“Get your hands off my mate, Devil!”

Did he just say what she thought he had said? She had heard the term “mate” before. Her limited knowledge suggested that if this fiercely gorgeous man spoke the truth then her life was about to become a lot more complicated. Could she truly be destined to live out her life with him as his fated mate?

“Well, I didn’t see that one coming,” she mumbled to herself in shock. Though she shouldn’t have been too surprised. Her ability rarely gifted her with insight into her own future.

“Charli?” asked another man. He was the one she had come to see—Nikki’s boyfriend.

As soon as her attention landed on him, she was brought back to the reason she had come here. “Please tell me she’s here, safe,” she all but pleaded.

“She’s at work. Why? What have you seen?” Nikki’s boyfriend asked.

Before she could respond, the man claiming to be her mate angrily demanded, “What the fuck’s going on, Viper? How do you know my mate?” Charli felt his anger. It rolled off of him in volatile waves.

The man she now knew as Viper curled his fingers into his palm as he moved his focus away from her. “This is Nikki’s friend from the hospital. The one who warned her about Watson being at her house. Now stop interrupting while I find out what the hell she knows.”

He looked back at her and waited. It was time to find out whether Emily’s vision and her own sense of feeling were correct. “Can you contact her?”

“I can call the hospital. Our link has been blocked be her privacy wall.”

Charli focused, forcing all of her energy on finding Nikki. She once again hit darkness. She was barely aware of mumbling, “Not wall, unconsciousness.”

Then the answer came to her. A face flashed through her mind. It was one she had seen before when she’d warned Nikki of a man’s presence in her house—the same man that had previously hurt Nikki.

“He has her! His plans are unclear, muffled by his anger,” Charli informed flatly. The fear and pain she saw in the not-too-distant future dampened her emotions, leaving her cold.

As she willed her body to allow warmth once again to be carried by her blood, heating her from the inside, she became aware of Gabby talking on the phone. All eyes seemed to be on her. Whatever was being said to Gabby had her distress increasing.

Once she had hung up, Viper asked, “What did they say?”

“Nikki got a call down to the ER. There was an emergency out at the prison. Sharon, my boss, didn’t realize that she hadn’t made it until I asked. No one has seen her,” Gabby said, turning into the arms of the man Charli had heard being called Devil. It was a name that suited him. “That was a couple of hours ago. He’s got her, hasn’t he? He’s going to kill her this time.”

The fourth man present, a giant by anyone’s standards, asked, “What are you feeling, Viper?”

“Pissed off!”

“No, I meant from Nikki?” the giant pushed.

Silence followed as Viper tried to connect with Nikki. Charli felt the nudges against her own mind, but that was only because she was trying to remain connected to Nikki. Finally his shoulders stiffened. His back became ramrod and pure fury seeped from every one of Viper’s pores.

“Charli’s right, she’s unconscious,” he replied, turning back to her. “What else do you know?”

Once again closing her mind off to everything that wasn’t Nikki, an image rose in her mind. A dank, empty building appeared. It looked like the industrial area over near Henderson. Her job had taken her over there a few times. Thankfully if she was right, it was only about twenty minutes away.

“I think I can find her,” she replied. “But I’m going to have to show you. It’s a feeling, nothing more.”

“Like hell you’re putting yourself in danger, mate,” her supposed mate snapped. He had moved to stand in front of her. “Paul Watson is dangerous. I won’t have you anywhere near him.”

That pissed her off. She had sworn long ago that no man would dictate her actions again. And here this gorgeous yet infuriating man was trying to do exactly that. Standing on the tips of her toes, she decided to take the fight straight to him, ensuring there would be no misunderstandings.

“Listen here, you overgrown buffoon. I consider Nikki a friend—something I have very few of—and I don’t plan on abandoning her when she needs me just because you said so. I’ve dealt with danger most of my life. This is nothing new to me!”

“Danger? What fucking danger?” he demanded. His body began to physically shake, while movement appeared under the skin on his face. It suddenly dawned on her. He was a shifter. One who was about to change forms.

“That’s none of your business!” Charli replied quickly before stepping back toward Viper.

Her progress was halted by Judge’s hand on her arm. “You’re my mate. That makes it my business!”