But it was too late. Derek, well, the panther version of him, turned to face her with blood all over his teeth. Then he growled. Low and menacing.
Emma saw the two men that had been holding Aaron still take off running toward her. Without a second thought, she sprinted back through the restaurant and into her car. She fumbled with her keys but managed to get in with seconds to spare.
The two large men that had followed her emerged from the restaurant, and Emma could see the kind greeter raise her voice as she tried to get them to pay their bill before leaving. Emma didn't think. She floored it and sped right out of the parking lot and onto the road.
"A panther. Derek turned into a panther." Emma fought had to catch her breath, and she placed a shaky hand over her chest, willing her heartbeat to stop jackknifing in her chest.
Derek was some type of monster, and she'd seen him murder an innocent guy.
Scratch that. Derek had seen her, see him do it. She was screwed.
"Damn it, Emma," she said to herself, her throat thick with pain. "You've taken this co-dependency too far this time."
2
"Morning," Jade called as she walked into the kitchen. She lowered her head in acknowledgment as her friends greeted her in turn. Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, Jade moved to her usual seat at the corner of the kitchen island.
Her obsession with needing to be in direct view of any entry and exit points had dictated her life for years now. It was the kind of thing she did without much thought, and she was glad none of her teammates had noticed or commented on it.
Just another one of my quirks, she thought. I guess it's the price I have to pay.
Jade squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and willed the guilty feelings down. At this time of year, she expected them, but something about being in such close contact with her friends was making them worse.
It had only been six months since the Whiteheart clan was born. In that time, Jade had spent every single day with her friends. While she did get alone time, it was hard to find. Now, she suspected all that company was starting to soften her.
Jade opened her eyes and found Mara's big brown eyes trained on her. The older bear shifter's motherly frown tugged at Jade's heartstrings, but there was nothing she could do to ease her friend’s worry. A significant anniversary was coming up for Jade, and no matter what she did, the memories and associated guilt would find her.
"God, will you two stop," Brooke said, rolling her eyes. "If I have to deal with one more display of affection from you, I think I might jump off a cliff."
Rowan, their clan leader, stuck her tongue out. Her mate Eva sat perched on her lap, her face buried in Rowan's neck. Jade couldn't deny that the two made a beautiful couple both inside and out.
Rowan's sometimes serious personality was balanced out by Eva's emerging outgoing one. Rowan's tall, lithe frame, complimented Eva's shorter curvier one. They were the most well-suited couple Jade had seen, but even she was getting tired of watching their love blossom but for entirely different reasons than Brooke. It wasn't jealousy that made Jade want to look away from the public display of affection, but sadness because she knew she'd never get to experience that kind of love.
"They're in their honeymoon phase," Mara said, smiling at them. "Let them enjoy it."
"Oh, I have no problem with that. I'd just prefer it if they enjoyed it away from me." With that, Brooke shoved away from the table and went up the stairs.
Giselle whistled, then turned to Mara with a glint in her brown eyes. "I think you're right," she whispered. "Brooke is jealous of Rowan and Eva."
Mara shook her head. "Change is hard for everyone. For so long it was just the two of them."
"But Rowan is her best friend."
"It doesn't matter. The heart is rarely logical." Mara lifted a hand to shag Giselle's carefully coiffed short black hair. "Look who finally learned to whisper."
Giselle slapped Mara's hands away as the older woman laughed. "I wish you'd stop doing that. It's not funny."
"Come on, Jade," Mara said turning to face her. "Tell Giselle it's all a bit of fun. Just like she likes to have with you."
Jade smiled tightly. "Mara's right."
Giselle dropped her hands and cocked her head. "Mara's right. That's all you have to say? Usually, you'd have jumped in with a few digs of your own. What's up with you today? Actually, these past few days. You're a lot sourer than your usual self."
"Giselle," Mara said, her voice raised in warning, as a tense silence filled the room.
"What? I'm kidding. How can I be the only one who's noticed it?" Giselle turned around to face everyone at the table in turn. "Something's wrong. I can't be the only one who cares."
Jade pursed her lips and willed her tensed muscles to relax. Things had been different for her over the past few days. Knowing that the anniversary of the worst day of your life was coming up, could do that to a person.
Everyone else had left Jade alone, allowing her to be quieter and more detached than usual. Giselle, who had a problem seeing past her nose sometimes, was the only one that lacked a level of sensitivity.
Rather than get upset, and say something genuinely horrible, Jade got out of her chair. "Rowan, I'll be out in the car once you're ready."
Her clan leader nodded, then turned to kiss her girlfriend. "It's time for me to go. Have a good day at work."
"I'm just an intern," Eva said. "I'm not even getting paid.
"And I'm sure that lovely interior designer will have tasks for you to accomplish. It doesn't matter about the money part."
Jade picked up her bowl and scoffed down her remaining cereal, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she placed it in the dishwasher and headed outside.
Maybe I should take the week off, and head out of town, she thought.
She scoffed. "That would cause a scene."
Jade, who had been a loner for most of her life, had found it difficult to adjust to clan life, but over the last few months, she had. Now, she was starting to see the downside of living with your five best friends, and Giselle in particular.
Jade sighed. She and Giselle fought and bickered, but there was never any ill intent behind it. In fact, for Jade, it was a welcome respite sometimes. She wasn't one to seek out company and conversation.
Giselle didn't care about any of that. She'd walk up to Jade and force a conversation, dragging answers out of her with a few digs. Soon, they'd be gabbing like friends. Many times, the conversation would end in a fight, but that had stopped happening so much.
Things between Jade and Giselle had been getting better, but now Jade wanted to be as far away from her as possible. Giselle reminded her too much of Danny. Danny had been as outgoing as Giselle, and she also had an uncanny ability to get Jade to open up.
Jade shut her eyes, lowered her head, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No crying," she whispered. "Save that for Saturday."
Jade felt the ache in her heart begin to intensify. Something about being around her friends was making this time of year exceptionally difficult to deal with, and she hated that. She hated that she was starting to lose her cool after years of iron-willed emotional control.
"You ready to go?" Rowan asked, stepping out of the house the Whiteheart clan shared.
"Yeah." Jade took a deep breath and hopped into the passenger seat, glad she'd been standing facing the opposite direction. The last thing she wanted was for Rowan to see the wetness in her eyes.
Jade took a deep breath and stared out of the window, needing a distraction. When Rowan established her own security company a couple of months ago, she'd approached Jade about working with her.
Jade had spent her life fighting in one form or another. First as a teenager in the foster system. Then in the military. And finally, as a part of one of Falhurst's top wolf clans. It was a no-brainer for her to go into security. There was plenty of action, but at least this time she slept better knowing she was on the right side of things.
Rowan was a gre
at boss and co-worker. She let Jade make decisions and even take the lead on some things. But right now, Jade almost wished she was working alone because Rowan was quiet. That meant she was fixing to talk to Jade about something personal.
On a typical day, Rowan would talk about the agenda of the day and information she'd gotten from informants. Their security company contracted for the Falhurst police department, taking care of rogue shifters who threatened to expose the shifter world to humans or otherwise used their unique abilities to take advantage of humans. But Rowan hadn't said a word, and Jade already knew what was coming.
"So, are you holding up okay?" Rowan's voice pitched up at the end, indicating that she was just as uncomfortable with this conversation as Jade was.
"Yeah. I'm good."
"That's good to hear." Rowan drummed her fingers on the driver's wheel, and Jade clenched her teeth. This conversation wasn't over by a long shot. Thirty seconds later, Rowan piped up.
"Giselle wasn't completely off base back at the house. You have been a lot more withdrawn than usual. I'm worried about you."
Jade inhaled and stared at her road ahead. "Don't be."
"Easier said than done." Rowan cleared her throat. "Look, I know that a lot of former military deal with all kinds of trauma that I can't even begin to understand. If you need therapy or something like that, I'd be more than happy to give you time off and even pay for it."
Jade leaned her head back on the headrest and clenched her fists. It was too much. All the care and concern being thrown her way was making her uber emotional.
That was a no go this time of year. Because Jade knew full well that if she unpacked all the emotion she'd kept bottled up for years, she wouldn't get up and function. Then her friends would have something to worry about.
"I'll be sure to let you know if I need your help." Jade folded her arms. "What's on the agenda for today?"
Rowan sighed. "Not much. Just patrols and catching up with informants. After lunch, we've got to head to the Bluecraw territory. They're having some initiation ceremony, and Jason wants us to hang around in case someone gets drunk and does something stupid."
"Sounds good." Jade undid her buckle belt. "I'd like to do some foot scouting at the edge of town. Never know what we might find. Last time a couple of teenage Shadowtop wolves were on the side of the road scaring humans coming into Falhurst."
Rowan turned to look at Jade, her gray eyes darting all over her face. Jade controlled her breathing and willed her face to relax. She knew that Rowan was checking whether Jade was alright to be alone.
"Okay," Rowan said turning to face the road. "It has been a while since we've patrolled that area. There's only Jason and us. It's a lot to handle."
Jade exhaled, happy to have passed inspection. "Maybe one day all the clans will contribute to a joint task force."
Rowan scoffed. "That will never happen. They're all too busy focused on making money. They don't stop to think about what would happen if the humans found out about us. Again. I have a feeling that things would be a lot worse than they were centuries ago."
Jade strolled along the forest path closest to the road, taking deep breaths as she went. She made a mental note to do a lot more hiking this week. It had only been ten minutes or so, but she already felt like a new woman.
Maybe the animal part of me is taking over, she thought.
Jade froze mid-step. Some of the Darksong clan wolves were dealing with that same problem. They'd shift without notice, and the animal part of their souls started controlling their actions.
Jade and Rowan had handled their fair share of wolves facing this problem. She wondered if it was possible for that to happen to a bear shifter. Sometimes, when Jade shifted, she felt like she was an entirely different person. Lord knows she'd done her fair amount of damage when in one of those moods.
The sound of a vehicle chocking as it slowed down to a halt broke her train of thought. Jade turned and walked toward the road. Once out of the forest, she spotted a blue, beat up Toyota Corolla pulled to the side of the road.
A tall, leggy blonde woman stepped out of the car and slammed the hood with her fist. "No, no, no!" Running her hands through her long hair, the young woman grunted in frustration before looking up and down the road for help, while rubbing her hands over her arms.
Jade made sure to crunch a few leaves as she purposely increased the weight of her footsteps. She didn't want to scare the woman who already looked to be at her ropes end.
The young woman turned, her blue eyes wide with shock as she regarded Jade. Jade took a minute to drink the woman in. She had bags around her eyes and seemed to be freezing in the early morning chill with the work shirt she had on. The label on the shirt mentioned an Ivy. Falhurst had no such restaurant, so she was an outsider. Then there was the woman's generous chest and hips that complemented her tall, lithe frame.
Jade let her eyes run back up to the woman's face. "Beautiful," she muttered under her breath.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked, folding her arms. Gone was the initial shock in her eyes. Now a level of distrust replaced it.
I guess I do look like a stalker coming out of the bushes, Jade thought wryly. Can't have her thinking that.
"I was out for a stroll in the forest. I heard your car break down and came to check things out. Do you need any help?" Jade did her best to smile and look non-threatening. It seemed to work because the woman sighed and leaned back against her car.
"Are you sure you're not a random stalker or something? I've had a rough day and night."
"It looks like it."
The woman rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks. Way to make a girl feel better."
Jade winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that your car broke down, and you look chilly in your work shirt. I'd call those signs of a shitty day."
The young woman grinned and a warmth spread through Jade's chest. It had been a while since she had been with anyone. To be honest, it had been a while since she'd even been attracted to another woman.
After her last relationship, Jade had put on the blinders and shut herself off to anyone. She'd learned the hard way that she wasn't built for long-term domestic bliss, so it was better to focus on work and staying sane. But now, there was a seriously beautiful woman making her feel quiet happiness on the worst week of her year.
"I'm Emma," the woman said, holding her hand out. "I don't have a phone or gas, apparently, and I'd appreciate your help."
Jade took the offered hand and did her best to hold in a gasp when a delicious shiver shot up her arm. She instinctively knew that Emma was dangerous to the solid walls she had built, but Jade found that she oddly didn't mind. Rather than run away, she wanted to get closer.
"I'm Jade," she said. "I'd love to help you get your day back on track."
3
"Jade, huh? I can see that, you know, because of your eyes."
Emma mentally slapped her forehead. She must have been more sleep deprived than she'd thought. Here stood the most beautiful woman she'd seen in a long while, and all she could come up with was a cheesy line about her name matching her eyes.
Eh, who am I kidding, she thought. I've never been smooth. I guess that comes with a life spent caring for your mother, instead of going out and dating.
Soft laughter escaped Jade's heart-shaped lips and her eyes crinkled, softening her entire face. "It's been a while since I heard that one."
Jade was striking when her face was neutral, but something about seeing her smile made Emma's heart flutter. There was a soft side to this stranger, and she wanted to see a lot more of it.
"Well, I aim to please." Emma quickly snatched her hand back when she realized her handshake had gone on a little too long. She looked at Jade whose smile never fell. It seemed she didn't mind.
Emma folded her arms to keep the morning chill away. It was still early summer and so crispy mornings were to be expected. It just sucked that she'd taken off on her run in the middle of the after
noon.
With that thought, memories of Derek and what she'd seen him do slammed into Emma. She shook her head trying to dislodge them, but that didn't help. For some reason, the last few minutes with Jade had made her forget that she was on the run for her life.
Get it together, Em, she told herself.
"Are you okay?" Jade asked, her eyebrows drawn together.
Emma smiled tightly. "Yeah. I, uh, just need to find a way to get gas. You wouldn't happen to have any friends or family nearby, would you?"
"Oh," Jade said pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Sorry. I forgot about all that. Let me call a friend."
Emma turned around and walked a couple of steps to give Jade her privacy. The reality of her situation was starting to set in, and she needed to come up with a plan. Getting gas was just the first step; she needed a solid strategy.
Derek knew that Emma had seen him murder an innocent. As the sole witness willing to testify, she had a target on her back. Not to mention, she had just involuntarily put her mother in a dangerous position, should Derek come looking for her.
Then there was the fact that Derek had said he owned Coventon. Emma had no reason to doubt him. If he could find someone working at a restaurant under a false name, what was to stop him from finding Emma the moment she returned?
Emma scrubbed a hand down her face. She needed a nap. She hadn't eaten in over twenty-four hours, and she could feel her body beginning to succumb to exhaustion.
"She'll be here in about fifteen," Jade said, walking toward Emma. "Would you like my jacket? That shirt seems pretty thin."
Emma watched Jade's eyes drop to her chest, and linger there for a while. She mentally smiled. While she may be on the run, a little flirting couldn't hurt. Besides, Jade had been super helpful so far, and as a lesbian, Emma secretly loved the attention.
"Been staring, have you?"
Jade's cheeks colored and she opened her mouth, then shut it even faster. Emma burst out laughing and Jade frowned. "That was mean."
"Sorry." Emma lifted a hand in apology. "I couldn't resist. It's not every day a hot girl stares at my chest. This tight uniform is finally paying off."
Wounded Bear (Whiteheart Clan Book 2) Page 2
