An Alpha's Lightning (Water Bear Shifters 2) Read Online Free Page A

stretched a mile wide. The next picture was Mike in formal wear, with Jade on his arm, at a charity event for the rescue center. Again, he was flashing the camera his signature grin. Jade continued flipping through the photos, laughing through the tears at the many shots of Mike goofing off. At the bottom of the box were a few newspaper clippings. The first one announced the engagement of Mike and Jade, with a planned wedding date of July fifteenth. The next article clipping, dated June fifteenth, had a blurry picture of crime scene tape in front of a convenience store, with a headline that read “San Diego Police Officer Loses His Life in Armed Robbery Response.”
    Jade didn’t read through the article. She didn’t need to. She knew all the awful details of that day by heart, including details the article didn’t mention. Details like the fact that Mike had surprised her at work that morning with a latte before heading off to work himself. Details like the fact that Mike had made reservations for them at their favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate the one month countdown to their wedding date. Details like the fact that no one had managed to contact her before she showed up at the restaurant to meet Mike. She had waited there alone, knowing as the minutes continued to pass that something had gone horribly wrong. Mike was never late. Never.
    She had left that restaurant in tears when she got the call, and she hadn’t been the same person since. She had rushed to the hospital, but he was already gone. She never even had the chance to say goodbye. The last she had seen of him alive was him walking away after handing her the latte, winking and saying there would be more surprises that evening. Jade would never know what those surprises were supposed to have been.
    She had gone into survival mode, functioning on autopilot while arrangements were made for his funeral. Wedding plans had to be canceled: photographers and caterers called, guests notified. Thankfully, Jade’s mother had stepped in and handled most of the details. A mama never stopped doing everything in her power to make her baby’s life easier, no matter how old that baby was. Jade wasn’t sure that she would have made it through those difficult months without her mother holding her up, steady as a rock.
    Jade had eventually moved out of the condo she and Mike had shared. She had sold the place, put the money in savings, and moved into this tiny apartment. She had been so scared, and so unsure of the future. She had hoarded every penny as though she was on the brink of bankruptcy and starvation, even though her job easily covered the rent for the new place. Life had seemed so volatile and uncertain, though. She couldn’t be too careful.
    That awful day was now more than three and a half years in the past. It had taken over two years for Jade to feel like the constant cloud of grief hanging over her had disappeared. These days, Jade was able to enjoy life again. Even though the idea of going a full day without thinking about Mike had seemed impossible at the beginning, Jade caught herself sometimes going for stretches of several days in a row without even thinking about him in passing. Even though she knew Mike would be happy to see her moving on and moving forward with life, Jade couldn’t keep herself from feeling a little bit guilty when she realized that he was becoming less and less a part of her life. She almost never shed tears over him anymore. It wasn’t that she didn’t still miss him. It’s just that time had healed the rawness of the wound.
    But today, Ace’s innocent offer to take her on a date had brought a fresh surge of emotions rushing to the surface. Several men had asked her out in the years since she lost Mike, but Jade hadn’t had any interest. None of them could come even close to matching what she’d had with Ace. Ace was the first man to set her heart racing again. It was easy to see that Ace was a man’s man—strong, and