“Duncan didn’t seem to think so. He’s always been a very willing participant,” she said, her eyes beginning to glow.
I frowned. “Did… did you have sex with him, here?”
“Do you really want to know?” she asked, with a wicked smile.
No, I didn’t.
I looked away and was silent as we took the elevator down several floors. When we reached the bottom, the door opened up into another long hallway.
“Where are we going?” I asked, following her.
“It’s a surprise,” she said.
“I don’t think I can handle any more of those. Where’s Ethan?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll see him soon enough.”
Something in the way she said that made me hesitate.
“Celeste,” I asked. “Why didn’t Ethan come back for me himself?”
She stopped and turned to me. “He was very busy.”
“I… I just don’t understand.”
She grabbed my hand. “Just, come with me if you want to see him.”
I sighed and let her drag me to the end of the hallway, to a large double-doorway, where I could hear loud music coming from the other side. As she opened it and we took our first steps, my eyes strained to adjust to the darkness inside.
“My my…” giggled Celeste, “Now what is going on over there?”
I turned my head to look and noticed we’d happened upon another creepy sex scene, this one a ménage à trois. I didn’t recognize the two girls, who were both dressed in leather and chainmail, but as my eyes began to adjust to the low lighting, I did recognize the guy lying on the bed.
“Uh, oh,” chuckled Celeste.
“Ethan?” I choked, unable to believe my eyes.
Ethan’s head shot up from the center of the bed and our eyes met. “Nikki?”
I turned around and ran out of the room towards the elevators, which were thankfully, still in the basement. I slipped inside, pressed the “close” button, and began sobbing.
Chapter Twenty-four
I was still crying when I left the front doors of the club. Trevor had tried to talk to me, but I’d ignored him and walked away, wanting to escape the memory of seeing Ethan entwined between those two girls.
“Need a ride?” asked a young couple who appeared to be getting ready to leave the nightclub. From the way the guy was ogling me, I knew his ride meant something totally different than mine, and from what I’d witnessed in the club, it didn’t surprise me.
Willing myself to be brave, I turned away from them and wiped the tears from my face. “No, thanks.”
“It’s dangerous to be wandering the streets like this,” called his girlfriend from the passenger side. “Are you sure?”
“No, thanks. I’ll be fine,” I said as I kept walking towards Main Street.
Duncan’s house wasn’t too far and although it was early morning, I decided to see if he’d made it home. As I neared his house, I realized in relief that their kitchen lights were on. I hurried to the door and knocked.
The door opened and I sighed in relief.
“Duncan?”
His face broke into a wide, relieved grin.
“Nikki. Thank God,” he said, pulling me into the house. “We’ve been looking for you all night. Your mom is even here.”
“Nikki!” cried my mother, rushing towards me. She threw her arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Thank God you’re alive! I was so worried about you!”
“I’m fine,” I murmured as she released me and stared into my face.
“You sure?” asked Sonny, moving towards me. “Those vampires didn’t get you?”
I stared at Sonny in shock. “You know about the vampires?”
He nodded. “I’ve known about them for a while now. Duncan just confirmed everything tonight, however.”
“Seriously, you really knew?”
Sonny sighed. “I had a suspicion. Especially after those girls started dying, and your old neighbor, Abigail, paid me a visit last summer. After she was murdered, I knew she’d been on to something. It was just hard to swallow at the time. Vampires are supposed to be fictional characters, not members of the city council.”
I turned to Duncan, who looked pale but didn’t have any bruises or cuts. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I heal pretty quickly. By the way, where is that asshole?” he asked.
I lowered my eyes. “He’s at the club.”
His eyes narrowed. “Nightshade?” he asked. “Were you there, too?”
“Yeah, but not for very long. Um…where’s Nathan?” I asked, looking around.
“He’s searching around town for you with Caleb,” said mom. “I’d better let them know. Listen, Nikki, I want you to know, Duncan and Sonny finally convinced me,” she said, smiling weakly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you. I feel like such a horrible mother.”
I gave her a hug. “It’s okay, mom. I’m just glad you’re safe and that you know.”
“Of course I’m safe,” she said, pulling away to look into my eyes. “Caleb’s been watching over me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You do realize he’s a vampire, too, right?”
She let out a ragged sigh. “Yes, I know. I still love him though, Nikki. I can’t help it.”
I understood it more than she realized. I was still in love with Ethan, even though he’d grabbed my heart, taken a bite, and then spit it out. More than once, obviously.
“You’re not going to let him turn you into one of those things, are you?” I asked, staring into her eyes, which weren’t covered with sunglasses for once.
She bit the side of her lip. “He says that I have cancer.”
“Mom, you don’t know for sure.”
“I guess I’ll have to find out for certain then,” she said, looking away.
“Listen,” said Sonny. “Caleb’s a pretty decent guy and all, but the truth of the matter is… these guys feed on us.”
“Some of them can’t help it.” My eyes met Duncan’s and he smiled sheepishly.
Sonny noticed our exchange. “Shit, you know I love you, Dunc,” said Sonny, patting him on the back. “And I will do anything to help you overcome this… blood thirst thing of yours. But the hell if I’m going to stand back and let the rest of those monsters kill any more folks in town.”
“Sonny, they’re not all monsters,” said my mom.
“Anne,” he replied. “I know how you feel about Caleb, but the truth of the matter is, he’s behind most of these murders. I mean, listen, he’s probably the head of their group. You have to stay away from him and keep your family safe. It’s too dangerous for any human to associate with the likes of them. Look at what happened to Nikki tonight. What if she would have turned up dead?”
My mom closed her eyes and nodded. “I know you’re right. I’d never forgive myself.”
“We have to stick together,” said Sonny. “And beat these creatures. Maybe get more people involved. Shit, maybe we can run them out of town.”
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “Faye Dunbar.”
Sonny’s eyes narrowed. “Who is she?”
Duncan’s face darkened. “She’s pure evil, that’s what she is.”
“They say she’s some kind of shape-shifter,” I said.
Sonny smirked. “Shape-shifter? Christ. Well, we’ll have to take care of her, too then, I guess.”
“Something tells me it won’t be that easy,” I said.
“None of it is going to be easy,” said Sonny. “But we have to try.”
***
When my brother and Caleb returned, my mother didn’t say much. I could tell she was confused and mulling things over in her mind.
“Thank goodness, you’re all right,” said Caleb, looking genuinely relieved to see me.
“Didn’t Celeste call and tell you she found me?” I asked him.
“I haven’t spoken to her all night,” he replied.
“Really? Well, she picked me up in your new
car; I just figured you would have known.”
He raised his eyebrows. “New car?”
“A Mercedes?” I answered. “She picked me up in it around three this morning.”
“I’ll bet its Drake’s new car,” he said. “I only have my Cherokee and the squad car.”
“Well, maybe I just misunderstood her,” I said.
The truth of the matter was, I didn’t understand anything that happened after she’d picked me up. The entire time I’d been with her, she’d seemed more secretive than usual and appeared almost giddy when I’d found Ethan with the two girls.
“Maybe. I’m just glad you’re back with your family,” said Caleb.
“How did Celeste find you?” asked Nathan.
“It’s a long story,” I mumbled. I wasn’t even sure what had happened myself.
“I told Caleb about the girl you found earlier,” said Nathan.
“Yeah, we’re looking into it,” said Caleb.
“It was Faye Dunbar,” I said. “You need to investigate her.”
“She has an alibi,” said Caleb. “I already questioned her.”
Of course.
My mom yawned. “We should get back to the cabin. It’s very late and we could all use the rest.”
“What about you, sweetheart? You doing okay?” Caleb asked, rubbing my mom’s shoulders.
“I um…I’m fine,” she murmured.
His eyes narrowed. “Do we need to talk?”
“It is really late,” I interrupted. “We should get back to the cabin, mom.”
“I’ll drive you guys back,” said Caleb.”
“No,” I said, “Sonny’s already volunteered.”
Caleb turned to Sonny. “You sure?”
Sonny nodded. “It’s no problem at all. I’ve been meaning to check out their boat anyway. Make sure Nathan winterized it properly.”
“Okay, well thanks, Sonny. Listen, hon,” said Caleb, turning back towards my mother. “I’ve got to go and look for that Ethan character. You make sure you get some sleep. I want you raring to go when it comes time to catch our plane tomorrow morning. Okay?”
“Of course,” she said, not meeting his eyes as he studied her.
“Caleb, if you’re looking for Ethan, he was at Club Nightshade the last time I looked,” I said.
“Okay, thanks,” he replied. “Listen, Nikki, you have to say away from Ethan,” he said. “That kid is bad news. When I get my hands on him, he’s in deep shit. Are you sure you don’t want to press kidnapping charges?”
I shook my head and could tell he was relieved.
“Okay, then,” he said, “But, if you change your mind, just let me know.”
“Sure,” I said.
After Caleb left, Sonny released a long breath. “Now that I know what he really is, it scares the hell out of me.”
“I had to drive around with him,” complained Nathan. “Every time he looked at me, I wondered if I was a goner.”
Duncan sighed. “Caleb’s not going to attack you. He definitely wants your mom and isn’t going to do anything that might jeopardize that relationship.”
“Oh, God…what am I going to do?” moaned my mom, sitting down on a chair. “He still expects me to go.”
“You need to get out of town,” said Sonny. “You can’t stay in Shore Lake anymore. In fact, it’s not safe for you or Nikki. I’m going to make some calls and see if I can find a safe place for you.”
“Okay,” she answered, nodding. “I’d appreciate any help you can give us.”
From the look on my mom’s face, I could tell she was more than a little distraught. I grabbed her hand. “Mom, it’s going to work out.”
She nodded in agreement but still looked pensive.
“Duncan? You okay?” asked Nathan.
I turned to stare at Duncan, who appeared to be sweating and shaky.
“I’m fine,” he murmured, clenching and unclenching his fist.
From the way he was acting, I knew exactly what was wrong with him. “You need to feed,” I said.
“I’ll be fine,” said Duncan, stumbling towards the hallway leading towards the bathroom.
I followed him. “Duncan?”
He closed the door and locked it.
I knocked. “Duncan?”
“Leave me alone,” he answered.
“What’s going on?” asked Sonny, standing next to me.
“He has to feed,” I said.
Sonny pounded on the door. “Son? You okay?”
I could hear Duncan groaning in the bathroom. “I’m fine, just leave me alone,” he said.
“What can I do for you?” asked Sonny. “Just tell me.”
“Just leave me be,” growled Duncan.
“I’ll give him some blood,” I whispered. “It will help him.”
Sonny shook his head and began rolling up his sleeve. “The hell you will. If anyone is going to volunteer, it will be me. I’m his father and I’ve got a lot more to spare then you, honey.”
“Go away,” demanded Duncan. “I won’t take it from either of you.”
“Duncan,” I pleaded. “You need to feed.”
The door suddenly opened and Duncan stood staring at us, swaying slightly. “Excuse me.”
We moved out of the way, and before either of us could blink, Duncan was gone and we could hear the front door slam.
“Jesus,” said Sonny. “How the hell can he move that fast?”
“He’s no longer human,” I said, closing my eyes.
Chapter Twenty-five
Sonny packed everyone into his Tahoe and proceeded to take us home around five-thirty that morning. My mom sat in front with him while Nathan and I rode in the back.
“I hope Duncan will be okay,” said Sonny, rubbing his chin. “I feel so damn helpless. I can’t do anything for him except give him my support. It’s frustrating.”
“He’ll be okay,” said mom. “Duncan’s a smart kid and I know he’ll do the right thing.”
“He’s also not like the rest of them,” I said. “He’d never take it from someone by force. In fact, he probably went to Nightshade; apparently they have very willing donors.”
“It’s barbaric,” whispered my mom. “The more I think about it, the more it disturbs me.”
“You have no idea what barbaric is,” I said, “Until you’ve walked into that sick place.”
I then told them about the things I’d seen in the club, leaving out the part of walking in on Ethan having sex. It was still too painful to talk about.
“The club isn’t always like that,” said Nathan.”
Mom turned around. “How would you know?”
He shrugged. “Celeste took me there before.”
She scowled. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“You’ve been too busy with Caleb,” I mumbled.
She sighed but didn’t say anything.
“I’m exhausted,” yawned Nathan. “I could sleep for days.”
Before long, we were back at the cabin and memories of what happened earlier came to mind.
“Great,” I mumbled, walking up the stairs towards my room. “Duncan and Ethan were in my bedroom earlier. I don’t even want to see the damage.”
“What?” asked mom.
“They were fighting over Nikki,” said Nathan.
Mom followed me to my bedroom and we both groaned in horror at the horrible mess. My bed was in shambles, my pictures and everything was knocked down from my dresser, and there was broken glass on the carpet.
“How in the world did they get blood on the ceiling?” cringed my mother.
“Don’t ask,” I said, picking up broken pieces of my alarm clock.
“This is going to take a long time to clean,” she said. “Why don’t you just sleep in my room for now?”
I nodded. “Okay. I’m too tired to deal with this mess now anyway.”
“I’ll be joining you in a few,” she said. “I’ll see Sonny out and then be back up.”
I changed into
a clean T-shirt and shorts then shuffled into her room, exhausted. As I lay in my mom’s bed, I thought about Ethan and how he’d lied to me about everything. Nothing he’d done had made sense, and when I finally fell asleep, my dreams were troubled.
A half hour later, I woke up to the sounds of screams.
“No!” screamed my mother from somewhere down below.
I leaped out of bed and rushed down the steps. When I made it to the main floor, I noticed she was nowhere to be found but the front door was wide open.
“What’s going on?” hollered Nathan, coming up behind me.
“It’s mom,” I said. “She was screaming.”
He bolted around me and I followed him outside.
“Mom!” he yelled.
We stepped off of the porch and walked around the deck, towards the lake. It was then that we both froze in shock.
“Sonny!” screamed Nathan in anguish.
“Oh, my God!” I choked.
Sonny’s body lay broken and twisted near the boat launch, his eyes staring blindly up into the early morning light. We ran to his body and crouched down, trying to find a pulse.
“Who could have done this?” I cried.
Nathan scowled. “Probably Ethan or Caleb.”
I stared at him in horror. “Or Faye?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Nathan, where’s mom?” I whispered, looking around.
He stood up and wiped the tears from his face. “Mom!”
“Mom!” I yelled, getting back to my feet. “Mom!”
We started walking back towards the house, calling frantically for her, but she didn’t answer.
“I just heard her screaming!” I cried. “She can’t be too far.”
“Caleb must have taken her. We have to go and search for her.”
I nodded. “I think he knew something was wrong when he brought you back to Sonny’s.”
“Let’s go back into the house and get dressed. We’ll need some weapons or something. Shit!” he hollered, frantically running a hand through his hair. “What the hell can we even use against these things?”
I was already running up the stairs. “I don’t know, but let’s find something sharp!”
I quickly got dressed and then went back downstairs, where I grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen.
Shiver (Night Roamers) Page 13
