Shiver (Night Roamers #2)

by Kristen Middleton

  “It’s Ethan and Duncan!” I cried, stepping back as Duncan was kicked across the room. He landed against the wall but quickly launched himself back towards Ethan, who was already prepared for another attack. I watched in horror as his fist slammed into Duncan’s and blood sprayed all over my purple and green comforter.

  My new comforter!

  “Stop!” I screamed as Duncan opened his mouth and bit Ethan in the shoulder, adding more gore to my beloved bedroom linens.

  Nathan grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said.

  “But what if one of them gets really hurt?” I hollered, pulling away.

  “What if you get really hurt?” he yelled. “Let’s go!”

  But I was far too worried about Duncan and Ethan. I turned to charge back into my room when Nathan picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. “Dammit, we’re leaving…now!” he grunted.

  I punched him in the back. “For the love of God, put me down!”

  He ignored my protests and rushed down the stairs while I continued to struggle and break free. As he got to the front door, he put me down. “Jesus,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “You need to lay off the pie at work.”

  I glared at him. “This isn’t funny, none of it is.”

  He put his hands on my shoulders and gave me a stern look. “Listen, I know you’re pissed, but we have to go and check on mom. She called me a few minutes ago and seemed pretty upset. I’m really worried about her.”

  I stared at him in shock. “I didn’t know. Let’s go.”

  He stared down at my robe and swore. “You need something to wear. Check the dryer, I think it’s full.”

  I ran into the laundry room, which was next to the kitchen right underneath my bedroom, cringing at the loud banging and growls coming from up above. I was not looking forward to inspecting the damage in the room later.

  Bending down next to the dryer, I grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a green sweater, and then slipped them on as quickly as possible. As I turned to leave, I noticed the house was now completely silent.

  “Come on!” hollered Nathan, from the entryway.

  I flew out of the laundry room and ran smack into Ethan. His lip was bleeding and there was blood on his shoulder where Duncan had bitten him.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked, smiling grimly.

  I nodded. “Yes. Where’s Duncan?”

  He snorted and shook his head. “Duncan, that fool. He’s beginning to really piss me off.”

  I glared at him. “Just answer me, is he alive?”

  “Pretty much.”

  I nodded. “Okay, good. We’re leaving to check on my mother.”

  “The only place you’re going is with me,” he said, grabbing my arm. “I have to keep you safe.”

  I tried freeing my arm from his grasp but he only tightened it more.

  “Ethan, this is ridiculous. I can’t go anywhere with you,” I said. “My mom might be in danger.”

  “I’ll check on your mom once you’re hidden. But right now, all I care about is making sure you’re out of Faye’s radar.”

  Before I could protest, he picked me up in his arms.

  “Stop it,” I demanded. “You can’t do this…”

  “Put her down,” barked Nathan, who was now blocking our path in the hallway. “Or I’m going to have to hurt you.”

  Ethan chuckled. “I like your spunk. Now,” he said, his eyes growing hostile, “get out of the way. I’m only going to ask you once.”

  “Put my sister down, you son-of-a-bitch.”

  “Oh, so you’ve met my mom?”

  “Don’t be an asshole.”

  “Move.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Ethan’s face hardened. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  The next thing I knew, he repositioned me over his shoulder, slammed Nathan against the wall like a football, and then took off out of the cabin with me as his captive, once again.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  “Nikki,” murmured Ethan.

  We were in a small cabin, nestled somewhere deep in the woods. I had no idea where we were, exactly, but it appeared to be falling apart and pretty much abandoned. When Ethan noticed me shivering, he’d started a warm fire in the small fireplace.

  “Nikki,” he repeated, stepping away from fire.

  “What?” I snapped.

  He sighed. “I know you’re angry, but I’m doing this for your own good.”

  I crossed my arms under my chest. “I’m not a child, you know. I should be able to make my own decisions instead of being carried around like I’m only two years old.”

  He stepped over to where I was sitting, by a small round table pushed into the corner of the room. He knelt down next to me and took my hand. “You’re not a child, but you need protection. Quit begin so petulant.”

  I snatched my hand back. “Quit kidnapping me.”

  His eyes lit up. “Secretly, I think you enjoy it.”

  I raised my chin. “You’re obviously wrong.”

  He touched my neck. “Oh, I don’t know…your pulse is racing.”

  I glared at him. “That’s because I want to murder you right now.”

  “Liar,” he whispered. Then, he lifted me up from the chair, grabbed the back of my neck, and pulled my mouth to his.

  “Mm…no…” I murmured, pushing against his chest. When that didn’t work, I locked my lips together until he pulled away, an amused expression on his face.

  “Don’t fight it,” he murmured, his eyes burning with fire. “Give in to your emotions.”

  I set my jaw. “The only emotion I have now is rage. Now, before I follow your advice and seriously punch you, help my mother. Please, you promised me you would.”

  “First, give me a little more incentive,” he said, cupping one of my breasts.

  I slapped his hand away and glared at him. “You’re incorrigible,” I muttered.

  He grabbed the back of my hair and pulled it to the side, exposing my neck. He slid his tongue just below my ear and down to my collarbone, nipping playfully at my skin. “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he whispered. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as you. Hell, my hunger for you far surpasses my thirst for… other things.”

  Feeling a rush of heat between my legs, I forced myself to focus on the issue at hand. “Please,” I begged. “We’re running out of time.”

  He groaned and then released me “Okay, fine. But I expect a nice reward when I get back.”

  “Ethan, I swear to God, if you save my mother, I’ll give you anything you want.”

  His lips twisted into a devilish grin. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  I swallowed. “I’m serious; I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  He brushed away some dust that had settled on the mantle and cringed. “Sorry about this mess. You should be safe here, though. The gentleman who owns this cabin never comes here in the cool months.”

  I looked around and noted the entire place was lacking any kind of cleaning, even in the summer months. Still, if he said I was safe, I wasn’t going to argue. “Okay. Hurry back though, I don’t like being all alone out here.”

  “I will. I’ll make sure your mom is safe then I’ll come back for you. I’m looking forward to exploring these promises you’ve made.”

  I blushed. “Okay.”

  He stepped closer and brushed his lips on my neck and whispered, “I’m going to make you forget about everything else in this world, including Duncan.”

  “Ethan,” I said, pulling away. “What happened to Duncan anyway?”

  He scowled. “He’s fine. Probably licking his wounds, which, could have been a lot worse; I was easy on him.”

  I didn’t think he’d been easy on him at all. In fact, I figured the only reason Ethan hadn’t killed Duncan was because he knew I’d never forgive him.


  As if he could read my mind, he said, “I only kill when I have to, or when someone threatens those I care about. Duncan is just a fool who needs to learn a few lessons, one being that you’re mine, and I’ll strike down anyone who doesn’t respect that.”

  The way he was looking at me gave me the chills. “I’m yours?”

  His eyes traveled down the length of my body. “Yes, Nikki, every inch of you is mine, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m very selfish.”

  I licked my lips. “Oh.”

  He opened the front door and turned back to look at me. “You belong to me and God help anyone who tries to stand in my way.”

  Then, in a flash he was gone, leaving me hot, breathless, and as always, worried.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  I sat at the table and stared outside into the darkness. It seemed like it had been hours since Ethan had left the cabin and I was now terrified that something very bad had happened. He was immortally fast and this was taking much too long. Several times, I considered leaving, but something inside of me urged me not to. There were many things lurking in the darkness around Shore Lake and I would be easy prey. For now, I would continue to wait; at least until daylight. As I stared at the moon and thought about the night’s events, my eyelids began to get heavy, and eventually I nodded off.

  “Nikki,” whispered a soft, feminine voice into my ear.

  I opened my eyes and raised my head from the table.

  “That sleeping position doesn’t look very comfortable,” teased Celeste.

  I wiped a little drool from my chin and cleared my throat. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  She sighed. “Ethan sent me here, there’s been a problem and I’m supposed to bring you to him.”

  “A problem? What about my mother?” I asked. “Is she okay?”

  Celeste nodded. “Your mom is fine. She’s with Caleb.”

  I wasn’t sure how fine that was, but at the moment, I had no other choice but to leave with Celeste and go to Ethan. I licked my lips. “Okay.”

  She grabbed my elbow. “Come on, we must go quickly.”

  I stood up and followed her to the door. “How did you get out here anyway?”

  She smiled. “I drove.”

  I sighed in relief. “Good, because I’m getting tired of all this flying.”

  “Not your thing, huh?”

  “Yeah. Makes me too dizzy. I’d hate to throw up all over you.”

  She cringed. “Well, it’s a good thing I drove then.”

  It was still dark as we stepped off of the porch and walked to the car.

  “Where’d you get the Mercedes?” I asked, admiring the pearly white vehicle.

  “Oh, it’s my dad’s. He just purchased it recently,” she said.

  “So,” I said as I got in and she started the engine. “What’s happening?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. He just told me to bring you back into town. He’ll tell you everything.”

  “In town?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, we’re supposed to meet him at Club Nightshade.”

  “Isn’t that place closed at this hour?” I asked, looking at the time. It was just past three in the morning.

  She smiled. “It’s okay. We know the owner.”

  “So, have you talked to Nathan or Duncan?”

  She shook her head. “No… I um…haven’t spoken to either of them.”

  I ran a hand through the tangles in my hair and studied her profile. Her red hair was curled and every piece looked strategically placed. She always looked perfect. It was annoying as all hell.

  “Seriously? Neither of them showed up at your house?”

  She shrugged. “Tell you the truth I haven’t been home much. So, I guess it’s possible that one of them may have made an appearance.”

  “Oh.”

  “Music?” she asked.

  I nodded and she turned on the radio.

  As she cranked up a song from Green Day, I stared blindly towards the woods, thinking about Taryn and how terrified she must have been as Faye hunted her down and finally ended her life. It was a horrible way to die.

  “I found a body tonight,” I said over the music. “A girl from school.”

  Celeste turned down the radio. “Really?”

  I nodded and looked at her. “I know it wasn’t any of your Roamers, though.”

  She gave me a teasing smile. “You sure about that?”

  “It was definitely Faye who killed her. It wasn’t pretty.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “Really?”

  I shuddered. “It was horrible. She ripped the poor girl’s throat out.”

  “And, how do you know it was Faye?”

  I told her what had happened and she frowned. “I wonder why she allowed you to live. It doesn’t sound like her.”

  “All I know is that Ethan is set on keeping me hidden and as far away from her as possible.”

  “Why?”

  I smiled. “I guess he sort of likes me.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, I’m starting to get that.”

  I sighed. “Celeste, do you know what’s going on between him and Faye?”

  “Ethan? Well, he’s Faye’s boy-toy.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

  She shrugged. “What don’t you understand? Ethan belongs to Faye and she doesn’t like to share.”

  It was becoming very obvious to me that none of these creatures liked to share.

  “So, they’re lovers?”

  Celeste smiled. “They’re more than that. They’ve known each other for centuries. You can’t come between something like that.”

  I stared at her, wondering how she knew so much about their relationship. “So, she would be pissed if he fell in love with someone?”

  “Ethan doesn’t know what love is,” said Celeste, with a smug smile. “He likes the thrill of the chase, but once he thinks he has you, it’s over. Not only will he break your heart, but he’ll eventually kill you in the end.”

  I brought my hand to my throat, where his lips had been earlier. “He’d kill me?”

  “If he wouldn’t, she definitely would. In fact, if Faye knew there was something going on between you two, she’d skin you alive.”

  I stared out the window. “She’s a monster.”

  Celeste didn’t say anything, just turned up the radio and continued to drive. As we entered the town, it seemed ominously quiet. The club, on the other hand, was still lit up and going strong.

  “Here we are,” she said, pulling into the parking lot. She parked on the side of the building and turned off the engine.

  “Wow, I thought they’d be closed by now,” I said.

  “I think there’s some kind of after-party.”

  “Oh.”

  She grabbed her purse. “Let’s go.”

  I’d passed the impressively designed building many times driving through town but hadn’t given it much thought. I wasn’t into clubbing, and from the rumors I’d heard about the place, I was better off not knowing what went on behind the doors of this particular place.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” breathed Celeste, as we walked through the parking lot.

  “Lots of willing donors for you in there I’ll bet,” I mumbled.

  “You have no idea,” she replied with a smirk.

  We walked up the steps where a bald-headed, muscular bouncer opened the doors for us. “Hey, Celeste,” he said, holding the door open for us.

  “Hey, Trevor,” she replied, brushing past him.

  Trevor gave me a once over and nodded. Not sure what to do, I nodded back.

  “Follow me,” hollered Celeste over the booming music, which only grew louder as we walked down the long mirrored hallway. When we reached the main level of the club, I was stunned. Hundreds of people were on the dance floor, grinding and moving against each other, as if they were all alone in their bedrooms.

  “Whoa,” I said, stopping in my tracks, having never experienced anything quite like it.

&
nbsp; She turned to me and smiled. “I know, right? It’s fucking beautiful.”

  I didn’t know about beautiful. From the way everyone was groping each other and making out on the dance floor, I felt like I’d walked into some kind of prelim to an orgy. It gave me the chills.

  “What have we here, Celeste?” smiled another bouncer with long, red hair and a multitude of piercings lining his eyebrows. “Fresh meat?”

  Celeste threw her head back and laughed. “You wish. No, we’re going downstairs.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “With her?”

  “Yes,” she replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me away. “We’re expected.”

  As we moved towards the other side of the club, I tried not to gawk at the couples. Many of them had their hands under each other’s clothing, some were even partially naked.

  “Is that legal?” I asked, noticing a girl sitting on a handsome guy’s lap. She was wearing a short, loose skirt and I could tell from the way she was moving her hips and moaning that they were having sex right out in the open. Before I could tear my eyes away, I met her lover’s gaze and there was a flash of feral vampire lust glowing brightly.

  “Legal? Probably not, but I won’t tell if you won’t,” teased Celeste.

  Embarrassed to be caught looking, I looked away from the couple and kept moving.

  As we continued through the club, I noticed right away that they weren’t the only couple having sex. Some of them were doing it so blatantly that I felt dirty just being near them.

  “This is nuts,” I whispered, lowering my eyes until I could only see the floor. Watching the other couples doing their deeds out in the open made me feel like I needed to go directly to church and confess their sins. As far as I was concerned, the place was creepy and I’d never be back, especially after hours.

  “We’re taking the elevator,” said Celeste as we moved to another hallway.

  “Okay,” I said, following her. Soon we came upon a single mirrored elevator and she pushed the button to go down.

  “So, what do you think?” she asked as we waited.

  “The club? I guess it’s not really my thing.”

  “Does it make you uncomfortable?” she asked as we got into the elevator.

  I sighed. “If you ask me, it’s disgusting.”