Barely any light broke through the canopy of trees that shielded the Cullen home against any smattering of early evening sunlight. Though, that probably suited them.

I'd parked the cruiser a ways off the path to their lair and hiked the rest of the way through freshly wet thrush. Behind an old leaning tree I crouched in a ditch just off the path from the East side of the home. My boots dug into the soft damp earth, digging for traction underneath the slick leaves that lay at the foot of the tree. As far as I could see the home was deserted but that didn't necessarily mean they wouldn't come back.

They weren't at my house and the school hadn't seen Bella, but there had been sightings of Cullen's around town. The post office, the school--the balls it takes to walk around like nothing was wrong. Like they hadn't left me there to bleed to death. That was it though, they thought I was either dead or close to it.

Using a branch for leverage I pulled myself up and over the mound. A dizzy spell gripped me as a throbbing started in my chest. I held my breath through the burning but crept forward all the same.

With each step the manor gloomed larger and more inescapable. I walked on, pulling my gun from it's holster but keeping the fresh wooden stake I'd picked up at home hidden in my waistband. I stalked my way toward the back door and tried the handle but it was locked. Of course.

I took the butt of the gun and hit it against the glass door. It cracked. I swung again and it shattered. I reached my arm through the hole and unlocked the door. When I stepped through the threshold I was careful to bypass the shards of glass on the hardwood. I'm not sure how advanced their hearing is, but just in case I stepped lightly.

The air inside sat heavy and undisturbed. I kept my gun at the ready as I inched forward through the dining room. The polished wooden dining set sat perfectly aligned, perfectly untouched. Cardboard boxes were stacked in a corner. I eased my way over and carefully peeked in the one on top. There wasn't much in it except for a sparse amount of unused dishes and silverware.

A granite topped island divided the kitchen area. The countertops were stacked with the rest of the dishes. A few plates, glasses, a knife-block, cutting board--what you'd expect to find in any home. What made it so disturbing was that all of it was factory new. Not a scratch on the cutting board or a stain on a pot.

I continued my pace through the house, clearing the rooms as I went. A couple of overly pristine bathrooms were as polished as if it had been built yesterday and multiple bedrooms had been emptied out with the exception of a master with luxurious sheets still draped over it. No wrinkles, no tears, no wear down. Not a speck of dust had gathered in any nook or corner of the whole damn house. The only thing that seemed to be in use was the computer in Carlisle's office and an old piano with worn yellowed keys.

It was nothing more than a giant doll house. The Cullens liked to put in an extravagant show it seemed but looking harder revealed that this place--this life they'd built was about as lived in as a museum exhibit. They didn't eat. They didn't sleep. They didn't shit. Why do they even bother with school? Why bother with work, or college, or buying all of this garbage if a vampire only wants one thing?

Upstairs in one of the bedrooms the frame of a bed sat lonely without a mattress. The bookshelves were empty too. More stacks of boxes revealed where the books had gone.

The Cullens were almost ready to run.

And they were trying to run with my daughter in tow. I didn't have much time to find them before they pulled their little disappearing act again, but I knew they were still hanging around. Carlisle would have been terminating his contract at the hospital right about now. Couldn't pull that doctor shtick without a good rapport with the previous healthcare facility.

And they'd have a hard time pulling five children out of school without the truancy department looking into it either, so I suppose they're going to try to transfer schools too. They were in town alright. The only thing I needed to do was find just one of them. Find a Cullen, catch a Bella, right?

As I was closing the boxes, I heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. I crept my way back down the hall until I was poised at the top of the stairwell. I didn't run down to engage, instead I listened.

"Charlie's been here. I can smell him." Edward Cullen.

"I thought you said he died in Phoenix." The woman's voice was unfamiliar. It had to be either Rosalie or Esme.

"He should have."

"All of you have been sloppy. When I got back from trying to throw James off track all of Forks was on a manhunt for Bella. Then I hear you've destroyed a ballet studio in Phoenix."

"Everything is under control," Edward's voice remained unmoved.

"Not Bella."

"She's....more difficult than other humans."

"Difficult? She should be under your complete control by now. Why is she still fighting you?"

"Carlisle thinks it's because of her uniqueness. My powers don't work on her. Jasper can barely calm her. Only Alice's powers seem to have any complete effect. Her ability to hold off my compulsion for so long is likely a symptom of her gift."

I dared to crawl my way down a couple more steps until I could just see them standing near the kitchen. Edward Cullen's face was grim and still. The other vampire was about a foot shorter than Edward. Her back was turned to me, her long brown hair shielding most of her features. Movement caught my eye in the corner behind Edward. Bella lay there, her eyes closed against the world and her skeletal body propped against the wall on the floor.

My heart sank for a moment before she moved again. Still alive. I almost ran to her but stopped myself short. Better to wait for the opportunity.

"Her father is almost the same," Edward said. "Trying to listen to him sounds like static. I can only seem to hear him some of the time, but only in wisps and whispers. We got lucky at the airport."

"Even more reason to kill him. He'll come back. He followed all of you to Phoenix, he broke in here. He won't stop until he gets her back." The woman started pacing back and forth.

"Then the next time we see him I will kill him."

She stopped in front of him. "He's killed a vampire. He could kill another."

"You weren't there. It was simply beginner's luck."

"You never should have gone after a police officer's daughter. It was too easy for him figure us out."

"There was no other option."

"And how did he kill James anyway? You said James bit him..."

"He did. He bit him but Charlie was able to fight off the compulsion somehow."

Her voice came out in a whisper. "Just like Bella. Remarkable."

He nodded. "Put this talk behind you. Remember what Carlisle said. The ritual is our first priority."

"Still, you'll never smuggle her out of Fork's in time. He needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

"And who would do it? I'm guarding Bella. Alice and Rose have already gone ahead to secure our housing. Carlisle is busy trying to transfer to the new town. Emmet is still cleaning up the mess in Phoenix. And Jasper is trying to find Jenk's--wherever he's disappeared to."

"I'll stay."

"Esme-"

"No, I should help all of you for once. I will stay and deal with Charlie. Afterward I will join the rest of you."

"You're not a fighter."

"But I am a part of this coven and I made a promise many nights ago to help Carlisle complete the ritual. Just as you all of you did."

"Alright," His voice genuinely softened as he leaned in and embraced her. "Please be careful."

I was down the stairs in an instant.

As they stood together, wrapped in each other's arms I pointed the gun toward Esme and fired. The bullet pierced the back of her shoulder and continued through Edward's chest. Esme's shrill scream hit my ears and I winced in pain. Edward's usually calm face became etched in frown lines. His eyes grew wide as he gaped at the blood between them.

Through the ringing in my ears I could hear his startled voice, "I didn't hear him! My God he's just like Bella. I can't hear him!"

Esme turned around, her beautiful face red with blood and her eyes a mask contempt. "Edward, get her out of here."

"You're injured!"

"As are you. Take Bella to the rendezvous point, meet up with Carlisle and the others. I'm right behind you."

I pointed the gun at Edward, ready to fire at him again but before I could pull the trigger Esme Cullen had raced to my side and gripped my arm, her fingers digging through the gauze of the cast and piercing my skin. I fired anyway, hitting Edward in his right forearm as he was trying to pick up Bella. His agonized cry sent tremors through the house, making my ears ache and the windows shake.

Esme knocked the gun from my hand and pushed me, throwing me back toward the kitchen. I landed on top of the kitchen island, my breath catching when my rib snapped. I slid over the edge to put the island between us and then planted my feet firmly.

She bared her fangs, taking a defensive stance between me and Edward. By then Edward had gathered Bella into his arms. Bella looked at me her eyes as dark as a corpse. Her lips parted slightly and she wheezed out a sorrowful, "Dad...".

I stood there hunched over, my hand pressed into my side trying to manually hold my rib in place with the arm still healing under my cast. I wasn't going to be able to save Bella until I dealt with Esme Cullen. She didn't take her eyes off me, but the vampires seemed to communicate without words.

Edward ran through the door, his speed so fast I barely noticed. I tried to follow but a low hiss came from behind as Esme grabbed me by the neck. She slammed me against the island easily, the muscles in her forearm barely flexing as her grip tightened.

I grabbed her neck right back and tried pushing her away but she barely moved, instead her fingernails dug deep enough into my neck to draw blood. "I don't usually like to resort to violence," she said in a low hungry voice. "However, if it saves my family....well, I'll make the exception for you Chief Swan."

Her fangs glistened when her lips parted. I saw the deep red of her tongue, wet and hungry as her mouth opened wider. Her eyes glazed over as they caressed the veins in my neck. She leaned closer, ready for her meal but I gripped the handle of one of the knives in the knife block and stabbed at her heart with all the strength I had. It lodged itself between her pale flesh.

She seemed puzzled for a moment, her golden eyes blinking back into consciousness. She looked down and stared at the knife. Her laughter was pleasant, hell it was charming. "You're not the first abusive man I've ever dealt with."

Her long white fingers wrapped around the hilt of the knife. She slid it out from between her breasts with all the emotion of a tick, her shirt licking up the blood.

"A pity," she said. "I was fond of this blouse."

She looked at me again, all thirst for my blood gone. "Dieing by feeding wouldn't have been bad. It would have hurt at first, however, eventually you could have died relatively peacefully. Since you insist, I'll give you the death you seek."

She raised the knife above her head, ready to plunge it into my chest. When it came down it met my left forearm. It got lodged there between the muscle and tendon and bone. As she struggled to pry it out of me, my right hand gripped the wooden tent stake from the band of my jeans. She only saw the end of it as it plowed forward into the freshly opened wound over her heart.

Her face etched with pain before her body slumped on top of me. Her head fell against my shoulder, draping me under her soft chesnut hair. I felt her body tremble and her dry voice croak out a hoarse, "Why..", before her cold skin grew colder and dryer.

When she stopped moving I tried to push her off of me but the slightest pressure turned her once marble-like skin into dust. She slid through my fingers into a pile of nothing onto the floor. I was left holding that blouse she'd loved so much.

It took me a moment to regain my senses. Deep panicky breath choked me as sweat began to puddle on my skin. I grabbed my forearm when I registered the pain. The kitchen knife was still lodged in my arm. I took a deep breath and gripped the blade tightly. I slid the blade out fast, the metal burning as it slid against the open wound. The blood rushed from my head and my knees buckled, but I refused to pass out.

Instead I grabbed a kitchen towel and wrapped it around my arm as tight as I could. I left it there for a beat before checking the wound. The knife had gone in and come out mostly clean, but if I didn't do something to at least slow the bleeding I would croak right here in the kitchen beside the dirt pile formally known as Esme.

Maybe I can find some needle and thread around here. I looked around for a sewing kit of some kind but apparently when you bought new clothes every week it didn't facilitated the need for one. Figures. I was going to just say 'fuck it' and wrap my arm with duct tape when I remembered that Carlisle is a doctor.

His medical bag was in the office where I'd seen it. I opened it and dumped the contents on the large oak desk and clawed my way through it until I found a surgical suture pack. Inside was the needle, sharp and curved with suture pre-attached to it. I held my bleeding arm in front of me, took a breath, and tried to delicately sew the wound shut.

I'd had some emergency training, but it hardly came into to play on a daily basis with the exception of CPR or simply bandaging someone up. This was a little beyond my expertise but I was running out of time. I was expecting it to hurt each time my shaky hands came to dip back into my skin but the area around the wound had begun to swell and numb and half the time I didn't feel it.

When it was done I wrapped Esme's silk blouse tightly around it, found my gun, and ran out into the darkness.