Coletti Warlords: Vexing Voss Read Online Free PDF Page B

you to confront them alone.”
    “They’ve taken everyone I’ve loved from me, and no one is stopping me from killing them. Not you or Central Command or even the Overlord.” Using every ounce of power I had, I managed to lock my shields down tightly.
    I ignored Voss’s very vocal demands to return to the base. Today those bastards would pay for what they had done.
    Everyone always yammered on about how warlords were utterly relentless. That they never ever stopped in their pursuit of their prey. As the Battle Commander’s fury at my refusal to answer him grew, so did the pressure on my shields. Fear knotted my stomach. It was becoming an effort to hold them.
    I knew I was only delaying the inevitable, and once the drug wore off, Voss would be popping in to claim his prize.
    If I was still alive.
    * * * *
    The image in my mirror showed a small Hispanic male with a thick mustache, goatee, and tattoo-covered arms. My ample breasts bound tightly, the baggy black T-shirt hid my weapons and body armor nicely. I stuffed my braid under the dirty blue baseball cap and nodded in approval. From a distance, I’d pass for Jose Chavez, a day laborer who worked for the traitors.
    Picking up my bag of tricks, I stuffed my tranquilizer gun, darts, and grenades into it. Did the general even know the stuff was missing from the armory? Probably not.
    I surveyed the small house my mom and I had called home. It was cozy, slightly cluttered, and filled with mementos of our travels. Tears filled my eyes. I still expected to walk in and find Mom in the office, tapping away on her laptop.
    “Zoey Jones, you will answer me.” Voss’s furious voice reverberated around my skull.
    Holy shit! I rubbed my aching forehead. The drug was definitely wearing off.
    “I understand your need to kill those responsible for your mother’s death, but to do so alone is foolish.”
    “I have a plan,” I snapped. “So get out of my head and stay out.”
    “Our minds are now linked, and nothing you do can change that.”
    Oh my God, that wasn’t possible. “You’re lying. My shields are impenetrable.”
    “They were until I marked you as mine.”
    Shock rolled over me, and I started hyperventilating. “That’s not possible. Unless you physically fuck me, the mating bond isn’t completed.”
    “You are my mate, and it is my duty to protect you.”
    My temper roared to life. Duty? “What’s life without a little risk?”
    “You wish to die?”
    “They’ve taken everyone I’ve loved from me. If dying is what it takes to stop them, so be it.”
    “I forbid it.”
    “Tough.” Slamming my inner shields shut, I ran out of the house, jumped into my car, and roared off. Destiny waited.

Chapter Four
    Destiny was a fickle bitch. The Battle Commander ruthlessly chipped away at my shields, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he owned me mind, body, and soul.
    As my desperation grew, so did my recklessness. It wasn’t rational, but fear drove me. I had stood in that ice-cold mortuary and promised Mom I would find the men responsible for killing her. I had to fulfill that promise. I couldn’t, wouldn’t let Voss stop me.
    I’m a damned good investigator and an even better actress; with my psychic abilities, I could become anyone I wanted. My chameleonlike talent had gotten me some award-winning stories and made me some enemies. If I couldn’t pull off this simple masquerade, Mom’s killers would go free.
    Charred metal superstructures of the once-vibrant downtown Phoenix rose like freakish skeletons against the turquoise sky. A few dying palm trees offered meager shade from the sweltering sun.
    Navigating around the bomb craters littering the road, I wondered if Central Command was ever going to get their act together and start rebuilding Phoenix. It had been two years since the last Tai-Kok attack, and the downtown area was still a mess.
    Sweat trickled down my back as my wheezing air-conditioner blew warm air around my stifling hot