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

  BEAR'S HEART

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  BEAR HEAT series

  Bear's Bride (Book 1)

  Bear's Kiss (Book 2)

  Bear's Claim (Book 3)

  Bear's Baby (Book 4)

  Bear's Heart (Book 5)

  Copyright © 2015 Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the author's written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this Book

  Jade Keller is starting her new job in the city. She has just moved to the city to be near her younger brother, Luke, and it's her first day at Dino Diner.

  But smack in the middle of lunch hour, when the diner is packed with customers, everything shatters with devastating, deadly force.

  Dylan Hart races with his team to support the rescue efforts of the police and civil defense forces. There are few survivors of the bombing, but he finds Jade.

  Dylan stays with her and vows to keep her safe.

  But the worst is far from over.

  Jade may have a dedicated bodyguard by her side, but someone is determined to destroy her life—by targeting everything and everyone she holds dear.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Jade Keller straightened her waitress uniform over her generous, curvy figure and studied herself in the mirror. Her blond hair was tied back in a low ponytail and she thought she looked real nice in her spiffy new uniform.

  She blew out a breath and flashed herself two thumbs up. “Looking good, Jade,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Yeah, I'm good!”

  First day on the job. After a good breakfast and a shower, she was feeling pretty pumped up.

  She was lucky to have gotten a job so quickly. She had been in the city only a couple of weeks but thinking back, Jade realized that she should have made the move earlier. She should be near her baby brother. After what he had gone through, he needed someone to keep an eye on him and baby him.

  Okay, fine. Luke wasn't exactly a baby now.

  Her younger brother was a strapping, muscly thirty-year-old who was more than a full head taller than her. But it didn't matter how tall or how old he grew. She was ten years older than Luke and she would always see him as her baby brother. And after their parents passed away, Luke was her only family.

  Luke had gone through a truly traumatic, terrifying ordeal, but he had told her firmly that he didn't want her to baby him through it. He needed space and time to sort out his own stuff and get back on his feet.

  She had to admit that her brother did emerge from the harrowing experience a stronger, braver, better man. Only now he wasn't just a man. He was a big, growly, powerful bear shifter.

  A maniacal doctor had gotten his hands on Luke when Luke went to the hospital to fix a simple fracture. The doctor had injected a heavy dose of bear shifter cells into Luke, hoping to turn him into a lethal weapon for the Mob boss who had ordered and financed the whole deadly operation. Luke had been saved by an elite rescue team from the Black Bears Group, a large, high-profile security firm owned by the Black Bears clan.

  Jade knew that she owed her brother's life to the Black Bears. The Black Bears saved Luke's life and snatched him back from hell. When it became clear that there was no way to reverse the change in Luke, Luke had wanted to take his own life. He would rather die than become a monster.

  The Black Bears had taken Luke under their wing and helped him through his Change. They understood his pain and rage, and they were patient yet tough with him. Luke had a raging bear inside of him, and Ethan Flint, the Black Bears alpha, assigned a senior Black Bears lieutenant to guide Luke through his Change. His mentor would train him to control and draw on the power of his bear for good. Luke had been a cop in the city's police force, but he had lapsed into a deep depression after his Change. He quit the force and he wanted to quit life.

  The Black Bears gave Luke a place in their clan, a job in the Black Bears Group, and a new life. They had saved her brother, in more ways than one.

  Jade had never met Luke's mentor, Dylan Hart, but she had spoken to him once on the phone. Dylan was really polite over the phone, a real gentleman, and he had the sexiest, deepest voice she had ever heard. From her conversations with Luke, she could tell how much her brother respected and liked Dylan.

  Jade had taken urgent leave and rushed to the city to be with her brother during his darkest days. She had nursed him back to health and tried to keep his spirits up. She had wanted to stay longer, but Luke had insisted she go back home. Her brother had growled and snarled at her, making clear that he didn't want her hanging around.

  After meeting with the Black Bears alpha and beta, Jade finally understood why Luke didn't want her to stay with him. He was afraid that he would lose control of his bear and hurt her. Jade understood that it was a difficult time for Luke, and she would only get in the way of his recovery. If he really did hurt her by accident, he would never forgive himself and it would scar him forever. It was better for her to step back and give her brother time to regain his confidence and take back control of his life.

  So Jade had gone back to her town and her orderly, quiet life. But the restaurant where she had worked as a waitress for more than fifteen years had burned down suddenly. Jade suspected that someone had set fire to the restaurant deliberately. She was sure the fire wasn't an accident but there was no proof and no one was ever arrested.

  The owners of the restaurant, Mr and Mrs Xi, had packed up and left the town shortly after. And Jade had found herself out of a job for the first time in her life. The other restaurants in town weren't hiring.

  Jade decided that it was time to let go of the past and start looking to the future. She had continued living in their family home, taking care of the modest, comfortable house that held so many beautiful memories. She hadn't wanted to sell the house. She and Luke had grown up in that house. It wasn't just a house. It was their home.

  But now her parents were gone. And Luke was living and working in the city. She shouldn't be clinging to the past. The house was too large for her, too empty.

  She had discussed her plans with Luke, and he had heartily approved of her plan to sell the house and move to the city.

  She had split the sale proceeds with Luke since their parents had left the house to both of them, and gotten herself a tiny apartment in a nice neighborhood close to the heart of the city. Luke was working for the Black Bears Group and his apartment was closer to the Black Bears' office. Luke had offered her his place, but she had declined. Luke's little apartment was cozy but it had only one bedroom. He had wanted her to have the bedroom while he took the couch. It was sweet of him, but Jade decided that it was best that she get her own place.

  Jade had been worried about finding employment in the big city. But as it happened, the job seemed to just fall right into her lap.

  She had been having breakfast with Luke and one of his colleagues, Baxter, at Dino Diner. Baxter had been happily showing her photographs of his mate, Lindy and their lovely little daughter, Shannon, over breakfast.

  On their way out, she had caught sight of the notice at the door. Dino Diner was hiring. Baxter and Luke had to rush off to work, so she had shooed th
em off and gone back into the diner to make enquiries.

  The manager had conducted the interview in one of the booths right there and then, and she had been offered the job on the spot.

  She had texted her brother the good news right away.

  It was a good start to her new life in the city.

  Jade looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She slicked on another coat of lip gloss, grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

  She checked her watch and walked briskly to the bus stop. She was early. Her shift started at eight. Dino Diner was open twenty-four hours so the night crew would still be around.

  The hours were long but the pay was good. Dino Diner paid their staff really well, and the manager told her that she could expect generous tips from their regular customers.

  Jade tried to calm her nerves during the twenty-minute bus ride to the diner. For some reason, she found herself feeling anxious and jumpy.

  Come on, Jade, you're a very experienced, competent waitress, she admonished herself. Get a grip.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Dylan Hart glanced around and checked that his team was in position.

  The Black Bears were providing backup while the police prepared to storm a building where a masked, psychotic robber was holding an elderly lady hostage.

  The police assumed that the robber was acting alone, but the Black Bears assumed nothing.

  Dylan was in charge of the backup operation, and he suspected that the police were making a mistake by focusing all their personnel and attention on the building and the robber. Dylan suspected that the robber wasn't as mad and stupid as he looked.

  Dylan gave the signal and his Black Bears fanned out discreetly to cover a wider area. Luke and Jenny, two of the newest members of his team, crouched behind the cars parked at the side of the road and gave him the thumbs-up.

  Dylan had planted Luke and Jenny at the front of the building, and a couple of Black Bears at the back and sides of the building. Luke and Jenny might be rookies, but they were fast and alert. Their instincts and reflexes were sharp, and they were as strong and brave as any Black Bear.

  Dylan scanned the dim pre-dawn street. The robber would have planned for a quick, smooth getaway. And Dylan had a hunch that the getaway vehicle would make an appearance once their attention had been diverted by a well-timed accident.

  The police aimed their guns at the building entrance and waited for a few tense seconds.

  A gunshot sounded.

  “Go, go, go!”

  Uniforms charged into the building.

  Dylan squinted into the distance. Dawn was just breaking over the city, and the orange glow of the rising sun glinted off windows and windscreens.

  He could hear the whine of a motor engine. A car was coming towards them at high speed.

  As the police stormed the building, a rusty metal heap of a car with a souped-up engine ploughed into a row of neatly parked cars.

  Car alarms blared and wailed, and people ran out into the street at the commotion.

  Dylan saw another car coming down the street in the opposite direction. People were running out of the nearby buildings and houses, some clad in their pajamas and bathrobes.

  The crowd was growing.

  Dylan scanned the crowed and saw a well-dressed man with a hat pulled low over his face sliding through the rubber-neckers.

  He tapped his watch to alert his team immediately. “Getaway vehicle approaching in the opposite direction. Blue Toyota. Suspect in a bowler hat, black suit and white shirt.”

  Dylan peeled away from his post and followed the man. The man cut through the crowd and stepped off the curb before Dylan could reach him.

  The robber had ditched his ski mask and bomber jacket, and had assumed the appearance of an upper-class gentleman. The man was fast and clever. There was no trace at all of that heavy-handed, bumbling nutso.

  Dylan hissed into his watch. “Team A, move in now! We're losing him!”

  Dylan only saw a blur at the corner of his eye as Luke detached himself from his post and flew towards the suspect. He tackled the suspect to the ground just as the blue Toyota screeched up. Dylan fired three shots in rapid succession. He took out two tires and hit the driver in the upper arm.

  When the driver stumbled out of the car and tried to escape in a limping run, Jenny was on him before he could make it halfway across the road. Jenny pressed her knee into his back and yanked his arms behind him as he howled in pain.

  Luke was holding on tightly to the man in the suit. “What do you think you're doing?” the man spat. “I'll sue you! I'll sue the whole lot of you!”

  Dylan trained his gun on him. “I believe you'll find the diamond in one of his pockets,” Dylan said, jerking his head as police officers came running up. The police cuffed and began to search the suspect.

  “You have no right...” the man started to shout.

  “So sue me,” Dylan said flatly as he put his gun away.

  He nodded at Luke and Jenny. “Good job.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jade cleared away the plates and cups and stacked them on the tray. Dino Diner was famous for their waffles and dino-sized breakfast sets. The diner was packed in the mornings, and customers had been streaming in non-stop.

  Jade had been on her feet for hours, taking orders, serving customers, pouring coffee and tea and clearing the tables. But she still managed to find the time to chat and joke with some of the customers. Some of the regulars remarked that they had never seen her around, and asked if this was her first day. When she answered that it was, they had given her the thumbs up and left her very generous tips.

  Nancy, the head waitress, was equally busy and harried but her puffy bouffant remained perfectly coiffed with not a strand of hair out of place even after the bustling morning. The lunch crowd was coming in and it looked like it was going to get even busier around the diner.

  Jade was hurrying to the kitchen with her fully loaded tray when a man walked quickly out of the washroom and pushed past her. His arm knocked Jade sideways and she lost her balance.

  “Oh no, oh shit!” she gasped as she struggled to right her tray.

  The tray slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor.

  Jade went down with it, and landed among the broken cups and plates.

  The man didn't even glance back at her. He simply continued walking towards the door and exited the diner with a smirk on his face.

  Jade pushed herself up and glared at his departing back in shock. The man was wearing a long, oversized coat and he had a scar down his left cheek. He had dark hair, black eyes and a thick beard. Jade couldn't remember serving him and she had made it a point to remember all the customers she served that morning. It was her first day, and she wanted to remember every detail and get to know the regulars as quickly as possible. It was a friendly, cozy diner and many of the customers simply ordered “the usual”. She was determined to know what “the usual” meant for each and every customer by the end of the week.

  “Hey! You!” she shouted, ignoring the cut on her hand. “Get back here!”

  “Oh sweetheart, what happened?” Nancy and another waitress, Basheera, came rushing up to her. “Are you okay?”

  “I'm okay. That man pushed me, and then he just walked away like nothing happened,” Jade said, as Basheera helped her up.

  “You're hurt,” Nancy said, eyeing the cut on her hand. “I'll grab the bandage.”

  “I'm fine...” But Nancy had hurried away, and was heard apologizing to some customers for the delay in their orders.

  Jade swore at herself and at the rude stranger who had pushed her. They were so busy already, rushing around and trying to get the piping hot food to their hungry customers in a timely, orderly fashion. Her mishap had caused everyone a lot of inconvenience.

  There were two cooks in the kitchen, and one of them came out to help clean up the mess after Nancy told him what happened.

 
“I...I'm so sorry,” Jade stammered.

  “Nah,” Giovanni waved a tattooed hand. “You get that wound cleaned up and bandaged, or it could get infected.”

  “I'm sorry,” she repeated. “Thank you.”

  “We work together. If something needs to get done, it doesn't matter who gets it done. Go let Nance put a bandage over that nasty cut. Then you can serve all our good customers without embellishing their food with your blood.”

  Jade blew out a sigh. “Right. You're right.”

  Jade went to the storeroom at the back of the diner where the first aid kit was. Nancy was already there with the bandage roll in her hand.

  Jade took the roll from Nancy and said, “I can take care of myself. There's a lot to do out there. I'll be out as soon as I can. Thanks, Nancy. And...I'm really sorry I caused all this trouble for everyone.”

  “It's not your fault,” Nancy said sternly. “Accidents happen.”

  Jade nodded, but Nancy's words sparked something in her mind. Something that dredged up a terrible memory and sent a chill down her spine. She shook the unpleasant memory and negative thoughts away quickly.

  “I...I can clean up this little wound myself. Really,” Jade assured Nancy when the woman still hovered worriedly.

  “Okay, okay. I'll leave you to it then.” With a quick smile, Nancy hurried off.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jade stood alone in the cramped storeroom and dressed her wound quickly. She replayed the incident in her mind and her frown deepened.

  She recalled Nancy's words. Accidents happen.

  But—was it really an accident?

  The man had walked out of the washroom in a great hurry. Apparently, he was a customer but she was sure she had not seen him in the diner. She had smiled and exchanged a friendly greeting with all the customers, even those she hadn't waited on as she bustled around the little diner.