He sucked in a breath. “Nikki, God…I’m inhaling your excitement and it’s driving me insane. I want you so bad but…God… we can’t do this here,” he said, abruptly removing his hands from my skin. “You deserve much better than this.”
“Wait,” I reached out, not wanting him to stop. His touch created a primal need like nothing I’d never known before. I had to have more of him and didn’t want to wait for anything. “I don’t mind. Really, it’s okay,” I whispered.
“No, it’s not,” he said, looking around in disgust. “It’s cold and dirty here. When this happens between us, and believe me, Nikki,” he smiled darkly, “it will, I want it to be in a place that’s comfortable, clean, and safe. Not a shithole like this.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him. He was so sexy, so amazingly beautiful, and his eyes…oh…his eyes…they held an inhuman fire that probably should have frightened me, but instead, made me only want him more. “Why can’t I resist you?” I whispered.
“Because, we belong together,” he replied, kissing the tip of my nose. He then pulled me to his chest and whispered, “Forever.”
The way he said “forever” brought me back to reality. I wanted him, boy did I ever want him, but his “forever” was something much different than mine.
I cleared my throat. “I…I think I should go home,” I said, avoiding his eyes as I pulled away.
“What’s wrong?”
I stared at him in exasperation. “Everything is wrong, Ethan. I still don’t know what happened to Duncan, and…”
It was then that I’d remembered my mother’s terrified screams right before Ethan had snatched me from the cabin. “My mother,” I said, staring at him in horror. “Did you frighten her? She was screaming when we left.”
He looked hurt. “No, Nikki, I wouldn’t do that. Someone else scared your mom. In fact, a man was looking into the kitchen window. But don’t worry, Celeste took care of him.”
“A man?”
He nodded. “Yeah, in fact, he kind of looked like your brother.”
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.
Was it my father? He definitely looked like Nathan. More like an older brother than a father. Who else could it be?
“You have to get me home,” I pleaded. “I think it’s my dad and I have to make sure everyone’s okay.”
He sighed. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is. Please.”
He picked me up and cradled me in his arms. “Hold on tight.”
I slid my good hand around his neck and stared at his chiseled features in fascination. At that moment, I felt like some all-American superhero was carrying me off somewhere into the night, not a bloodthirsty vampire. It was a nice, whimsical fantasy. One that was also very dangerous.
Chapter Nine
When we arrived back at the cabin, the lights were out and the only vehicle around was mine.
“Look,” said Ethan, pointing towards the windows near the kitchen. The floodlights were on, lighting up the yard. “Something happened here.”
I walked over and looked down at the dirt. It definitely looked like some kind of scuffle had occurred.
Ethan bent down and touched the ground. “I smell blood,” he murmured. “Looks like someone tried cleaning it up. But I definitely sense that it was human blood.”
My eyes filled with tears. “I wonder if it was my dad and they killed him.”
“Celeste attacked the man, whoever he was, without hesitation. She probably fed off of him when it was over and then hid the body.”
I shuddered. “Are you sure? She doesn’t seem that heartless.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t ever underestimate Celeste. She’s dangerous. In fact, I’ve watched her tear people to shreds without a second thought. I think you should stay away from her from now on.”
Thinking about my dad being murdered by anyone was unsettling. Even though he was an asshole, he was still my father and there were some good memories.
I brushed a couple of the tears from my cheeks. “She told me to trust her and Caleb. That neither of them would hurt us. You think she’s lying?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But to be safe, it’s better if you stay as far away from her as possible.”
Just then, we saw a pair of headlights moving towards us in the distance.
“Your brother,” said Ethan. “I should leave.”
“You can see that far?” I asked, incredulously.
He smiled and pulled me to him. “Go inside and wait for him. I’ll check around town and see what’s happening.”
I nodded.
“Nikki,” he said. “I swear to you, I didn’t kill anyone, and I have no idea what happened to Duncan.” His face darkened. “Someone is playing a dangerous game, and when I find out, I can’t promise that there won’t be any blood spilled. Nobody fucks with me.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but he placed a finger over my lips to silence me.
“I love you,” he continued, his eyes burning into mine. “You may not believe it and, to tell you the truth,” he said, smiling. “I’m not even sure how it happened so fast. But, I love you and I’m coming back for you. Just give me a couple days to figure out what’s happening.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
He then pressed his lips to mine and kissed me more tenderly than I thought possible. I closed my eyes and relished the way his mouth explored mine and how oddly wonderful he smelled. When he finally pulled away, I groaned in protest.
“Until we meet again,” he said, backing away.
I raised my hand and waved just as my brother’s headlights surrounded me.
“Who the fuck was that?!” yelled Nathan, slamming the door of his Mustang. “And what the hell is going on around here?”
I stared at him, not knowing exactly where to begin. “Truthfully,” I said. “I don’t know what’s happening. And I doubt you’d even believe me if I told you.”
“Mom called me and she’s worried sick about you! She and Caleb are out scouring the town looking for your ass!”
I cleared my throat. “Well, I’m fine.”
He laughed coldly. “I see that. Who was with you just now?” His eyes scanned the woods. “Did he just take off somewhere into the woods?”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just a friend. Listen, Nathan, I think dad was here and that he might have been hurt.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Dad?”
“Seriously.”
Nathan ran a hand through his hair and looked around the yard. “Tonight?”
I nodded and then showed him the footprints near the kitchen window.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” he said, crouching down.
“Look,” I said, pointing to some dark spots. “Blood.”
He reached over and touched it. When his fingers came back up to the light, they were bloody. “Oh, shit,” he whispered.
“Call mom,” I said.
He nodded, then took out his cell phone and dialed her number. I listened as he explained that I was home now and how we’d discovered some blood right outside of the kitchen window.
“Oh,” he said, nodding after listening to her response. “Okay. Well, I’ll let her know. I guess she was with some friend or something,” he said, looking at me with a frown. “Don’t worry, I’ll let her know.”
“What?” I asked when he hung up.
“First of all, she said you’re grounded because you took off and had everyone worried. Second of all, the blood was from a raccoon that tried attacking Celeste. Celeste killed it and Caleb helped to get rid of it.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. It was like talking to a wall. He’d never believe me. “Where’s mom now?”
“On her way home.”
“Okay,” I sighed, feeling mentally exhausted. I wasn’t going to win any arguments tonight. “I’m going up to bed.”
“Wait,” said Nathan as I climbed the steps. “How’s your wrist?”
I shrugged. “Pretty sore still. It’s sprained.”
He nodded. “Have you heard anything from Duncan yet?”
“No,” I said. “The last time I saw him was yesterday when we were attacked.”
He stepped closer to me. “Attacked?”
I frowned. “I know you don’t believe me, but we were attacked and now he’s missing. I mean, come on, Nathan, why would I be climbing a tree in the middle of the night?”
He stared at the tree in question. “I know. It didn’t make much sense to me either. But then again, you’ve been acting very strange lately. Especially with all of your vampire ramblings.”
“It’s true,” I said. I then told him about my conversations with Celeste and Caleb.
He gave me a pained expression. “Here we go again.”
I groaned. “Why are you being so pig-headed?”
“You know why, Nikki! Vampires don’t exist!”
I rubbed my forehead, I was getting another headache. “I’m going to bed. Obviously, you’re not going to be any help finding Duncan.”
He followed me up the steps to the porch. “Are you going to school tomorrow?”
“I’m going to try,” I answered.
We walked into the house and I went upstairs to my room. When I finally shut my eyes and started drifting off, it was well past midnight.
Chapter Ten
Luckily, I managed to get up in time for school the next morning. After being lectured from my mother for ten minutes, I took a quick shower, slipped on a long plum sweater and jeans, then grabbed a Pop-Tart to eat on the way to school.
“Don’t forget, you’re grounded!” called my mom, who was also leaving for work.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my car keys. “Right.”
Like she would even be home to check on me, I thought. She was spending more time at Caleb’s than at home.
School was as boring and uneventful as usual. Everyone asked me about my wrist and I gave them some lame excuse about falling out of a tree after trying to rescue a cat. It was better than the truth, which would have made me the laughing stock of school.
During lunch, I sat down with a couple of girls from history class and they started talking about Duncan. Apparently, they’d heard Sonny was starting a search party to look for him since he was still missing. I decided to join when school was out.
“I’m coming, too,” said Nathan in the parking lot at the end of the day. “Sonny’s closed the marina and needs all the help he can get.”
“I’d better let mom know,” I said, sending her a text. I seriously doubted she’d be mad about me skipping out of being grounded when it came to finding Duncan. Fortunately, I was right.
Be home at a reasonable hour, she texted back. Good Luck.
I met Nathan at the marina, where we met some volunteers who were organizing the different search teams. We ended up getting assigned to an area near our cabin, which was good because that’s where he’d disappeared. As we were leaving, Sonny showed up, looking distraught.
“Any news?” asked Nathan.
He shook his head. He had bags under his eyes and his face was etched with worry lines. He seemed to have aged overnight. “No, nothing.”
“We’re going back towards our cabin to see if there are any clues or anything. Nikki claims she saw him there the night he disappeared.”
Sonny raised his eyebrows and turned to me. “Really?”
I wanted to tell him everything, but from the distraught look in his eyes, I just couldn’t add to his stress. For one, it wouldn’t help matters, and for another, he’d probably think I was completely insane.
“Yeah,” I said. “He left the cabin pretty late and that was the last time I saw him.”
Nathan’s eyebrows went up but he didn’t say anything.
“Did he mention where he was going when he left your place?”
I bit the side of my lip. “I think he was heading home.” I felt horrible for lying but I didn’t know what else to say.
Sonny took out a cigarette. “I should probably have you speak to the sheriff. He said he’d be here sometime around six.”
“Yeah, I’d actually like to talk to him, too,” I said. Both Caleb and Celeste.
It was almost four by the time we left the marina. Nathan and I had actually decided to leave our vehicles at home and begin our own search, starting with the woods around our house. He grabbed a flashlight so we could continue our search even when the sun went down.
“Let me show you the spot where I think we flipped over in the truck,” I said.
He was unusually quiet as we walked through the yard and towards the dirt road. It took us about ten minutes to reach the area where I thought the accident occurred.
“This is it,” I said, pointing towards the tire marks on the side leading into the grass. “Look at those tire tracks.”
“Yeah, and look over here,” he said, motioning towards an area of grass that was flattened. “This must have been where it rolled. There’s even some debris left over.”
Sure enough, there were some broken pieces of glass and metal that had been forgotten by whoever had cleared the accident.
“So, do you believe me now?” I asked, picking up a piece of a broken taillight.
He turned to me, his face grim. “To be honest, I don’t really know what to believe. Either I’m almost as nuts as you, or there’s something very sinister going on here.”
“Nathan,” I said, standing up. “I need to tell you this…last night I was with Ethan.”
His jaw clenched. “What the hell, Nikki? That guy’s nothing but trouble. He’s a deviant, and the last person in the world you should be associating with. What in the hell were you thinking?”
I raised my chin and glared at him. “Well, I didn’t go with him on my own free will. He grabbed me and flew me to some abandoned building.”
He shook his head and smirked. “Right, he flew you.”
“Yeah, like I said, he’s a vampire. If you don’t start removing your head from your ass, you’re going to find out the hard way that we are not alone out here. There are vampires or ‘Roamers’ as they prefer to be called.”
“Roamers?”
I nodded. “Yes, Celeste is also a vampire, and she told me they prefer to be called Roamers or Travelers.”
He started laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
I raised my sprained wrist. “Does this look like I’m kidding? Does the fact that Duncan is missing and more people are being murdered really sound like a joke to you?”
He raised his hands. “Okay, let’s say that you’re right, which I’m not saying you are, but hypothetically, if there are ‘Roamers’, which one of them is responsible for Duncan?”
I sighed. “That’s the part I’m not really sure of. The night he went missing, I could have sworn it was Ethan who attacked us, but now, after talking to him, I’m not so sure.”
He sighed. “Why not? Because he’s a good kisser?”
Ethan was; I had to give him that.
“Because he said he was out of town and believes that someone is setting him up.”
Nathan stared at me for a minute and then began laughing. “I…this is just too hard to accept. I was willing to try, but Jesus, Nikki.”
I stepped towards him. “Just keep an open mind, please. That’s all I ask.”
Just then we both spotted Celeste’s truck moving towards us. When she reached the spot where we were standing, she rolled down her window and smiled sweetly at Nathan. “Hey there, handsome! You weren’t answering your phone so I thought I’d take a trip out here; I was just wondering if you were free tonight?”
“Well, I don’t know, Celeste, we’re kind of busy. You heard Duncan’s missing, right?”
She tossed her red hair. “I heard, but I know he’s just skipping town for a while.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, is that so?”
She nodded. “Yeah, he left me a message on my cell phone earlier today.”
We both stared at her in shock. “You’re kidding? Did you tell Sonny?”
She nodded. “I just got back from talking to him. I even had him listen to the voicemail, too.”
“Sonny must be pissed,” muttered Nathan. “Setting up this big search party and now finding out he just skipped out of town for a while.”
“You could say he was a little pissed,” she answered.
“What did he say?” I asked. I was hurt and confused. I’d left him several messages and he’d called Celeste?
“Duncan said he was confused about you,” she said, staring at me with amusement. “That Ethan was still trying to come between you two and even went so far as to attack him the other night, just to get to you. He said he hit a tree and blacked out, when he woke up the next morning, you were gone and he assumed you’d left with Ethan, just like last time. He said it pissed him off so much that he drove to Minnesota where his mom lives. He needed time to think.”
The story didn’t make any sense at all. It didn’t sound at all like Duncan, either. He wouldn’t have left town that easily, especially without checking to make sure that I was okay. “We didn’t hit a tree,” I said. “We flipped, right here, as a matter of fact.”
“Where’s the truck then?” asked Nathan.
Great, now he was questioning me again. Like always.
I glared at him. “I don’t know but we definitely flipped. I was there.”
“So was Duncan,” said Celeste. “Anyway, you can talk to him about it when he gets back.”
I nodded. “Oh, I certainly will.”
If he ever came back.
“So, what kind of plans did you have in mind for tonight?” smiled Nathan, all thoughts of Duncan replaced by his raging hormones.
She removed her sunglasses and gave him a sultry look. “I was thinking about checking out that new club. You in?”
“I thought you were waiting until Saturday?” I asked.
She nodded. “I was. But then my friend, Julian – he’s a bouncer there – said they’re having a private party tonight and I should invite some friends. Julian says this party is going to be off the charts!”
Shiver (Night Roamers #2) Page 5