Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter Fifteen

1 "How is the nausea?" Demetri said, as he drove his rental as quickly as was allowed, back toward Forks. It was about the tenth time he was asking this in as many minutes.

Leah, curled up in her seat, shivering and sweating profusely, almost whacked him upside the head. Christ. "Says hello. Is ready to party."

Violent cramps shook her stomach again, and she closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. This was the worst one yet. Who'd have thought that being infected with vampire venom would give her the world's most ridiculously acute case of motion sickness? She'd suggested phasing and running after they'd had to make two barf-stops, but he'd advised her to conserve what little energy she had; she'd need it. Comforting, that was – really comforting.

To be fair, he also mentioned that even if he were to carry her, they'd never make it past the wolves by trying human-free routes that would get them to their destination more quickly. Well, that was a point that she really needed to concede. Damn it. Damn it all to hell. This was such an epic cluster-fuck.

"You want me to pull over?"

"No." She breathed – once, twice, three times. Her stomach quieted down a bit. "No. Thanks. I'm good."

"It will be okay. Just ride it out."

"Just ride it out, he says," she mumbled, trying and failing to ignore the cold shivers that made her teeth chatter. "Easy as pie. Fucking a-plus."

"The pain's mostly gone, which is a great sign. By the time we get back to Forks, you will be able to stand again."

What a comfort and a half. She shut her eyes tightly, hugged her arms to herself, pulled her legs even closer to her body, and prayed to whatever deity might be out there that Yuppie Vamp was right. Her life wasn't the only one that depended on it.

That was when the merry yet generic pre-programmed chime of a cell phone rang out of Demetri's jacket pocket. Leah didn't want to open her eyes, but forced herself to do so when he said, "It's Chief Swan."

"Great. Just what we needed."

"I'll handle it," he said, took the call, and put the phone on speaker. "Good morning, Chief. I'm sorry about the kitchen tiles. I'll replace them as soon as-"

"Never mind that, kid," Charlie cut in brusquely. "Your note said something about meeting with a friend about your fiancée's disappearance?"

Demetri exchanged a little look with Leah. "Yes. I'm actually on my way back to Forks right now. It seems like Irina spent some time with the Cullens in their home before travelling to Rio. I-"

"That makes the whole deal even more suspicious." On the other end of the line, Charlie cleared his throat. "Listen, Matt, I've been checking their tax records and found some really dodgy stuff going on. You wouldn't even believe any of the other shit these people have been pulling, such as appropriating an old cabin on land that isn't theirs. To be frank, I'm surprised they haven't caught the eye of the law until now. Doesn't matter. I've returned to active duty and was just about to round up whoever's at the station. Got myself a search warrant, too. They can't send me away anymore."

Time seemed to have come to a screeching halt. Leah felt as if her body had been flash-frozen. Eyes wide and stomach lurching, she pushed herself to an upright position and stared at Demetri, wide-eyed. Oh, God. Oh, shit. This was not happening!

"A search warrant?" Demetri said, raising his free hand briefly to stop Leah from blurting out something rash. "This quickly? How did-"

"Never mind how, son. I just did. I just wanted to tell you we're finally getting somewhere. With enough pressure – especially if it's financial, with these types – it's a heck of a lot easier to get the results we want. We're closer than ever to bringing them to justice. Just don't try to get to the Cullen house, okay?"