Claiming Jade
Claiming Jade
Teresa Gabelman
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Also by Teresa Gabelman
Acknowledgments
Readers/friends, thank you for going on these wild adventures with me… if I can take you out of your reality for a few hours, then I’ve done my job! You are the best, and please know how much I appreciate each and every one of you!
Donna Bossert, Becky Johnson, as well as the Hot Tree Editing staff, Teresa’s ARC team and the amazing Warriorettes, what can I say? You are all amazing and I’m lucky to have you at my side during my journey. Couldn’t do it without you!
Claiming Jade
Copyright 2018 Teresa Gabelman
All rights reserved. The right of Teresa Gabelman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance between the characters and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Gabelman, Teresa (2018-5-28).
Kindle Edition.
Editor: Hot Tree Editing
Photo: depositphotos.com
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
Jade Wilder stood in front of the Elite Crime Unit door. She turned to walk away, stopped, then spun back and just stared. Slowly, her hand reached for the knob. Clutching it in a death grip, she didn’t twist her wrist to open the door.
“It helps if you turn the knob.” The man’s voice behind her scared the holy crap right out of Jade, making her jump. During her jump of horror, the doorknob was turned and the door slowly crept open.
She stood with her hand now on her chest, her breathing heaving in and out as if she’d just run five miles—not that she had ever in her life done that. Though, she was sure this would be exactly how she would feel.
“Go on in,” the man directed, reaching around and pushing the door open wider.
Clearing her throat, Jade gave him a nod of thanks without actually looking at him and walked through the doorway. Sidestepping out of the way, she let the man pass once he’d closed the door. He didn’t even glance at her as he disappeared down a hallway. She wondered what kind of paranormal being he was. Not knowing made her nervous. No, knowing would be worse… wouldn’t it? Holy crap, she needed to get herself in check and chill the hell out.
Okay, now what was she supposed to do? Scanning the space, she saw no one else was present, so she just remained rooted in place waiting, and wondering if this was the biggest mistake she had ever made. Thinking of her brother, as well as herself, she shook her head. No, this wasn’t a mistake; it was what needed to be done.
Faint male voices came from behind her, and she cringed, hating that she looked like an out-of-place idiot. The voices grew louder as the door behind her bounced open and once again, she jumped. Holy hell, was she this much of a coward? She sure was learning a lot about herself lately, and not all of it was good, unfortunately.
Taking a sideways glance, she noticed three men enter. Two walked past her, while one gave her a long glance. He was huge, dark, and extremely handsome. His eyes were light, almost the color of silver, and when he looked away, she wanted to yell so he’d look at her again. Seriously, what in the hell was wrong with her?
“Has anyone helped you?” The third man who had slowed actually stopped.
Wow, another handsome one. Looked like paranormal was the way to go. Her face burned as that thought shot through her brain.
“Ma’am?” His eyes narrowed as he studied her.
“Ah, no.” Jade shook her head, her wig sliding around on her head. “I, ah, was hoping to talk to someone.”
“Abooout?” He kind of drew the word out as if he actually were talking to someone who didn’t understand the English language.
“Pixies,” she blurted, then rolled her eyes. Lord, her brother was toast because he had an idiot for a sister.
This time his eyes narrowed with an edge of anger. “I’ll get Jack.” He gave her a nod. “Stay put.”
He was gone before she could even reply. Still standing in the same spot, she cringed when her head started to itch. Damn, she hated this stupid wig. Trying to scratch her scalp was almost impossible. Figuring she was here and safe for the moment, she pulled off the foul thing, dropped it in her bag, and dug her fingernails into her hair with a groan of relief. Man, that felt like heaven. Hearing a noise, she glanced up, her hands still scratching away to see silver eyes staring at her.
Her hands stopped their assault on her scalp immediately and dropped quickly to her sides, but still, he stared. His mesmerizing gaze going from the top of her head, searching her eyes, down her neck, lingering on her breasts, to her stomach, then the area that was feeling awareness it hadn’t felt in a very long while. His eyes then moved to her feet and quickly back up to her face. She knew his appraisal of her only took seconds, but she swore days passed. A half grin tipped his full lips.
She wondered what in the hell her facial expression was at the moment. She almost checked for drool, but refrained.
“Come.” His voice was silky and smooth, deep and demanding, sending ripples of awareness over her skin.
Her mind heard him, but her feet were rooted to the floor. Move! her brain screamed, but it wasn’t until she—hoped discreetly—felt the pain of digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand that she took a step toward the man. Finally, her feet and brain were on the same path, moving her in his direction. She just prayed she didn’t trip, and actually looked downward to make sure that didn’t happen. She was a klutz without a gorgeous man staring at her; she’d probably kill herself with the way he was observing her, as if he was a predator and she was his… prey. Oh, shit, this was such a mistake.
The breath she was holding escaped as he turned his back on her and kept his long stride slow so she could keep up. Her eyes did exactly what his had done to her just seconds before. Starting at the top of his head, her eyes roamed down his black hair that stopped just below his broad shoulders encased in a leather jacket, down to his tapered waist, to a fine tight ass tucked in faded blue jeans, and that’s where her gaze stayed. Yep, didn’t go any lower and when he stopped, she was so focused she tripped at his sudden pause, almost running straight into that fine ass.
When she glanced up, their eyes met as he peered down at her from over his shoulder. She knew her face was scarlet with embarrassment and was glad when he quickly turned, opened a door, and stepped aside, letting her in.
She did her best to move past him without touching, but she got a whiff of his scent and that was almost just as jarring as touching him would be. He smelled of man, outdoors, and leather. The smell was freaking amazing.
A tall man stood from behind a desk, grabbing her attention. He reached his hand out toward Jade. “I’m Jack Beckham.” The man’s handshake was strong, yet she could tell he was being careful of his strength. “What can we help you with?”
Jade let go of the man’s hand, then her eyes nervously shot around to the other men surrounding them.
“Don’t let them bother you.” Jack chuckled. “They’re big and scary-looking, but they’re the good guys.”
The one that was very tall and rough-looking snorted. “Some may argue that fact.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “That’s Max, just ignore him.” He nodded to the one that just spoke. “And this is Garrick, Tarron, and Drake.”
Jade looked at each of them as she was introduced, her eyes stopping on the silver-eyed Drake before looking quickly away. She cleared her throat. “I’m Jade Wilder.” She bit her lower lip. “And I’m not really here for me. Well, I am, but it’s really my younger brother.”
They all remained silent staring at her. God, she wished she was a people person or in this case a paranormal person. In her head, she snorted at that thought.
“Just spit it out,” the one named Garrick urged her, but got an elbow in the stomach from Jack.
“He took off with a pixie,” Jade blurted, feeling so uncomfortable with the whole situation. It didn’t help this huge man Garrick was a little snarky with her.
“Odd, but okay.” Jack frowned thoughtfully.
“Why is that odd?” Jade hated not knowing much about the paranormal race. Her brother, Clyde, had shown up with a beautiful girl and confessed their love for each other to her. Jade had thought it was sweet, even as she wondered why they seemed so nervous. It wasn’t until later that night she realized he had come home to pack up some of his stuff and left in the middle of the night.
She noticed how the group before her glanced at each other. An uncomfortable tension filled the room.
“Pixies are usually assholes,” the man named Max replied, then shrugged. “And they don’t hook up with humans.”
“So you want to find him?” Jack asked, ignoring the other man’s statement.
“Yes, I think they’re in danger.” Jade suddenly felt the burden she had been carrying, and her legs wobbled. She reached for the chair in front of her to steady herself. “Someone broke into our home yesterday. I feel like I’m being followed, which is why I wore the wig coming here, and I found this before I left my house. It was hanging on my bedroom mirror.”
Jade dug into her purse, pulling out a necklace with a thick chain and heavy jeweled amulet. She held it out, but no one went to grab it. They just stared, then cursed, stared again and then finally, Drake took it from her.
“What was her name?” Drake looked from the amulet to Jade.
“Please don’t say Ariella Valor.” Max closed his eyes tightly as if he were wishing really hard.
“And if I do?” Jade cringed, worry for her brother tripling more than when she first walked through the door.
Cursing slammed into her from everyone in the room. They then all quieted as they stared at her.
“You have no idea, do you?” Jack gave her a sympathetic look.
She swallowed hard before answering. “No, I don’t.” Jade willed her chin not to tremble, but this was her brother, and by their reaction, he was in a lot of trouble. She couldn’t lose him.
“Ariella Valor is known as Princess Ari in the pixie world. This is her amulet. It’s a royal amulet.” Jack tilted his head to look at her. “Her father, Declan Valor, is king and he’s a real bastard. Most pixies are evil with no soul. If he finds your brother, he will kill him. If he can’t find your brother, he will use you to find him to kill him. Ariella has been promised to another at birth, and if that doesn’t happen, there will be a war among their kind. Not only will the pixies be in jeopardy, but humans and other paras as well.”
“Paras?” Jade frowned, her nose scrunched in confusion.
“Paras… paranormals… us.” Max whipped his arm around like Vanna White. “But pixies can be evil bastards.”
“Evil?” Jade was confused. She met Ariella and had never met a sweeter girl. “Ariella wasn’t evil.”
“That’s because she’s half-fairy,” Garrick said, his frown prominent on his handsome face. “King Valor stole Ariella’s mother away from her family, but now, from what we hear, they’re madly in love and very protective of their daughter.”
Jade was really trying to keep up, but information overload was frustrating her. “And fairies are nice?”
“Most, but some can be a bit bitchy.” Max chuckled, looking as if he were deep in thought. “I remember this pretty little fairy, but boy, she had a temper.”
“Max, shut the hell up. We need to find her brother, and fast.” Jack grabbed his phone and started texting. “Do you have a picture of him?”
Jade nodded, even though she felt numb. Her hands shook so badly she could hardly grab her wallet in her bag. Large hands appeared in front of her as they grasped her own, steadying them. She glanced up, her gaze meeting silver eyes.
“We’ll find him.” His voice soothed over her with a calming effect. “And no harm will come to you.”
Chapter 2
Drake’s pull to this woman was something he had never experienced before. To even think she was in danger sent his dark rage to the surface and almost over the edge. He felt his pull to her the moment he’d opened the door and saw her standing there, looking alone and frightened. He had to mentally and physically make himself walk away and out of the room before he grabbed her to him. That would have probably given her a heart attack, considering how scared she already was.
Now hearing her story and holding her hands to keep her shaking at bay, he stared into her eyes knowing right then and there, he would die the most horrendous death to keep her safe. What in the ever-living shit was going on? He was a dark elf for shit’s sake. Yet, he was ready to kneel at her feet spouting poetry. It was on the tip of his fucking tongue to let loose words of how beautiful she was, how he would slay her enemies, and if that wasn’t bad enough, just the touch of her hands was giving him a hard-on.
He let go of her quickly, but stayed close as she dropped her eyes and continued to search her wallet. Finally, she pulled out a picture, and he took it. The image was of her and her brother. For the life of him, he couldn’t even take his eyes off her. The sadness of her green eyes stared at him as if she were a lost soul he needed to save.
Finally, his eyes shifted to look at her brother. “How recent is this picture?”
“Maybe two months ago,” Jade replied, her voice shaky and uneven.
He’d noticed her chin trembling earlier, but she had kept it under control. He now heard the fear in her voice, and it pissed him off. He handed the picture to Tarron. “How old is he?” He could hear the anger in his own voice, so he knew she did too. He’d do his best to tone it down.
“Nineteen,” Jade replied, not looking at him, but staring at the picture as it made its rounds.
“Other than you and your brother, who else is there?” Jack asked, as he stared down at the picture.
“No one.” Jade’s voice sounded stronger, yet the sadness wasn’t lost on anyone. “Just us.”
Even though Drake was fairly new to the agency, he knew everyone here very well and felt their concern for Jade and her brother. This was bad, as bad as it could get. Pixies were assholes, and revenge was just a daily activity for them. Everyone knew not to cross a pixie, and her brother had done worse than that. He had put his sister in danger, grave danger.
“Drake, I’m going to have you take her to the safe house.” Jack handed the picture to Garrick. “I’ll have the team start searching for your brother. If need be, I’ll try to make contact with King Valor to try to calm things down, but I seriously don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Safe house?” Jade frowned, shaking her head. “I, ah, I have a job. I can’t lose my job, and I have to get my house in order. What if Clyde tries to come back and I’m not there?”
Drake knew no matter where he took her, the pixies would come, and they would find her. He knew this with as much certainty that he’d be the one looking out for her. No way would he entrust anyone else. He also knew with certainty the pixies would fail. When Jack gave him a job, he always completed it with one hundred percent success. Pixies were a bitch to deal with, but they had nothing on him, and if they thought to get to her, they’d have to go through him, which was a mistake they’d soon regret.
“I got this. I’ll take her home and stay with her,” Drake replied, then checked his phone. “Keep me informed on everything on this end, and if we hear anythin
g from the kid, I’ll let you know ASAP.”
They were all looking at him oddly that he took the job without even being told, but he didn’t care. Usually they were fighting against having to bodyguard anyone. He just knew there was no way in hell any of his workmates would be guarding her body. He was making that his job and his job alone.
“You think you can handle pixies on your own?” Tarron gave him a knowing grin. He chuckled, indicating he knew Drake could, but was just giving him shit.
“The question is… can they handle me?” Drake smirked, then took Jade’s elbow and led her out of the office amazed at the sizzle shooting through his body at the contact. This was going to be very interesting.
Jade felt as if she were walking in a fog. One minute she was doing her own thing, working a nowhere job and being lonelier than she had ever been in her entire life. Now that isolated life was turned upside down.
She finally realized, as her brain calmed down, that this stranger was leading her outside of the building toward a strange car, and she was letting him. Grabbing her wig, she quickly put it on, then adjusted it best she could. Slowing her steps, she came to a complete stop and glanced up at him. His face was void of emotion as his eyes scanned the area before finally looking down at her.
“Exactly what’s going on?” Jade didn’t know if she was okay with this situation. Plus, her car was parked in the other direction.
Drake stopped just outside the door and stared at her, his eyes roaming over the wig. Slowly, his hand reached up, and after carefully pulling it off, he tossed the ugly thing in the garbage can outside the agency.
“Hey!” Jade made a grab for it, but it was too late. “I need that.”