Edward then reached into the bag he had brought in, it had more of Bella's clothes in it. Taking an outfit out, he tossed it to Edythe. "Put these on, sis. We will be the biggest and strongest group. We should draw the attention of the brothers, considering we will have Thomas shifted and you in Bella's clothing."
Edythe nodded, "Jessy's focus is squarely on Thomas. He was enraged that he made him look weak in front of his coven. He is stronger than James in a fight, but James has the better planning mentality. I would put next week's chores on the twins following us, if not all three of them."
I spoke out, "Once we know Alice, Jasper, and Bella are away, I say we turn the tables and start hunting them."
Carlisle looked sad but sighed. "I don't like it, but we protect our own. Your safety comes first, though."
Edythe returned along with Bella and Esme. I chuckled at Bella wearing Esme's long pants. As Edward spoke to Carlisle and Alice, I addressed Bella again.
"You need to stay safe sis, and let them protect you. Don't go doing anything dumb."
She grimaced at me, "You too, Thomas. Even if you are a super cool looking Tiger…thing. Be careful and take care of Charlie for me."
I shook my head, "I am calling myself a shifter. And I will look after your Dad." I emphasized the word dad, I really didn't like that she called him Charlie. Some people don't realize how lucky they are to have family that is able to be there for them.
I turned and focused on what Edward was saying, "They have moved out of my range, but I guarantee they can see the house. They will be able to see us leave. Just to go over the plan a final time, my group will run to Seattle. Straight to the airport, then back. We will have to move slower than full speed to make them think we have Bella with us. Even carrying her at full speed would hurt her, and they won't fall for that."
I interjected at that point, "I won't be able to maintain my full speed all the way to Seattle. I am not a long-distance runner. Also, I just realized that I should let Sam know we have carnivore Vamps in the area."
Edward listened and then swore, "Damn, that changes things. Alice, what do you see now?"
Alice shook her head. "Nothing until we decide on a course of action."
"Let me shift real quick and see if Sam is patrolling. If not, we will have to call Billy to get the word out. Be right back."
Leaving then to readjust the teams, I went upstairs and took off my shorts and shifted. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the pressure against my mind that signaled he was also shifted. I pulled my shorts back on and went down to see if anyone knew how to get hold of Billy.
Carlisle gave me the number, and I dialed it. "Black residence."
Jacob had picked up, "Hey Jacob, it's Thomas. I am looking for your dad, is he there?"
"Yeah, he is outside at the fire pit with Sam. Want me to go get him?"
"Actually, it's Sam I really need to talk to. He said to come to him with questions about a trail he showed me."
"No problem, I'll go get him."
Just a few moments later, I heard Sam's voice on the line. "Thomas? Jacob said you were looking for me?"
I heard Jacob in the background telling Sam to ask about Bella, so I couldn't say it outright. "Yeah, you are the guy to talk to about the forest, and I was wondering what it meant when I smelled a burned sugar smell. I could smell it in four different places today, but one of the spots went away. The other three spots seem to be sticking around."
I heard him take in a deep breath, "Hey Jacob, you want to take the food to your dad? I will be a couple of minutes here, and then I'll join you guys." He must have been waiting for Jacob to be out of earshot. "Ok, what's going on?"
I quickly explained what had happened and what steps we were taking. "Main reason I'm calling is to warn you. Make sure you and Jared run together, and be careful. These Vamps aren't like the Cullen's they are everything your elders fear and more."
"Thanks for letting us know. I will inform the council."
"We plan to do something permanent about these visitors. I will give you a heads up if there is a change. Catch you later, man."
Sam hung up the phone, and I turned to the group to see what had been decided. The new plan was for Emmett and Edythe, who was wearing Bella's clothes, to take the Jeep to Port Angeles with me. Once there, Edythe will buy a few tickets to different locations, and then we will return and deal with Charlie's protection. I planned to use the drive to figure out how to handle his questions. Part of me wanted to tell him everything, but then my conversation with Edythe about the rules of turn or kill those humans who know made me hesitate.
Edward, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Esme in Bella's clothes would run for the Seattle Airport and do the same thing with buying multiple tickets. Though they would have to move slow to keep the farce of a human traveling with them. Then they two would return so Edward can put in his appearance in school.
Once they could confirm we were being followed, Alice, Jasper, and Bella would make their drive to Arizona. As we decided on the plans, Alice filled us in on her visions.
Edward's group was the first to head out, being the biggest and most obvious, we were all hoping that they would draw the brothers. Emmet looked a bit lost as he watched Rosalie run with the first group. He may have been a little irritated with her, but he still loved her dearly. He was also a little sad that they would be taking the first crack at going after the hunters when they got a chance.
10 minutes later, Alice gave us the signal to start our drive to Port Angeles. When we were about 15 miles out of town, Alice texted that Victoria was tracking us from a long distance. She was staying far enough back that if we tried to turn on her, she would be able to run away and get to the ocean before we could catch her. Once we drew her far enough from town, Alice and Jasper would make the run with Bella.
Once my group returned from Port Angeles, there was a discussion about heading back to Charlie's for the night. I had to check on him and make sure he knew I was still here. Edythe and Emmett would be in the woods near the house until the rest of the Coven returned, so we could protect each other.
When I got home, I realized I had overlooked the pain our actions had caused one of the most important people in our lives. Charlie was passed out on the couch with clear tear tracks staining his face. I knew it had only been a few of hours since Bella left the house and, in that time, Charlie had finished a bottle of Jack Daniels that had been more than ¾ full last I had seen it and had 9 empty tall boy Reiner beer cans littering the floor in the living room.
He must have tried to drink everything as fast as he could to shut the words she used against him out of his mind. I thought about calling the station to get Ken and Jeff to cover his shift for tomorrow, even went so far as to pick up the phone. But then I realized that there was no way this stubborn ass man would take the day off to recover. I put my head on the wall and cursed.
"Stubborn ass Swan's. Both of you!!!"
I moved around the front room and picked up the cans and the empty bottle. Put it all in the recycle bin and then went to pull Charlie off the couch and get him upstairs. I first pulled his boots off and put them where they normally went, and then wrapped his arm over my shoulder and stood him up.
"Waz goin on?" Charlie asked as I started moving him.
"Come on Uncle Charlie, I am putting you to bed."
"Cans go tu sleep. Bellsss mite come bak!" He objected.
"It's ok, Charlie, she will be fine. She just scared herself tonight, we need to let her run and get it out of her system. I got Edward to calm down and give her some time, now we just need to do the same."
"Didd hee hurt her? Causee ill shoot im iff he did."
"No, Charlie, this caught him by surprise as much as it did you. He would never hurt her. The guy is obsessed with making her happy."
I managed to get him to his door and open it with him still held up in my other arm. Walking him in and laying him on his bed, he didn't bother taking any of his clothes off, just pulled the covers up to his chin.
"Why? Why do the girls I love leave me like this? Even the words were the same. Am I so broken that every woman sees the same thing wrong with me?"