Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5)

by Natalie Kristen

  Finally, she turned back to Dylan. She could feel the heat creeping up her face as she muttered, “Ignore him.”

  Dylan gave a comical, long-suffering sigh and deadpanned, “That's easier said than done, Jade.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Dylan helped Jade sit up and propped an extra pillow behind her to make her comfortable. “I'll be just outside. I'll come back in as soon as you're done,” he told her. Giving her hand a squeeze, Dylan nodded at the two detectives who were waiting to take her statement and exited the room.

  The detectives were standing respectfully at the foot of the bed. The doctors had allowed them to interview her for just a couple of minutes. There was a knock on the door and a pretty, bespectacled blond woman poked her head in.

  She smiled at Jade as she walked in. The two detectives nodded at her in greeting. “Hi Jade, I hope you're feeling better. I'm Lindy Meyers. I'm a profiler with the Behavioral Analysis Department.”

  “Lindy...” Jade stared at the woman for a moment before the name clicked. “Lindy! You are Baxter's mate! He showed me your photos! And the photos of your little girl, Shannon!”

  Lindy grinned and came over to take Jade's hand. “Yep. I know you're Luke's sister. I was hoping to meet you...but not like this.” Lindy sighed and shook her head.

  Jade smiled bravely. “You'll catch the murderer, right?”

  Lindy glanced at the detectives and nodded grimly. She stepped back and pulled a legal pad out of her briefcase. “The detectives will be taking you through the questions, but I'll be taking a few notes, okay?” Lindy said.

  “Okay.” Jade took a deep breath as Detective Kai Wong stepped forward.

  “Miss Keller,” Detective Wong began. “We won't take up much of your time. We would just like you to tell us what happened that morning at Dino Diner.”

  His young, bright-eyed colleague, Detective Gloria Cruz, began to scribble on a notepad as Jade spoke. “I reached the diner at about seven. My shift starts at eight, but I wanted to be early. It was my first day at Dino Diner.” Jade smiled a little, but the smile was small and sad. “Nancy, the head waitress, was on the morning shift that day. Dino Diner is open twenty-four hours. Nancy usually works the night shift, but she wanted to be around on my first day. You know, keep an eye on the new girl, settle her first-day nerves and make sure she doesn't screw up.”

  She swiped at her eyes and swallowed hard. “As it happened, I did screw up.”

  “What happened, Jade?” Detective Wong prompted.

  Jade took a shaky breath and pressed her fists to her stomach. Fighting to keep her voice steady, she went on, “The day crew began to come in. The two day cooks, Giovanni and Calvin, clocked in at about seven-thirty and took over from the night cooks. Basheera and Nancy came in around a quarter to eight. The night crew all left by eight. We got to work right away. Customers were streaming in for breakfast and we were all busy right till lunch time.”

  Detective Cruz flipped a page on her notepad and continued scribbling. Lindy listened intently and only wrote a few words on her legal pad.

  “You said you screwed up. What happened?” Detective Wong said.

  “It was around noon. I was clearing the tables, and I was carrying a big tray of cups and plates to the kitchen when...” Jade stopped and took a steadying breath. “...when this man came out of the washroom and pushed past me. I was blocking his way, and he seemed to be in a great hurry. He shoved me to the side and I fell, tray, plates, cups and all. It was a loud crash, a great commotion. Some customers came to help me but he didn't even look back. He just hurried straight out of the diner.”

  Detective Wong nodded. “Can you describe this man?”

  “Yes. He was around five foot seven. Dark hair and eyes, with a thick beard. And there was a scar down his left cheek.”

  “Miss Keller, would you be willing to work with a police artist? The artist could sketch a likeness of this man, and we can see if anyone recognizes him.”

  “Y-yes, yes of course,” Jade stammered. “I'll help you in any way I can. He is a murderer. So many people are dead.” Jade saw the faces of her colleagues and customers, and she thought she heard their cheerful banter and voices for just an instant.

  Jade tried to swallow a wrenching sob as she whispered the names of her colleagues. “Nancy, Basheera, Giovanni, Calvin, Mr and Mrs Rashid, Tommy and his little brother...” All those lovely customers she had gotten to know just that morning, they were all dead. She remembered Tommy and his younger brother stacking the waffles into the shape of a house on their mom's plate. She had even snapped a picture of that impressive waffle house on her phone. Big, fat tears plopped onto her fists.

  “Jade,” Lindy began gently, “I know it's your first day so you don't know your new colleagues all that well. But maybe one of them might have said something in a conversation. Did any of them ever mention that they were in any sort of trouble?”

  Jade frowned and thought hard. “No,” she said. “No one said anything like that. They were all nice, hardworking people. I didn't get the sense that they were afraid...” Jade trailed off.

  Lindy waited a beat before asking, “Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you, or them, Jade?”

  Very slowly Jade nodded.

  She looked up and met three pairs of intense, attentive eyes.

  She swallowed hard and said, “Rickson. I don't know if that's his real name. But...there was this incident at Hot Wok. Hot Wok was the restaurant I worked at back in my hometown. I've worked at Hot Wok for more than fifteen years. Mr and Mrs Xi, my bosses, were great.”

  She paused to compose herself. “But something happened at the restaurant. And a few weeks later after that incident, the restaurant burned down. There was a fire in the middle of the night...”

  Jade closed her eyes and twisted the corner of the sheets.

  She heard the detective's quiet voice. “Tell me about the incident, Jade.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  As Jade recounted the incident in detail, she saw herself back in Hot Wok, the small restaurant in her hometown that served excellent Chinese food. Hot Wok was owned by Mr and Mrs Xi and they were very generous, caring bosses.

  She could almost smell the aromatic Chinese food and hear the buzz of dinner conversation. She saw the scene vividly in her mind, and she could recall every tiny detail.

  It was a busy evening at Hot Wok. She was rushing around as usual, serving the customers their dishes when she overheard something at one of the corner tables. The restaurant was buzzing with loud conversation and the sound of laughter and clinking cutlery rang through the enclosed space. There was a birthday celebration at one of the tables, and the large, exuberant family was belting out the birthday song for their great-grandmother. Many of the waitresses had gone to lend their voices to the cheerful rendition. No one heard the man's angry words over the cacophony of joyful sounds.

  Jade was just walking past the table when she caught a glimpse of the woman's distressed, frightened face. The young woman looked terrified and angry, and her eyes kept darting around, as though silently begging for someone to help her. The woman was too afraid to even cry out for help.

  Jade stopped at the cashier's counter and pretended to shuffle some papers. She kept her eye on the woman's pale, stricken face and had to force herself not to move when the man leaned forward and gripped the woman's wrist.

  “Your parents have willed the whole house and all their money to you. What is yours is mine. Sign the house over to me, and give me access to the money, Molly,” the man hissed.

  “Rickson, you're hurting me...”

  “Sign over the house and the money, Molly. You should trust me, but instead you're keeping everything for yourself. I'm your fiance,” Rickson snarled

  Molly tried to twist out of his grip. “Please, Rickson...”

  Jade listened to Rickson's increasingly angry, violent threats and Molly's frightened whimpers and pleas. Jade be
gan to inch towards the table. When she saw Rickson lunge forward with the table knife in his hand, she sprang into action. She grabbed the nearest thing to her, which happened to be a pitcher of iced water, and lurched forward.

  Without thinking, she simply threw the ice cold water at the man. Rickson sputtered and shouted, and whirled round to face her. There were gasps and cries as everyone turned towards the commotion.

  “You stupid bitch!” he screamed, whirling towards her with the knife in his hand.

  “What happened?” Mr and Mrs Xi came hurrying towards them. “Jade! What's going on?”

  “This man was threatening our customer,” Jade said, pointing at the cowering woman.

  “Is he your husband, Miss?” Mrs Xi asked her.

  “N-no...he's my...f-fiance...”

  “Your fiance? And he wants your inheritance?” Jade said incredulously.

  “You heard...” The woman looked up at them with large, red-rimmed eyes.

  “You just mind your own fucking business!” Rickson hissed, thrusting the knife up towards Jade's face.

  Jade flinched but she ignored him and addressed her questions to the sobbing woman. “Did he threaten you, Miss? Did he hurt you?”

  The woman winced and wiped her eyes before giving a shaky nod. She looked scared and ashamed.

  Mr and Mrs Xi took in the situation immediately. “Sir, please put down the knife and leave the restaurant,” Mr Xi said firmly. Mrs Xi went to put her arms around the crying woman.

  The man glared at Mr Xi and Jade. With his eyes burning with rage and hatred, he flung the knife away. Stepping up to Jade, he hissed, “You don't know what you've done.”

  As Rickson stormed out of the restaurant, Molly begged Mrs Xi not to call the police. “I'm going to leave him, and leave this place,” she whispered. “Please...”

  A few weeks later, the restaurant was razed to ashes. A fire had broken out during the night, and by the time it was put out, there was nothing left of Hot Wok. The pride and joy of Mr and Mrs Xi had gone up in smoke. They had spent years building up the business, and now they had nothing. Arson was suspected, but no one was ever arrested.

  Just before they left town, Mrs Xi came to Jade and warned her to be careful. “It's not safe here.” But she couldn't or wouldn't say more.

  For many nights, Jade thought she heard noises in the dark just outside her bedroom window. She glimpsed a shadow outside her window, but when she checked, there was no one there.

  She called the police, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn't arrest a shadow. And she couldn't be living in fear and uncertainty.

  “So I moved. I sold the house and moved to the city,” Jade finished and looked up.

  “You didn't tell anyone about this? Not even your brother?” Lindy said gently.

  Jade shook her head. “Luke...had enough on his plate. He was still struggling at that time, with himself, his bear. He had his own demons to battle. I didn't want to add to his burden.”

  The two detective nodded and exchanged a look.

  “Just one last question, Miss Keller,” Detective Wong said. “Did the man who pushed you in Dino Diner look like Rickson?”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Jade thought hard. “I...I don't know,” she said at last. “Rickson had light hair, dull green eyes. The man at the diner had dark hair and eyes, and he had a scar on his face. But...there was just something familiar about that man.”

  She suppressed a shudder and went on, “That...look in his eyes. It was the same look of raw hatred that I saw in Rickson's eyes.” Jade laughed awkwardly. “But you can't arrest someone for having a particular look in their eyes. It's nothing concrete...”

  “You've been very helpful, Miss Keller,” Detective Wong assured her. “You've given us a lot of information.”

  The two detectives glanced at Lindy. Lindy gave a subtle shake of her head. She had no further questions.

  “We'll be in touch. If you think of anything else, just contact us. Every little detail helps.” The detectives handed her their cards. “We will be posting a police guard outside your hospital room, Miss Keller. Unless—you have private security.”

  It took a moment for Jade to understand the implication. “You...you think I'm in danger? You think that man will come after me, try to kill me?”

  “We don't know who this Rickson is, Miss Keller,” Detective Cruz said. The young detective sounded earnest and nervous at the same time. “Rickson might be the bomber. We don't want to take any chances. He might try to...”

  “Kill me? You think...the bearded man who pushed me, is Rickson,” Jade said numbly.

  Before the detectives could reply, Jade let out a low snarl. “I'm not afraid of him! Let him come. You can catch him if he comes for me. The murdering bastard!”

  “You are a crucial witness, Miss Keller. We'll post a police guard...”

  “A guard?” Jade took a sharp breath.

  “Or would you prefer private security?” Detective Wong asked.

  Jade frowned.

  “A bodyguard.”

  “Oh.” Jade worried the corner of her hospital gown. A bodyguard was supposed to be with her at all times, right?

  Wouldn't that be a little weird, having someone hovering around her twenty-four seven? She was used to being on her own for so long.

  “I—I think I'll get a bodyguard. My brother can arrange that. Luke works for a security firm. The Black Bears Group.”

  Detective Wong smiled. “I've worked with the Black Bears on a few cases. They're good at what they do. I'll put in a call to them.”

  “Okay. T-thank you,” Jade stammered.

  She smiled awkwardly at Lindy, who was studying her with quiet concern.

  Perhaps the Black Bears would send Luke to protect her. Her baby brother could be her bodyguard, couldn't he?

  The detectives spoke in low tones to Lindy for a few minutes, then nodded at Jade and left.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Once the detectives left the room, Lindy came to give her a hug.

  Holding her shoulders, Lindy said, “You're very brave, Jade. But you must be careful. I will try to get a profile out quickly, but I agree with the detectives. The bomber might or might not be Rickson, but if he is, then you are in grave danger. From what you've told us, I think Rickson is a manipulative, small-minded, bitter man who harbors unrealistic ambitions and delusions of grandeur. He wants money, but he doesn't want to work for it. He wants recognition, but he isn't willing to earn it. He just wants to get it, grab it, steal it from someone else. That was what he was trying to do with that woman, Molly. He may have deceived and seduced Molly, threatened and terrorized her and made her feel dependent on him and afraid of him. The poor woman even got engaged to him and was too scared to break off the engagement until you stood up for her. You broke his hold on her and opened her eyes that evening. He hates you for it. He was so close to getting his hands on her inheritance, and you thwarted him.”

  “He had no right...” Jade's voice quavered, her anger rising at the memory of Molly's traumatized face. “That was her inheritance, her money and property! But she looked so helpless, lost and defenseless. She didn't even dare fight back.”

  “Rickson is sly and scheming. Molly is probably a rather weak, insecure and lonely young woman. Rickson would have picked up on these traits. He chose her as his target and got close to her. He set to work cultivating her trust and dependence, then slowly broke down her self-esteem and spirit. She submitted to him out of fear, and her fear prevented her from leaving him.”

  Jade's fists balled. “I should have thrown boiling water instead of iced water on him,” she snapped. “The bastard!”

  “Rickson harbors a grudge, and he won't stop until he destroys your future. He thinks you destroyed his future, his road to riches when you stood up and stopped him from terrorizing his fiancee. What you did, your actions, your words, gave Molly the impetus, the courage to finally
leave him.” Lindy paused before saying slowly, “I do think you're right, Jade. About the fire.”

  Jade bit down hard on her lower lip to keep it from trembling. Mr and Mrs Xi had been so good to her, to all their staff. They had worked tirelessly to build up their restaurant, and they were good, generous bosses. They didn't deserve to have their hard work and dreams razed to the ground.

  “His fiancee left him, so he destroyed Hot Wok, the restaurant of Mr and Mrs Xi, who had also stood up for her. Setting fire to the restaurant in the middle of the night—it's an ugly, cowardly thing to do, and it sounds just like him,” Lindy said.

  Jade pressed her cold, clammy fists to her stomach. She felt sick, angry and scared.

  “You think...the bomb was meant for me?” She looked up at Lindy with stricken eyes. “He killed all those people in the diner, just to get at me? It's me he wants, yet all those people died!”

  “Jade, it's not your fault...”

  “Damn right!” Jade swiped furiously at her tears. “It's not my fault. I didn't plant the bomb. But the bomb was planted because of me!”

  “Oh Jade,” Lindy cried and came to take her hands. “You shouldn't think like that.”

  “What the hell am I supposed to think then?” Jade's voice rose. “All those people are dead! They had friends, families, and colleagues—who love them and will miss them forever...” She choked up and burst into tears.

  Jade heard the door open. She knew the moment Dylan stepped into the room. It was like she could sense his presence, his nearness.

  Dylan took her in his arms and rocked her, murmuring into her hair and rubbing her back and arms. Jade hiccuped a final sob and dried her tears on Dylan's shoulder. She felt calmer, safer, more grounded in his arms.

  As her fear and anger subsided, she suddenly felt terribly ashamed of the way she'd yelled at Lindy.