Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) (7 page)

She changed into jeans and
pulled a cap low over her head. “All right, I think I've
packed everything we need. All my important papers and cards and
identification are in here. Some clothes for me. And for you...my
old teddy bear. That's the only toy I have,” she told Brendon.
“Mr Brown will keep you company at night.”

She stuffed Mr Brown into her
backpack. Mr Brown was a cute fluffy teddy bear dressed in a
lawyer's robe and wig. Her mom had presented it to her when she
graduated from law school.

“Okay. Let's go,
buddy.”

Nicole hoisted her backpack
and picked up the baby. She knew without a doubt that she couldn't
stay here. Anna had been alive just a few hours ago. But now she
was dead and Brendon was an orphan, again. Whoever those men were,
they were ruthless and efficient. They would find her, kill her and
take the baby.

“I really don't know
what you did, kiddo,” she said. “I don't think it's
anything your mom did either. She was a good woman. But those are
bad men. I won't let them hurt you,” she whispered fiercely as
she took one last look around her apartment. “I promised
Anna.”

She was about to unlock her
door when she heard a step just outside her door.

Nicole froze.

She pressed her ear to the
door and held her breath.

She heard it again. A step.
Then another. And another.

The footsteps were quick and
quiet. There were rustling sounds and low, gruff voices.

Nicole instinctively backed
away from the door. She clapped one hand over her mouth and shook
her head.

No. No!

They were here.

They were here to kill her
and take the baby.

Biting down a panicked cry,
Nicole stared round her apartment in terror and desperation.

What could she do? She
couldn't hide, but where could she go?

She turned to the windows and
cursed silently. There were grills across her living room windows.
What was the use of having windows if you couldn't use them to
escape?

“Stupid,” she
hissed.

She heard scratching sounds
at her door as the knob turned slowly. The door was locked but she
knew a locked door wouldn't keep those men out.

They would get to her. It
was just a matter of time.

She heard the infuriating,
ominous ticking of her wall clock.

She was running out of time.

Nicole gulped and stumbled to
her bedroom. “What am I doing?” She swore under her
breath. “Use your damn brain, Nicole!” Her bedroom was
no longer her sanctuary, her refuge. If she didn't think fast
enough, it would be her coffin.

Stifling a cry, she tried to
quieten her rapid, shallow breathing.

She could hear someone
working the locks on the front door.

Click, click, click.

They would be inside her
apartment soon.

“Brendon, what should
we do?” she rasped hopelessly.

The baby opened one eye and
yawned at her.

“Oh right, why didn't I
think of that?” Nicole mumbled deliriously and lurched into the
study opposite her bedroom.

With some effort, she opened
the rusty window of her study and maneuvered herself onto the fire
escape. “Ready, kiddo? Off we go!” she said as
cheerfully as she could. She sounded deranged to her own ears.

Behind her, her front door
slammed open. She heard shouts and rushing steps.

Nicole didn't look back.

She clattered down the fire
escape, hunching over the baby so that she shielded him with her
body.

A bullet ricocheted off the
railing and Nicole almost lost her footing. Great, now they were
shooting at her.

“Run,” she
ordered herself. “Run!”

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Luke hunkered down in his
cubicle to write up his report. He heard his teammates grumbling as
they stuffed themselves into the dainty office chairs and hammered
out their individual reports. Dylan's team had just completed a
mission last night. He had been returning home from that successful
mission when he ran into Nicole. He thought he would be unwinding
alone in front of the telly with a pizza and a few beers. Instead,
the best thing in his life happened to him last night.

Dylan made every member of
his team submit a report after each mission. It was so they could
assess their own performance and mark out any areas of improvement.
“The most powerful weapon you have is your brain,” Dylan
told them. “I know all of you have super speed and strength,
but if you act fast but think slow, you'll find yourself in a lot of
trouble.”

They had an hour to finish up
their report. Then the team would move out for another job. It was
a straightforward surveillance job today, but Luke knew by now that
no job was ever really straightforward.

Luke typed quickly, half
smiling as his thoughts kept flitting to Nicole. He forced himself
to concentrate and finish up his report. He would be seeing her
tonight for dinner. He glanced at his watch. It was not even nine
o'clock. His fingers twitched over the keyboard as he resisted the
urge to pull out his phone and call her. He wondered how Nicole's
breakfast meeting with her client went.

As he submitted his report
and logged off his computer, his phone beeped once. Luke frowned at
his phone. It was a missed call from Nicole. She had called and
hung up. Luke called her back right away, but got her voice mail
instead.

“She switched off her
phone,” he muttered. Why would she do that? Even if she was
in a meeting, she could just have muted her phone.

Dylan strolled past and
announced to his team members, “Ten minutes, people. Get the
report in and get ready. Meet me out front locked and loaded in ten
minutes.”

Luke rubbed his chest
absently. There was a strange tightness around his heart and his
bear was angsty and agitated. It wanted to get to Nicole. Luke
glanced down at his arms and saw that tiny pinpricks of black fur
were pushing out of his skin. His bear wanted out. It was going to
track its mate down if Luke didn't man up and go after her himself.

Luke took a painful breath
and jumped up. “Dylan, I...I need to get to Nicole.
Something's happened to her. I can feel it. My bear can sense it.
It won't let me...”

Dylan gave a curt nod. “Get
someone to switch shifts with you. We have a job to do.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you,
sir!”

Dylan put a hand on his
shoulder. “And get someone to go with you. Don't go alone.
If Nicole really is in danger...”

“I'll go with you, and
Trevor can take your place.”

Luke turned to see Baxter and
Trevor striding up to them. It was Baxter who had spoken. Trevor
was the second-in-command on Baxter's team, and even though they had
just returned from an all-night security operation, they both looked
fresh as daisies while the rest of their teammates looked like they
had been dragged across the fires of hell.

Baxter raised a brow at Luke.
“Since Trevor is covering for you this morning, I guess you'll
be taking his place and joining my team tomorrow night.”

Luke glanced at his team
leader, and saw Dylan roll his eyes at Baxter. “Yeah, yeah.
You can have him tomorrow night,” Dylan snapped.

“Trevor Spencer
reporting for duty, boss,” Trevor said, grinning as he gave
Dylan a smart salute.

“Get yourself suited up
with my boys and girls,” Dylan said with a straight face.
“We're moving out in five minutes. Let's go, people!”

“Yes, sir!”
Dylan's team members leaped out of their chairs and saluted in a
perfect synchronized movement. They grinned at Trevor and pounded
him on the back. “You're with us today. Don't worry. We'll
show you the ropes,” they joked.

Trevor laughed and took their
teasing good-naturedly. He was no rookie. He was deadly on the
field, but off the field, he was a big softie and a super nice guy.

“I'm off duty now,”
Baxter said, throwing his arm casually around Luke. “I'll come
with you. I want to be the first to meet your mate.”

Luke opened his mouth then
shut it. “Okay.” He didn't want to waste time arguing
with Bax.

Luke grabbed his car keys and
dialed Nicole's number again as he hurried out of the office. He
scowled and clicked off.

“She's not answering?”
Baxter asked as he followed Luke to his car.

“She switched off her
phone,” Luke said tightly.

“Did you guys have a
fight?” Baxter bundled himself into the passenger seat as Luke
started the engine.

“No. We planned to
have dinner tonight, with Jade and Dylan. I dropped her off this
morning at Kit's Kitchen. She was meeting a client there.”

“Did you get a look at
the client she was meeting?”

Luke swore at himself. “No
I didn't. I should have.”

“Was she upset when she
went to meet the client?”

“No, but her client
sounded flustered over the phone. I heard bits of their conversation
this morning.”

A pause. “What's your
girl's name?” Baxter said, his tone light and conversational.

“Nicole.”

“You know where Nicole
is right now?”

“She should be at work,
but—she isn't.”

Baxter frowned. “How
do you know?”

“I don't. But my bear
does.”

Baxter nodded and Luke rushed
on, “I can feel her, I can't explain it. It's like I can feel
she's in trouble and my bear is leading me to her. I don't
understand...”

“The mate bond is a
powerful thing. Don't ignore it. You can feel your mate's pain and
fear, and your bear will always rise to protect her,” Baxter
said sagely.

Luke gripped the steering
wheel, his claws glinting dangerously.

“Just let your bear
drive. I mean, not literally!” Baxter yelled as Luke floored
the pedal. “You do the driving, but let your bear lead you.
Trust your bear. Nothing keeps a bear from its mate. Channel your
inner bear and, hey, hey, hey! Keep your eyes on the road, man!”

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

The tires squealed as Luke
took a sharp turn and gunned his car down the street. He could sense
Nicole's sudden spike of terror. His bear was pulsing beneath his
skin, angry and anxious. He needed to get to Nicole now. He knew
where she lived. She had grabbed his phone last night after their
second, or was it third? session of lovemaking to type in her contact
details.

He saw her as he turned into
her street. She was scrambling down the fire escape with a bundle in
her arms and a bulging backpack on her shoulders.

“There! She's there!”

“I see her,”
Baxter said.

They both looked up at the
same time. Three beefy men in black suits were racing down the fire
escape after her. Luke saw a car idling at the side of the road, and
he glimpsed a black suit in the driver's seat.

Baxter’s eyes were
darting from the car to the building, scanning all the windows and
exits. “Bastards are shooting at her,” Baxter spat,
drawing his weapon. “Okay, slow down but don't stop the car.
I'll throw your girl into the car and you take off. Got it?”
Baxter tapped his watch and activated a signal.

“What about you?”
Luke yelled.

“I'll stay and play.
Don't worry.” Baxter flashed his watch. “I've called
for immediate backup. The Black Bears won't want to miss out on the
fun.”

Luke slowed his car and
Baxter bounded out. He saw Baxter run to Nicole and grab her around
the waist. Nicole kicked out but stopped struggling when she caught
sight of Luke. Luke beckoned to her through the open window and she
nodded.

Baxter opened the car door
and flung Nicole into the backseat. “Go!” He pounded
the roof.

Luke swerved away from the
curb and zoomed down the street. “Get down!” he bellowed
to Nicole.

The windscreen shattered as a
bullet punched through it. Luke ducked his head but kept driving.

It would take more than a
bullet to stop him.

“You okay? Nicole!”

She had thrown herself on the
floor and was huddled behind the driver's seat. The baby was wailing
at the top of his lungs and Luke was afraid the rest of his windows
wouldn't be intact much longer if the kid kept it up.

“How's the baby?”
He twisted round to glimpse an angry, red face and flailing fists.

“He's upset, of course!
He doesn't like being shot at. Neither do I,” Nicole cried.

Luke concentrated on
navigating his way round the cars coming up the street while
maintaining his breakneck speed. He wasn't slowing down for
anything.

Horns blared and some choice
expletives were hurled at him but he didn't care. He was getting
Nicole and the kid away from…