Bear's Baby (Bear Heat Book 4) by Natalie Kristen Page B

demon.
    And what the hell was taking
Dylan and the rest so long?
    They would have gotten his
alert and location by now.
    From the corner of his eye,
he saw that Lindy was crawling to the broken door. She seemed to
have twisted or broken her leg, and she couldn't stand. He could
hear her panting in pain as she dragged herself along the floor.
    Hurry, he urged her silently.
Go, Lindy.
    Baxter turned at the flash of
silver. The demon flew at him, with the dagger raised high above his
head. He was aiming for Baxter's heart.
    Baxter rolled away and the
blade stabbed into the marble floor. The demon wrenched the blade
out and spun to attack again.
    Baxter let Palli pin him down
and let his body go limp. When the demon howled in triumph, he
slashed his claws quick and hard across the demon's face. The demon
jerked back and Baxter used all his strength to throw him to the
ground.
    Palli turned the blade
towards Baxter's throat and pushed. Grunting, Baxter fought back,
twisting the silver blade slowly, tortuously towards the demon's
chest.
    The dagger shimmered and
shivered between them as they wrestled furiously.
    Baxter heard footsteps and
voices, and he smirked. His backup had arrived.
    “Now!” Baxter
yelled.
    Two blades flashed above him
and plunged down.
    With a forceful shove, Baxter
pushed the dagger straight down.
    The three silver blades
pierced the demon's heart together. Baxter looked up into Dylan and
Luke's grim eyes as they held on firmly to the hilt of their daggers.
They weren't going to let go until they were sure the demon was
thoroughly, completely destroyed.
    The demon's body arched off
the floor. With an eerie, high-pitched wail the body disintegrated
into smoke and ashes.
    “What took you so
long?” Baxter snarled at Dylan.
    “Traffic was a bitch,”
Dylan deadpanned as he picked up the three daggers from the pile of
ashes.
    Baxter turned and saw Thor
and Aidan supporting Lindy between them. A team of Black Bears
stormed into the apartment, weapons drawn.
    “It's done. We got
him,” Dylan told them. “Call off the other teams.”
    “Yes, sir.” The
team leader barked his command into his watch immediately.
    Baxter took a dazed, weeping
Lindy into his arms and held her tightly. “It's over now.
You're safe,” he said, kissing her face, her hair.
    She was shaking but she
managed to give him a smile. “I thought of you the whole
time,” she said. “I never stopped thinking of you.”
    He smiled back. “I
love you, Lindy. I...” He closed his eyes briefly. “I
could have lost you. I don't...”
    “Shh.” Lindy
pressed a finger to his lips. “You could have, but you didn't.
I could have forgotten you, but I didn't.” Her voice was
soft, and it seemed to be fading. “I could have said I love
you last night, but I didn't. You didn't lose me, Baxter. You
found me. And I finally found love.” She smiled as her body
began to sag in his arms. “So little time, Baxter...so little
time...” she whispered.
    “Lindy...”
Baxter roared. “Get out of the way! I have to get her to the
hospital! Lindy, hold on, just hold on!”
    “I love you,” she
said just before her eyes closed.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

    Lindy felt something warm and
heavy in her hand. She turned and saw Baxter's cheek pressed against
her palm. He seemed to be sleeping but he kept her hand firmly
pressed to his face.
    Lindy studied his handsome
face for a long while. Was this real? Was Baxter really here,
holding her hand, murmuring indistinctly while he slept? Was he
dreaming? Or was she?
    Lindy reached out and
smoothed over the furrow between his thick brows with her fingertips.
At her touch, Baxter stirred and muttered her name.
    “Lindy...” He
blinked and met her eyes. “Lindy!” He jerked upright.
“You're awake...how do you feel? Can I get you something?
Tell me what you need. Anything...”
    She laughed. Her voice
sounded scratchy and unused, but it was a laugh nevertheless. He
looked so flustered and relieved and