Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) (6 page)

“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 began 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.

Jade sniffed and lifted her
tired eyes to Lindy, who had picked up her briefcase and was quietly
making her way to the door.

“Lindy,” Jade
called out. “I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you.
I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry...”

Lindy shook her head and gave
her an assuring smile. “It's good to yell. It's okay to yell,
and it's okay to be scared, Jade. In fact, it is right to be
scared,” Lindy said firmly. “If you're scared, you'll do
something to arm yourself, defend yourself. Don't ignore your fear.
Your instincts are usually accurate. The detectives are right. You
should be on your guard, and you should be guarded...”

“I'll guard her,”
Dylan said immediately.

Lindy stared at him for a
moment, then nodded. A small, knowing smile played on her lips as
she opened the door.

“Looks like you've
gotten yourself a great bodyguard, Jade. Dylan's the best!”
Lindy said, breaking into a sly grin. “He'll take very good
care of you. Won't you, Dylan?”

Jade gasped when Dylan
glowered and growled at Lindy. She couldn't understand Dylan's
reaction at all. “Dylan!”

But Lindy's grin only grew
wider and she nodded smugly to herself. “I knew it!”
Lindy said.

Knew what?

Jade blinked and stared from
Dylan to Lindy. Lindy was an expert, a professional behavioral
analyst. She could pick up subtle cues and signals, and read body
language pretty accurately. She was also mated to a Black Bear. She
knew how the Black Bears usually behaved.

So what was so unusual about
Dylan's behavior? And why did Lindy seem so thrilled?

The door closed softly, but
not before they heard Lindy's delighted, gleeful chuckle. “Oh,
just wait till I tell Bax!”

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

Dylan shot to his feet and
started for the door. He had his hand on the door handle when he
felt Jade's eyes on his back. He could feel her shock and
bewilderment, and he forced himself to calm down as he turned to face
her.

Jade's eyes and mouth were
rounded, and he saw shock and confusion in her blue eyes. He was
scaring her with his strange, inexplicable behavior.