Mated to War (4 page)

“I’ll make contact with him as
soon as I get back to the house,” Judge replied, trying to hide his
disappointment.

He wouldn’t be back by his
mate’s side as soon as he had thought after all. With her sister in the
hospital, at least she couldn’t get into too much trouble in his absence.

Chapter Five

Charli couldn’t believe where
she currently sat. As she absorbed the sounds of chips falling and slot
machines ringing, she thought about what had brought her here. Only an hour ago
she’d heard from Judge, confirming what she already knew—Katie had been found.
The call coincided with Emily being wheeled into her hospital room. The poor
thing was exhausted after the extensive amount of tests she’d been subjected to
and had fallen straight to sleep. Now Charli was in the one place she had spent
the afternoon deciding to avoid.

In Judge’s absence, Charli had
spent the time thinking about how she was going to handle this situation with
him. She couldn’t deny her attraction to the man. But who in their right mind wouldn’t
be drawn to him? He was gorgeous. What surprised her was the amount of comfort
she’d gained from Judge’s presence at the hospital.

For the last two years, Charli
had been raising and caring for Emily alone. She had no support or anyone to
lean on in times of stress and worry. She’d never felt a lack of ability when
it came to being the sole caregiver of Emily, but something was missing. With
Judge’s touch and comfort came the answer. Someone to share not only the
worries but the joys as well that came with having Emily in her life.

In Charli’s time of need, Judge
had been there to support and comfort her. He’d taken on the responsibility of
finding out answers and ensuring Emily received the best possible care. He
hadn’t even hesitated when he heard her being referred to as Charli’s daughter.
Sure he’d been surprised, but who wouldn’t be after being led to believe she
was her little sister.

Charli was at a loss as to what
to do. She had no desire to place Judge or anyone else in danger. Hell she couldn’t
even guarantee that Las Vegas would be their permanent home. She and Emily had
been able to remain hidden for the last two years. That hadn’t stopped Charli
from psychically keeping an eye on things back home. Their absence hadn’t
deterred the man at all. In fact it had only increased his ire, if what she saw
was to be believed.

So for someone who had yet to
decide how she was going to protect Judge from the dangers of her past, what
was she doing sitting in the bar inside the casino in his hotel? Just like
every other time Emily had been in the hospital, Charli found herself in one of
the many casinos Las Vegas had to offer, gambling.

“May I buy you a drink?” a man
asked from behind her. He wasn’t the first to offer. She just hoped he would be
the last.

“No, thank you,” she replied
politely. She kept her gaze on the drink in her hand, refusing to acknowledge
the man any further. If only he could take the hint.

“Oh come on,” he urged, sitting
on the empty stool beside her. “You’ve almost finished that one, and it’s not
nice to drink alone.”

He edged closer, his aftershave
almost suffocating in its intensity. His hand moved to her arm. She inched
away. But still that didn’t deter him. She didn’t need to be psychic to know
she was in way over her head. This man wasn’t going to take no for an answer
and she had no idea or experience in how to remove herself from the situation.

“I do believe the lady has
expressed her opinion on keeping your company,” came a deep, gravelly voice
from behind her.

The man looked toward the voice
and scoffed, “What are you, her father?”

“No, I’m a man who understands
what it means when a woman says no,” Chaos replied, his intense stare aimed at
the man. He didn’t look her way until the man had finally moved off of the
stool and on to his next target. “Are you okay?”

“I am now, thanks to you,” she
replied, pointedly looking at the stool. Once he accepted her unspoken
invitation and sat down, she added, “Thank you, Chaos. I really didn’t know
what I was going to do to get rid of him.”

He bowed his massive head. “At
your service, sweetpea. Though I’m surprised Judge allowed you down here by
yourself.”

“He got called away on a pride
emergency,” she explained. “I thought he would have told you guys.”

“He probably did, but I’ve been
holed up in the kitchen most of the afternoon.” Chaos accepted what looked like
a whiskey from the bartender. “We have a wedding here this weekend and the
bride’s mother is driving me crazy with constant menu changes.”

“I’m sorry you’re having a hard
time of it,” she sympathized.

Silence followed as they quietly
sipped their drinks. While she appreciated Chaos’s help, something else was
calling to her, attempting to pull her away from the secure presence of Chaos.
It was a need that had driven her to come to the casino in the first place, and
now it was urging her to move deeper into the darkness and do its bidding.

Chaos caught her looking over
her shoulder and asked, “Are you here to do a little gambling?”

Sweat broke out above her upper
lip as the need took over. Without looking at the man beside her, she replied,
“Yes.”

“Come then, sweetpea, I’ll join
you.” Chaos stood and threw enough money on the counter to cover both of their
drinks. Her body wouldn’t allow her to do anything but follow. “Where do you
want to start?”

Her hand tightened on her bag,
which held her chips. Her other hand shook the closer she came to the blackjack
table. “How about here?”

As she sat down, she noticed the
shocked look on the dealer’s face. He seemed to want to protest about something
but a not-too-subtle shake from Chaos’s head silenced him.

“Is there a problem with this
table?” she asked.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,”
Chaos apologized. “Before we knew who you were, your picture was shown to every
single person who works the tables, especially blackjack and roulette since
they seemed to be your favorite. They were to allow you to play, but send up a
warning of your presence to Judge. Since discovering your significance, Judge
has spent the last week searching for you. Apparently he was lapse in revoking
your banned status.”

“Oh,” she said, unsure what to
say. Though she still looked over her shoulder, wondering if security was about
to encroach on her gambling session.

“Don’t worry. No one would dare
bother you while I’m here. Then tomorrow I will correct the error.”

“Thank you, Chaos.” She put her
chips on the table. It was then that she noticed Chaos didn’t have any. “Did
you want to share some of my chips?”

“No,” he replied, smiling. “I
keep my gambling for the kitchen. I take many chances with my dishes and
haven’t lost yet, thanks to Lady Luck. Where she gifts you with luck at the
tables, she gifts it to me in the kitchen. But I’ll stay and keep you company.”

“Thank you, Chaos,” she said,
almost laughing at the amount of times she had thanked him. “But you do realize
Lady Luck has little to do with my winning.”

“You believe it all to be your
psychic ability?”

“Of course it is.”

“But it is my understanding that
fate only provides a psychic what she wishes you to see. Is that not correct?”
he asked. She nodded her reply. “Then don’t you think that maybe Lady Luck had
a hand in your visions, allowing you to see what you need to do to win?”

“I never thought of it that
way,” she said pensively. “Don’t you mind that I’m technically cheating to beat
your casino out of money?”

“Firstly, as Judge’s mate you
would be denied nothing from any of his brothers.” His comment had her cheeks
heating. “And secondly, you have only ever walked away with around two thousand
dollars each time. We can make that back many times over in one night. The
question is, why stop at two thousand?”

They had entered uncomfortable
territory for Charli. Her guilt at winning the money through cheating now
warred with her need to gamble. Usually that undesirable emotion swamped her
when she was converting her takings into cash. Up until that time the need
ruled her, but never enough to see her winnings surpass her self-appointed
limit of $2,000. She had no need for the money, just the need to take on the
game of probability and win.

Knowing Chaos waited for her
response, she kept it as uninformative as she could. “Let’s just say, I refuse
to allow the thrill I gain from winning to turn to greed.”

“Spoken like a true mate of one
of the Four Horsemen,” came Chaos’s muttered reply.

Before she could question
whether he meant the same Four Horsemen she had learned about in Sunday school,
he nodded to the dealer and the cards were dealt. As soon as her hand touched
the cards, she was lost to the game.

Chapter Six

Judge was one pissed off man. He
had somehow lost his mate again. He’d been gone for two days and was in
desperate need to feel Charli’s soothing presence beside him. But she was
nowhere to be seen. Now both man and beast were fuming.

His beast had been restless the
whole time he’d been dealing with the situation of someone stealing young
female shifters. Unlike the usual enjoyment he felt while spending time with
the pride, this time he had felt nothing but on edge. Yes, someone was trying
to steal his pride’s cubs right out from under his nose. But it wasn’t the
first time, and he very much doubted it would be the last.

The power shifters held within
their blood would be sought after if the world’s human population knew of their
existence. And it would seem that someone had already been exposed to the power
and coveted it for themselves.

 
With his pride on guard and orders issued,
Judge rushed back to the city. He was itching to be back by his mate’s side.
The closer he drove to the city, the calmer his mountain lion became. That was,
until he discovered Charli wasn’t in Emily’s room at the hospital.

So now he sought his brothers’
help. The guards who had been driving Charli wherever she wished to go reported
that they dropped her off at the hotel. And it wasn’t the first time they had
done such a thing. While he hoped it was to be closer to him, Judge was enough
of a realist to know she was probably checking up on Nikki. Now that he’d found
her, there would be no more hiding. From him, at least. She could continue her
friendship with Nikki without fear of discovery by him. That was where he hoped
to find her now.

To his surprise he found Viper
at the bar in the casino. An odd place for him to be, considering each venue
within the hotel had a table reserved especially for the owners. Still that
didn’t deter him from his mission.

“Have you seen Charli?” he
asked. “She wasn’t at the hospital, so I passed by her apartment and received
no answer. I was hoping that she may be here somewhere. Maybe with Nikki.”

“Oh she’s here all right!” came
Viper’s reply. His chin jutted out slightly, while his gaze hadn’t moved from
the casino floor.

Following his brother’s line of
sight, he found her. Making a move in her direction, his progress was halted by
Viper’s hand on his arm.

“What the fuck, Viper! Get your
hands off me.”

“Not yet. I think we need to see
what she does.”

“We know what she’s fucking
going to do, play for a while, win most of the hands, and walk out of here with
about two grand,” he stated forcefully.

“Do you deny her the money?”
Viper challenged. Judge wouldn’t have been able to hold back the hiss if his
life depended on it. “I didn’t think so. But Chaos has a theory about why she
does it.”

“For the money.”

“No, he thinks she might have a
gambling problem.”

“It’s only a problem for her if
she loses.”

“Look, I can only tell you what
Chaos has shared with me. He ran into her the other night here. He got the
feeling that she didn’t just want to go into the casino, but it was a need that
she had no control of.”

“Then why does she always walk
away with such a small amount of money?”

“That’s what he’s trying to get
to the bottom of.”

“Okay, then why are you here and
not him?”

“He wants to know what she feels
throughout the night,” Viper explained.

The fae’s ability to read
people’s emotions far outclassed even Judge’s and Devil’s sense of smell. He
didn’t need to be anywhere near a person to know exactly which emotions they
were feeling because their aura spoke to him rather than their scent. “He
suspects like most addicts, Charli experiences guilt. Though hers comes after
winning rather than losing.”

After considering what Viper had
to say, and acknowledging he had wondered why she hit the casinos, especially
after seeing her healthy bank accounts, Judge took the stool beside his brother
and ordered a whiskey. His gaze never left his mate. She appeared relaxed,
outwardly enjoying the card game she was playing.

So he followed suit and relaxed.
For the first time, Judge was able to really appreciate his mate’s stunning
looks. Long, black hair flowed down her back. Her fringe hung over her eyes,
teasing her admirers with small glimpses of her violet eyes. Her round face fit
well with her luscious body. She was curved in all the right places, ensuring
she would fit perfectly into his body.

She tried to hide behind
drab-colored clothing, and now that he knew a little of her past, he understood
why. But didn’t she realize there was no hiding her perfection? Her natural
beauty made her stand out, negating the effect of the use of boring clothes as
camouflage. While he admired his own mate, he asked after Viper’s.

“How’s Nikki?”

“She’s doing well. Devil is up
there at the moment because the girls insisted they see each other. So far the
only thing I’ve heard from Devil is that our women can talk about anything,”
Viper said, holding up his phone indicating another SMS had arrived. On a
laugh, he added, “Devil has decided that Gabby and the babies are safe with
Nikki, and he’s on his way down. Typical Devil, he doesn’t trust your mate yet.”

“I found out a little more about
her that might answer some of his questions. It might even endear her to Devil,
considering her story has many similarities to Gabby’s.”

“How so?”

“I’ll explain when Devil gets
here. I’ll fill Chaos in later.”

“Fill me in on what?” Devil
asked, coming up behind them. He had, as usual, avoided the crowds of people by
coming through the kitchen and back rooms. “And how’s the pride and the little
girl?”

“They’re holding their own,”
Judge replied before realizing he hadn’t spoken to them except sending a
message that he would be away on pride business. “How did you know?”

“Your little thief told Chaos,”
Devil stated, glaring in Charli’s direction.

“She’s my mate, Devil, and she
deserves to be treated as such.” Judge glared at his brother.

“A mate who is currently ripping
us off!” Devil retaliated.

“Please, you alone used to throw
more than two grand on hookers a night,” Judge pointed out. “And yet you sit
here denying my mate what she, Gabby, and Nikki are entitled to by just merely
existing. If that’s how you really feel, I would rather you remain as far away
from Charli as possible. Her life is hard enough without you adding to it,
vampire.”

Judge threw back his whiskey,
savoring the burn as it traveled down his throat. He needed another. Maybe the
bottle. He couldn’t believe his brother’s attitude toward Charli. Hadn’t he
learned his lesson with Gabby?

When they had first met, Devil
was under the impression that she was a call girl. Her own father sent her into
Devil’s lair in order to use her body to clear the man’s debt. Her perfume had
masked her scent, denying Devil the knowledge that she was his mate. He took
her virginity that night, before dismissing her like a piece of trash.

He had judged Gabby by what he
saw and was told and nearly paid the price by chasing away his mate. If that
wasn’t bad enough, he and Viper had come close to losing both of their mates at
the hands of a local crime boss. Then Nikki again to her ex-boyfriend. Still he
couldn’t seem to see how precious Charli was to Judge.

“I apologize, Judge,” Devil said
before laying a hand on Judge’s shoulder. “I’ll admit, trust outside of the
family still comes hard to me. Gabby is always calling me her work in
progress.”

Judge could concede that Gabby
had indeed done wonders for Devil. For the first time in more years than Judge
would like to admit, Devil appeared more human than monster. And it was all
Gabby’s doing. The question was, was it enough for Judge to trust his brother
with Charli’s safety?

The decision was taken from his
hands when Charli’s demeanor suddenly changed. Her body tensed and her face
fell as she collected her winning chips. As she stood from the table, her
shoulders slumped.

“Chaos was right. I see nothing
but guilt,” Viper stated.

Judge’s beast demanded he go to
her and fix whatever had caused such negative emotions. But something stopped
him. He watched as she cashed in her chips and headed for the exit.

“What are you standing there
for, Judge? Stop her!” Devil demanded.

Instead Judge did something
else. He followed her, both his brothers joining him out in the cool night air.
He had no idea exactly what he was doing, but his heart told him he was doing
the right thing. He watched as she climbed into the SUV containing Gabby’s
guards. Fortunately he had been in such a hurry to find his mate, his car sat
in front of the hotel. Rushing toward it, he barely heard Viper agree to remain
at the hotel with the girls.

Following the SUV, with Devil
sitting beside him, Judge recognized the route. They were heading back to the
hospital. Devil confirmed as much as he shared messages between himself and the
guards. Racing on ahead, Judge wished to be parked before Charli arrived.

Still unwilling to enter the
hospital until his mate did so, both Judge and Devil remained hidden, the
night-blackened sky and building shadows allies in their pursuit. Finally, she
arrived, but still they held back, not announcing their presence. Judge watched
as her eyes scanned the foyer. She was searching for someone. His body tensed
as hers relaxed slightly. He followed her line of sight and was surprised by
what he saw.

“What the fuck!” Devil announced
his own surprise quietly beside him.

They had just witnessed Charli
hand her winnings over to the woman in the foyer before walking toward the
lifts. Everything within Judge told him that the woman hadn’t just shaken down
his mate. But still he moved to stand over the woman, determined to gain the
answers he sought.

“Excuse me, sister,” he said,
trying to show respect for the habit the woman wore. “Could you please tell me
why that woman just handed over about two grand in cash?”

“Do you know that woman? She
didn’t steal this money, did she?”

Quickly responding before Devil
could claim that she had, Judge said, “No, that money is hers to give you. And
yes, we know her. She’s my girl, and I was alarmed when she headed here with
that kind of money on her.”

“Then you know what sort of
heart she has,” the nun said, looking up to the heavens as if in thanks. When
her gaze returned to Judge’s, she added, “Charli finds it in her heart to give
lumps of money to the orphanage the church runs. Without her generous
donations, the children would be sleeping under the stars. Our roof collapsed
and without Charli’s money we wouldn’t have been able to afford to have it
repaired. She’s an angel sent from God.”

“That she is,” Judge agreed. He
didn’t realize he could have admired and respected his mate any more, but he
was wrong.

“How often does she give you
money?” Devil, it would seem, wasn’t as convinced.

“That’s the thing,” came the
nun’s reply. “There’s no regularity about it. But it always happens in clumps.
This week alone she has given me four thousand dollars, including this money.
The time prior, which was only a few weeks ago, it was nearly ten thousand.
Then it had been months between visits.”

“How did you meet?” Devil asked.

“Just over a year ago I was here
visiting one of our children who broke their leg climbing a tree. We were both
leaving the hospital. That was when she asked me about the orphanage. Next
thing I knew she was handing me about two thousand. Since that night, she rings
me when she has some money for the orphanage.”

“Do you always meet here?” Devil
asked.

“Yes, she insists on it.”

“So how much has she donated
over this year?” Devil queried. Finally, Judge was catching on to his brother’s
line of question.

“Believe it or not, in excess of
forty thousand dollars,” came the shocking reply. “Without it, we would have
definitely been forced to close our doors.”

“Thank you, sister, you have
been a great help.” Devil handed her his card. “Please, if you have a need for
anything, don’t hesitate to call. You can reach myself and any one of my
brothers through this number.”

While Devil effectively
dismissed the nun, Judge performed the simple yet worrying calculation. If his
mate had been handing over her winnings to the orphanage, then she would have
had to have visited the casino floor at least twenty times over the last year.
With the two visits this week, Judge knew of only seven times she had entered
the casino within Celestial Desert Paradise Hotel and Casino.

“Where the hell has she been
gambling?” he demanded.

“I believe that’s a question for
your mate, my brother,” Devil stated, slapping him on the back. “I’ll catch a
ride back home with the guards, since I’m assuming they won’t be needed for the
rest of the night.”