Jade sunk down as low as she possibly could while still watching, even though it was pointless anymore to try to pretend she wasn’t there. The man had clearly seen her, but didn’t seem interested in her at the moment. He wanted something from Ace.
He reached into his other pocket and pulled a strange looking black device out. It looked like an oversized pen crossed with a flashlight, and when the man hit a button on it, a blue light shot out from the front. The man pointed the light at each of Ace’s eyes, then hit another button, and the light went off.
“Calculating,” the device said in a loud, robotic voice. Then, a few moments later it said, “Confirmed, bear.”
“I knew it!” the man said, hitting another button on the device. “You are a bear. Let’s see what kind. Black bear? Grizzly? Probably not a polar, huh? It’s a little too warm here for that.”
“Calculating,” the device said again. “Match found. Panda. Alpha male.”
Even through the dirty windshield glass, and from a hundred feet away, Jade could see the color drain out of the man’s face. “No way,” he said, staring at the device in disbelief. “I found the pandas?”
In response, Ace let out a giant roar. The next thing Jade knew, the truck was shaking violently from side to side, and she had been knocked backwards onto the floorboard. She sat up slowly, holding her head where a trickle of warm blood was oozing down from the spot where she had just collided with something sharp in the car. Outside, she could hear screaming punctuated by what sounding like growling. She sat up just enough to peer out the windshield, and then gasped.
Where Ace had been lying moments before, there was now only a pile of torn clothing. A few feet away from there, a huge panda was standing with its teeth bared. The panda was roaring and growling, and the man, who had been so cocky moments before, was now on his back in the sand, screaming at the bear. The panda did not seem interested in showing any mercy, however. Jade watched in horror as the bear swept his giant claws across the man’s chest, slicing through his t-shirt and leaving ribbons of blood and torn cloth behind.
Jade ducked back below the windshield and covered her face with her hands. Ace, or, more accurately, Ace as a panda, was going to kill that man. She couldn’t watch. She knew he was doing what he had to do, and that the man would have killed him if given a chance. Still, Jade couldn’t bring herself to watch someone dying.
After several more moments of loud chaos, everything went silent. Even the sea lion in the back of the truck seemed to have given up on his barking protests. Jade sat on the floorboard and pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close. She looked up through the passenger side window at the cloudy sky. A few drops of rain were sporadically hitting the glass. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. She didn’t bother looking to see whether Ace was okay. She knew he would be. There was no way that man would have been able to fight off the outraged bear Jade had just seen. Even if the man had a real gun, which Jade suspected he did, there would not have been time for him to get it out and pull the trigger. Ace had been on top of him in a matter of moments.
Suddenly, Jade was knocked sideways again when a whoosh of energy rocked the truck. The sea lion started barking again, but quieted after only a few moments. Jade pulled herself back up onto the seat, and looked out the window to see Ace, stark naked and bent over the pile of torn clothes that had resulted from his original shift. He pulled his cell phone out from the shreds of clothing, and dialed a number. Then he held the phone up to his ear while grabbing a large chunk of his shirt and placing it over the head of the lifeless form several feet away.
That’s when Jade first saw the dead man. His body was twisted at what seemed like an impossible angle, and little river of blood ran from his upper torso. Jade looked away, focusing her attention on the waves washing up against the shoreline. A few minutes later, Ace appeared next to the passenger door. He opened it, still naked, and put his hand on her thigh.
“You’re bleeding,” he said, using his other hand to brush at the bloody spot on her forehead. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jade said. “It’s just a bad scratch, I think. I’m more mentally shaken up than anything. That was…quite a lot to take in.”
Ace dropped his eyes to the ground for a moment, and sighed in frustration. “I know,” he said, his voice filled with concern as he looked back up at her. “I’m sorry you had to witness all of that. I know it probably seemed violent. I mean, it was violent. But if I hadn’t taken care of him, well…he would have tried to kill us both.”
“I know,” Jade said quietly. “I understand.”
Ace ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve called the guys. They’re going to come out and help me get rid of the body. We have to find out who he was, and see who might miss him now that he’s gone. We have a contact we can trust in the San Diego police department. He’ll help us get everything taken care of without stirring up a fuss. Or a media storm.”
Jade glanced around uneasily, as though another attacker might materialize on the beach out of thin air. “Do you think there are others nearby?”
“I don’t know,” Ace said. “If we can figure out more about who this guy was, we can hopefully answer that. My guess is that he was stationed out here as a lone agent. Given how surprised he was that I’m a panda, I have a feeling that he didn’t have too much information yet on me or the other guys. I’m not sure how he even knew I was a bear shifter in the first place, but hopefully a thorough search will reveal more information.”
“Okay,” Jade said. She didn’t really know what to say beyond that. The whole situation felt so unreal. She looked up at Brett with resigned, tired eyes. “I should probably get going. I’m sure I won’t be much help cleaning up a body, and I’m sure you can understand that I’m not eager to help with that task. Besides, this sea lion in the back needs treatment. I’m sure he’s horribly traumatized by now.”
“Wait just a few minutes,” Ace said. “Brett is bringing along his girlfriend, Aubrey. She offered to come drive you back and help you with the sea lion. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be driving right now. You’re really shaken up.”
“I’m okay, really,” Jade said. She really wasn’t okay, and she knew it. But at that moment she just wanted to get out of there.
“Please, Jade. Just wait a few minutes. You’ll need help with the sea lion, and it’ll be a while before I can get out of here to help you. Aubrey’s a marine biologist, you know. She should know what she’s doing. You’ll like her, I promise.”
Jade didn’t want to meet someone new right now, but she didn’t have the energy to argue. “Okay, fine,” she said. Then leaned her head back against the seat. “I’ll wait.”
“Thanks, Love,” Ace said, sounding relieved. “It shouldn’t be too much longer now.”
Ace kissed her forehead, then grabbed a half-empty bottle of water from the truck’s cup holder. He found a roll of paper towels in the truck, and poured water on several of the towels, then used them to wipe the blood and dust from Jade’s face.
“It is just a bad scratch,” he said, then kissed her on the lips. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Jade said. “That was terrifying.”
“I know. But try not to be too worried. That guy took me by surprise, but that was the only advantage he had. He was weak, and a coward. And he wasn’t too smart, either. He should’ve known that a stun gun wouldn’t keep me from shifting and letting my bear attack.”
“I didn’t realize at first that the gun was just a stun gun. I thought he had actually shot you.”
“He would have been better off if he had shot me for real. He had a gun in the SUV, I’m sure. My suspicion though is that they’re trying to capture live shifters, for the scientists to run tests on.”
Jade shuddered. She was trying not to let her fear overcome her completely, but she had never dealt with anything more frightening than an angry sea lion.
A group of armed, dangerous men trying to take down a bunch of bear shifters, well, that was new territory for her.
The sound of an engine and tires plowing through sand made Jade whip her head around. She was instantly alert, worried that more attackers might be showing up. But Ace waved at the approaching truck, and Jade realized that it was his friends, plus a pretty woman with reddish brown hair whom she hadn’t met before. The woman must be Aubrey, Jade thought. She’d heard Brett’s girlfriend mentioned in conversation on the few occasions that she’d hung out with the guys, but Aubrey’s work schedule was very busy. So far, Jade hadn’t had a chance to meet her.
The truck pulled up next to Ace’s truck, and the sea lion started barking again. The men all jumped out, nodding briefly at Jade and then throwing a series of rapid fire questions out at Ace. Ace started describing what had just happened, and Jade marveled at how no one seemed the least bit fazed by the fact that he didn’t have a single piece of clothing on his body.
The woman walked past the men and up to where Jade was still sitting in the passenger seat.
“Hi,” she said, extending her hand to shake Jade’s. “I’m Aubrey. You must be Jade. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Brett.”
“Hi,” Jade said. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, too. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Aubrey’s green eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay,” she asked.
“I’m okay,” Jade said, even though her hands were shaking a bit. “The whole attack was just such a shock.”
Aubrey nodded sympathetically. “I’m sure it was. Come on, let’s get out of here and get this sea lion taken care of. There’s not much we can do to help the guys, anyway.”
Jade nodded, and Aubrey hopped into the driver’s seat. She made the drive back to the rescue center in silence, somehow knowing where it was without needing to ask Jade for directions. Jade got lost in her own thoughts and worries. When she had broken her own rule and decided to date a man with a dangerous job, she hadn’t ever expected to find herself in this situation. She had told herself that she would deal with whatever came, but somehow that had been an easier decision to make in the abstract. The decision was harder to justify with the cold, hard facts in front of her—a car chase, a wild fight that involved Ace turning into a fierce panda, and then the dead body of a man a few hundred feet away from her.
When they got to the rescue center, Aubrey helped Jade unload the sea lion and turn him over to the care of the veterinarians. Thankfully, no one mentioned the bloody scratch on Jade’s head, or the fact that Ace had been replaced by a woman they didn’t know. Everyone at the center was too busy with their work to notice details like that. Jade made sure that the sea lion was okay, and then quietly slipped out the side door with Aubrey.
“Thanks for your help,” Jade said. Aubrey had handled the rescue well, and she hadn’t forced Jade to talk for the whole drive, which Jade appreciated.
“No problem,” Aubrey said, giving Jade’s upper arm a friendly squeeze. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
Jade nodded, and climbed into the passenger seat. She could hardly wait to reach the peace and safety of her own apartment, where she could finally start sorting out in her mind what had happened.
She had a lot to think about.
Chapter Ten
Jade wasn’t going to be left alone as soon as she thought. On the drive back to her apartment, Aubrey had insisted on stopping by a Thai restaurant for takeout. Aubrey claimed that she was starving, but Jade had a feeling that Aubrey was trying to stall a little longer to make sure Jade was really okay. Jade didn’t want to be rude to her new friend, so she went along with it. Besides, she did have to eat dinner sometime, right? And she had missed lunch, so her stomach was growling pretty insistently at this point.
Jade led Aubrey up to her apartment and went to grab a few beers from the fridge.
“I’ve only got a pale ale right now, is that okay?” Jade called over her shoulder to Aubrey.
“That’s perfect, thanks!” Aubrey said. The pair settled onto Aubrey’s couch with takeout boxes balanced on their laps and beer bottles in their hands.
“So, are you okay, really?” Aubrey asked. “Today must have been a pretty rough day.”
Jade sighed. How much should she share with Aubrey? She knew she could trust her with her concerns about dating a shifter—Aubrey was the only person Jade knew who would truly understand that. But, still, Jade had just met Aubrey. She felt weird about pouring her heart out to someone who was, in reality, barely more than a stranger. So she shrugged and simply said. “It’s just hard to come face to face with the reality of how much some people hate Ace.”
Aubrey nodded. “I know. It doesn’t make sense to me that people would want to kill someone just because they can change into a bear. The guys are all so amazing. They spend their days saving lives, and yet some people still want them dead. I guess there will always be those who fear what they don’t understand.”
Jade nodded and took a sip of her beer. “I told myself I was okay with the danger. But I don’t know how I would handle it if anything happened to Ace. I know I shouldn’t even say this, let alone think it, but sometimes I think it would be better to not be in his life. I love him so much, but I feel like his days are numbered. Mine too, maybe. The guys who are after him would love to kill me, too, to get to him.”
Aubrey smiled sadly at Jade. “I know it’s hard to deal with Ace being in constant danger. But you can’t change the fact that you love him. Besides, if you leave him because of the danger, then the bad guys win. Don’t let them win, Jade. None of us are promised tomorrow, anyway. So enjoy the today that you do have, with the man you love.”
Jade sighed, and looked down at her noodles. “You’re right,” she said, although she still felt unsettled. But she didn’t have the energy to discuss the situation anymore right now. She suddenly felt exhausted, and just wanted to finish her food and lie down.
Aubrey sensed that Jade was done with the conversation, and backed off. “Come on. Let’s turn on the TV and relax for a little bit. Let the guys worry about what happened today.”
Jade agreed, and grabbed the remote. She would lose herself in some mindless sitcoms, and deal with reality later.
* * *
Ace didn’t have the luxury of putting off reality until later. For three hours, he worked with his crew, and their police department contact, to get rid of the evidence of his attacker. This was easy enough to do, since a quick check of the man’s name and public records didn’t turn up any living relatives. The police officer assured Ace and his crew that he would take care of things. He said something about staging it to look like an accidental drowning, and Ace didn’t ask for further details. He didn’t want to know. The only thing he wanted to know was where the scientists where, and how he could stop them once and for all. Unless the evil men behind this attack were found, this wouldn’t be the last time Ace would be forced to defend himself to the death.
The inside of the attacker’s car was outfitted with an impressive array of electronic devices. There were several computers, a video camera, a sound recorder, and an infrared heat sensor. The scanning gun that the man had used to determine that Ace was a bear shifter, and a panda, was new technology that Ace had never seen before. The tools for shifter detection and destruction were becoming remarkably complicated.
The police officer let Ace and the crew have whatever they wanted from the vehicle, so they took everything back to Lance’s condo. Ben, who was something of a tech geek, managed to crack the passwords with little trouble, but the data the crew found was all written using code names for people and locations. There were precious few clues that might give the bears any new information on the scientists’ whereabouts. The information did seem to indicate, however, that this man was working alone in San Diego. He appeared to be one of hundreds of agents stationed in major cities throughout the United States whose sole purpose was to search for any sign
s of bear shifters. His notes indicated that he had been tracking multiple Coast Guard and Navy crews, trying to see if any of the men on those crews were shifters due to their excessive physical strength.
Ace recognized the names of several Coast Guard men, none of whom were shifters. The guy had made a lucky guess on Ace, based entirely on a hunch that his saving so many animals through the rescue center meant he was animal himself. It didn’t look like he had shared this suspicion with anyone yet, though, so it was unlikely that whichever agent was sent to replace him would zero in on Ace immediately.
“I think we’re safe for the time being,” Lance observed. “It will probably be a few days before this guy is missed. Then a few more days before the scientists realize he’s been killed. We already stripped his car clean of records. We’ll do the same with his apartment. The scientists won’t have anyone to trace back to his death. They won’t have any clues that he found us, or that he found pandas.”
“I agree,” Ben said. “This is actually a good thing, in a way. We have new information on the scientists’ operations, but they don’t really have any new information on us.”
“That new information isn’t much good, though,” Brett said. “It’s all written out using secret code names.”
Ben shrugged. “Every code is breakable. I think we should send this info up to the Northern Lights Clan in Alaska. They’re familiar with Alaska, and might recognize the real places that the code names refer to.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Ace said. “This might turn out to be a really good thing for us in the end, after all. At the very least, we know that we’re safe for now and our cover here isn’t blown.”
Lance stood and banged the table with his fist. He turned and looked at the crew with a somber, fierce expression. His eyes were dark and intense. “I agree that we’re safe for now. But if those cowards want to come find us, let them. We are panda alphas. We are legends. We’ve survived their attempts to destroy us before, and we will survive them again.”
An Alpha's Lightning (Water Bear Shifters 2) Page 8