The Wild Hunt (Downworlder Series, #1)

Chapter Nine: Hunted

My cellphone was blaring in my ear, the beast rumbling her displeasure at the loud noise that was waking us from our sleep. I groaned as I rolled over in my bed. The harsh artificial light from the screen blasted through the darkness of my room, making me squint as I reached out for it. I slapped my hand around on the nightstand a couple times before grabbing it, swiping my finger across the screen.

"Hello?" I croaked, my throat rough from being pulled from my deep sleep.

"Sutton." Tatum's voice whispered through the receiver, I could hear she was trying her best to hold herself together. She had learned how much I hated crying over the past week or so. I had been checking in on her after the meeting in Octavia's office. I wanted her to know that she had someone watching her back beyond the guard dogs that Octavia had sent out, they were more than a little useless. They could give two shits if she lost one or two of the mongrels, as long as her top mark makers were safe, they were doing their jobs as far as they saw it.

That's why I had gone out of my way to look out for her. I had been trying to teach her some of the defensive  moves I'd learned with Benjin. She was a little slow on the uptake but she was trying the best she could, and without crying anymore because I'd shown her up close and personal what happened to those who showed weakness.

"You better be dying, Tatum." I could feel the irritation of the beast crawling under my skin.

"It's Maggie..." She sniffled, unable to hold back her distress.

I growled in confusion, "Who?" The name didn't ring familiar to me, and I knew quite a bit of people. It came with the business of running.

Tatum continued to unleash her word vomit onto me, "They took her. I saw them take her, Sutton. One of them grabbed her and threw her into the alley and she never came back out again. Do you think they did something bad to her?" Before I could even respond she let out a little cry, clearly she was shaken up over whatever had happened, "Oh god, they took her and they're going to kill her like they did to those other ones, aren't they? Oh god-oh god! What if they saw me? What if they come back? What if--"

I sat up in my bed with an angry snarl, "Tatum! Calm down! I don't know who or what the hell you're talking about. Who is Maggie and who took her?"

She let out a small whimper, sucking in a slow breath to try and calm herself down enough to speak clearly, "Maggie is one of Octavia's girls from Desire. Octavia brought here to Precious because it was safer. She was a high earner doing--you know... what I have to..." She was still uncomfortable talking about what it was she had to do to keep herself alive, "This man was at the mouth of the alleyway and she went over to him. He threw her into the alley and I think a couple more were waiting." She sucked in another ragged breath.

I could feel in my gut that this was the beginning of something terrible, "Did you call anyone else?"

"No... They don't care about us, Sutton. You're the only one who cares. That's why I called you." She whimpered again.

I gritted my teeth as I pulled myself up out of my bed, body still sore from the beating I'd taken from the twins. Unlike the other beasts in this filthy city, my healing abilities worked quite a bit slower. I wasn't as hideous as I had been in the beginning, my bones had repaired themselves but my joints still ached and the bruises were still visible even though they were fading.

"Let me get dressed. I'll meet you at Octavia's. I know you're not a runner but make it quick. You know what type of people are on the street at these hours." I was already fishing around in the dark for a pair of pants, the phone nestled between my cheek and shoulder, "And call your handler. Unless you want an ass beating for not following the damn rules." I hung up before she could say anything more. I didn't want to think about what was happening to the poor girl that had been taken. There was no proof to say she hadn't simply been taken by slummers looking for an extra good time but I had this gnawing feeling in my gut that I couldn't ignore.