Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four (14 page)

“I just don’t want you to make any bad decisions. Where is your cell phone
, by the way?”

“I left it in my pur
se. Back at the club,” she answered, closing her eyes. She rubbed her forehead. “I should go get it.”

“No,” replied Martin. “You don’t need your phone. In fact, I’d rather you not have it.”

“Exactly. Then you can’t call her,” I said. “To warn her of our arrival.”

“Whatever,” she replied, sitting down
at the kitchen table. She put her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands.

Martin walked over to her and kneeled down. He grabbed her hand. “Celeste, listen to me. I know that
you feel like you’re caught in the middle, but we have to stop Victor and make him pay for what he did to our father. That means we need all the help we can get.”

She didn’t answer, just looked past him with a pensive look on her face
.

He sighed.
“Just stay here and be good.”

She looked at him.
“I’m not a child,” she said, pouting.

His lips twitched
. “I know. You’re what, nineteen now?”

“Yes.”
She drew an imaginary eight on the table with her fingertip. “Almost twenty.”

“That’s what I thought,” he answered. He looked at me. “She’s been almost twenty for several decades. It’s kind of a joke we have together.”

I nodded.

Celeste let out a ragged sigh. “
Well, I guess I could hang out here for a while. Or go hunting.”

“No hunting. Not until I get back and join you,” he replied.

Her face lit up. “You will?”

“You know this area. I don’t.”

I’d heard how vicious Celeste was when it came to hunting and something told me that she was responsible for some of the deaths Maximus had told us about back in Vegas. From the anticipation in his eyes, I had a feeling that Martin wasn’t exactly a saint, either. I was surprised at their relationship, however. From the look in her eyes, it was clear that Celeste loved her brother. It gave me a glimmer of hope.

Maybe this would really work?

Martin then kissed Celeste’s forehead and I was also impressed with the affection he had for his family. Even with someone as awful as Celeste.

“Nathan? You okay with this?” I asked
, walking back over to the counter, where my brother was still brooding.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

“You do. I’m not going to force you to stay with her,” I said softly.

He nodded toward the gun, still sitting on the counter. “Don’t worry about me. Go find Duncan. I’ll be fine.”

Grinning, I slid
it toward him.

Ethan

“Hey, you!” shouted Nikki, standing at the edge of the dock in her white nightgown with the tiny flowers. The material was thin and with the moon’s reflection behind her, he could see the outline of her delicious curves underneath.

“Nikki,”
he gasped, moving toward her. Her ebony hair was blowing in the wind and she looked so beautiful, he wanted to pull her into his arms and make love to her right there.

She held up her hand. “
Wait a minute.”

He froze. “Why? What’s wrong?”

With a wicked grin, she removed her nightgown and tossed it into the wind.

Groaning and aching with desire, he flew
toward her, his clothing suddenly gone as well. “Nikki,” he growled, pulling her body into his. The feel of her breasts against his chest and her fingers cupping his buns was almost too much to bear. “I love you so much,” he whispered, trailing his lips across her neck.

“I love you, too,” she murmured.

He pulled her closer to his hips. “I need you so much.”

“I can tell,” she whispered, rubbing up against his erection. “Make love to me, please?”

The small contact below made him suck in his breath. He could barely contain his excitement. Ethan claimed her mouth and tried sliding his tongue between her lips, dying or a taste. It had been so long. Too long…

She pulled away and smiled up at him,

“Duncan, I love you.”

He stiffened up.
“Duncan?”

Nikki
stared at him for a few seconds and then her eyes widened. “You’re not Duncan.”

He stared at her in confusion
. “Of course I’m not.”

Glaring at him, s
he pulled away. “You’ve tricked me. Don’t you dare touch me again!”

“
Wait.”

“Leave me alone. I hate you,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. She began to cry
, “I hate you, Ethan! I will always hate you!”

The words cut him like a knife.

Sobbing, she turned around and began to run away. “Duncan, where are you?!” she screamed. “Help me!”

***

Ethan woke with a jolt. He’d been dreaming about Nikki again, and this time she’d been sobbing hysterically and calling out for help. It wasn’t until her cries grew louder and more insistent, that he realized it wasn’t just a dream. 

What the fuck?

He blinked several times, unable to believe what he was seeing just beyond his cell.

“Nikki,” he whispered hoarsely.

She was being led down the hallway by Godrick, her head bent low. She was a vision of pure radiance in such a dismal place that it caught his breath – her dark hair was down and she wore a white satiny dress that hugged her body. It emphasized her delicate shoulders, which he longed to wrap his arms around and protect. She was so incredibly beautiful, that it tore at his heart to find that Faye had captured her. Even worse, knowing Faye’s hostility toward Nikki, she was about to endure some horrific torture.

Nikki
ignored him. “Why are you doing this?” she asked Godrick, her voice shrill.

Godrick yanked on the chain that was connected to her restraints. “Just shut up and keep walking
.”

Duncan
, also now conscious, found his voice. “Nikki?”

She gasped and turned
toward his cell. “Duncan? Oh, my God! I’ve been looking all over for you. Are you hurt?”

Ethan
gritted his teeth.

“No,” he answered. “What about you?”

“No, I’m fine,” she replied. She smiled at him lovingly. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“Nikki,” called
Ethan, again.

She
stiffened up and then turned toward him. “Ethan? I should have known this place would have rats.”

Her vehemence startled him.
“Listen to me,” he pleaded. “Whatever you think happened – it wasn’t me. I’ve been in here the entire time, imprisoned by Faye. Ask Duncan. I’ve explained everything to him and he believes me.”

“I didn’t say that I believed
you,” refuted Duncan. “I said it was possible.”

Her eyes narrowed. “
It doesn’t really matter, and I don’t care what you have to say, Ethan. You’re a complete asshole and ever since you barged into my life, you’ve turned it upside down.”

He forced a smile
. “I know you feel that way, and I don’t blame you. I swear, though, I’m going to get you out of here –”

“
Save it. I’d rather die than ask for your help,” she interrupted coldly.

The hatred in her blue eyes
cut like a knife. It still didn’t deter him from wanting to save her, however. It wasn’t Nikki’s fault that Faye had poisoned her against him. And he was prepared to fight tooth-and-nail to win her back. “Hate me or not, I will get you out of here.”

“Good luck with that,” answered Godrick, smirking.
“Because from where I’m standing, you’re fucked.” Then, the giant vampire turned back to Nikki and pulled at her restraints. “This way, girl.”

She s
tepped into the third cell and was locked inside. He thought it was strange that Nikki wasn’t chained to the ceiling like they were, but didn’t comment. If she could be spared the discomfort, all the better.

“What exactly
are you going to do with me?” Nikki asked the guard, raising her chin defiantly.

From the lecherous look in Godrick’s eyes, Ethan had a feeling he knew what the guard wanted to do. Instead of saying anything crude, however, he replied. “That’s not for me to decide.” Then,
without another word, he left all three of them alone.

“Duncan,” said Nikki,
walking to the edge of her cell, which was adjacent to his. She smiled warmly. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, staring at her
quizzically. “Where is Nathan?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied
, pulling her hair over her shoulder. “He got away, somehow.”

“
So obviously it was Faye who captured you?” Ethan asked.

Her eyes shifted to him
. “I followed her here and she told me that I could see Duncan if I played nice.” She turned to Duncan. “Of course I had to see you, Duncan,” her lips trembled. “I’ve missed you so much. When I heard that she’d captured you, I just wanted to die.”

“
You shouldn’t have done this,” he replied firmly. “Now you’re trapped in here like the rest of us.”

“No, she’s going to let me go,” she
answered quickly. “She promised.”

Both Duncan and Ethan stared at her in disbelief.

“And you believed her?” asked Ethan.

“Yes
.”

“Why?” asked Ethan
, shocked. “She’s tried to kill you more than once and will attempt it again. I can pretty much guarantee that.”

“Yes, but, I guess you could say we called a truce
,” she answered.

Ethan groaned. Nikki was obviously more gullible then he’d thought.
“A truce, with Faye?”

“Yes. W
e talked and I explained to her how much I hated you. She seemed to appreciate that and promised to let me go if I conveyed these same feelings to you.”

“Let me get this straight, Faye promised to let you go, but only after you broke my heart?” he asked wryly.

She scowled. “Ethan, you have no heart to break.”

Ethan’s
eyes bored into her. “Is that what you really believe?”

“Of course
,” she turned to Duncan. “My heart belongs to Duncan and she agreed to let him go, too.”

Duncan’s eyes widened. “She’s
really going to release us?”

Nikki smiled
at him. “Yes, Duncan, she is. I guess she isn’t as horrible as I thought. In fact, she’s quite reasonable.”

Ethan stared at her in disbelief. He couldn’t imagine Fa
ye releasing either of them. And calling her reasonable? Where in the hell did that come from?

“I wish I could believe that,” rep
lied Duncan, looking doubtful. “But, I don’t. I don’t believe anything that woman says and you shouldn’t either. Faye is a psychotic bitch who needs to be put out of her misery.”

Nikki’s eyes hardened. “I
really don’t think that’s fair, Duncan. Faye said she’ll let us go, and I believe her. You don’t have to be a jerk about it.”

Duncan studied her for a few seconds
, his expression unreadable. “So, how did that thing go?”

She looked confused.
“The
thing
?”

“Yes,
you know, the thing with Victor,” he replied, still watching her carefully.

She stared at him wide-eyed. “Oh, well, he wasn’t home. I think he may have left town for a while
, so nothing became of it.”

Duncan looked a
t Ethan and then back at Nikki. His grin was sardonic. “
That
makes sense.”

“So, Ethan,” she turned back
toward him and sneered. “I want you to know, that I blame everything on
you
and I don’t care about your pathetic excuses. In fact, I don’t even care if you’ve been holed up here and didn’t take part in Victor’s plan. You were the reason my life has been a living hell. A lot of people have died because of you, and that’s why I’m glad you’re rotting away in here. For all I care, you can stay here for eternity because I can honestly say that you… you repulse me.”

Ethan
could barely breathe as she continued squeezing the life out of his heart.

“Duncan is my soul-mate
. He always has been and always will. Whatever you think that we had is long gone. So, just do us all a favor and… die.”