Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) Read Online Free

using it now. Gabriel slid his Sig from his shoulder holster and then stepped inside. Noah was right behind him, his Glock in hand and already sweeping the living room. Gabriel pointed in the direction of the hallway leading to the bedrooms and, together, the two began a thorough inspection of her home.
    Gabriel noticed the changes right away as they canvassed each room. Every window was covered by new drapes or shades, and not one was pulled back to let light in. The house was eerily quiet, but also sterile. It was the only word he could think of to describe what he was seeing. Emily kept her home tidy, but she always had little piles of books, magazines, or files sitting around that helped her research whatever her latest novel was about.
    But he saw none of that now. No, now it looked as if the house belonged to a ghost. Someone who might exist there, but not really live within its walls.
    When he and Noah entered her bedroom, both men paused and tried to rein in their shock. It was stripped of the things which spoke of who Emily really was. Her photos of her parents, grandparents, and those of her with Noah and him were missing from the furniture’s surfaces. Her favorite stuffed rabbit, which she’d had since she was six, wasn’t sitting lopsided on the comforter as he always was. And her laptop wasn’t perched on the small desk in the corner where she placed it each night to charge it.
    Noah strode forward and carefully checked her bathroom and then her closet, while Gabriel stood rooted to the spot. He had to shake himself out of the stupor that had invaded his brain and every limb when Noah spoke to him.
    “Say again?” Gabriel asked.
    “I said, her clothes are gone. Almost all of them,” Noah sighed in a strangled tone. He sank down to his knees and looked under her bed, swearing as he did so. “Luggage is gone too. What in the hell is going on here?”
    “I don’t know,” Gabriel muttered. “Let’s check out the rest of the house for now.”
    Noah gave him a curt nod as he rose from the floor and, together, they headed down the hallway. They found the other two bedrooms sitting untouched, as well as the second bathroom and laundry room. When they entered the kitchen, Noah spotted Emily’s phone next to a stack of mail and he immediately moved forward to snag it.
    He began to scroll through her recent calls and texts, finding only a few from Tara, when the sound of the hardwood floor creaking behind them had both men turning with their weapons raised.
    “Whoa, guys! It’s just me, Andrew. Put the guns down,” he said in a soothing tone. Andrew held his own gun pointed towards the ceiling with the palm of his left hand facing them. He shook his head as he holstered his piece, and then let out a little huff of relief.
    “Andrew, what are you and Ryan doing here?” Noah demanded, sounding more perturbed than he had intended.
    “Nice to see you, too,” Andrew smirked.
    “Seriously, why are you here?” Gabriel rumbled.
    “We got an alert from the monitoring system we helped install for Emily,” Ryan supplied. “We were already headed this way to do our daily check in. Sheriff Strauss has us driving by at random times and canvassing the neighborhood until things are solved.”
    Andrew shot him an exasperated look, but Ryan just shrugged in response.
    “All right, you two,” Gabriel said and took a step closer. He settled his hands on his hips and angled his head at Andrew. He and Noah towered over the two younger lawmen, and Gabe used that height difference to his full advantage now. “Start speaking and don’t leave out any details. What’s going on with Emily that has you and the sheriff involved?”
    Andrew sighed and shook his head. But his expression hardened when his eyes landed on the table.
    “Son of a bitch!” Andrew swore and reached for a pair of gloves that he kept stuffed in the back of his belt. “There’s another one. Ryan take a picture of it before I open it.”
    “Open