Jade thought of her colleagues and her customers. Were they all dead?
“Nancy...” she called out weakly. “Basheera?”
There was no sound, not even the echo of her own voice.
Jade tried to crawl forward, then gave a cry of fear and dismay. The lower half of her body was pinned under a big, heavy slab. She had passed out momentarily from the excruciating pain, but now, she couldn't feel her legs at all.
“Help...” she wheezed, then coughed as dust fell onto her face. “P-please...help me...”
She closed her eyes. It made no difference. It was still the same inky, oppressive blackness all around. But she felt hot tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
The feel of her tears on her face reminded her that she was still alive. If she wasn't dead, she would fight to live. She couldn't give up. Luke would go berserk if she didn't make it out alive.
She sniffed and blinked away her tears. “Help...” she croaked as loudly as she could. “Can anyone hear me? I'm here. Please h-help me…”
She coughed again, and swallowed a mouthful of sand and dirt. Her throat felt raw and parched. The realization that she would have no water, no food made her slow her breathing. She had to conserve her energy. She had faith that she would be found. She just didn't know when. Until then, she had to try her best to stay alive.
Her fingers scrabbled around on the ground. She finally found a hard, jagged rock and she gripped it gratefully. Using her voice would take up precious oxygen and energy. She would use the rock instead.
Holding the rock tightly, she began to tap against the concrete at regular intervals. The rescuers would pick up the sound and know that someone was alive. They would be able to find her and pinpoint her location. She just had to keep tapping, and hoping.
Jade played an upbeat, cheerful song in her head and tapped the rock to the optimistic rhythm. She forced herself to visualize a happy scene and she saw her family crowded around the small dining table, singing and clapping as Luke blew out the ten candles on his birthday cake. She had baked the cake herself, and it was in the shape of...a bear. She had bought a teddy bear for Luke with her own pocket money when he was a tiny tot. Boo was Luke's oldest toy. The ragged, rugged teddy bear sported stitches across his tummy and rump, and he was missing an eye but Luke still kept him around. Jade had baked the cake to celebrate Boo in his heyday.
It was Luke's birthday, but he had made her a small present. A hair clip. They had always been close, and Luke was a sweet boy.
She still had the hair clip. She kept it in a box with her earrings and other accessories. Luke had been crazy about spiders at that age, so of course he had skilfully and proudly fashioned the hair clip into the shape of a spider. Jade smiled at the memory. She had worn it once just to show her appreciation, but she hadn't felt too comfortable wearing a spider in her hair. She thought it looked rather silly. But now that she thought about it, the hair clip was kinda cool. Maybe she should take it out of the box and wear it again. Not to work, but on a date maybe?
Jade let out a small laugh.
Now she was really letting her imagination run wild. She hadn't been on a date in God knows how long. Her last relationship had ended three years ago, about the same time her parents passed away. Luke had been building a solid career for himself in the city police force, but he had rushed home when she told him that their mother had suffered a relapse. Their mother had won her battle with cancer years ago, but the disease had reared its ugly head again and this time, with her advanced age, cancer had emerged the victor in this final battle. Barely a month after their mother passed away, their dad had a heart attack. Luke had extended his leave and stayed with her for more than a month. She cried almost every day, and he was worried for her. But she had finally pulled herself together and told him to go back to the city. He had a good, meaningful job, and she had to get her life back on track. She still had her job in the restaurant, and she would take care of their family home.
She threw herself into her work in the restaurant and her household chores. All her relationships had gone nowhere, ending in tears and heartbreak. Frankly, she was sick and tired of all the drama and lies. She just wanted some peace and quiet, and if that meant she would remain single for the rest of her life, so be it.
Jade continued tapping the rock intermittently as she let her thoughts wander. She would think about her past, her future, everything except her present predicament.
She thought of her brother. Luke had always been a bright boy. She knew that he would make something of himself when he left their small town and moved to the city.
He had been doing so well in the police force. He had struggled to come to terms with his Change, but now, he was doing fine in the Black Bears Group as well.
Jade had met some of Luke's clan members. They were all warm, friendly and welcoming. She had even spoken to his mentor, Dylan, over the phone.
Jade remembered that deep, baritone voice well. Dylan had assured her that Luke was making excellent progress and doing really well.
“Dylan,” she murmured absently. She hadn't had the chance to meet him face to face. She had been so busy with the sale of the house, packing, moving to the city, finding a job. Everything had been done in such a rush she hardly had time to catch her breath.
Jade cocked her head at the faint scratching sound above her. Was someone there?
CHAPTER TEN
“Hello...” Jade called out weakly and coughed.
The scratching sound intensified.
“Hello...h-help...please help me...” she wheezed. She could hear a grating sound, like something heavy being dragged across the ground. She waited, her heart pounding furiously.
Had someone heard her? She spat out the sand in her mouth and tried to call out again. But her throat felt too dry.
“Hello! Hello, can you hear me?” someone shouted back at last.
Jade gasped. “Y-yes. Yes! I...”
“Jade? Jade!”
“I'm here...” she rasped.
She recognized that deep, strong voice. It was Dylan's voice. She blinked rapidly and swallowed. But—how could it be? How could it be Dylan Hart?
“Hello? Are you...Dylan?” she choked out.
“Yes! Yes, Jade. I'm Dylan Hart. We spoke on the phone, remember?” He kept his tone cheerful and conversational, trying to get her to focus on his voice and remain conscious and optimistic.
“Y-yes, I remember...”
“I promised Luke I'll find you. Hold on. We're getting you out.” Dylan's voice was clear and strong, and she clung to it like a lifeline.
Jade almost wept with relief. Dylan had found her. She was saved. She was truly saved!
She muttered his name like a mantra as drilling and chipping sounds began above her. They were coming for her. Dylan was coming for her…
A sudden shaft of light pierced the darkness, and Jade squinted up in shock.
A silhouette appeared, and as her vision cleared, she made out a pair of amber eyes set in the face of a fallen angel. At least that was how she imagined an angel who had fallen to earth would look like. Impossibly handsome with the chiseled, strong features of a warrior.
“Jade!” The angel spoke.
She smiled at his voice.
“Dylan.”
He was speaking again but she couldn't hear him through the sudden, loud buzzing in her ears.
The halo around his head grow wider and brighter. More circles of blinding light appeared. Torchlights? Searchlights?
The circles merged to form a single, blazing sphere of light. The light grew brighter, harsher until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.
“Dylan...” she whispered.
“You're getting out, Jade. Just stay with me. Hold on,” Dylan said urgently.
She thought she smiled. She couldn't be sure.
Stretching her hand towards Dylan, she felt the soft brush of his fingertips just before she collap
sed.
She just felt so tired. She had been hanging on for so long, clinging precariously to consciousness and hope.
It was all right to let go now, she supposed. Dylan was here.
Everything that was holding her together snapped suddenly and she slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dylan forced himself to step back as medical and civil defense personnel swarmed in. He was aware of Caleb, Baxter and the other Black Bears coming to stand behind him but he didn't turn around. He didn't tear his eyes away from the spot where he knew Jade was.
He had found Jade. Or more accurately, his bear had found her.
The Black Bears had spread out and positioned themselves at various points around the massive pile of collapsed concrete and bricks. Dylan had allowed his bear to rise to the surface so that his animal senses were heightened. His sense of sight, hearing and smell would be more acute and he hoped he would detect a feeble voice, a scratching sound or a soft desperate cry.
Instead, his bear had blocked out all the surrounding sounds and scents and just zoomed in on one distinct scent. A scent that made his entire body throb and tense, and made his bear roar and claw like a maddened beast to be let out.
His bear wanted to get to her. This female, his female
Dylan had always been calm, in control, disciplined. He could always reign his bear in and work steadily, methodically. His head ruled at all times.
But right now, he found himself having a hard time forcing his bear to back down. He knew that his amber eyes were glowing with the rage of his beast, and his claws were stabbing into his palms.
It was all he could do not to shove all these humans aside and let his bear bulldoze through all the rubble to get to Jade. Jade was all that mattered.
But his sensible, human mind asserted itself and told him that there were other lives at stake. There were other people trapped under the rubble, other survivors. If the slabs were moved around carelessly, someone might be crushed. Someone who might be alive right now.
The rescuers had a heavy responsibility. They were racing against the clock. They had to decide how to get Jade out safely, and how to minimize the impact on the other survivors still trapped within. They had to act quickly, and any mistake could mean the loss of a life.
Dylan understood the weight on their shoulders. He knew what they were up against. These men and women were brave, efficient and competent. They knew what they were doing. But Dylan wanted them to do it faster. Now! He wanted to get Jade out now!
Dylan lunged forward when he caught a glimpse of Jade's pale hand. The civil defense officers eased her out slowly, and paramedics transferred her to a stretcher.
There was a layer of gray dust covering her and she looked like a statute. She moaned softly, and her eyelids fluttered but remained closed.
Dylan rushed to her side and grabbed her hand. “Jade!”
She turned her head at his voice and whispered, “Dylan?” Her hand trembled in his.
“Yes! Yes, I'm Dylan. I'm here, with you...”
Her eyes opened a crack. “Don't...l-leave me...”
“I won't.”
She was rushed into a waiting ambulance. One of the paramedics turned to Dylan and said, “You can ride with her. You're her husband, right?”
Dylan didn't answer. He clambered to Jade's side and took her hand again. He didn't bother looking back at his clan members as the ambulance doors closed but he heard Caleb's command, “Bax, go get Luke. Tell him his sister is on the way to the hospital. Drive him there and stay with him.”
Dylan didn't let go of Jade's hand even as the medics inserted a needle in her arm and connected her to a drip. An oxygen mask was clamped over her face.
He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand and murmured her name over and over. His voice seemed to calm her, and he felt her hand relax in his.
This woman mattered a whole lot to him. He had found her, but he wanted to have her, hold her and protect her. He had never, ever felt this way before. Was she...his mate?
His bear seemed to think so. And the beast was snarling and clawing at him, wanting to be nearer to the woman.
Dylan gave his bear a low, warning growl and nudged his beast aside. What his bear wanted or thought or felt didn't matter.
The only thing that mattered was Jade.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jade heard herself cry out and she snapped her eyes open with a gasp. She had been sleeping and waking in fits and starts, and everything was a fuzzy, blurry haze. Her eyes just kept drifting shut again.
But this time, her eyes remained open and focused.
She stared at the ceiling for an instant, before an anxious face lunged into her line of sight and hovered just inches above hers.
“L-Luke...” she called hoarsely.
Her brother gave her a smile but she could see the profound worry in his blue eyes. “Hey, Jade,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay.” She grimaced. “My body hurts...all over.”
“You're in the hospital now. They've given you some painkillers, but I can ask them to up the dose if you're in a lot of pain...”
Jade shook her head. “I'm okay. A little pain is good. At least I can still feel.”
She took a shuddering breath and felt better, stronger. She opened her mouth and her fears and nightmares tumbled out in a jumbled torrent. “W-when I was trapped down there, I...I couldn't feel my legs. And I thought...I was paralyzed. I thought I had to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, if—if I made it out...” Her voice trembled as she began to cry.
“Shhh.” Her brother shushed her and thumbed away her tears. “You're going to be fine. Your legs are fine. You'll be up and about in no time, Jade.”
“Yeah.” She sniffed and tried to smile but winced instead. Even smiling was painful.
She was aware of a slight movement at the corner of the hospital room.
Turning her head, she saw a tall, broad man leaning against the wall. His leather jacket had the Black Bears logo on it. His light brown hair was standing up in all directions as if he had been pushing his hand roughly through it. He was very handsome, with deep amber eyes and the face of...a fallen angel.
Jade gasped.
Her angel.
This was the man who had saved her, whose voice had anchored and fortified her.
“Dylan?” she asked tentatively.
He immediately pushed himself off the wall and came to her bedside.
“Yes. How are you, Jade?”
She smiled. Her face didn't hurt this time.
“I'm alive. Thanks to you.”
“The medics, the police, the doctors, they all saved you,” Dylan answered.
“But you found me.”
The corner of his lips curved a little and his eyes blazed with a raw, powerful emotion that sent a pleasant shiver through her battered body.
“Luke has been by your bedside the whole time,” Dylan said instead. “Your brother has been very worried. He hasn't been eating.”
Luke glared at Dylan. “I'm fine,” he snapped.
Dylan lifted his broad shoulders in a shrug. “Well, since you refuse to listen to any of us, I have no choice but to tell your sister that you haven't been eating or sleeping so she can scold some sense into you.”
Jade turned to her brother. “Is that true, Luke?” she said sharply, going automatically into big sister mode.
Luke made a face at Dylan. “He's exaggerating,” he mumbled. “I did eat...”
“Yesterday,” Dylan interjected. “One measly bite.”
Jade narrowed her eyes at Luke. “Go,” she ordered, her voice surprisingly clear and strong. “Go and get yourself a full, proper meal. Go! Dylan can take care of me.”
Jade bit her lip but the words were already out. Why did she say that? She had only just met the guy but she was already assuming that he would take care of
her.
“I mean...” She opened her mouth to amend her last sentence.
“Your sister is right. Go have something to eat, Luke. Then go home, have a shower and catch a nap. I'll be here. I'll take care of her,” Dylan said.
His tone brooked no argument. Jade heard the authority in Dylan's voice and saw for herself the dynamics of their relationship. Dylan had been Luke's mentor, and she saw that Dylan was sensitive to Luke's emotions and respected his ties to his family, his only sibling. He gave Luke enough space but there was never any doubt who was in command. When Dylan gave Luke an order, it was clear that no insubordination would be tolerated.
Dylan had a commanding presence. He was easily over six and a half feet, and had a tanned, muscular build. Every hard inch of him radiated power, controlled power. She knew that Dylan was a warrior, a senior lieutenant in the Black Bears clan. He was a fearsome predator and protector, but he had the kindest, gentlest eyes she had ever seen.
Jade held out her hand to Dylan and he took it without hesitation. She saw Luke's eyes widen but he made no comment.
“Dylan found me. He did, Luke. I'm alive and safe and I know he will continue to keep me alive and safe. Dylan will take care of me,” she told her brother.
Luke stared at their joined hands for a beat, then nodded.
“Okay. I'll go. I'll eat, shower and sleep,” Luke said somberly. At the door, he turned and winked at them over his shoulder. “That should give you two lovebirds enough time to...” He puckered his lips and made loud smooching sounds.
Jade and Dylan unclasped their hands instantly. Jade gave her brother the evil eye and mumbled, “You are so dead, Luke Keller. I swear I will kill you.”
The door closed but not before she heard Luke's laughter. The sound of her brother's laughter made her heart and spirits soar. She hadn't heard that cheeky laugh in a long time and it made her pain lighten by degrees.
Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) Page 3