Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three (16 page)

She looked at Max. “You really should come with us. You’re hurt and… naked.”

Max smirked. “It’s distracting, huh?”

Her cheeks turned red.

“Duncan, you’d better get moving,” he said. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay.”

Rena sighed. “Call me when you get back into town. Obviously, this is
blowing my mind. We definitely need to talk about this. About everything.”

“I
know and I will call you.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Stay alive,” she whispered.

“That’s my plan.”

She backed up and smiled grimly. “I still can’t believe this. This is… nuts.”

Max smiled.

“L
et’s go, Duncan,” she replied, picking up her gun. “I’ve seen enough of the desert for one night. Hell, forever.”

“
Before you leave, Duncan, can I talk to you for a second?”

He walked over. “Yeah?”

“I need you to try and hypnotize her,” he whispered. “Make her forget about all of this. Can you do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried it.”

“Well, try. I don’t want her stressing about tonight. Plus, the less she knows, the better for everyone.”

“I understand. I’ll certainly try.”

“Good. Just don’t hurt her. You hurt her and I’ll fucking kill you.”

“I would never do that,” he
said. “I just helped save her life. Jesus.”

“She means a lot to me,” said Max. “And I do appreciate that, kid. Now, get her out of here.”

Duncan nodded.

“You boys done plotting whatever it is you’re plotting?” asked Rena.

“Let’s go,” said Duncan, moving towards her. “Where’d you park?”

“There’s a strip club at the edge of town called Jugs and Mugs.”

Duncan’s eyebrows shot up.

Her eyes narrowed. “I was
following
Max.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” replied Duncan
.

“
Y
ou
certainly have a lot of explaining,” she replied, looking at the skyline. “You know, I’m still lost. Why don’t you lead?”

“
Oh, I plan on it,” replied Duncan, picking Rena up and putting her over his shoulder. 

“What in the hell are you doing
?!” she hollered. “Put me down, now!”

“Hang on,”
he replied, wincing as she struggled to get off of his shoulder. “I’ll be right back, Maximus.”

“Good luck a
nd be careful with that package,” he replied.

“I’ll do my best.”

The next thing Rena knew, they were flying through the darkness towards the city lights, while she stared down below in awe. Soon they landed in the parking lot of the strip joint.

“You okay?” he asked, setting her down on the cement.

“Are you kidding me?” she replied breathlessly. “Now I definitely feel like I’ve lost my mind.”

“
Sorry to freak you out. This was the fastest way to get you back here. Where’s your car?”

“Over
there,” she said, motioning towards her car. She took her keys out of her pocket and started walking towards it.

“Rena?”

She turned back. “Yeah?”

He
walked over to her and looked into her eyes. “Do you trust me now?”

She looked up at him.
“You know what? I do. You saved my life and I can’t imagine a better reason to trust you than that.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

“No, thank you. I would have been killed if you wouldn’t have found me. No doubt about it.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “
Go home, Rena. Go home and forget about the desert. The Lycans. Forget about everything you saw back there, tonight.”

“I…”

“Listen to me, you drove into the parking lot here because you thought you had a flat tire. But… it’s fine. There is nothing wrong with your tire.”

Her eyes dilated. “My tire is fine.”

“Forget about everything but getting home and going to bed. You’re tired. You need to sleep.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m so tired.”

“When you wake up in the morning, you’ll feel refreshed, ready to take on the world. Now, get in your car, go home, forget about tonight.”

Without another word, she got into her car, turned on the engine, and went home.

Nathan

“What the fuck… what the fuck…what the fuck just happened back there?” hollered Nathan
, pacing back and forth above the city lights. They’d landed on the roof terrace of an older hotel that was being renovated, directly above the strip.

“Calm down, Nathan,” replied Celeste
, holding up her hands. “Just relax.”

He stopped and stared at her incredulously.
“Calm down? We just escaped from a group of werewolf-looking freaks and shot through the sky like a meteor! That’s not something that happens every day. That’s not something that happens, period!”

“Sounds pretty incredible, I agree
.”

“
Sounds pretty incredible,” he repeated with a shrill laugh. “And what about you, Celeste? Are you some kind of Marvel comic book mutant babe? I guess that would make sense. You’re hot, you can fly, what else can you do? Shoot laser beams or freeze your enemies with your eyes?”

She laughed. “And I thought Nikki’s imagination was out there.”

“Out there?!” he cried hysterically. “What just happened a few minutes ago is
way
out there. I mean, what the hell, Celeste!? What’s going on?”

She
pouted. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was afraid you’d hate me.”

He groaned.
“I would
never
hate you, okay? Never. Now please, tell me what’s happening so we can try and save Nikki, if it’s not already too late.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s
much
too late, Nathan,” she replied, smoothing down her skirt. “There were far too many of those Lycans.”

“
Lycans? As in werewolves, right?”

“Actually they’re a little different.
Lycans can change into those hideous creatures at will and werewolves, they can only do it when the moon is full.”

He looked towards the moon. “Well the moon is full, so as far as I’m concerned, we’re doubly
fucked.”

She didn’t respond
.

“What about you, Celeste? Are
you a Lycan?”

She rolled her eyes. “
Please
. Don’t insult me like that.”

He sighed. “
Oh, I get it… you’re a vampire, aren’t you? Just like Nikki kept saying over and over. Only I didn’t believe her.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Don’t be so… dammit, this is
all
my fault for not believing her!”

“Why would you? It sounds crazy to me,
and I actually am one.”

He pulled at his hair and groaned.
“So, you really
are
a vampire?”

“Yes,
” she replied, “and I am
not
the only one, Nathan. In fact, Nikki is one now, too.”

He stared at her in horror.
“What?”

“
Just what I said. She’s a vampire.”

He leaned forward.
“How? Who made her one?”

“Y
ou can thank Ethan. I’m sure he’s the one who turned her.” She frowned. “Or maybe it was Duncan? I guess I’m not really sure. She has a thing for both of them, you know.”

“
What do you mean, Duncan?! He’s a vampire, too?”

She
sighed. “Yes. I turned Duncan into one of us because he almost died, Nathan. It was the only way to save him.”

Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Ethan, Nikki, and Duncan are all vampires?”

She nodded.

“And so are you?”

“Actually I hate that word. It’s so commercialized. I prefer ‘Roamer’.”

“
Roamer? Why?”

“B
ack in the eighteen hundreds, we started calling ourselves ‘Roamers’ because we basically had to live like gypsies. Roaming from one city to the next, trying to stay alive without getting hunted, just because we were different.”

“In the eighteen
hundreds?” he grunted. “Okay, I’ve got to ask, how old are you?”

“Let’s just put it this way, since I can no longer age,
per say, I’m basically a very wise and worldly eighteen-year-old.”

He leaned his arm against a brick wall and closed his eyes.
“This is crazy. I think I’m losing my mind. I must be.”

“No,” she said, grabbing his wrist. “
You’re not, and being a Roamer, well it’s awesome having these powers.”

He opened his eyes.

“I’m serious,” she said, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “Everything is ours for the taking. We’re stronger, faster, and can live for centuries, Nathan.”

“
I’m happy for you and your little club members,” he replied dryly. “Look, we need to find Nikki. Take me back there. I don’t care if you think it’s too late, I have to try.”

“It’
s suicide going back there.” She smiled darkly. “
Unless
, you’re an immortal, like me. It would be your only chance against the Lycans.”

He
muddled this for a few minutes and then released a deep sigh. “Then make me one of you. If that’s the only way, I want you to do it.”

“Is that what you
really
want? You can’t go back once I do this.”

“
No. Yes. God, I don’t know,” he said, slamming his fist into the wall. He winced and shook his hand. “Look, I just want to save Nikki or kick some Lycan ass if they’ve hurt her. If this is the only way, then it’s worth it.”

She
stepped towards him and touched his cheek. “If I turn you into a vampire, you can do more than kick some ass. I promise you.”

His lips tightened
and then he nodded. “Okay. Do it. Make me a badass so I have a shot at this.”

She smiled darkly
. “Take off your clothes.”

He stared at her in surprise.
“What?”

She grabbed his crotch
and he grunted. “In order for you to become one of us, we’ll need to bond.”

“Bond?”
he groaned as she started rubbing along his zipper line. “I’ve never heard it called that before.”

“Call it what you want.”

He closed his eyes and gasped. “Are you sure we have time?”

She unzipped his fly. “
We have to make time. But, honestly, from where I’m standing, this won’t take much time at all.”

***
 

Max

“How did that go?” asked Max, who was
now covered with dirt and sitting on a large boulder. Although there was still traces of blood on his face, most of his cuts and bruised had healed.

“Good, I think. She drove home
. I believe I managed to make her forget what happened tonight. At least I hope so; I’ve never done the charm thing before. She’s your partner, huh?”

He nodded
. “Yeah.”

Duncan stared off into the distance.
“Glad we ran into her. That was a close one. They would have certainly killed her.”

Max scratched his goatee
. “Damn Rena and her nose for trouble. Well, I’d better check on her later, make sure she made it home safely.”

“
Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”

“So,”
he jumped down from the rock, “you up for this, kid?

“
I hope so.” Duncan looked around. “Where did they go?”

“Buried them.”

His eyes widened. “That certainly didn’t take long.”

“
Nope. Not when you’re a Lycan.”

Duncan smiled.
“How many more do you think there are?”

“Not su
re, probably seven or eight.” He frowned. “Too bad your friend Ethan left you high and dry.”

“
Friend? He’s definitely not my friend. He’s Nikki’s.”