Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5) - Stephenie Meyer Page 0,252

Though this was not a palace, and he’d lived in several, there was an atmosphere of permanence and sanctuary here that he’d not felt in centuries.

He nodded once at Carlisle, and for a brief moment, I felt a strange kind of yearning from the dark-haired vampire toward my father. A sense of respect and a desire to belong. But he quashed the emotion before it could take root, and then he was racing out the door, with no intention of slowing until he was safely in the ocean, his scent untraceable.

Esme dashed across the living room to start the steel shutters rolling down the huge windows that comprised the back wall of the house.

“How close?” Carlisle asked me.

Laurent was almost outside my range and not slowing. He had no desire to run into James on his way out. He’d hear nothing we said. I reached for James. Alice’s vision had given me the direction. It was far enough that he, too, would not be able to hear our plans.

“About three miles out past the river. The tracker is circling around to meet up with the female.”

He would join her on higher ground, where he could watch in which direction we ran.

“What’s the plan?” Carlisle asked.

Though I knew the tracker couldn’t hear, and the shutters were still groaning, I kept my voice low. “We’ll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run her south.”

“And then?”

I knew what he was asking. I looked straight into his eyes as I answered. “As soon as Bella is clear, we hunt him.”

Though Carlisle knew this was coming, he still felt a flare of pain. “I guess there’s no other choice.”

Carlisle had been scrupulously protecting life for three centuries. He’d always been able to find common ground with other vampires. This would not be easy for him, but he was no stranger to difficulty.

We needed to hurry, not to give the tracker any more time than necessary before we gave him a trail to chase. But there were practicalities we needed to address before we could run.

I caught Rose’s eye. “Get her upstairs and trade clothes.”

Confusing the scent was the obvious first step. I’d take something of Bella’s with me, too, and create a trail that would goad the tracker forward.

Rosalie knew this, but her eyes flashed with disbelief.

Don’t you see what she’s done to us? She’s ruined everything! And you want me to protect her?

She spit the rest of her answer aloud, resolved that Bella would hear it, too. “Why should I? What is she to me? Except a menace—a danger you’ve chosen to inflict on all of us!”

Bella jerked as if Rosalie had slapped her.

“Rose…,” Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off. Emmett’s eyes cut to me, half expecting me to spring at her.

But none of this mattered. Rose’s spoiled temper tantrums had always been irritating, but this petty flare-up was ill timed, and time was something I didn’t have enough of.

If she’d decided to cease being my sister tonight, that was her choice and I accepted it.

“Esme?” I knew what her response would be.

“Of course!”

Esme understood the time limits. She lifted Bella carefully into her arms, much as Emmett had, though the effect was very different, and flew up the stairs with her.

“What are we doing?” I heard Bella ask from Esme’s office.

I left Esme to it, and focused on my part. The tracker and his wild partner had moved outside my range. They couldn’t hear us, but I was sure they could see us. They would see our vehicles leave. And they would follow.

What do we need? Carlisle asked.

“The satellite phones. The larger sports bag. Are the tanks full?”

I’ll do it. Emmett sprinted out the front door toward the garage. We always kept several gas drums ready for emergencies.

“The Jeep, the Mercedes, and her truck, too,” I whispered after him.

Got it.

We’re splitting into three? Carlisle was also wary of dividing our force.

“Alice sees it’s the best way.”

He accepted that.

He’ll get hurt. He doesn’t think. He just rushes in. This is all her fault!

Rosalie was assailing me with a torrent of grievances. I found it easy to tune her out. Easy to pretend she wasn’t even there.

What’s my part? Carlisle wanted to know.

I hesitated. “Alice saw you with Emmett and me. But we can’t leave Esme alone to watch Charlie.…”

Carlisle turned to Rosalie with a stern expression. “Rosalie. Will you do your part for our family?”

“For Bella?” She sneered the name.

“Yes,” Carlisle responded. “For our family,