Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) (8 page)

Dylan and Luke took the lift
up to the eighteenth floor, where the large conference rooms of the
Behavioral Analysis Department were situated. Lindy had called them
to let them know that she would be giving the police an updated
profile and that she had gotten approval for two Black Bears to
attend the briefing.

Baxter had volunteered to
stand in as bodyguard while Dylan went with Luke to the B.A.D. If
Baxter wasn't happily mated, Dylan would never let him get within a
mile of Jade. But Baxter was fiercely devoted to his mate and cub,
and Dylan knew that Bax would protect Jade with his life. Despite
his smart mouth and bad jokes, Bax was one of their best lieutenants.
Fearless, lethal and fist-happy. Neutralize the threat first, ask
questions later.

Dylan headed for the seat at
the back of the conference room. With his height and width, he
didn't want to block anyone's view. This was a very important
briefing, and he wanted the police officers present to get all the
information Lindy had to give them.

Luke sat beside him and
surveyed the room. Then he leaned back and said conversationally,
“So. You like my sister, don't you?”

Dylan disguised his
spluttering behind a hacking cough. He turned to give Luke his
sternest glare.

Luke was unfazed, and
undeterred. “It's okay. You don't have to answer that,”
Luke said, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Baxter was the
only volunteer, you know,” he went on nonchalantly. “No
other male dared stand in as bodyguard for you. And the she-bears
were all busy placing bets that Bax will get his balls busted.
Everyone can see that she's yours.”

Dylan jerked. “They
can?”

“Gotcha!”

Dylan choked out a curse and
managed by superhuman effort not to strangle Luke while he was busy
chortling and snorting.

Shit, he was getting slow and
stupid. Having Jade in his apartment, being so near her every day,
knowing that she was sleeping just behind that bedroom door, was
driving his bear insane. He wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her
so bad. But he couldn't risk causing her any hurt and pain. Her
injuries hadn't fully healed. He had to keep his bear in shackles,
which was proving near impossible. He couldn't allow his sex-crazed
beast to mount her and pound madly into her. God, he was her
bodyguard, but he had to protect her from himself.

It was making him crazy.
Crazy and stupid, obviously.

“Jade hadn't had much
luck in love,” Luke said, his face serious now. “Those
jerks she dated, I'd wanted to punch their arrogant, smarmy faces in.
They cheated on her and bragged about it. But Jade told me to lay
off. I was a cop then. She didn't want me to get in trouble.”

Dylan nodded but his eyes
flashed. He was furious that Jade had been hurt by those scumbags.

“You were my mentor,
Dylan,” Luke said with a lopsided smile. “I know you,
perhaps more than you realize. I know you'll be good to her. You'll
be good for Jade. You're not my mentor anymore. But maybe...”
Luke's smile widened. “...you'll be my brother-in-law.”

Dylan mock-punched Luke.
“Quit fooling around. Lindy's here.”

“Who's fooling around?”
Luke mumbled, rubbing his arm.

Lindy stood at the head of
the long table and nodded at all the officers present. Detectives
Kai Wong and Gloria Cruz were seated near the front. Uniforms, other
detectives and agents from the counter-terrorism and bomb units
filled up the seats. The head of the B.A.D., Maximus Bomberg, was
leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Lindy turned to the screen
and a list of names appeared. She pushed her spectacles up her nose
and launched straight into the briefing.

“These are the names of
the people who were killed in the bombing.”

She clicked the remote and a
shorter list appeared. “And these are the names of the
survivors.”

Dylan saw Jade's name on that
list and his entire body tensed. She had nearly died. She could
have been on the other list. His bear was getting worked up and a
very low, dangerous growl rumbled at the back of his throat. He
forced his beast back and focused on what Lindy was telling them.

Lindy was speaking steadily,
clearly, as she ran through the profile of the suspect. “Appearance
wise, this man is unremarkable, forgettable. He won't leave much of
an impression, and it is easy to dismiss him as harmless. He won't
be noticed much. He doesn't receive much attention, from the
opposite sex, from his superiors at work, or even at home from his
parents. He likely came from a middle-income home, but his parents,
most probably his mother, wanted him to achieve more. She saw her
son as mediocre, and she was disappointed in him.”

Lindy paused as some officers
scribbled notes. “He lacks ambition but harbors delusions of
grandeur. He resents that others are more successful, more capable,
more powerful than him. He wants what they have. He wants wealth
and position, but he lacks the capacity and capability to achieve
what he wants on his own. So he uses others. Manipulates, cheats
and preys on others to get what he wants.”

“What a loser,”
Luke scoffed. Some of the uniforms heard him and nodded their
agreement.

Lindy noted their reaction
and said, “Yes. He knows that people think he is a loser. And
he hates that. He has a warped and inflated sense of entitlement.
He thinks he is entitled to riches and respect, and doesn't do
anything to earn them.”

She flashed an artist sketch
of a bearded man on the screen. “This is a sketch of the
suspected bomber. He is suspected to be one Rickson Moore.”

Lindy clicked the control
again and flashed a sketch of a clean-shaven, light-haired man. “And
this is how Rickson used to look.”

There were murmurs and
questions erupted.

“Are you saying Rickson
Moore disguised himself with a beard, and made himself look...well,
completely different?”

“Those two sketches
don't look like they're pictures of the same person.”

“There are no
similarities at all!”

“Are you sure...?”

Lindy put up her hand for
silence. “Rickson is a master of disguise. His real
appearance is plain with no distinctive traits. The scar that you
see here on this first sketch is fake. He can dye his hair and
eyebrows all sorts of different colors. His eye color can be changed
with colored contact lenses. A prosthetic nose, fake beard, fake
scar, fake tan. He can make himself into a whole different person.
That light-haired, clean shaven look? That is likely a disguise
too.”

Lindy paused and went on,
“And Rickson Moore used to be called Jason Morell. He changed
his name too.”

“He's a loser and a
phony,” Luke spat.

“And he's a murderer,”
Lindy said without missing a beat. “He planted a bomb at Jade
Keller's place of work. He injured and killed so many innocent
people. He's after Jade, because he thinks she's the one who
destroyed his carefully-laid plan. He wants to destroy her future,
the same way she destroyed his.”

Lindy tilted up her chin.
“Jade survived. He'll be very angry and bitter and he may
become even more violent now.”

One of the detectives spoke
up, “We have already posted a few officers around Dylan Hart's
apartment. That's where Jade is currently staying. You think
Rickson Moore is going to try to sneak into the building when there
are so many officers around?”

Lindy shook her head. “No.
But he's sure to try to get to her, one way or another. And he
doesn't care who he has to hurt, and how many he has to kill, to
destroy her. He thinks she destroyed his plan, his future. For
that, he will destroy her future and her life.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

Once the briefing ended,
Dylan called home immediately. But no one answered the phone. He
got his answering machine.

Instead of his usual
pre-recorded message, he heard Baxter's voice. Baxter was evidently
trying to mimic a mechanical voice as he drawled in a robotic
monotone: “Hello, we are not here right now. We are somewhere
else. Ha. Ha. Beep. Leave your stupid message now. Beep.”

“What the fuck...”
Dylan stared at his mobile phone in utter disbelief. “What
the hell is he up to?”

Gritting his teeth, he
punched Baxter's mobile number.

“Hello darling,”
Baxter crooned into his ear. “How's the briefing?”

“Where the hell are
you?” Dylan barked.

“Oh, it's you. I
thought it was Lindy,” Baxter answered lazily.

“Where's Jade?”

“Jade? Why, she's
right here with me of course.”

“And where the fuck are
you?” Dylan shouted.

“Ow, my poor delicate
eardrums!” Baxter whined. “Okay, okay, don't get your
panties in a twist. Geez!”

“Where...” Dylan
began, feeling his left eye begin to throb.

“We're at Luke's.”

Dylan frowned. “Luke's?”
His eyes bugged. “Luke's apartment?”

“Where else? Did you
think it was Luke's Cafe, or Luke's Pizza Place?” Dylan could
just see Bax rolling his eyes.

“Why are you in Luke's
apartment?” Dylan said in a deceptively calm and reasonable
voice.

“For fun and variety,
of course. Jade has been cooped up in your bear cave for so long. I
thought she should go visit her brother and stay for a bit.”

“She shouldn't move
around so much,” Dylan protested hotly. “She's...”

“She's well enough.
You've been treating her like she's a small fragile thing, Dylan.”

Dylan opened his mouth, then
shut it. Baxter was right this time. That was exactly how he was
treating Jade. Like a small, fragile, infinitely precious thing.

“We've got to mix it up
a bit, throw things off kilter, you know,” Baxter went on in
that same flippant tone.

Dylan released a long breath.
What Baxter said made a lot of sense, security wise. Moving Jade
around might throw Rickson off her scent and throw him off balance.
Rickson would make a mistake sooner or later, and they would catch
him.

Dylan scrubbed a hand down
his face. He should have thought of that sooner. It seemed his mind
really wasn't as clear as it should be. He had to think clearly,
with his human mind and not his horny bear brain. Fighting his
overwhelming desire and hunger for Jade had been more difficult and
draining than he realized. He was trying to keep her safe yet he had
to force himself to keep his distance from her. That just wasn't
possible. Perhaps he should put in the official request that another
Black Bear be assigned to guard her. He didn't want to, but he
should do what was best for Jade.

“Thanks, Bax,” he
muttered.

“Apology accepted,”
Baxter said cheerfully. “Pizza's on you. Ask Luke to grab
three giant pizzas on his way home. Oh, hang on a minute.”

Dylan heard Jade's voice in
the background. Baxter came back on and said, “Jade says she
wants hers with extra cheese. Got the order? Good. Now go give
Lindy a big, fat kiss for me.”

At Dylan's incoherent
response, Baxter guffawed and said, “I'm joking! I know you
wouldn't kiss Lindy! I will absolutely kill you, and then kill you
again, if you did. Just thought I should make that clear.
Toodle-loo! Don't forget the pizzas.” Baxter made a kissy
sound and hung up.

Dylan stared at his phone for
a moment. He huffed out a short laugh. Baxter was a total
smart-ass, but he was doing everything he could to protect Jade. And
he was doing everything right.

When Bax pranked him with
that message on the answering machine, Bax had simply said that they
weren't there but had cleverly left out any information regarding
their actual whereabouts. If Rickson did somehow find out where Jade
was and tried his home number, that message would have thrown him for
a loop. It would frustrate and confuse him and trip him up.

He did owe the guy a pizza
and a beer...perhaps for the rest of his life.

Dylan looked up to see Luke
trying to hide a smile behind his fist.

“You gave Bax your
house keys,” Dylan said.

“No. Why should I give
Bax my keys? I gave them to Jade,” Luke said indignantly.

Dylan clapped his hands
together. “Okay, you heard Bax. Let's go give Lindy that big,
wet kiss before we leave.”

“What!” Luke
squawked. “Are you out of your mind? You have a death wish?
Bax will...”

“Gotcha!”

Dylan smirked and resisted
whipping out his phone to capture the expression on Luke's face.

Without missing a beat, Dylan
said over his shoulder as he walked off. “What are you still
standing there for? Let's go get those pizzas.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Jade finished washing the
cups and cutlery in the sink and wiped her hands. “Does that
brat ever do housework?” she grumbled. “His laundry
basket is overflowing. And his dirty socks are all over the floor!”