Ethan, although still heartbreakingly handsome, did nothing but make me sick to my stomach now. I glared at the one person who’d caused me so much heartache. “Where’s Duncan?”
He snorted. “Hopefully out of my life for good.”
It was then that I noticed his clothes were wet and his lip was puffy and bleeding.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” said Duncan, landing on the boat. “But I’m here and actually, doing a lot better than you,” he said, chuckling.
“Thank God, are you okay?” I asked, putting my arms around Duncan’s waist.
“Considering that I’m dry and have a hot girl in my arms, I’m doing better than anyone here. That piece of shit, on the other hand, just found out that I’m not as weak and vulnerable as I once was.”
“Give it up, you’re always going to be weaker than me,” snapped Ethan, his lips pulled into an ugly scowl. “Just because you got in a couple good licks, doesn’t mean squat.”
Celeste groaned. “Would you please quit your fighting? Ethan, did you tell Duncan why we’re here?”
He licked the blood from his lower lip. “I started to and then he attacked me. I wasn’t expecting it.”
“You weren’t…” Duncan snorted. “What did you expect? That I’d invite you onboard for a couple of drinks, so we could talk about what douchebag you are?”
“I would have loved to have gotten in that conversation,” said Nathan.
“Enough!” snarled Celeste. “This is giving me a migraine. Look, we’re leaving. We’ll meet you guys back in Shore Lake, at Club Nightshade. Tomorrow night around midnight.”
“Fine,” I said. “But don’t think for one moment that we’re buddies now. We’ll help save our mother from Victor, but after we get her away from him, you won’t be hearing from us ever again. And I expect the same of you.”
“I can live with that,” said Celeste.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” replied Duncan. “I’m not agreeing to anything until someone besides Ethan fills me in.”
I explained the situation as briefly as I could. When I was finished, he sighed. “Well, I’m in, obviously. But just like Nikki said, we’ll work together to free Anne, but that’s it. And you,” he said, pointing towards Ethan. “You keep your distance from Nikki or so help me, I’ll kill you. I swear it on my father’s grave, I will kill you.”
“Nikki has nothing to worry about from me,” he said, giving me one of his charming smiles.
I rolled my eyes.
Puke.
I turned back to Duncan. “It doesn’t matter if Ethan tries anything because I love you, Duncan. You. I have absolutely no feelings for him, and the ones I thought I had died in Vegas. So,” I leaned forward and kissed his lips, “don’t worry about me.”
He smiled. “I love you, too, Nikki.”
Ethan clapped his hands. “Oh, how touching,” he said with a mocking sneer on his face. “Well, now that we have all of that established, Celeste and I will take our leave.”
“Okay,” replied Duncan, waving his hand as if he was shooing away bothersome flies. “Nightshade, tomorrow night.”
“See you tomorrow, Nikki,” said Ethan, undressing me with his eyes.
Celeste chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Down, boy. Can’t you see you’ve been replaced?”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” he said, as she pulled him away from the boat.
“Stop it,” she giggled.
“That guy needs a good ass kicking,” said Nathan. “Next time you need to give him more than a fat lip, Duncan.”
“Believe me, I’d love to.”
“I’m going to call Taylor. She probably thinks I abandoned her.”
I turned towards Duncan as Nathan went inside of the cabin. “Ethan just doesn’t stop,” I said. “He makes me sick.”
He put his arm around me possessively. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you alone with him for a minute.”
“Speaking of being alone,” I smiled seductively. “You and I need more of that. I want to celebrate the fact that my mom is alive and I can’t think of a better way to do it.”
“As much as I would love it,” he replied. “We don’t have time.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled grimly. “We’re not waiting until tomorrow night to get back to Shore Lake. We’re leaving tonight. I don’t trust those two. They’ve already tried to kill us several times. For all we know, this could be another trap.”
I bit my lower lip. “Good plan. Plus, we can leave Nathan here. It’s too dangerous to bring him with us.”
“I agree. Let’s fuel up in the galley with a couple quarts of blood and head out.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We made it back to Victor’s cabin in Shore Lake in record time. Three cars were parked in the driveway and two armed guards were standing outside, smoking cigarettes and talking.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered.
We’d landed on the roof of the garage and were crouched down, hidden by the darkness.
“I don’t know. We don’t even know if your mom is inside.”
“She must be, otherwise they wouldn’t have the guards.”
“Good point,” he whispered.
“We could fly to the balcony,” I said, pointing to my bedroom. “Sneak in and try looking for her.”
“Not when they’re standing right there. If they don’t hear us, they might smell us. Lycans have a keen sense of smell since they’re related to the canine family, probably much better than ours.”
“Well then, let’s cause some kind of distraction then.”
He thought about it for a while and then nodded. “Okay. This is what I’m going to do – I’ll fly over to the boathouse and start the boat on fire.”
My eyebrows shot up. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“No, it’s the perfect distraction. Everyone will run out of the house, we’ll snatch your mom, and get her the hell out of here.”
I smiled. “Oh, wow… that’s a brilliant idea.” I kissed him quickly on the cheek. “I’ll have to reward you later.”
“If that’s not incentive to stay alive,” he said, “nothing is. Now, wait for the explosion. When everyone runs out of the house, fly to your balcony and sneak in.”
“Okay.”
He kissed me on the lips. “Mm… incentive never tasted so delicious.”
I pushed him playfully.
Like a gust of wind, he blew off of the roof and disappeared behind the boathouse.
I stayed low, watching the house and the guards. After a few minutes, the guards separated and began to walk around the property.
“Shit,” I whispered as one of the men began walking towards the boathouse. Instead of going inside, however, he walked to the edge of the dock, unzipped his fly, and took a whiz.
I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look at the other guard, who I noticed was walking behind the house. As they continued to walk the property and the seconds ticked by, I started getting worried, wondering if Duncan was having problems setting the boat on fire. I wasn’t even sure how to do it myself, but knowing how boats had been his life, there was no doubt in my mind that if anyone could light one up, it would be him.
Finally, a loud explosion lit up the night, followed by dark, billowy clouds of smoke and flames. The two security guards ran towards the dock, stopping at a safe distance. Soon the front door of the cabin burst open and Victor ran out, wearing a dark brown robe.
“What happened?” he hollered.
“Hell, I don’t know,” replied one of the guards. “Maybe a faulty wire on the boat or something?”
“Did either of you try and start it?”
“Nobody did,” replied the other guard.
As I prepared to fly towards my old balcony, I saw my mother standing in the doorway.
“Oh, my God,” I choked, ecstatic that she was really alive.
“What’s happening?” she called.
“Honey, go back inside!” hollered Victor. “You don’t want to breathe in any of the smoke. It’s toxic.”
She hesitated and then shut the door.
Unable to wait any longer, I launched up into the sky and then back down towards the balcony, making sure I built up enough speed so Victor wouldn’t see me. When I landed on the balcony, Duncan was already crouched down and waiting.
“What took you so long?” he asked, his eyes glittering with amusement.
“Funny. I was almost going to ask you the same question.”
“Starting a fire is a lot more complicated than it looks.”
“Oh, I believe you.”
The door was unlocked and my bedroom, which had been in total disarray the last time I’d seen it, had been turned into a nursery.
“You’re kidding,” I whispered, staring at the white crib and Winnie the Pooh decorations. “I haven’t even been gone a month and I’ve been replaced by a fetus. Nice.”
“Nikki, if what they say is true, she’s forgotten all about you. It’s not her fault.”
“I know. I just miss my life.”
“Me too,” he said.
I opened the bedroom door and peeked through the opening.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, stepping outside into the hallway.
We first went to her bedroom and peered inside, only to find it empty.
“Let’s check the kitchen,” I whispered.
“Nikki!”
I turned around to find her standing in the doorway. “Mom,” I said, my eyes tearing up. I walked over and she pulled me into her arms. “It’s true, you’re really alive.”
She looked down at me and smiled sadly. “More or less.”
“Is it true? Are you pregnant?”
She tensed up. “Nikki, you have to get out of here. Duncan, take her as far away from here as you can.”
“You’re coming with us,” I said.
She shook her head. “No. I can’t leave this place. I can’t leave Victor.”
“Why?”
“Because, he’ll come after you and Nathan.”
“Mom, he’ll never find us!”
She touched my cheek. “Oh, Nikki… he’s known where you’ve been the entire time. In the Florida Keys. The only reason he didn’t come after you was because of me.”
“I don’t understand?”
“I’m pregnant with Caleb’s child.”
“I heard. When did you find out?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Right before Caleb was killed. When we learned I was carrying his child, he came clean about everything. Of course, I didn’t believe him at first. I was furious, thought he was crazy, but then he showed me and…” she wiped a tear from her cheek. “Anyway, he was worried about mine and the baby’s safety, so we decided that the only option was for me to become a vampire.”
“I guess it was the right choice, otherwise you’d both be dead right now,” said Duncan.
“Mom, we have to get out of here, before Victor comes to check on you.”
“I can’t leave. You don’t understand, Nikki. If I stay with him, he’ll leave you and your brother alone. He swore to me.”
“And you really believe him?”
“I have no choice. And, like I said, he’s already known where you’ve been staying. He’s shown me pictures.”
“Where did he get the pictures?” I asked.
“He sent one of his men out to Florida about two weeks ago. Why did you come back anyway? Victor said you believed that I was dead.”
“Celeste and Ethan found us,” she replied.
Her face darkened. “You have to stay away from them. They’ve been trying to kill me and the baby.”
Duncan swore. “See, I told you not to trust them.”
“It’s true,” she said. “They’ve tried several times and have even hired assassins. I guess Celeste is furious that I’m having her father’s baby and wants us both destroyed.”
“She’s a conniving bitch,” I muttered. “She made it sound like she was on our side and wanted to help me save you.”
“Maybe, but only to kill all of us afterwards. Don’t trust her.”
“Mom, come with us. We’ll leave the Keys and go somewhere else, where you’ll be safe. Victor only wants your baby so that he can experiment on it.”
“That’s not entirely true,” she said. “He just wants to borrow the baby’s D.N.A…”
“Yes, to make an army of Lycans that will take over the world and kill anyone who stands in their way.”
“You can’t beat Victor,” she replied. “He has eyes and ears all over the country. If I leave with you, he’ll find us within minutes and then… he’ll kill you and Nathan.”
“There’s no way he could find us that quickly,” I said.
“Unfortunately, there is,” she replied, touching her stomach. “He’s had some kind of chip inserted inside of me. A tracking device.”
“What? Can we have it removed?”
She shook her head. “Not fast enough. I’d have to have surgery, and by then, it would be too late for all of us.”
I groaned. “What in the hell are we going to do?”
She hugged me. “You’re going to get lost again, this time somewhere more desolate.”
“I can’t leave you,” I said, now in tears. “I don’t trust Victor and… I really don’t trust Celeste and Ethan.”
“Victor won’t harm me, not when I’m pregnant with this child, at least.”
“But –”
“Once I have the baby and he gets what he needs, he has promised to let me go.”
“And you really believe him?”
“I have to. And seeing that you are still alive, I feel even better about it.”
“He’s a monster, mom.”
She let out a ragged sigh. “Maybe, but I’m not putting you, Nathan, and the baby at risk by spending the rest of my pregnancy running.”
“What about Celeste and Ethan?” I asked. “What if they get their hands on you?”
“They won’t,” interrupted Victor, walking into the bedroom.
“Shit,” I groaned.
He smirked. “You’re not very good at running, you do realize that?”
Duncan grabbed my arm protectively.
Victor waved his hand. “Oh, I’m not interested in hurting either of you. But, if you try and get in the way of my plans, you’ll be feeling a world of pain.”
“How are you going to protect my mom from Celeste and Ethan, twenty-four-seven?
He rubbed his chin. “I was going to keep armed guards around her at all times, but now that you’re here, I’ve come up with a new plan.”
“What?” I asked.
“I want you to set up a meeting with them. Obviously, you know how to get ahold of them.”
“Actually,” I said, looking at Duncan. “We’re supposed to meet them at Club Nightshade tomorrow night.”
He smiled. “Perfect.”
“If we give you Celeste and Ethan,” said Duncan. “We’ll you give us Anne?”
“No. But, I will guarantee Anne’s safety. She’ll stay here at the cabin during her pregnancy, and I’ll let her walk away from all of it once the baby arrives.”
“Why should we trust you?” I asked.
“Have I hurt any of you yet?”
My eyes narrowed. “You’ve hurt my mother, many times throughout the years.”
“But she’s still alive, and if you knew how I operated, you’d realize how rare that is.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Believe it or not,” he continued, “the thought of hurting her physically leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That being said, however, I’m not going to deny the fact that I have a temper and it’s best not to test it.”
“Well, that’s comforting,” I said dryly.
“Face it, Nikki, you really don’t have a choice but to go along with keeping your mom alive.”
“And the child?” asked Duncan. “What will happen to it?
”
He shrugged. “She can keep it after we’ve collected D.N.A samples.”
“Why does this child mean so much to you?” asked Duncan.
“Obviously, you have no idea how rare a vampire child is. If the baby goes to term, it’s going to be stronger and faster than any vampire that was created simply by bonding. And, if I can combine the D.N.A from that child with Lycan…” his eyes lit up. “It’s going to be one very powerful force.”
And deadly.
I bit my lower lip. “Okay. If you promise not to hurt mom and let them both go when the baby is born, we’ll agree to help you.”
Victor nodded. “I figured you were intelligent enough to see things my way. Now, keep your meeting tomorrow night. Find a way to bring them into the alley, and we’ll do the rest. What time are you meeting them?”
“Midnight.”
“Perfect. You’re making the right decision,” he said.
“I hope so,” I replied.
“You are.”
I walked over to my mom and kissed her cheek. “I have a plan,” she whispered.
Her eyes widened.
I smiled, grabbed Duncan’s hand, and left.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We snuck into Sonny’s Marina and stayed there until the following evening. Neither of us could sleep so we spent most of the time making love, as well as plans.
“How do you plan on getting that chip out of her?” asked Duncan, sitting down in the break room.
“There’s got to be a way,” I said. “I just don’t want her living with that monster. I don’t trust him and he’s a walking time bomb.”
He stared at his fingers as he tapped them on the round wooden table. “They’ll track us down.”
“Probably, but we’re faster. The Lycans can’t fly, Duncan. We’ll just stay on the move until we find someone who will remove the chip.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I guess I wouldn’t trust him either. Besides Nathan, she’s all you have left of your family. I’d do anything to get mine back.”
I sat down on his lap. “I’m your family now. Me and Nathan.”
He smiled and kissed my lips.
***
There was a long line waiting to get into Club Nightshade the next evening. We stood in the back of the line, and within seconds, were ushered past the others waiting to get in.
Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three Page 18
