Forbidden Hunger (Forbidden #8): Siya & Ram

by R. L. Kenderson

  “I knew we weren’t going to get lucky, but it sure would have been nice to find something,” Hunter said.

  Quentin pulled out his phone. “We’d better fill in Damien and Vance and let them know we’re going to have to wait for the vehicle to leave and hopefully take us to Monica.”

  Ram crossed his arms over his chest. “Or we could just go and get Frank from the house and bring him in now.”

  Ranulf understood Ram’s impatience, but there was no guarantee Frank would talk, and who knew how many young girls’ lives were hanging in the balance? Monica needed to be stopped.

  Quentin shot Ram a look, and the vampire held up his hands. “I know; I know. I’m just frustrated.”

  The phone call to Damien was made, and he agreed with them staying put to wait. If it took too long, the alpha said he would send someone to switch out with them.

  So, with that, they all got in their vehicles, so they didn’t look too strange, six grown men standing around on the sidewalk.

  About fifteen minutes later, Trey’s car drove past, and Ranulf and Chase ducked down in their seats. Approximately another twenty minutes after that, they watched Frank’s car pull out of the driveway, and Quentin got a phone call from Lachlan that the tracker was once again on the move.

  “Wouldn’t it be such a relief if this all ended tonight?” Chase asked. “We’ve been dealing with it for weeks now.”

  “It would be a great relief, but are we that lucky?” Ranulf asked.

  Chase chuckled. “Probably not.”

  They drove on for some time in silence, but all of a sudden, it hit Ranulf where they were going.

  It seemed that Chase had come to the same conclusion. “This bitch has some nerve. She’s also kind of a genius,” he reluctantly added.

  “Yeah, no one is going to look for Monica there. But now that we’re ninety-nine percent sure where she is, I think we should—”

  “Call Raven,” Chase finished.

  Twenty-Eight

  Raven’s phone rang, but when she saw that it was Chase, she almost didn’t answer it. Until a tiny voice in the back of her head said that someone could be hurt and she would regret it if she didn’t pick up the phone.

  “This is Raven,” she answered.

  “You need to get to the after-school building.”

  It was the middle of the night, and it was closed.

  “Why?”

  “We are following Frank now, and we’re about ten minutes away. Ranulf and I both are pretty sure that’s where he is headed. And he wouldn’t go there unless…”

  “Monica was there.” She flew up in bed. “Of course! She quit, but I’m sure she didn’t turn in her keys. And it’s the perfect place for her to meet up with her brother because no one would think to look for her there.”

  “That’s what we thought.”

  She scrambled to grab her stuff, like her shoes and keys, before heading out the door. “I’ll meet you there. Please don’t do anything without me.”

  “We’ll try, but we’re not in charge.”

  “Try hard,” she said before throwing her phone on the passenger seat, and then she took off.

  When she got close, she sent a text to Chase and Ranulf in case they couldn’t answer their phones. She was only about five minutes behind them, but she worried it might be too late.

  As she got closer, she spotted three SUVs, including Ranulf’s, and pulled up behind it. She got out of her vehicle, planning to text the guys again when a window rolled down and Chase stuck his head out.

  “Hey, pretty lady. Want to get in the back with me?” he asked with a silly grin on his face.

  Now was really not the time to make jokes, but she couldn’t help but smile. She opened the door and slid into the backseat. “What did I miss?” she asked.

  The scent of the two males were a punch to her senses as they turned in their seats to look at her. The last time she had seen them was at the end of her heat, and even though she saw them plenty of times while not in heat, that didn’t stop the images from filling her head.

  She sure hoped this feeling passed soon. She’d slept with them before and never had this much of a sex hangover. But it could be because she might be carrying one of their babies.

  “Hey, you okay?” Chase asked, concern on his face. “You look a little sick.”

  That was probably because she’d imagined breaking up their friendship. Maybe she was giving herself too much credit, but only one having a child would really mess with their vibe. And, yes, they had gone into her heat, fully knowing what the conclusion could be, but she could not stop feeling like ruining their friendship would be all her fault.

  Now was not the time to think about all that though, and she needed to get her head on straight, or she should just head home.

  She straightened her spine. “I’m fine. I think it’s just hitting me that all this might be over soon.”

  She had meant Monica, but she could have just as easily meant for her, Ranulf, and Chase, too.

  “Makes sense,” Ranulf said.

  “Fill me in on what’s going on.”

  “Monica is here with Frank, but there isn’t a girl here. So, we were waiting for you to tell us what to do next.”

  What?

  “Me? But I’m not running this.”

  “We talked to Quentin. He knows how important this is, and he said he wants your input since you worked at the center with the kids.”

  A tingling started behind her eyes, and she blinked a few times. She was not going to cry over this.

  Damn her stupid hormones.

  Again, she had better get her act together, or no one was going to want her opinion on anything.

  Think, Raven. Think.

  “Where’s the tracker?”

  “Still on Frank’s car,” Ranulf said.

  “And we only have the one?”

  “Yes.”

  Shit. If only she had thought to grab one from home before she left. Not that she’d known she’d need it.

  “Who’s all here again?” she asked.

  “Ranulf and me, Saxon and Ram, and Quentin and Hunter.”

  “Can we move the tracker to Monica’s vehicle?”

  Chase and Ranulf exchanged looks and shrugged.

  “I think it would be easy enough,” Ranulf said. “We already moved it once tonight.”

  “Great. I think we should move the tracker to Monica’s car. She’ll be more likely to lead us to the girl. If Frank follows her, then we’ll get them both when they get to the girls.” She tapped her chin. “But if they were going to the same place, why would they need to meet? I bet they are going to go their separate ways.”

  “That’s what we thought, too,” Ranulf said.

  “Once the two siblings part ways, we’ll follow the tracker to Monica. And we’ll take Ram and Saxon with us.” She had no idea what they would find when Monica led them to the girls, but there had to be at least one person watching them. It would be better for them to take the cat-shifter and vampire.

  “And since Frank knows Quentin and Hunter, they should follow him. He wouldn’t know they’re a sentinel or Guardian, so he might be caught off guard when they show up at his door. Hopefully, he’ll be less likely to call his sister before they bring him in.”

  “Good call,” Chase said, picking up his phone.

  “Just make sure they don’t follow too closely, but also, not so far away, so they don’t lose him.”

  Chase smiled as his phone rang.

  Ranulf reached into the backseat and squeezed her knee. “I think they know, but that’s excellent advice.”

  Raven took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat. She sure hoped her plan worked.

  Twenty-Nine

  Siya’s phone almost didn’t wake her from her sleep, but she was glad it had because the last person she’d ever expected was on the other end.

  “Hello?” Her voice was groggy, and she cleared her throat. “Hello?” she said again, clearer this time.<
br />
  “Is this Siya?”

  She frowned. The voice sounded young. “This is she. Who is this?”

  “This is Emery.”

  Siya froze as her heart started to pound.

  “From the hospital,” the girl continued, probably assuming her lack of response was because Siya had forgotten who she was.

  “Yes, honey, I remember you. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. No. I mean, I’m not hurt or anything, but I need help. Can you come and get me?”

  Siya froze again. This was a huge ask.

  “I’m sorry to ask you, but I don’t know if my mom will answer after I ran away, and I really don’t want to stay here anymore.” Emery’s voice was cracking now.

  “Of course I will come and get you.” Siya threw back the covers of Ram’s bed and quickly yanked on some clothes.

  Emery sighed. “Thank you. Monica’s gone, and the guy she left in charge fell asleep. I stole his phone off of him and used his ugly face to unlock it, but he’s going to need it back soon.”

  “Do you know where you are?” Siya held her breath, not knowing what to do if she didn’t have a way to find the girl.

  “Yes. They hide the regular mail, but they keep throwing junk mail in the garbage, as if that doesn’t have an address on it.”

  Siya frantically searched Ram’s room until she found a pen and piece of paper. “Okay, give it to me.”

  Emery rattled off the address, and Siya repeated it back to her.

  “That’s correct.”

  “Okay. Hold on one second.” She put the phone on speaker, pulled up her Maps app, and typed in the address. She groaned. “Okay, it looks like it’ll be a good twenty minutes before I can be there.” She knew it could be worse, but it could also be better. “I’ll come as fast as I can. Until then, I want you to delete my number from the Recent call list, put the phone back, and pretend like everything is normal. You don’t want the guy watching you to suspect something if he wakes up. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’m leaving now. I will see you soon.”

  Siya hung up her phone, and then she realized that she still needed to get out of the bunkhouse somehow. It was easier without Ram there, but the sentinels were supposed to be keeping an eye on her. But really, they couldn’t hold her hostage if she actually wanted to leave.

  She opened the door and quietly left Ram’s room, closing the door behind her in case someone walked by. Continuing toward the exit, she tried not to act too quiet, so that it wouldn’t look suspicious if someone caught her tiptoeing down the hall. She was almost to the living room and kitchen when Demi came around the corner.

  “Hey, what are you doing awake?”

  Flinging an arm up, Siya put her finger to her lips. “Shh.”

  Demi’s eyes widened. “What’s up?” she whispered.

  Biting her lip, she contemplated what to do. Burst past Demi and risk being stopped by her? Or take a few extra minutes to tell her what was going on?

  The latter seemed like the best and fastest option in the end, so Siya grabbed Demi’s hand and pulled her into Ram’s bedroom.

  “Don’t tell anyone, but Emery called me. Monica is away, and Emery asked me to come and pick her up.”

  Demi gasped. “Oh my God.”

  “Exactly. I need to go now before Monica gets back.” Siya moved to go around Demi but was stopped by her friend’s hand. “What are you doing?”

  “How do you know it’s really her?”

  “I recognized her voice.”

  “Okay, but how did she get your number?”

  Oh crap. That was a good question.

  “It could be a trap.”

  That thought had crossed Siya’s mind but, “I don’t care, and I really don’t think it is. No matter what anyone says, I am not that important to Monica, and she hasn’t come after me yet. Plus, I heard Emery’s voice. She was scared. So, it might be a trap. But what if it isn’t? I’d feel far worse, not going there and finding out Emery needed me, instead of the other way around.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t have to like it. It’s my decision.”

  Demi sighed. “Fine, I’ll go with you.”

  “No. What if you get hurt?”

  Demi rolled her eyes. “Says the human to the half-shifter.”

  “Okay, you have a point. But—”

  “No buts. I’m going.”

  Siya didn’t want to argue with her best friend, and she really could use Demi’s nose and ears. “Fine, but we need to go now.”

  “I’ll get my shoes.”

  Siya opened her door and almost screamed when she saw Tegan standing on the other side.

  “Going somewhere?”

  Siya’s shoulders sagged. “Not you, too. I don’t have time for this.”

  “Let’s go then.”

  “But you don’t know what’s going on,” Siya pointed out.

  “You talk loud. I heard it all.”

  “And you’re not going to tell on me?”

  “Tell on you? What are you, a child?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Tegan smiled. “No, I’m not going to tell on you. And this way, if I go, you have protection. You are going to let me check out the area before you get out of the car though. Understood?”

  Siya nodded. “Understood.”

  “Okay, where are we going?”

  “This place looks straight out of a horror movie,” Demi said.

  Siya had to agree. They had pulled off a highway, onto a gravel road, and were now several yards away from a long gravel driveway. “If I die tonight, tell my mother and father I love them.”

  Tegan snorted. “You’re not going to die.”

  Siya hoped not, but she wasn’t absolutely positive. Tegan had pulled deep into the brush, shut off the car, and turned off the headlights. With no streetlights and only a sliver of moon, it was very dark out there.

  “I hope you two know that I can’t see as well as you. I’m not sure how we’re going to make it in the dark.”

  “We’re going to follow the driveway. No one else is going to be on foot, so we can easily hide in the grass if we hear a vehicle,” Tegan said.

  That would make it easier.

  They got out and started on the path to the house. The only sounds they heard were the crickets chirping and their shoes on the gravel. It seemed incredibly loud to Siya’s human ears, and she could only imagine Monica standing outside, just waiting for them to show up.

  Finally, the house came into view, and it was clean and well kept. Lights shone through the drawn curtained windows.

  “Oh,” Demi said. “I pictured it being a lot scarier.”

  “Same,” Siya agreed.

  There was a cute wraparound porch with a couple of rocking chairs.

  “You two watch too much TV. A nice, clean house will draw much less attention than a run-down one.”

  “Oh.” That actually made a lot of sense.

  “But I need you to stay here while I do a perimeter check.” Tegan pointed a finger at them. “Do not go anywhere.”

  “Got it,” Siya said, and Demi nodded as Tegan took off.

  She was back within a matter of minutes. “Okay, there’s a single vehicle in the garage. I did spot only one guy who I’m assuming is who Emery was talking about. But we have a problem.”

  Siya’s heart sank. “What?”

  “Emery isn’t the only one in there. I’m not surprised there’s more than one girl, but I didn’t know there would be so many. I would estimate at least a dozen. There is no way we can get them all out of here without a bigger truck or more transportation.”

  “What are we going to do now?” Demi asked.

  “I have an idea.”

  The three women froze at the sound of a feminine voice that hadn’t come from one of them.

  They slowly turned in the direction of the voice, and the woman from the hospital came into view.

  M
onica sneered when she saw Siya. “Stupid human, just can’t mind your own business.”

  They were screwed, and all Siya could think was how much she wished Ram were there.

  Thirty

  Something’s wrong.

  Ram’s chest felt tight, almost like he couldn’t breathe even though he wasn’t having any trouble taking in air.

  “What’s going on?” Saxon asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Saxon picked up his phone and hit a couple buttons before it rang.

  “Yeah?” Ranulf answered. He and Chase were in the SUV in front of them.

  “How’s it going with the tracker? Are we still following Monica? Did something happen?”

  “I was just about to call you. Quentin and Hunter were able to successfully grab Frank. He’s in custody. And Monica stopped, so we will be at her location soon. How did you know?”

  Saxon looked over at Ram. “I don’t know if we did. Ram is acting funny.”

  A chill ran down his spine. He had never been this afraid in his life. Except…he wasn’t afraid. He’d been on plenty of missions before. It wasn’t his fear he was feeling. It was…

  “Siya.”

  “What?” Saxon asked.

  “Siya. I can feel her. She’s close, and she’s freaking out.” He put his hand on Saxon’s arm. “You don’t think Monica has her, do you?”

  If something happened to Siya, Ram could never live with himself for leaving her home without him. She should have been safe with the others, but something must have happened.

  “Tell me how far away we are exactly,” Saxon bit into the phone.

  “A quarter of a mile.”

  Saxon hung up the phone and dialed Demi. The sound of it ringing and ringing was deafening.

  “What the fuck?” Saxon yelled and threw his phone on the dash. “My mate had better be fucking safe at home, in bed, sleeping.”

  The closer they got to their destination, the stronger Ram felt Siya. It was so bad that as soon as Saxon parked, Ram wrenched open the door and puked.

  If Siya had thought her heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to now. It was so loud that she couldn’t hear anything else, and she was pretty sure it was going to pound right out of her chest and onto the gravel under her feet.