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THEY HAD HURRIED BACK TO the Cullen house and things persisted at an instantaneous pace. Esme and a reluctant Rosalie swapped clothes with Bella and Bailey and would take their truck to try and get James off the scent. Carlisle, Emmett, and Edward turned their sights on James—hunting the hunter. Bailey remained silent, sitting in a corner of the room eyeing everyone else who seemed to be readying themselves. She pressed her hands together with her mind racing, her emotions confusing with how much they fluctuated at increased intervals.
"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?"
Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still.
Finally, her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.
"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen.
Bailey watched Edward approach Bella. She observed their closeness, the iron grip Edward had on Bella and her willingness to the touch. Then for the shortest second, his lips were pressed hard against hers. Bailey looked away then in time to see Jasper take a seat beside her.
"Jasper," Bailey whispered out watching as Cullens started disappearing before her eyes. "Tell me something, what am I feeling?"
"A few things all mixed together," he told her vaguely.
Bailey looked at him awaiting a proper answer.
"Scared, powerless, regretful, and very, very murderous."
Bailey nodded slowly looking away from him. "I don't believe it's classified as 'murder' if technically the victim is already dead."
Jasper was on his feet at that. He held out his hand, Bailey took it and as easily as Emmett had before, Jasper lifted her in his arms, shielding her protectively.
"Leave the sins to us damned souls."
"Damned?" Bailey questioned but received no response as they flew out of the room with them was Alice carrying Bella.
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The hotel room was bland, the bedside lamps were bolted to the tables, the long drapes were made from the same fabric as the bedspread, and the generic watercolour prints on the walls were tacky in Bailey's opinion. She remembered the voyage here. The sleek black car, the glass in the windows darker than that of a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though they'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal speed. Alice was sitting with Bella on the dark leather backseat, Bailey in the passenger as Jasper had his eyes fixated on the road. Bailey recalled looking back during the long night, Bella's head had ended up against Alice's granite neck. The front of her thin cotton shirt was damp with the tears that streamed from Bella's eyes until they were red and sore.
