Loving York (Warwick Dragons #2) - Milly Taiden Page 0,30

didn’t know what to say.

It was impossible to formulate any sort of real thought.

What just happened?

She had fully expected to end things with York. To make up a fake boyfriend, to make sure York and his family didn’t need to get any more involved than being victims of theft.

This changed everything.

Josie knew what it meant to be a mate. The issue was that she had never heard of a second mate. Oh, sure. There were triads, and all other kinds of relationships in the shifter world. It was just their way. They didn’t get bogged down by humans’ silly rules.

But this?

This meant that she was York’s fated mate. His forever. That they were destined to find each other. Josie swallowed hard at all of the implications. Could this be why her family had been plagued with MS? Is this why she had started stealing? All so that fate could push her into Milo Steiner’s scheme, so that she would land in York’s life?

It seemed cruel, somehow. Like fate had been a raging bitch, torturing a whole a lot of people, all so that two people could meet.

“You haven’t said anything in a few minutes,” York cut into her thoughts. “Did I frighten you?”

She closed her eyes, needing more time to clarify her thoughts. Her whole head was a mess.

“Josie, let me in. You’re my mate. Whether or not you want to be with me doesn’t change that. If you’re in trouble, at least let me help you. I won’t have it any other way.” His voice broke on the emotion. “I won’t lose another mate.”

Her eyes snapped open as she realized what he was saying. York was terrified that she was in so much danger, her life was on the line. He wasn’t too far off of the mark.

“You’re going to hate me when I tell you what’s happened. And you’re going to take the mate thing and flush it down the drain.”

“Josie,” he whispered. “Please. Nothing can beat the terrible things I’m thinking.”

She blew out a breath. “Okay. I’ll tell you…” Josie had no choice but to start at the very beginning. When Rose had gotten sick, and the family had accrued an insane amount of debt they had to pay for treatments. The family had already been struggling after her parents had died suddenly in a car accident. Then there was the added weight of Gammy’s health and the debt that incurred.

It had been a whole mess.

One blow after the other, with no possible end in sight. That’s when Josie had started chasing adrenaline. It was the only thing that dulled the terrifying pressure that was wrapped up in her life.

The more dangerous the antics were, the better the high. It was easier to survive jumping out of a plane, than going back home to her crushed family.

If she could survive swimming with angry sharks, she could survive anything.

When Josie had been approached by Mia’s mother to help them steal a few jewels to make quick cash, she had readily accepted. She had felt horrible, of course. But they always took from people who were billionaires twenty times over. That or businesses that had insane amounts of insurance.

Then there was the revenge theft. Josie had stolen from families who owned and operated large banks and insurance companies.

That was probably why Milo Steiner had chosen her. Well, that and her stellar reputation.

York sat there, in silence, listening very carefully to what she was saying. His face was a mask, and it was impossible to decipher what he was feeling, so Josie went on.

She told him about Rose’s death, and how she had been steadily digging the family out of debt. How she had then turned the money over to medical research. She left nothing out, not even her underwhelming magical powers with all things plants based. She even brought the dying orchid on the coffee table back to life to prove her powers. She shared everything.

All the way up to her unfortunate run-in with the snake, Milo.

When she had laid it out for York, she shrugged. “So now, Milo Steiner is blackmailing me.”

Josie noticed that his hand was still in hers. His other one was rubbing up and down her back, coaxing the truth out of her in a comforting gesture.

“You know this won’t be the end, right?” York shook his head. “No sooner will you be done this job, than Steiner will give you another one. And he’ll just keep on giving you orders until you get caught