Snow On The Beach - Jasper Hale

Chapter Eleven

Roslyn was silent for most of the drive, but she didn't miss the worried looks Jasper kept sneaking out of the corner of his eye. Koda was still fast asleep on her shoulder when they passed into Phoenix and Roslyn was still staring aimlessly out the window. Jasper finally had enough of her silence and fully turned in his seat.

"Roslyn."

She slowly dragged her gaze from the desert outside to him, the circles under her eyes prominent from stress and the need to feed. She met Jasper's golden eyes, not saying a word, but giving him her attention. Jasper didn't know what to say and his jaw opened and closed a few times before he settled on something.

"You're going to need to eat while we're here."

"I can subsist on coffee." Roslyn's voice was flat, lacking its usual spark.

Alice spoke from the driver's seat. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Koda's going to need you and you can't be there for him if you're starving yourself."

"You're the hunter," Jasper said, an urgent tone in his voice. "You won't be able to take on James or Victoria if you don't feed."

Roslyn's eyes shifted between her friends, but she finally sighed. She pulled her phone out of her back pocked, careful not to wake Koda or Bella, and dialed the phone number she wished she didn't have memorized. Jasper's eyes never left her face and Roslyn could see Alice glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

Finally, Sam answered the phone. "Roslyn?"

"Hey, Sammy." Roslyn was forcing emotion into her words, but she couldn't deny that hearing Sam's voice put her at ease. "Got any leads in the Phoenix area?"

"The hell are you doing in Phoenix?" He asked, but she could hear paper rustling from his end of the line. 

"Long story, but a girl's gotta eat so If you've got any demons, I'll take them."

Dean was the one that responded. "No demons, but if you want to do some ghost hunting while you're out there, we'd appreciate it."

"I don't exactly have time to do your jobs for you," Roslyn hissed. "I'll just raid a blood bank or something."

Roslyn didn't wait for a response before hanging up. Jasper was still watching her, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.

"You could always join the family diet," he suggested, laughing at the thought of it.

Roslyn let out a small laugh, too. "As much fun as that sounds, I can't exactly be adjusting to a completely new diet right now. I'm already having to settle for human blood."

Koda shifted beside her, mumbling something in his sleep. Roslyn focused on his heart, her thoughts racing to the beat of it. What if she wouldn't be able to stop after going back to human blood? What if Koda was next?

She shook her head, looking away from him. "Phoenix is a big place. There's got to be something hiding here: a changeling, a demon, something. If it's here, I'll find it, but I'm not going to risk human."

Jasper nodded once, turning back to the front as Alice pulled into a hotel parking lot. Koda didn't wake as Roslyn carried him up to the room, but she didn't leave his side until he did. She heard Koda's heart skip and his grip on her tightened before he bolted upright, his breath heaving in and out of his lungs. 

"Ros..." His voice was a scared whisper and it made Roslyn's heart ache.

"I'm right here, love." 

The two stayed on the bed, holding each other safely until Bella walked in with a phone to her ear. She gestured at Roslyn, her eyes begging the vampire to leave the room. She got up and gave Koda a small smile, telling him to stay put and try to relax.

Alice and Jasper were staring at the TV when Roslyn entered the living room. Alice only hummed when Roslyn announced that she was going hunting, but Jasper got to his feet and followed me from the hotel.

"How do you plan on finding a supernatural that doesn't want to be found?" He asked, throwing he hood of his sweatshirt on to hide from the rising sun. 

Roslyn pulled out the newspaper she had taken from the front desk and tossed it to Jasper. She had circled a feature about a series of missing persons cases. Roslyn had been researching while Koda had slept and had managed to pin down one thing each victim had in common: The Monarch Theatre. It was a club in downtown Phoenix and every person who had gone missing had visited within 48 hours of their disappearance.

Jasper smiled a crooked grin at Roslyn, waving the newspaper between them. "We aren't exactly dressed for clubbing, rebel."

Roslyn's laughter was weak, but real. "I guess it's a good thing we aren't going clubbing. We're going hunting."

It was sill early in the morning when the vampires arrived at the club and the place was nearly empty. Only the workers remained, kicking out a few stragglers and cleaning up the place. Roslyn and Jasper got odd looks as they stalked through the space, but it wasn't until they were nearing the back offices that security intercepted them. 

"We're closed." The man's voice was rough and deep and, despite his relatively short stature, he was bulky. Jasper may have towered over him, but the bouncer was naively confident.

"Not to us," Roslyn said, reaching into her back pocket for the small wallet she'd grabbed from her hunting bag. She slipped a second one into Jasper's pocket as she went, moving too quickly for the man to see. "Agents Ashborne and Hale, we're here about a series of disappearances in the are."

The bouncer didn't look too closely at their badges, no one ever did, but he glared up at Jasper with narrowed eyes. Roslyn didn't take it personally, she was used to people getting stuck on his appearance. She often found herself in awe of the Cullen family's good looks. 

"We've already had the police in digging around. What's a few missing people to the feds?" 

Jasper made no move to answer despite the bouncer's gaze still stuck on him. Jasper just turned to look down at Roslyn, a golden eyebrow arched. She cleared her throat and the man's eyes finally found her. He looked her up and down appreciatively, not noticing the casual nature of her clothes. Roslyn was fortunately wearing her only pair of jeans without holes and her flannel covered most of the Rolling Stones tank top she had underneath. 

"A few of the victims were from out of state." Roslyn didn't say more, her violet eyes brightening when the familiar scent of a demon filled her nose. She turned to Jasper, nodding behind him to the bartender that had appeared at the bar. "We're just going to look around for a bit, see if there's anything we can figure out."

Roslyn and Jasper didn't wait for a response. They turned on their heels and immediately strode to the bar. The bartender was a small blonde, her hair pulled into a messy knot on top of her head and her shirt and shorts small enough to show off her generous figure. She flashed Jasper a brilliant smile that he didn't return.

"We're just cleaning up, but can I get anything for you folks?" The girl was leaning against the counter, her eyes never leaving Jasper despite the fact that he was looking to Roslyn for an answer.

"No, thanks, though. We're just here to ask you a few questions and then we'll be on our way."

Roslyn's senses were on red alert. There was definitely a demon in the club and she was fairly certain it was the bartender in front of her, but she needed to be sure.

"Is there somewhere private we can go to talk?"

The girl immediately looked wary, but she nodded slowly, coming around to the front of the bar. "There's a private room upstairs we can use."

Jasper finally said something, gesturing for her to go first. "After you, ma'am."