Shiver (Night Roamers) (12 page)

“That’s not going to fly with me,” I said, sitting up straighter. “Tell your dad that if he frames mine for murder, I’ll make waves.”

She smiled. “You certainly have balls, I like that. You know what? I’ll just let him know you’re not tickled by the idea.”

“I’m serious. My dad may have been a jerk, but he didn’t murder any girls and shouldn’t be blamed for it.
”

“
Fine. Well,” said Celeste. “I’ve got to get going. I haven’t fed for a while and even you’re starting to look interesting.”

I gave her a murderous
look. “Goodbye, Celeste.”

“Goodbye… Miranda,” she
answered with a funny smile.

I raised my eyebrows.
“Miranda? That’s what Ethan called me last summer. What’s that all about, anyway?”

She laughed. “You
still haven’t figured it out yet? He never told you?”

“No.
I still don’t know anything about Ethan other than he’s one of you.”

She smiled.
“Miranda was his wife, Nikki; the love of his life. He’s been searching for her for centuries. Now, he thinks he’s finally found her.”

I raised my eyebrows.
“Seriously? Me?”

She nodded. “He’s always been obsessed with finding her.
All because this old gypsy lady once told him that Miranda would someday return to him.”

“And he
fell for it? Why?”

“This woman had a kna
ck for telling the future, I guess. I’d never met her but Ethan respected and believed in her so-called … prophecies.”

“So, that’s why he’s so obsessed with me,” I muttered. He wasn’t in love with me at all. He was haunted by Miranda and consumed with finding her.

“So you see, Nikki, Ethan will do anything for you, only because he believes you’re Miranda. If I were you, however,” she said, getting ready to jump over the balcony, “I’d stay away from him.”

“Why?”

She swung her leg over the railing and looked at me. “Remember the girls who were murdered last summer?”

I nodded.

“Ethan thought they were his dead wife, too. Until he realized they weren’t, then he murdered them.”

All the blood rushed to my ears as she leaped off the balcony to the side of her truck. I couldn’t believe that Ethan was responsible for killing
Tina and Amy. How close had I come to being murdered myself?

It was sometime after four in the morning by the time I’d finally fallen asleep. When Nathan tried waking me for school, I gazed at him with bleary eyes and mumbled that I wasn’t going.

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re not going?
Jesus, I was the one who was up most of the night.”

I yawned and slowly sat up
. “Actually, Duncan paid me a visit.”

His eyes widened.
“Duncan? Are you serious?”

“Yes, and there’s someth
ing I need to tell you.”

Just then my mom
came up behind Nathan and flashed us a radiant smile. “Hey, kids, you’d better get ready for school, you’re going to be late.”

“Nikki says she’s staying home,” said Nathan.

“Oh,” she said, walking towards me. She put her hand on my forehead. “Well, you don’t seem to have a temperature or anything. You’re really not feeling very good?”

I shook my head. “
Not really. I think it’d be better if I stayed home, today.”

She squeezed my shoulder.
“Okay. Well, get some rest and drink some of that orange juice in the fridge.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“I’ve got to get ready for work,” she said, walking back towards the doorway, her voice a little too bubbly for six-thirty in the morning.

Even Nathan seemed to notice it. “Mom, you’re in a
very chipper mood this morning,” he remarked.

Sh
e looked back at us, her eyes sparkling. “Well, I didn’t want to tell you this now, I was actually going to wait for dinner tonight, but… what the hell, I’m just so excited I can hardly stand it! Caleb and I are getting married!” she cried and then held out her ring finger to show us the big rock Caleb had apparently given her.

“Wow,” smiled Nathan as he grabbed her hand. “Looks like Caleb
’s doing pretty well as a Sherriff.”

She nodded vehemently. “I know, it’s a little big, but I’m
certainly not going to complain!”

I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach. My mom was marrying a vampire. The only thing worse was her becoming one, and I
knew that was next on his agenda.

“Are you okay, Nikki?” asked my mom.

“How can you do this?” I exploded. “You don’t even know the real Caleb!”

My mom’s face paled.
“Nikki, of course I do. He’s a wonderful man.”

I jumped out of bed. “You can’t marry him, mom!” I choked. “He’s a vampire! You can’t marry a
fucking vampire!”

She raised her hands in exasperation. “
First of all, watch your language. Now, look, this is getting way out of hand. You need to grow up, Nikki. Stop with these ridiculous fairytales.”

“It’s not a fairytale, mom! You can’t marry him. He kills people and sucks their blood!”

“Nikki, knock it off!” hollered Nathan.

I glared at him.
“It’s the truth, Nathan! And you knew it, too, before they erased your memory!”

Mom
pointed her finger at me. “Enough! I’m going to get ready for work and I’m making an appointment for you to talk to someone about this obsession of yours. This is ridiculous.” She then turned on her heel and left my room.

“You are
extremely warped,” said Nathan, his face red with anger.

“No, I’m not. Duncan was here last
night. You can to talk to him about it. He’ll confirm everything I’ve told you!”

“
Right,” he snorted.

“He will
, because Duncan…he’s a vampire now, too!”

He laughed out loud. “Oh, here we go!”

“
He is,” I choked. “Celeste turned him into a vampire to save his life after Ethan attacked him! You’ll see for yourself, I swear to God, Nathan!”

He
shook his head in disgust. “I’m going to school.”

“You have to believe me,” I begged as he stormed out of my room.

“Warped!” he called back.

I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.
I was so exasperating that nobody believed me! It was then that I made a decision. One that might save my mother’s life, before it was too late.

Feeling calmer now that I’d made my decision, I fell back to sleep and woke up several hours later, feeling much better than I had in days. I went down to the kitchen and fixed myself something to eat. When I finished, I took a shower and then left to go find Duncan. I started with the marina.

“I haven’t seen him,”
said Sonny when I met with him in his office. “I spoke to Duncan on the phone earlier today, however. He said he’ll be back in town in a couple of days. I’ll definitely let him know that you stopped by.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

His lips thinned. “That kid… I’m still pretty ticked off, I tell you. I thought he had more brains; nearly gave me a heart attack worrying about him.”

I smiled. “I’m sure
he didn’t realize what he was doing at the time. Duncan would never want to worry you like that, not intentionally,” I said.

He shook his head in disgust
. “Still, I thought he had more brains that that. It just makes me sick when I think about all of those people who helped me search for him. The time that was wasted and all turmoil we went through. I still can’t believe it.”

“
I know what you mean. Tell you what, I’ll give him hell when I see him, too,” I said.

Sonny smiled. “I always liked you, Nikki. You and your br
other are a couple of good apples.”

“Thanks,” I laughed
.

“Say hi to your mom for me.”

“I will.”

After leaving the marina, I decided to drive towards Caleb’s house, which was on the other side of town. I’d only been there once, so it shouldn’t have surprised me when I
took a wrong turn and got lost.

“Crap,” I murmured, pulling over to the side of the road.
I grabbed my cell phone out of my purse and decided to try Duncan’s again. Just like before, however, he didn’t answer. I threw my phone against the seat in frustration and closed my eyes.

What am I doing, anyway?
This is crazy.

I’d decided to try and kill Caleb myself. I’d read that you could kill a vampire by stabbing it in the heart with a wooden stake. Fortunately, I’d found some narrow pieces of wood in Sonny’s marina and had brought a hammer from the garage at home. My plan had been to try and take Caleb by surprise by congratulating him on the engagement. Then, I was going to try and somehow hit him with the hammer until he couldn’t move, then pierce his heart with the stake. It sounded
so logical earlier, but now, it was completely laughable.

Someone b
egan pounding on my window, surprising the hell out of me. When I saw who it was, I froze up.

“What are you doing in this area?”
barked Ethan. He was wearing sunglasses and an angry scowl. “Open the door!”

I swall
owed back my fear and unlocked the door.

“I repeat, wh
at are you doing over here?” he asked, getting into the passenger seat.

I bit the side of my lip.
“I was searching for Caleb’s place.”

His lips thinned. “
Caleb’s? Jesus, you have to stay away from him and the others. It’s not safe for a human, especially a young woman like you, to be out wandering around this side of town.”

I stared at him, wondering if it was even safe being in a car
alone with him. Feeling lightheaded, I put my hands on the steering wheel for something solid to hold on to.

“
Ethan,” I swallowed. “So, who’s Miranda?”

He stared at me for a
minute. “Miranda?”

I nodded. “
Yeah, who is she?”

He looked away
. “She was someone I knew… a long time ago.”

“Do you remember calling me Miranda?”

He smiled bitterly. “Yes, I do. It was a mistake, a slip of tongue. I’m sorry.”

“Ethan, did you kill those girls last summer?” I whispered hoarsely.

His clenched his jaw. “I already told you I didn’t. Why are you asking me these questions?”

“I…”

Before I could answer, Ethan’s door swung open and he was ripped out of the car.