Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three (4 page)

“She really wan
ts to get married, again? What is she, sixty?”

“Sixty-five. Nah, she just wants a
huge rock on her finger and a commitment. Not necessarily marriage.”

“
Huh. I guess I just don’t understand women.”

Rena smiled. “
We’re all different. That’s
all
you’ve got to understand.”

You’re definitely different,
he thought,
and that’s a good thing. 

Rena, was th
e first woman he’d met who had not only challenged his own objectives in life, but got his blood flowing like nobody else. Tall, leggy blonde, with a sailor’s mouth, and curves that dreams were made of. She was also his partner, a Black Belt in karate, and definitely off limits to every guy in the department. She wasn’t interested in dating anyone with a badge. She’d been married to a cop once, and had vowed to never go down that road again. Not after the suffering she’d went through when he’d been killed. That had been nine years ago, and although she’d went out on a few blind dates, had given them up for her mechanical friend, Louie, who Max idolized. One night they’d went out for a few drinks, and Rena had joked about needing nothing but a few double A’s and her ‘Louie’. When he’d asked what the hell a ‘Louie’ was, she’d told him, straight up, making his lap painfully uncomfortable for the rest of the night. It was at that point he knew he had it bad for Rena.

Max
pushed the memory aside.
Why agonize over something that’s never going to happen?
“So, tell me, what do
you
think is really going on here?”

She pushed her blonde hair back behind her ears.
“I’m not sure. Nobody’s talking or claims to know shit. What about the men that were found? Did they I.D. them?”

“
The three vics definitely had identification on them, but nobody noticed them checking in. Just like the other two cases. I don’t know, maybe we’ll get lucky this time and they’ll find someone else’s fingerprints.”

“Let’s hope.
”

“
We’d better try and locate everyone who stayed at the motel last night for questioning. And the maid, Carmela, we have her statement but I’d like to talk to her again, see if she remembers anything else.”

“I a
gree. God, we need to find this sick-fuck before he strikes again.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This is turning into a serial thing.”

“
Definitely. At this rate, he’ll have another victim within the next two days.”

“Victims,”
corrected Rena. “This guy has stepped it up by taking three at once.”

“
Maybe we have more than one perp?”

“
Sounds like a good assumption. Listen, since we drove separately, I’m going to take another look around the motel and head back to the office. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“
Sounds good,” he replied.

Reaching into her pocket, she took out her phone
and walked away while he stared at her long legs in appreciation. He imagined what they’d feel like wrapped around his waist and was forced to calm the beast lurking deep within. 

Nikki

Ethan was still sleeping when I rose in the late afternoon and took a shower. We were at the Luxor hotel, in one of the nicer suites. He’d charmed the receptionist when we’d checked in, and she’d upgraded us for no additional cost. Although the room was absolutely awesome and I felt rejuvenated from feeding, I wasn’t enjoying any of it. My family was in danger and I still had no idea where they were or if they were even alive.

I close
d my eyes as the warm water streamed down my hair and body, which was so pale that it still kind of freaked me out. I had to admit, however, that besides flying, there were some other nice benefits of being a vampire – my skin was flawless – no more zits, my eyes were brighter, and my body pretty toned for someone who wasn’t in the least bit athletic. As cool as that was, however, I’d still do anything to be human again. Having to drink blood to stay alive, and a new sensitivity to sunlight wasn’t worth it. No longer would I be able to enjoy the things I’d taken for granted, like cruising across the lake in the middle of the day with the sun beating down on my skin, asking a hot guy to put sunscreen on my back, or even tan lines. Fortunately I could still wander around in the daylight, but my eyes were so sensitive that it was usually a bad experience. Then, there was my new diet. Thankfully, besides blood, I could still eat some foods – but only a small amount of meat, berries, fruits, and nuts. My stomach could no longer handle any processed foods, and I’d learned the hard way. In fact, Ethan had tried to warn me, but I’d been starving and had made a trip to one of the buffets when we first arrived in Vegas. Soon after, I found myself in the bathroom, throwing it all up.

I grabbed the razor and began shaving my armpits followed by my legs. Apparently, vampires still needed to groom themselves, which was oddly comforting.
Truthfully, if I would have lost all of my hair, I think I would have looked like some kind of freakish alien.

I sighed.

Who was I kidding? With this pale body, I already looked like something from another planet.

A loud
banging noise from the bedroom startled me. I turned off the shower, grabbed my towel, and flew out of the bathroom to check on Ethan

“Duncan!” I smiled.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he replied, undressing me with his eyes.

My cheeks grew warm.
“How did you find us?”

“
Actually, I followed you last night and reserved the room next door,” he said, closing the sliding glass door. “Great idea using vampire manipulation to upgrade. Never stayed in a suite before.”

Ethan, who was still in bed
, sat up and rolled his eyes. “Great, so glad you’re enjoying it.”

“Hey
, sleepyhead,” I said.

Ethan turned to me and
his eyes softened. “Looks like you still have shampoo in your hair, Nikki.”

I pulled my towel in tighter. “Oh. I, um, I heard
some loud thumps and thought I’d better figure out what was happening. I’d better go wash it out.”

“Need any help?” asked Duncan, smiling wickedly
.

“
I have a better idea, why don’t you quit ogling her and tell us what you’ve learned,” said Ethan, sliding out of bed wearing a pair of light blue boxers.

Staring at his
broad shoulders and amazing pecs, I felt a twinge of disappointment knowing that Duncan may have interrupted an intimate morning.

Duncan plopped into a chair. He closed his eyes and
rubbed his temples. “I’ve learned absolutely
nothin
g. The hotel that Faye supposedly owns, The Marlimore? Nobody in that place has even
heard
of her, Caleb, or even Celeste. In fact, it’s owned by some tycoon who lives on the top floor. Says he’s owned it for years.”

I groaned. “Seriously?
What the heck are we going to do now?”

“They’re here somewhere,” said Ethan. “
I just know it. Don’t worry, Nikki, we’ll find them.”

“You sure about that?
” replied Duncan. “This city is nuts, so many people, so much going on. Do we know for certain that this was even their destination?”

“That’s what I was wondering
. What if we’re on this wild goose chase and they’re on the other side of the world?” I said.

“
Obviously that’s a possibility,” said Ethan. “But Caleb loves Vegas and was planning on marrying your mom, right? I still think they’re here.”

“Do you know of any other vampires
living in Vegas?” I asked

“I’m sure there are hundreds,”
replied Duncan. “This place is basically a buffet.”

“Let’s just say that this place has its share of immortals and I’m not just talking vampires,” he replied. “The sooner we find your
mom and brother, the better.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you talking about more shape-shifters like Faye?”

“That and other things you don’t want to run into,” he said, walking towards the bathroom. He stepped inside and turned on the faucet.

Duncan and I looked at each other and he shrugged. He obviously didn’t know either.

“Well, what
else
are we talking about?” I asked, moving to the bathroom. I stood in the entrance as Ethan cupped his hands under the faucet and washed his face.

He shut o
ff the water, grabbed a small white towel, and dried his face. “Something that you want to avoid at all costs, since they aren’t fond of vampires. Lycan.”

Duncan snorted

I stared at Ethan in disbelief. “You’ve got to be joking.”

He smiled humorlessly. “You’re actually going to question it after everything that’s happened?”

He had a point. “I suppose not, but… Lycan? You mean those things that howl at the moon, eat people, and walk on their hind legs? Seriously?”

He brushed past me and went back into the
bedroom. “I’ve never actually met any of them in person, but Caleb says they’re out there,” he replied, grabbing his jeans. He scowled. “Dammit, I must have a hole in my lip.”

I looked at the blood on his jeans and smirked. “
Oh, man, I just can’t take you anywhere.”

He reached over and slapped
my butt hard. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind
taking
you on the bed.” He wiggled his eyebrows “How about we get rid of your friend for a while.”

“Ethan!” I gasped
, moving away from his reach. I glanced at Duncan out of the corner of my eye and noticed his teeth were clenched. 

“
Uh oh, looks like someone’s a little pissed off,” smiled Ethan arrogantly.

I gave him a dirty look and mouthed the word “stop
.”

His eyes widened in feigned innocence.

“I can leave you alone if you really need privacy,” said Duncan evenly.

“Of course not, Duncan. W
e need to get moving so we can find Nathan and mom.”

“
Well, seeing as I’m starting to feel outnumbered here, I’d better take a shower,” said Ethan, grabbing his overnight bag. “Then we’ll head out.”

Duncan
leaned forward. “Ethan, about these so-called werewolves, has Caleb ever encountered one?” 

“He claims
that he’d met a couple,” replied Ethan, rifling through his clothes. “Said they were mean sons of bitches. And incredibly strong. Anyway, they’ve tried killing him more than once.”

“S
ounds familiar,” I replied dryly.

Ethan looked over at me. “They’re the kind of creatures that get a
thrill out of hunting, especially us. It’s a big game to them, and they’ll rip your throat out without thinking twice.”

And they were in Vegas?

“Oh shit. You’d better give us more information on these guys,” replied Duncan.

He sighed. “Not much more I can say about them. Caleb mentioned that
they look like mortals, except when they change, obviously. They do have a certain smell, however.”

“Like vampires?
” I asked.

“Yeah, but unlike us, they have
more of an earthy smell.”

“What, like dirt?” asked
Duncan.

“You know, I’m not really sur
e. He said earthy or musky. They’re canine, so I guess it makes sense.”

I frowned. “Faye had no smell.”

“Shape-shifters don’t, unless they haven’t showered for a while. Which reminds me,” said Ethan. “Go wash out your hair so I can take one.”

“Oh, sure.” I walked towards the bathroom. “J
ust don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

Duncan
put his head in his hands. “As far as I’m concerned, I died in Shore Lake.”

Celeste

Celeste was aware of being followed long before she first caught
a glimpse of her stalker. She bit back a smile and continued through the casino, stopping occasionally at a slot machine to test her luck while she waited for her pursuer to make his move.

Vegas.

She wasn’t sure what it was about gambling, but ever since they’d arrived, Celeste couldn’t pass through the hotel casino without emptying all of the change in her pockets.

“Would you care for a drink?” asked on
e of the waiters at the Mandarin Beachside Casino, stopping next to her as she slipped another four quarters into a machine. His eyes swept lustfully over her sheer lime-green bikini cover-up and back to her face.