Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four

by Kristen Middleton

  The garage door opened and a strange man stepped inside. He froze and then laughed, shaking his head. “Well, this is awkward. Faye, put some clothing on, will you?”

  “I don’t have any,” she snapped, stepping over to him.

  Kane walked over and picked up the blanket covering Duncan

  I sucked in my breath and then glared at him. “Put that back!”

  Kane leaned over Duncan. “He’s pretty much dead. He’s not going to miss it.”

  Furious, I stormed over to Faye and grabbed the blanket, snatching it from her. I then covered Duncan while Kane watched me, smiling in amusement.

  “Kane, what are you doing here in Shore Lake?” asked Ethan, his face dark.

  “Faye told me that Victor was dead. I followed her here to verify that. I didn’t know it was going to turn into some kind of crazed lover’s quarrel.”

  “Victor is dead. I brought him into the house, which won’t be standing much longer. Go on, check it out,” said Ethan.

  “I think I will,” he replied, walking back out the door.

  Faye muttered something and followed him outside.

  “Come on, Nikki,” said Ethan, grabbing my hand. Mentally exhausted, I let him take it and followed him out of the garage.

  “Is Kane really her brother?” I whispered.

  “I believe so,” he replied as we watched him go into the house.

  “Is he as crazy as she is?” I asked, staring at her on the porch. She was still naked and glaring at us. I wasn’t as frightened of her as I’d been before, however. Now, I just saw her as a sad, obsessed, and lonely creature.

  “Probably. One thing I do know is that he’s a greedy bastard who has connections with the lycan mafia.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously, there is a lycan mafia?”

  “Yes. Victor was also connected.”

  “That answers a lot,” I replied.

  Kane stepped back onto the porch. He pulled out a cigarette and lit the end. “You trying to pull one on me, or what?” he called.

  “What do you mean?” asked Ethan.

  “Victor isn’t in there,” he said, blowing out a stream of smoke.

  “The hell he isn’t,” replied Ethan. “I brought him inside myself.”

  “Are you sure he isn’t in there?” asked Faye, scowling.

  “Pretty sure. Why don’t you go look for yourself, while I keep an eye on these guys?” he answered, winking at us.

  She huffed and walked into the house.

  Kane took out his metal lighter again, flipped the top open, and flicked it.

  My eyes widened. The house was extremely flammable, and he had to have smelled the gasoline.

  Kane opened the door. “Find him yet, Faye?” he hollered.

  “Yes, of course I did, you idiot,” she hollered back. “You should get your eyes checked.”

  “My eyes are perfectly fine,” he answered, tossing the lighter into the house.

  There was a loud “whoosh” and then an explosion somewhere inside. I watched in shock as Kane stepped calmly away from the house and fire broke out everywhere. There was a scream of rage from inside and I shuddered as an image of her burning alive popped into my head.

  “Oh, hell,” he said, with a shit-eating grin. “I guess I picked the wrong time to start smoking again.”

  I stared at the flames that now engulfed the entire house.

  Was she really dead?

  My question was answered seconds later when she burst out of the house in flames, most of her skin either melted away or charred to a crisp.

  “Oh, my God,” I gasped, taking a step back.

  Screaming in rage, she tried attacking Kane, but never made it. Instead, she collapsed onto the grass and eventually stopped moving.

  “Is she dead?” I whispered.

  Kane walked over and kicked her in the shoulder. She didn’t even flinch. He turned and looked at me. “I’d say so.”

  Ethan and I walked over to Faye’s body and I knew that if she was alive, the pain had to be excruciating.

  “Oh, hell,” said Kane. “I supposed I should put her out of her misery, just in case she isn’t dead.” Then, he stomped on her head with his boot, crushing her skull.

  I gasped and looked away. “Jesus.”

  “She would have done much worse to you,” said Kane. “You’re stupid if you feel sorry for her.”

  I turned to him. “Why did you kill her?” I asked, frowning. “Your own sister?”

  Kane stared down at her. “Come on now, you know she was a few beans short of a taco. I did you a favor.”

  “Is that right?” asked Ethan, smirking. “For us?”

  “Well, and the club. I own half of Club Nightshade now. Scratch that – I now own the entire establishment. Good thing she loved me enough to put me in her will,” he answered, smiling through his cloud of smoke.

  “That is very convenient,” said Ethan. “I always heard you were shameless, Kane. I have to say, however, that this beats anything I’ve ever heard about you.”

  He chuckled. “Then you don’t know me at all.”

  I turned and began walking away. “I need to get out of here and find Nathan and mom.”

  “I’ll help you,” replied Ethan.

  “Hey – I’m going to have a grand reopening of the club in a few weeks. Same name, just a few changes. Tell your friends,” yelled Kane as we got ready to fly away.

  “Psychopath,” I muttered.

  “Probably the only thing you and Faye would ever agree on,” answered Ethan, leaping into the sky.

  Chapter Forty

  Nikki

  We finally met up with mom and Nathan at Duncan’s house. Martin had arrived at the house first with Celeste, and then he met me and Ethan just as we were making our way around the lake.

  “Your brother is hurt pretty badly,” he said, following us back to the house.

  Sure enough, Nathan was bleeding and unconscious when we arrived. Fortunately, he would heal quickly now that he was a lycan.

  “Did Faye do this, or was it another lycan?” I asked my mother, as she cleaned his wounds. Nathan was sprawled out on the sofa, wearing a pair of boxers. The bite marks on his leg were so deep that you could see part of his bone.

  “Lycan. There were two of them when I arrived. They were both attacking him at once and he was barely conscious. I killed one of the bastards and the second took off running.”

  “So, he’s still running around?” asked Ethan.

  She nodded. “He took off back toward the cabin. I’m surprised you didn’t run into him.”

  “We ran into Faye,” I said, and then told her the story.

  “So, she’s dead?” asked Martin.

  I nodded and looked around. “Where’s Celeste?”

  “She went back to Faye’s condo to wait for her,” he replied.

  “She’s not going to be happy when she runs into Kane,” I answered, smiling smugly.

  “He sounds like a real lunatic,” my mother said. “Another reason to get out of this town.”

  Martin sighed. “Hearing that, I think I’m going to find my sister now and bring her back to the ranch. If any of you need a place to stay, you’re welcome to join us. I’ll be returning to Europe soon, but wouldn’t mind having someone watch over the place until I return. I have a feeling I’ll be taking Celeste overseas this time around.”

  Mom smiled. “We’re grateful for the offer, but I’m thinking about bringing the kids back to California. Now that Galen, I mean Victor, is gone, I’d like to return to a place that feels normal.”

  He nodded. “Understandable. If you change your mind.”

  “We’ll let you know,” she replied.

  Martin looked at Ethan. “What about you?”

  “No offense, but I’ll never return to the ranch. My stay there wasn’t exactly pleasant,” he replied.

  Martin grinned. “No, I suppose not.”

  “Thanks for helping us, Martin,” I said. “And, sorry
about… Victor. I know you wanted to be the one to kill him.”

  Martin’s eyes softened. “Nikki, if anyone deserved that right, it was you. No regrets here.”

  I nodded and looked down as an image of Duncan’s smile flashed through my head again. My heart was still heavy, and although Victor was dead, it did nothing to quell the sadness. I would have given up my own heart to bring Duncan back. He’d already owned it anyway.

  “Hey,” whispered Nathan.

  “Nathan!” squealed mom. “You’re conscious.”

  “Unfortunately,” he replied hoarsely. “This hurts like a sonofabitch.”

  “You’ll heal,” said Martin.

  Mom looked at his leg again. “Should he get stitches?”

  “He won’t need them,” answered Ethan. “Hell, he’ll be running around and howling at the moon as early as tonight.”

  “Funny,” replied Nathan dryly.

  “I’m just saying,” said Ethan, raising his hands. “You go to the hospital for stitches, the wound will be closed before he’s admitted.”

  “Looks like it’s doing better already,” mom replied, putting a blanket over it.

  “Martin,” said Nathan, trying to smile through the pain. “Tell Celeste that I forgive her for trying to kill me those two times.”

  His eyebrow raised. “Only twice she tried?”

  Nathan’s face became serious. “Two that I know of, at least.”

  “I will,” answered Martin, walking toward the front door. He stopped and turned around. “Nikki, I’m sorry about Duncan. If you need help burying him…”

  “I’ll help her,” said Ethan. “It’s the least I can do.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, smiling at him.

  Martin nodded and then left.

  Ethan turned to me. “We should probably get the body now.”

  “Yes,” replied mom. “If the Fire Department hasn’t already arrived and discovered it.”

  “Crap,” I replied, not even thinking about it. “Okay. Ethan and I will take care of it. You should probably stay with Nathan.”

  “I will,” she answered, raising the blanket. She unscrewed the hydrogen peroxide and poured some on his leg.

  “Aaaahhh!” he hollered. “That hurts!”

  “Lycan or not, we need to make sure you don’t get an infection,” she replied.

  He started complaining again and I walked toward the front door. “Come on, Ethan. There should be some more blood at the marina. We’ll drink some and then return to the cabin for Duncan.”

  “Okay,” he replied, following me.

  When we walked outside, it was cloudy and snowing again.

  “So, you’re going back to California it sounds like?” asked Ethan.

  “I guess so.”

  “Are you happy about that?”

  “To be honest, I’m not happy about anything. I really couldn’t care less about where I go.”

  He sighed. “You really loved him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” I replied softly.

  He grabbed my hand and stopped me. “Look, I know you’re grieving for him, and now is probably not the right time to talk about this, but –”

  I held up my hand. “You’re right, it’s not. Please.”

  “Nikki, just let me have my say. Just once. Please? It might be the last time I get a chance to do it, since you’re moving back to California.”

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  His blue eyes burned into mine. “I love you. I have never stopped loving you. When I was being held prisoner, your face was the only thing that kept me sane.”

  I closed my eyes. His words made my stomach flutter, but they also made me feel guilty. Duncan had just died a couple of hours ago. Even listening to Ethan’s words made me feel ashamed of myself.

  He touched my cheek and I opened my eyes. “Your feelings may have changed for me, but mine haven’t.”

  “Ethan, we didn’t know each other long enough to know if our feelings were even real. It could have been strictly hormones.”

  “Well, for me they were real. I felt a connection to you the very first time we met, and just so you know, it had nothing to do with Miranda. It was you – your eyes, your smile, and your determination to fight for your family. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  “I can honestly say that I’ve never met anyone like you either.”

  He grinned. “I don’t think you mean it exactly the same way that I do.”

  “No, I’m sure I don’t,” I replied with a smile.

  Sirens in the distance startled us both.

  “Crap. It’s been reported,” I said, leaping into the sky.

  We quickly flew back to the cabin and landed in the woods. Two police cars were parked outside, and one of the officers was kneeling next to Faye’s dead body.

  “At least we know she’s really dead,” I whispered. “She hasn’t moved at all.”

  “Kane wanted her dead. He knew what he was doing,” whispered Ethan.

  Another policeman walked out of the garage.

  “We got another dead boy in the garage,” he said. “Looks like it’s a double-homicide.”

  “Isn’t that Sonny’s kid?” said the other officer.

  “It looks like it.”

  “We need to find Sonny and let him know.”

  The other officer snorted. “Sonny may already know about this.”

  “No. Sonny isn’t a murderer,” said the other officer. “I’ve known him all my life.”

  “Let’s hope not.”

  Scowling, I looked at Ethan.

  He took my hand and squeezed it. “Do you want me to go in and grab Duncan?”

  I swallowed hard. “No,” I whispered. “It’s too risky. Besides, I think it’s time they found Sonny’s body, too. They need to know that he didn’t kill his son.”

  He nodded. “Yes, they do. Do you want me to dig his body out? I still know where it is.”

  “You’d do that?’

  “Yes. I could do it late tonight. I’ll leave his body in the park or something.”

  I thought about some young kid finding it with his dog, and shook my head. “No. I think I’m going to type out an anonymous note and send it to the police station once we leave Shore Lake. Tell them where it is.”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “I think it’ll be easier for everyone if we did it that way.”

  “You’re right.”

  My eyes widened. “Crap, mom and Nathan need to vacate the house. Now. The cops are going to be all over the marina soon.”

  “If they’re not there already,” said Ethan.

  We quickly left, and to our relief, Nathan was already off the sofa and limping around the house when we got back to Duncan’s place. Knowing that we didn’t have much time, Ethan, mom, and I finished off the last three packs of blood. Then we quickly packed what little belongings that we had, which was basically two backpacks, and headed over to Ruth’s Diner to feed Nathan. As we sat down to eat, we could see the patrol cars racing into the marina’s parking lot across the street.

  “That was close,” said Ethan.

  “Let’s just hope we didn’t leave anything strange behind,” said Nathan.

  “Everything about us is strange now,” I replied, feeling another wave of sorrow. “Chances are we did leave something. Let’s eat, find your Mustang and get out of town.”

  “Jesus, I hope the cops don’t find it in the woods,” he replied.

  “I hope the cops don’t find us,” I whispered, staring at the other customers in the diner.

  “Look, you have nothing to worry about,” replied Ethan, who was sitting across from me. “Don’t forget, we can charm them if we really have to.”

  “Good point,” replied Nathan, opening up his menu. “That makes me feel a lot better.”

  The waitress stopped by our table and after she filled our water glasses, Nathan began ordering food.

  “Yeah, Nikki will have the steak and egg combo. Ethan wants t
he pancakes, heavy on the blueberries, mom wants the Denver omelet and I’ll have the ranch breakfast.”

  “Wow,” said the waitress, a new girl. “Do you always order for everyone else?”

  He grinned. “They have small appetites, so I order what I like because I’ll be eating the leftovers.”

  She shook her head and grinned. “Okay. Anything else?”

  “Orange juice, and keep it coming,” said Nathan.

  “Anyone else?” she repeated.

  “Sorry, but you don’t have anything else we want on the menu,” replied Ethan, handing it to her.

  The girl gave him a flirtatious smile. “What about off the menu?”

  “What are you offering?” asked Ethan, grinning and flirting back.

  My stomach knotted up, surprising me a little.

  She opened up her mouth to answer and I quickly blurted out. “The water is just fine. Thank you.”

  “Are you sure?” asked the waitress, still eyeballing Ethan. “Cause, whatever you’d like, I can find a way to make it happen.”

  I suddenly wanted her disappearance from this table to happen.

  “We’re fine,” replied Ethan, staring at me, a question in his eyes.

  When the waitress left, nobody said anything for a few minutes, which I was relieved. I’d expected Nathan to give me crap, but even he restrained himself. The truth was that I wasn’t even sure where the jealousy had sprung up from. It left me slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable.

  After a few minutes, I cleared my throat. “So, we’re moving back to California?”

  Mom nodded. “Yes. I think it’s a good idea.”

  “What about Ernie?” asked Nathan.

  She smiled. “He’s one of the reasons I’m returning.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “He deceived us. Here, I thought he was just being a kind old man. He was actually working for Victor.”

  “Can’t we just forget about it?”

  “Something like this isn’t easily forgettable,” she replied. “I just want a word with him.”

  “He’s probably a lycan, too,” I said.

  She shrugged. “Maybe. I’m really not too worried about it.”

  “What are you going to do, Ethan?” asked my brother.