Shiver (Night Roamers) (15 page)

“That’s gross and T.M.I.
, Nathan. You have to stay away from her. I’m serious.”

He dropped his shirt back down. “Now why would I want to do that?”

“If she bites you three times during sex, you’ll turn into a vampire.”

His eyes lit up. “You mean
I might get lucky two more times?”

I punched him in the
shoulder. “You’re such a pig. Look, this isn’t joke. She already turned Duncan into a vampire. Have you seen him yet?”

His eyebrows shot up.
“Duncan’s back in town?”

“Yes and she had s
ex with him.”

He clapped his hands and laughed. “
Holy crap, Duncan had a shot at her, too?”

I grimaced. “Nice
.”

His face fell
and he put an arm around me. “I’m sorry. I forgot you and Duncan had something going last summer.”

“Well, it’s not even that. Duncan says he doesn’t remember much of what happened
anyway. She probably put some kind of spell on him.”

“
Right, a spell. Well, I definitely remember having sex with her. She didn’t need a spell to get me naked.”

I glared at him.  “Obviously. My point is, if she’s bitten you once already, she must have
real plans for you.”

He bit the side of his lip and looked thoughtful. “Tell you what… let me speak to Duncan about all of this. It kind of pisses me off that she’s playing both of us. I mean, shit, we’re good friends.”

“Yeah, if you can find him.”

He shook
his head. “She really had sex with Duncan?”

I nodded. “I guess so.”

He sighed. “Shit.”

We both missed school that day
, and while mom left for work, we snuck out and took a trip into town. Our first stop was the marina.

“Hey
, Sonny, Duncan around?” asked Nathan as we strolled into his office.

Sonny frowned. “
Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

Nathan nodded. “We are, but one of our friends was murdered last night. Did you hear about Susan?”

His face turned somber. “I saw that on the news this morning. I still can’t believe it myself, that poor child.”

“
Obviously, someone’s killing these girls and we’re trying to find a way to help with the investigation,” said Nathan. “In fact, I actually saw Susan last night at the diner.”

His eyebrows shot up.
“You did? Well, I’m sure the sheriff will be interviewing everyone she came in contact with yesterday. Better let him know you saw her, too.”

“What time
did Duncan come home last night?” I asked.

“He got back into town pretty early this morning. He’s probably still sleeping.”

I looked at my watch; it was almost ten in the morning.

“Do you think he’d mind if we stopped over?” asked Nathan.

He shrugged. “Go for it. The house should be open. Tell him to get his ass to work, I need him here.”

“No problem,” said Nathan.
“Come on, Nikki.”

Du
ncan and Sonny lived in an old house right next to the marina. We walked over and rang the doorbell, but nobody answered.

“Let’s go inside
,” said Nathan, pushing the door open.

“Do you know where his bedroom is?” I asked, as we stepped into the living room.

He shook his head. “No. I’m surprised you don’t.”

I smacked his shoulder. “Very funny.”

He laughed. “Why don’t I check upstairs and you look on the main floor?”

“Okay.”

I made my way through the house, which was definitely a bachelor pad. Empty beer bottles and soda cans were sitting out, along with some empty bags from a fast food joint up the street. The place looked like it hadn’t been vacuumed in forever, and the kitchen floors were sticky.

They could use
a maid,
I thought with a grimace. I was sure Sonny was bringing in good money with the marina, although from what Nathan mentioned, he was pretty tight with it.

I moved past
the kitchen and noticed there were a couple of rooms down the hall. I knocked on the first one, but nobody answered, so I opened it slowly.

“Duncan?” I whispered, stepping inside.

The shades were pulled, so it was dark, but I could see him sprawled out on top of his bed, wearing only a pair of black and white striped boxers. He appeared to be sleeping with earphones from his iPod still attached to his head. The music was coming through loud and I was surprised that anyone could sleep that way.

“Hey,” I s
aid, squeezing his arm.

His eyes popped open a
nd he stared at me as if I was a complete stranger.

I smiled. “It’s just me
, goofball.”

The next thing I knew, h
e let out a strangled growl and I soon found myself underneath him with his hands on my throat, squeezing. He bared his fangs and I stared at him in horror, waiting for him to rip out my throat.

I opened my m
outh and tried to scream, but it was painfully impossible with his hands squeezing. Just when I thought my life was over, he seemed to snap out of it.

“Nikki?” he choked, releasing my neck. “Oh, God…”

“What the fuck?!” hollered Nathan, rushing into the bedroom. “Get off my sister, man!”

Duncan got up
and I rolled away, wheezing and coughing.

“I’m so
sorry, Nikki!” cried Duncan, his eyes full of remorse. “I didn’t know what I was doing… I’m…God, I’m so sorry!”

Nathan helped me off the bed. “Are you okay?” he asked, pulling me into his arms.

“Yeah,” I whispered, although my throat was pretty sore.

“What the hell, Dunc?”
snapped my brother above my head. “Are you out of your freaking mind?”

Duncan grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor and pulled them on. “I’m
sorry. I must have been still sleeping or something. You know I’d never hurt her; not intentionally.”

“Jesus, remind me never to invite you over for a slumber party,” said my brother
as he released me. “You scared the shit out of us, bro.”

Duncan moved towards me and touched my cheek. “I am so sorry, Nikki. You know I’d never try to harm you on purpose. You know that, right?”

I nodded. I realized it probably had something to do with being a vampire but I vowed to never wake Duncan up from a deep sleep ever again.

“Come here,” he said, pu
lling me into his arms. “I can’t believe that happened. I feel like such an asshole.”

I let him hold
me, although I couldn’t get the image of his attack out of my head. Then, when I felt how warm his body was, I pushed him away. “You’ve fed,” I whispered hoarsely.

He
brushed his dark hair from his eyes and stared at me but wouldn’t say anything. I noticed that his face had more color than the last time I’d seen him and his eyes were even more of a vibrant silvery-gray. Thinking of him feeding from a living person gave me the chills.

“You’ve eaten?” asked Nathan. “Shoot, I was going to take you out for breakfast at Ruth’s
Diner.”

Duncan turned towards my brother and smiled. “I had a
late night snack, but I could certainly join you guys. I’ll meet you in the living room in a few. Just let me get ready.”

I followed
Nathan back to the living room, still feeling shaky.

“You really okay?” he asked,

I nodded. “I’m fine, but obviously Duncan isn’t. He’s warm to the touch.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “And…that’s not fine?”

I shook my head. “No, it means he’s fed. He’s had blood.”

He sighed. “Nikki…”

“Ready to go,” interrupted Duncan, now wearing a khaki colored sweater, a pair of brown suede boat shoes, and dark sunglasses.

“Yeah, I’ll drive,” said Nathan.

I was silent as we walked to the car, although Duncan tried grabbing my hand a couple of times. I brushed it away and then stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets. I still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d fed and now that Susan was murdered, it made me wonder. Was he responsible for her death?

Nathan
, on the other hand, was talking a mile a minute about Susan and the news report.

“I can’t believe she’
s gone, man,” he said in a strangled voice. “I actually made out with her a few times last summer. She was a sweet chick. Shit, I feel sick to my stomach thinking about what might have happened to her.”

“Yeah,” murmured Duncan, who was sitting in the passenger seat so I couldn’t see his expression. “What a waste. I didn’t know her very well
, but she seemed nice.”

When we arrived at the diner, it was busy
, as usual. We seated ourselves at a booth in the corner and Duncan slid in next to me.

“Hi, kids,” said Rosie, handing us menus. “You hear?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s why we’re here and not in school.”

There were tears in Rosie’s eyes. “She was a good kid,” she murmured. “
I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“Me neither,” I said. “Whoever did this, I hope they find him and hang him by his balls. He’s doesn’t deserve the air he breathes.”

“It’s not safe for anyone with this psychopath on the loose. You be extra careful, Nikki,” said Rosie. “He seems to be going after young girls around your age.”

“
You say he, maybe, it’s not even a guy,” said Duncan.

We all looked at him.

“I’m just saying,” he said, playing with the sugar packets. “It could be a female. Don’t count a woman out.”

I glanced at Duncan and wondered if he
knew who’d killed Susan. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it was Celeste. Unfortunately, I couldn’t read anything in his expression because of his sunglasses. I reached over and snatched them from his face.

“Hey,” he said, trying to take them back. “I was up late and my eyes hurt.”

I scowled. “Tough. Have some manners.”

He sighed and looked up at Rosie. “Sorry.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. Can I get you guys something to drink right away?”

Nathan and I ordered soda
s and Duncan ordered a glass of water.

“How’s your wrist?” she asked me.

I raised and moved it around. “Better. I meant to call you, actually. I can start back whenever you want me to. It’s a little tender, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

She nodded.
“Hate to ask but, how about tonight?”

I nodded
“Yeah, sure, what time?”

“Four?”

“I’ll be here,” I answered.

“So,” said Nath
an, after she left. “Duncan, I have some questions for you.”