Illusions (Night Roamers #4)

by Kristen Middleton

  She pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and gave me a sympathetic smile. “I… uh, I heard about your mom. Sorry for your loss.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, are you coming back to school here in town?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure. There’s so much going on.”

  “Speaking of which – did you hear about Duncan and Sonny? The guys who own the boat marina?”

  “No, what about them?” I asked, curious as to what she would say. Fortunately, she had no idea that Duncan and I were together.

  Her eyes sparkled. “I heard that Duncan killed his father and is now on the run from the cops.”

  “What?” I snapped. “That’s a bunch of crap. Where did you hear that?”

  She looked a little taken aback. “From Caleb’s daughter, Celeste. I mean, she would know, right?”

  I stared at her in shock. “Celeste?”

  “Yeah. She stopped by here earlier. Bought one of those smokeless cigarettes. I’ll bet her daddy is going to kill her if he finds out she’s smoking.”

  “Celeste was actually in here?” I asked, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of me. “Today?”

  “Yes. Just about an hour ago.”

  “What else did she say?”

  “Not much. Said her dad was in Vegas.”

  “Did Celeste happen to say where she was heading?”

  She punched the keys on the register. “That will be four twenty-eight. No, she didn’t really say, but I’m pretty sure she was going to that club down the road. Club Nightshade. She was certainly dressed for it. I’m sure she has a fake I.D. Wonder how daddy would feel if he knew about that, too?”

  He probably got it for her in the first place, I thought. I ignored the question. “Okay. Thanks,” I replied, handing her the money.

  “So, you really don’t think Duncan killed his dad?” she prodded.

  Just hearing her say that made me want to throw up. I knew she’d spread the rumor to everyone in town before the end of the weekend if I didn’t try and do something about it. “Not at all. Celeste is full of shit,” I replied. “And don’t you dare go telling anyone else that nonsense.”

  “Chill out. I would never do that,” she lied, having the gall to look appalled.

  I leaned forward and stared into her hazel eyes, until they dilated. “I mean it,” I replied evenly. “Duncan did not kill Sonny. Sonny is out of town. Do you understand?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes, he’s out of town.”

  “Who’s out of town?”

  “Sonny,” she replied, her voice robotic.

  Satisfied, I stepped away from her, rushed out of the station, and got back into the car.

  “Thanks,” said Nathan as I handed him both cans. He set one down and opened up the other one. “What the hell took you so long?”

  I nodded toward the station. “I knew the girl at the counter. She just told me that Celeste was here earlier.”

  His eyes widened. “Celeste? I thought Victor took care of her.”

  I smiled grimly. “Guess not.”

  “I wonder if she escaped or if he actually let her go,” he said, taking a sip of the energy drink.

  “I don’t know. Nothing he does is predictable.”

  “Maybe Drake knows what’s happening with her.”

  “Yeah, and maybe that’s what he wanted to talk to us about,” I replied, pulling out my phone.

  Still no messages…

  “I don’t trust that cobber,” said Nathan, his voice sullen. “And I don’t like the way he watches you. Duncan definitely wouldn’t appreciate it.”

  “Don’t worry, I don’t trust Drake either. Heck, I don’t trust anyone else besides you, Duncan, and mom.”

  Nathan rubbed his forehead. “What a long night. Did I tell you I helped a girl get her car out of the snow earlier? Just before the werewolf attacked me.”

  “Lycan. Werewolves are different,” I turned to face him. “No, you didn’t tell me about the girl. Was she okay?”

  “I guess so. She drove off. What do you mean that the lycan are different?”

  “They can change into one of those scary-assed creatures whenever they want. Werewolves have to wait for a full moon.”

  “That’s right. Celeste mentioned that in Vegas,” he replied, smirking. He looked up at the sky. “Since it’s not a full moon, I guess that means he was definitely a lycan.”

  “He’s got to be one of Victor’s buddies. Never had any problems with lycan before he came to town.”

  “Just Roamers.”

  “At least that we know of.”

  “True,” I replied, sending another text to Duncan.

  Nathan noticed and sighed. “We need to get to the cabin. If Duncan’s not there, at least Drake will be around. Damn, I can’t believe I just said that.”

  “Me neither,” I replied, turning the key in the ignition. “You sure you don’t want me to drop you off somewhere?”

  He crushed the empty can with his hand and let out an obnoxious burp. “Nope. I’m good to go.” He pulled out the gun from under the seat. “Let’s go.”

  I frowned. “I thought we were going to get rid of the gun. It’s evidence now.”

  He snorted. “After what happened tonight, there’s no way I’m letting this thing go. It saved my life. It probably will again.”

  “Can’t argue that. You have any more of those silver bullets left?”

  “Three in the chamber and five more in the glove compartment.”

  “That’s good. So, do you think Victor sent him to actually kill us, or he was a rogue just out hunting?”

  “Of course Victor did. We’re in his way. Things would be smoother if we weren’t.”

  “True.”

  He stared out the window as we began to drive. “This whole thing just blows my mind, you know? I’m not talking about just the night Roamer thing, either. I mean the fact that we lived with Victor all of those years, and had no idea of what he really was.”

  “That was probably a good thing.”

  “I mean, I always knew that he had a bad temper. But, he’s a cold-blooded killer. We were walking a fine line living with that monster. Celeste said he was psychotic and has killed people for not having his dry-cleaning done on time.”

  I smirked. “One psychotic evaluating another. Nice.”

  He snorted. “Exactly. You know, we’re lucky he held his cool as long as he did. Didn’t kill us when we came home late or got a bad grade in school.”

  “You mean you were lucky,” I teased.

  “Whatever, Doogie Howser. The point is, we’re lucky to be alive.”

  “Yeah, True.”

  He rubbed his face. “I mean how could she sleep with him and not know he was a freak?”

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, mom.”

  “Obviously he never gave away his true nature. I mean, he was always gone. Said it was for work. As far as them having sex – yuck. I don’t want to know what went on in their bedroom.”

  “Me neither. It’s just – how could two people spend so many years together without one of them figuring it out?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “What really pisses me off is that he owned that cabin and we never heard anything about it.”

  “I think you’re thinking too hard about everything,” I replied. “Obviously, he had other people working for him and they made it easier. Besides, now that I think back, there were subtle signs.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. His late night jogs, working third shift, hunting trips.” He grimaced. “I wonder how many people he killed when he lived with us.”

  “Probably a lot. Plus, he was a cop. Not only did he kill, but he knew how to cover it up.”

  “We lived with a serial killer, Nikki. That’s the plain and simple truth.” He was silent for a few seconds. “Do you think we should kill him?”

  “I don’t want to kill anyone, but if it comes down to it, I will.”

>   “Me too. I’ll put so many silver caps in his ass, he’ll be shitting quarters.”

  I laughed.

  When we passed the spot where Nathan had killed the lycan, the body was gone.

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” he said.

  “Some of his pack members may have come back for the body,” I replied.

  “Who knows, maybe it was even Victor. He may have never gotten on a plane.”

  “Guess we’ll find out soon enough,” I answered, as we headed to his cabin.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nikki

  

  The snow continued to fall as we turned onto the dirt road leading to the cabin.

  “Let me drive,” he demanded, for the third time. “You’re going to get us stuck.”

  “Oh, mellow out,” I replied, actually enjoying the slippery ride. “It’s not like we’re going to hit anyone or end up in a ditch.”

  “Just don’t hit the mailbox,” he said through his teeth as we narrowly missed it. He put a hand to his forehead. “Jesus, I’m never getting into a car with you again.”

  “Relax, we’re almost there,” I said, pressing my foot on the gas a little harder. I had to admit, making him squirm a little was fun.

  He clenched his jaw and held onto the dashboard as I steered it toward the house. “Slow down!”

  “You’re acting like an old lady.”

  “You would too if you put as much money into this thing as I did,” he said, glaring at me. “I can’t afford any more repairs.”

  “Chill out. There’s nothing around here to hit.”

  “Well, we don’t want to get stuck either.”

  “You forget about my amazing new superhero strength,” I replied, smirking. “I could pull us out of a ditch with my pinkie finger.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  As we neared the cabin, I put my foot on the brake and we slid sideways toward the garage. Nathan began using words I’d never heard before while I squealed with glee.

  “You know, that was really fun,” I said, shutting the engine off. “I think we should get some snowmobiles.”

  “Give me the keys,” he replied, holding out his hand. “Now.”

  Still grinning, I dropped them into his palm. “Are you sweating? Nathan, you really need to relax. I think that caffeine made you tense.”

  “Yeah, it was the caffeine,” he replied dryly. He then grabbed the gun from under the seat and shoved it into the back of his pants. “Let’s go.”

  We got out of the car and I noticed that he was limping.

  “You sure you’re all right?” I whispered.

  “I’m fine,” he replied. “And why are you whispering? You didn’t exactly make a quiet entrance.”

  “I guess not,” I answered, looking around nervously. I’d been having so much fun, that “discreet” had taken a back seat. “Sorry.”

  “Just let me do the driving for now on.”

  I sighed. “Whatever.”

  We walked over to the porch and climbed the stairs. The cabin was dark and it was obvious that Victor was either really gone, or wanted to look gone.

  “What should we do?”

  Before I could answer, the door opened and Drake stood before us.

  “What took you so long?” he asked.

  “We ran into some trouble,” replied Nathan, nodding toward his ankle.

  Drake looked down at the bandage. “What happened?”

  “Maybe you could tell us,” snapped my brother. “Since you’re the one usually in the loop and we’re not.”

  Drake looked at me. “You had to bring him?”

  “Just tell us what you know,” I replied, walking past him into the dark cabin. “Or why you even wanted to talk to us in the first place.”

  Nathan followed me inside. “Can we turn on a light?” he asked as Drake closed the door.

  “No, it will draw attention,” he replied, lowering his voice.

  “You mean lycan attention?” I asked, turning around to look at him.

  Drake nodded.

  “Nathan met up with one on our way out here,” I replied, waving my hand toward his ankle. “He certainly won’t be bothering us again.”

  “You killed one of the lycan?”

  “No. I did,” replied Nathan, grabbing his gun. He pointed it toward Drake. “And I’m not afraid to do it again. Or shoot anyone else who tries to hurt us.”

  “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop pointing that thing at me,” warned Drake, his face dark.

  “Dude, why should we even trust you?”

  “I mean you no harm. If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it a while ago.”

  “Have you seen Duncan?” I asked.

  Drake’s eyes shifted to me. “The boyfriend?”

  “Yes. We’ve lost communication with him,” I replied.

  “No. I haven’t seen him.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him or not. I sighed. “Why did you want to talk?”

  He grabbed a dark parka from the hook next to the front yard and put it on “I’ll tell you, but not here.”

  “Why? You think it’s bugged?” asked Nathan, looking around nervously.

  Drake didn’t reply.

  “Where to?” I asked.

  He opened the front door and we followed him outside to the garage. The door was unlocked and we all stepped inside.

  “Aren’t you afraid this place is bugged, too?” asked Nathan.

  “I know it’s not. I helped set up Victor’s security. He was only worried about the main house.”

  “So, what exactly do you want, Drake?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

  His lips twitched and I could tell from the wicked gleam in his eyes that he wanted more than anything I’d ever give him. “I’ve been wanting to get you alone for a while,” he replied. “There’s –”

  “You’re not exactly subtle in your approach to women, are you?” sneered Nathan.

  Embarrassed, I scowled at my brother.

  Drake chuckled. “Although I find you irresistibly fascinating, Nikki, this has nothing to do sex.”

  I felt my cheeks grow warm. “Uh, I didn’t think so,” I replied quickly. “I mean, I knew it had nothing to do with… that.”

  “Ethan and I are friends,” he explained. “I’d never cross that kind of line. Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate his taste in women.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Ethan? What does anything have to do with him?

  “Yeah,” said Nathan. “Besides being a traitor and a royal douchebag, how come you’re being loyal to one of Victor’s enemies? I thought you took care of him anyway.”

  He lowered his voice. “There are things going on here that you don’t understand. Hell, I don’t completely understand them myself.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  He sighed. “Let’s just say that what you think you know… you really don’t.”

  “Story of our lives,” I answered dryly.

  “I know you’re confused, but believe it or not, I am on your side.”

  I snorted. “You’re on our side? Right.”

  “Seriously I am,” he replied. “Let me explain.”

  “Yes, please do,” I replied.

  “If you’re on our side, why are you helping Victor?” asked Nathan.

  “And where is our mother?” I added.

  Before he could respond, there was a creak on the roof.

  “Someone’s here,” whispered Drake, his jaw clenching. “Fuck.”

  “Maybe it’s a squirrel,” replied Nathan, staring up at the ceiling.

  “It could be Duncan,” I whispered.

  “Stay here,” ordered Drake, moving toward the doorway.

  “No, I’m coming with,” I answered, following. “Nathan, you stay here.”

  “Screw that,” replied Nathan.

  “Just stay with your brother,” answered Drake.

  “Fine,” I answered.

  Drake flew to
the roof as soon as he stepped outside, and immediately, we heard sounds of a scuffle.

  “Shit, we need to help him,” said Nathan, running outside.

  As I followed him out, there was a loud grunt from Drake, who tumbled off of the roof and landed in the snow. We both rushed over to him.

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered, staring at his headless body.

  Nathan turned around and threw up in the snow, while I scanned the top of the garage, terrified that whatever had attacked him would come after us next. Suddenly, there was a loud screech, followed by a flapping noise. When I looked up into the sky, my heart stopped. A gargoyle-like creature stared down at me from above as it circled us.

  Faye?!

  I quickly grabbed my brother and flew him toward the cabin. Shoving him inside, I hollered, “Lock the doors and have your gun ready!”

  “Nikki!” he yelled back. “What the fuck?! Stay away from that thing!”

  “I think it’s Faye,” I said. “She might have gotten to Duncan, too. I have to go after her and find out.”

  “No you don’t! She’ll kill you,” he shouted. “You saw what she did to Drake!”

  “I’ll be back,” I replied, ignoring him.

  “Nikki!”

  All I could think about was Duncan and what she could have done to him. Although I was frightened, something deep inside told me that I had to follow her or I’d never get to see him again. I leaped into the air and took off after her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nathan

  When Nikki left Nathan alone in the cabin, he began to pace. The fact that she had taken off after Faye alone was eating him alive. He felt like a damn pansy. He had no special powers, and although he could still out-bench most of his friends at school, he wasn’t strong enough to protect his sister.

  But, he still had the gun…

  “Screw this,” he growled, swinging the door open. There was no way he’d sit back and let her face that creature alone. Not after what it had done to Drake, and he was pretty sure that the Roamer had been one bad-assed killer. Nikki was not only new to the world she’d been forced into, but she made hasty decisions. She needed backup or she’d definitely get herself killed.

  Nathan raced down the porch steps gripping the gun firmly. As his eyes scanned the garage and then the yard, he was suddenly aware of the fact that his vision was exceptionally clear, even through the falling snow.