, no matter the fall-out and its consequences on everyone around her. Now she’d gotten exactly what she wanted and here she was about to cause even more drama as she tried to slip away. She was leaving others to answer the questions that she should have to be facing herself. She really was a coward, and she knew it. She could barely bring herself to meet their glaring stares.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, just as the Rabbit swooped smoothly around the curved drive and halted abruptly beside her.
The passenger door flew open. “Get in!”
She tore her gaze from the wolves, gathering up her long gown, ready to duck quickly into the car.
She knelt down, about to fling herself into the passenger seat, when a body blocked her way. It appeared so suddenly, Bella had never seen it coming. The wolves growled and took a few steps closer.
The figure was tall, blonde, golden-eyed and wearing a beautiful caramel-hued gown that matched her eyes and off-set the strawberry highlights in her hair. Tanya Denali.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Bella could hear a growling sound coming from the car. She could see Jacob’s arm reaching across the seat toward Tanya’s back and it was shaking violently. He was going to phase right in the driver’s seat.
“No! Jacob, I can handle this!”
Tanya leaned down and glanced at Jacob, a humorous glint in her eye, then back at Bella.
“Yes! Down, Jacob, down. Heel. Bella can handle this.” She crossed her arms across her chest, wearing a small lopsided grin. “And I can’t wait to hear it.”
There was complete silence as all eyes turned to Bella. Before she could compose herself and form a reply, Tanya spoke again.
“I warned Edward. Stay with your own kind, I told him. But he insisted that you were different. You wanted to be one of us.” She shook her head and frowned. “No one wants to be one of us,” she said quietly. “I think Edward thought you would make him different. Bring back his humanity somehow. Make him better than the rest of us. He’d never admit to it of course, but Edward has always felt superior to the rest of us. As if he was too good for us.”
Tanya stared into the trees, lost in her own thoughts for a moment. She slid her gaze back toward Bella with a twisted smile. “Did he tell you about us?”
“There wasn’t much to tell,” Bella whispered, lifting her chin slightly. “But I know that you… were attracted to him. And he didn’t want you.”
Tanya quirked her eyebrow and laughed. “Is that what he told you?”
Bella didn’t know what Tanya’s game was or what she was implying. “Look, Tanya. I don’t know what you’re saying was between Edward and you before I met him - “
“Before you met him? Oh, Bella, Edward and I have been very, very close since before you were even born. Don’t let him kid you. Our bond is very deep and goes way, way back.”
“Then you must be very important to him,” Bella conceded. “He’s going to need a friend.” She took a step closer to Tanya. “I love Edward. But I don’t want… this.” She gestured to her fancy gown and then to Tanya herself. The vampire’s eyes narrowed into slits at the implication. “But he’s going to need someone to take care of him. It’s what you wanted after all, isn’t it?”
Tanya seemed to think it over, her eyes boring into Bella’s.
Then she gracefully and slowly slid away from the car door, leaving it open for Bella to enter.
Once Bella situated herself into the passenger seat, Tanya slammed the door closed. “Go! Hurry!”
Jacob hit the gas and they wound back around the drive and toward the lot, which led to the street.
“That was close,” Jacob breathed.
Bella leaned her head back against the head-rest and shut her eyes. Jacob reached over and took her hand. It was cold as ice. She felt like one of them already.
He rubbed the frown between his eyebrows away. That had been too close. What if he hadn’t made it to the reception? What if he’d missed her and Edward had already swept her away toward their honeymoon by the time he’d made it here? Bella would have been a goner. He knew there was no way she would have pulled this stunt on her own. A shudder went through him and he gripped the steering wheel to calm himself down.
Jacob looked in the rear-view mirror. No one was following them. Yet. He took the on-ramp onto the highway and stepped on the accelerator again.
“Where am I going?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, her eyes still shut. “I don’t care. It’s probably best if I don’t know. If we get separated and Alice can ‘see’ me - I don’t want to make it too easy for her. She’ll have to figure out where I am on her own.”
“Well then it’s best if I don’t phase either.”
She turned her head to him, opening her eyes curiously.
“You know Edward will be questioning Sam and the rest of them.”
She nodded her head and laid her head back, closing her eyes again.
“That’s right, honey, just shut your eyes. Go to sleep. I’ve got it from here.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“Thanks Jacob,” she whispered.
XXXXXXX
A/N: First, I just want to say thank you for the overwhelming response to the first chapter of Sweet Hostage. I am so flattered and blown-away. I hope the rest of the story lives up to your expectations.
I’m sure some of you have seen the movie. I was at the midnight showing and have to say the movie was better than the book. But then I’ll take my Jacob Black fix any way I can get it - even if I had to cover my eyes during the dreaded imprinting scene.
The best part was the Jacob and Bella dance at the wedding, where this story picks up from. For approximately 3 brief minutes I remembered exactly why I love Jacob Black. Taylor nailed it.