The Consequences of Messing With A Whitlock
by: Wizardtho
Chapter 15:
As the day wore on, I was happy to see that Em and Rose were able to talk easily with Peter and the crew. I don’t know why I was worried… probably because Edward always acted like he would be ‘associating with the enemy’ if he ever spoke civilly with human drinkers. Either way, I had heard Em laughing and getting rowdy with the guys, as well as Rose giggling and having fun with the ladies, several times throughout the day.
Rose came to sit down with me at the kitchen bar as Peter set my dinner in front of me. I smiled and patted her thigh while picking up my fork, “Settling in alright?”
Her grin lit up her whole face as she answered, “Yes. It’s nice not to have Boy Wonder always spying on my thoughts and judging my actions.” Her face fell, then she took my free hand as she said sadly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t find him, Bella. We did try. Both Em and I searched all the places he frequently went, and Em even tried to track him by scent. We’ll help protect you, though, now that we’re here.”
A flash of my nightmare made me shake my head to rid my mind of the image, and a chill went down my spine. Rose caught that something was wrong, so she whispered, “You okay?”
I shook my head again, then said a bit shakily as Captain wrapped his arms around me, “I need to tell you why it had to be you… why I needed you to see that he was there.”
Rose stopped me from continuing as she said seriously, “No, Bella. You don’t. I already know. From the moment you stood up for yourself in the Cullen front yard, I saw the signs. He may not have made that leap before that moment, but he was a Royce duplicate from that point on. There is no doubt in my mind he would go that far to ensure his hold on you.”
Unshed tears made my vision blurry, but then I was picked up by a mass of muscle. It cradled me gently as Em’s chest rumbled against my ear with his voice, “There’s no way we’re letting that piece of shit anywhere near you, Sissy.” He kissed the top of my head, then handed me straight to my mate, who happened to be sitting in my former seat at the bar.
Rose then patted my leg almost excitedly as she said, “Oh… oh… I almost forgot! Char was so happy with their sketch. I haven’t even seen it yet.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I dried my eyes, “I’ll show you as soon as I get done eating. Ali was taking care of finding nice frames to hang the finished ones in. Everyone else has already given their okay for me to display them around the house.”
Just then, both Ali and Major came into the room. Ali handed me the sketchpad, but Major tipped my chin up as he asked seriously, “You good, Sugar Plum?”
I let out a breath and promised, “Yeah. Just had a flash of my nightmare and was going to explain to Rose. She already knew, though. Said she could see the signs after our shopping trip… when he saw the new look and tattoo.”
Major looked at me silently for a minute, nodded, and kissed the top of my head. I grinned, then opened the sketchpad for Em and Rose before taking another bite of my dinner.
Just as I swallowed, I heard, “This is crazy good, Sissy,” and, “I definitely want ours done when you have the inspiration, Bella. This is almost lifelike, it’s so good.”
I blushed slightly at their praise, but nodded, “As long as you’re sure, I’d be happy to.”
We all chose to head back down to the lower level once my dinner was finished. As I reached the bottom step, I heard Twenty-One Pilots coming through the speakers, filling the bottom level from all around with ‘Heathens’. I couldn’t help but chuckle and sing along as I danced Ali around the room, “We don’t deal with outsiders very well. They say newcomers have a certain smell. Yeah, trust issues, not to mention, they say they can smell your intentions. You lovin’ on the freakshow sitting next to you. You have some weird people sitting next to you. You think I didn’t get here sitting next to you. But after all I’ve said, please don’t forget… watch it…”
Then from all around me, I hear several of the crew belting out, “Watch it… All my friends are heathens, take it slow. Wait for them to ask you who you know. Please don’t make any sudden moves. You don’t know the half of the abuse.”
I continued dancing with Ali and Rose until the song ended. I couldn’t contain my grin, though, and hugged them to me when the song ended.
As soon as I let them go and turned to find my mate, I happened to catch Adrianna jumping into Micha’s arms out in the garden, and him grinning as he swung her around at human speed. My breath caught as I watched her small hands cup his face, their love for each other nearly making a glow around them as she leaned in for a kiss.
As I kept watching, I heard Ali say faintly, “Micha, Bella has you two in her sights. She’s fine, Rose. This is how she gets the sketch scenes.”
It was only a short time later that I blinked a few times and saw Captain near the doors to the patio and garden. I went right to him, smiling. With a kiss, he asked, “Got a new couple to sketch, Angel?”
I nodded, hugging him around the waist, “Yep. Wanna come sit with me for a bit? I just need to feel close.”
He hummed, kissed my lips softly, then agreed, “Close sounds just perfect to me, Kitten. It sounds like Em and Rose wanna watch your process. You good with that?”
As we made our way to the couch, I agreed, “Of course. It’ll probably bore them both, but I don’t mind.”
I sat and talked with Em, Rose, and the crew while I sketched. I watched Derrick and Jade pair up against Nate and Kota in a game of 8 ball, plus Ang was loving the fact that she kicked Coop’s ass in whatever game they had played on the dartboard.
Time passed quickly, so I was slightly put off by how dark it had gotten outside when I finished the sketch. It took me a second, but then I shook my head, “He’s late. Jenks, Peter. He’s late, isn’t he?”
He nodded slightly, “As of right now? Ten minutes late.”
Just then, Jasper’s phone rang, and he whistled loudly before answering it on speakerphone. He didn’t even get to say hello before Jenks said in a rush, “I apologise for being tardy, Sir. I wanted to be precise in my count, so I counted each page of the fax 3 times, to be sure. I must inform you that the number I came up with was 18 pages short of your quoted 1496 on all 3 counts, Mr. Whitlock.”
Jasper growled slightly before saying, “Thank you, Jenks. Your attention to detail is appreciated. Seal everything that was faxed in one envelope folder with your wax seal, box it, then overnight the box to me here. Your fee will be wired the moment the box reaches me, as per usual.”
Jenks said immediately, “Right away, Sir. If you should need anything else, please call. Have a good evening.”
As soon as Jasper pocketed his phone, he looked at me. My voice held both anger and promise as I said in all seriousness, “I warned Carlisle, Jasper. I wasn't fucking kidding. I want his head, and I want those 18 pieces of paper he left out. I would bet my left tit that every one of those sheets is “research data” on my brain tumor and how different vampiric powers react to it. He was using me -using my medical case- as a fucking guinea pig. I am officially saying it's open season for Whitlocks to hunt the 3 Cullens. I’m not handing this off to the Volturi. No. I will see them burn by my own hands before this is through, Jasper.”
I picked up my phone and hit the button for Carlisle, unsurprised when I got his voicemail. "Run. Run as far and as fast as you can. I dare you. In the end I'll still find you, no matter where you try to hide. You just sentenced yourself, Esme, and Edward to death by not heeding my advice. I warned you not to fuck with me. I'm coming for you, Carlisle, and I have every resource I need to get the job done."