Mated to War Read Free

Charli went in search of Nikki’s future. It was enough to
allow her a short break from the pain that still swamped her body. An image of
Nikki flittered through her mind. She was still the stunning, tiny woman Charli
knew her to be, yet something was different. She gave off an energy that held
Charli captive. Something within her told Charli that Nikki was no longer human
in her vision.
    Forcing the image away, Charli
was relieved that her friend would survive this ordeal. It mattered little to
her how, or what she would become. Charli had dealt with enough otherworld
creatures to know their true selves were carried over into their new lives.
Nikki would be exactly the same woman she was before, just a little harder to
kill.
    Now Charli just had to figure
out how she was going to escape from her mate. She’d had enough contact with
the man to know he spoke the truth about their intertwined futures. She had
never responded to a man the way she had Judge. That fact alone had her
refusing to pull him into her crazy and dangerous life. She couldn’t protect
Emily from it, but she sure as hell would protect her mate.
    She considered calling for a
taxi, but she doubted one would arrive before the men had saved Nikki. That
left her with two options—remain where she was and try to escape Judge when
they returned to the hotel, or take his car. The idea of waiting for his return
had her heart skipping a beat. His very existence offered her a future she had
never thought possible. One in which she had companionship. But what could she
offer him? A lifetime of running.
    She knew in her heart that if
she didn’t disappear before his return he wouldn’t let her go, no matter how
fatal that decision threatened to be. There would be no escaping him. Looking
in the mirror on the visor, she took in the large SUV that Devil and Chaos had
arrived in. It was big enough to carry the four men and Nikki back to the
hotel. But could her conscience allow her to steal Judge’s car? The answer came
swiftly. It was either that or she exposed Judge to the danger that haunted her
every move.
    She climbed over the center
console, grateful to Judge for leaving his keys in the ignition. Turning the
key, she prayed he would forgive her for what she was about to do. It wasn’t
like she was stealing the car, just returning it to the hotel for him before
sneaking away in a taxi. She knew it would seem childish, but she had little
choice. She couldn’t expose these people to her father’s associates. With her
resolve set, Charli set her plan into action. As she drove away, she refused to
look back. It would gain her nothing other than more guilt.
    ****
    Charli smoothed her suit skirt
down after climbing out of the taxi. She was heading toward a meeting with a
new client. One who was offering to pay her handsomely for her unique computer
programming skills. She had developed a financial software program that could
be adapted to each individual company’s needs.
    It had made her a lot of money,
which she stockpiled to ensure she and Emily could disappear without a second
thought. For Emily’s continued safety, she wouldn’t hesitate to secretly sell
all of her rights to the program to one of the many interested buyers who had
made her some amazing offers. But that was her worst-case scenario. The threat
of her father’s associates hadn’t caught up with them yet, and she prayed it
never would.
    The mere thought of the danger
that haunted her every movement had her looking over her shoulder. Her father,
his boss, and his boss’s cousin were never far from her mind. If she became
complacent, it wouldn’t just be Charli whose life would be ruined, but Emily’s
as well.
    They had both inherited their
paternal grandmother’s psychic talent. They were often flooded with visions,
feelings, and a sense of knowing about events in the past, present, and future.
And their father coveted their abilities to help line both his and his
associates’