Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three (26 page)

Finally, a lo
ud explosion lit up the night, followed by dark, billowy clouds of smoke and flames. The two security guards ran towards the dock, stopping at a safe distance. Soon the front door of the cabin burst open and Victor ran out, wearing a dark brown robe.

“What happened?” he hollered.

“Hell, I don’t know,” replied one of the guards. “Maybe a faulty wire on the boat or something?”

“Did either of you try and start it?”

“Nobody did,” replied the other guard.

As I prepared to fly towards
my old balcony, I saw my mother standing in the doorway.

“Oh
, my God,” I choked, ecstatic that she was really alive.

“What’s happening?” she called.

“Honey, go back inside!” hollered Victor. “You don’t want to breathe in any of the smoke. It’s toxic.”

She hesitated and then shut the door.

Unable to wait any longer, I launched up into the sky and then back down towards the balcony, making sure I built up enough speed so Victor wouldn’t see me. When I landed on the balcony, Duncan was already crouched down and waiting.

“What took you so long?” he asked, his eyes glittering with amusement.  

“Funny. I was almost going to ask you the same question.”

“Starting a fire is a lot more complicated than it looks
.” 

“Oh, I believe you.”

The door was unlocked and my bedroom, which had been in total disarray the last time I’d seen it, had been turned into a nursery.

“You’re kidding,” I whispered, staring at the white crib and Winnie
the Pooh decorations. “I haven’t even been gone a month and I’ve been replaced by a fetus. Nice.”

“Nikki, if what they say is true, she’s forgotten all about you. It’s not her fault.”

“I know. I just miss my life.”

“Me too,” he said.

I opened the bedroom door and peeked through the opening.

“Let’s go,” I whispered, stepping outside into the hallway.

We first went to her bedroom and peered inside, only to find it empty.

“Let’s check the kitchen,” I whispered.

“Nikki!”

I turned around to find her standing in the doorway. “Mom,” I said, my eyes tearing up. I walked over and she pulled me into her arms. “It’s true, you’re really alive.”

She looked down at me and smiled sadly. “More or less.”

“Is it true? Are you pregnant?”

She tensed up. “Nikki, you have to get out of here. Duncan, take her as far away from here as you can.”

“
You’re coming with us,” I said.

She shook her head. “No. I can’t leave this place. I can’t leave Victor.”

“Why?”

“Because, he’ll come after you and Nathan.”

“Mom, he’ll never find us!”

She touched my cheek. “Oh, Nikki…
he’s known where you’ve been the entire time. In the Florida Keys. The only reason he didn’t come after you was because of me.”

“I don’t understand?”

“I’m pregnant with Caleb’s child.”

“
I heard. When did you find out?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Right before Caleb was killed. When we learned
I was carrying his child, he came clean about everything. Of course, I didn’t believe him at first. I was furious, thought he was crazy, but then he showed me and…” she wiped a tear from her cheek. “Anyway, he was worried about mine and the baby’s safety, so we decided that the only option was for me to become a vampire.”

“I guess it was the right choice, otherwise you’d
both
be dead right now,” said Duncan.

“Mom, we have to get out of here, before Victor comes to check on you.”

“I can’t leave. You don’t understand, Nikki. If I stay with him, he’ll leave you and your brother alone. He swore to me.”

“And you really believe him?”

“I have no choice. And, like I said, he’s already known where you’ve been staying. He’s shown me pictures.”

“Where did he get the pictures?” I asked.

“He sent one of his men out to Florida about two weeks ago. Why did you come back anyway? Victor said you believed that I was dead.”

“Celeste and Ethan found us,” she replied.

Her face darkened. “You have to stay away from them. They’ve been trying to kill me and the baby.”

Duncan swore. “See, I told you not to trust them.”

“It’s true,” she said. “They’ve tried several times and have even hired assassins. I guess Celeste is furious that I’m having her father’s baby and wants us both destroyed.”

“She’s a conniving bitch,” I muttered. “She made it sound like she was on our side and wanted to help me save you.”

“Maybe, but only to kill all of us afterwards. Don’t trust her.”

“Mom, come with us. We’ll leave the Keys and go somewhere else, where you’ll be safe. Victor only wants your baby so that he can experiment on it.”

“That’s not entirely true,” she said. “He just wants to borrow the baby’s D.N.A…”

“Yes, to make an army of
Lycans that will take over the world and kill anyone who stands in their way.”

“You can’t beat Victor,” she replied. “He has eyes and ears all over the country. If I leave with you, he’ll find us within minutes and then… he’ll kill you and Nathan.”

“There’s no way he could find us that quickly,” I said.

“Unfortunately, there is,” she replied, touching her stomach. “He’s had some kind of chip inserted inside of me. A tracking device.”

“What? Can we have it removed?”

She shook her head. “Not fast enough. I’d have to have surgery, and by then, it would be too late for all of us.”

I groaned. “What in the hell are we going to do?”

She hugged me. “You’re going to get lost again, this time somewhere more desolate.”

“I can’t leave you,” I said, now in tears. “I don’t trust Victor and… I really don’t trust Celeste and Ethan.”

“Victor won’t harm me, not when I’m pregnant with this child, at least.”

“But –”

“Once I have the baby and he gets what he needs, he has promised to let me go.”

“And you really believe him?”

“I have to. And seeing that you are still alive, I feel even better about it.”

“He’s a monster, mom.”

She let out a ragged sigh. “Maybe, but I’m not putting you, Nathan, and the baby at risk by spending the rest of my pregnancy running.”

“What about Celeste and Ethan?” I asked. “What if they get their hands on you?”

“They won’t,” interrupted Victor, walking into the bedroom.

“Shit,” I groaned.

He smirked. “You’re not very good at running, you do realize that?
”

Duncan grabbed my arm
protectively.

Victor waved his hand. “Oh, I’m not interested in hurting either of you. But, if you try and get in the way of my plans, you’ll be feeling a world of pain.”

“How are you going to protect my mom from Celeste and Ethan, twenty-four-seven?

He rubbed his chin. “I was going to keep armed guards around her at all times, but now that you’re here, I’ve come up with a new plan.”

“What?” I asked.

“I want you to set up a meeting with them
. Obviously, you know how to get ahold of them.”

“Actually,” I said, looking at Duncan. “We’re supposed to meet them at Club Nightshade tomorrow night.”

He smiled. “Perfect.”

“If
we give you Celeste and Ethan,” said Duncan. “We’ll you give us Anne?”

“
No.
But
, I will guarantee Anne’s safety. She’ll stay here at the cabin during her pregnancy, and I’ll let her walk away from all of it once the baby arrives.”

“Why should we trust you?” I asked.

“Have I hurt any of you yet?”

My eyes narrowed.
“You’ve hurt my mother, many times throughout the years.”

“
But she’s still alive, and if you knew how I operated, you’d realize how rare that is.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Believe it or not,” he continued, “the thought of hurting her physically leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That being said, however, I’m not going to deny the fact that I have a temper and it’s best not to test it.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” I said dryly.

“Face it, Nikki, you really don’t have a choice but to go along with keeping your mom alive.”

“And the child?” asked Duncan.
“What will happen to it?”

He
shrugged. “She can keep it after we’ve collected D.N.A samples.”

“Why does
this
child mean so much to you?” asked Duncan.

“Obviously, you have no idea how rare a vampire child is. If the baby goes to term, it’s going to be str
onger and faster than any vampire that was created simply by bonding. And, if I can combine the D.N.A from that child with Lycan…” his eyes lit up. “It’s going to be one very powerful force.”

And deadly
.

I bit my lower lip. “Okay. If you promise not to hurt
mom and let them both go when the baby is born, we’ll agree to help you.”

Victor
nodded. “I figured you were intelligent enough to see things my way. Now, keep your meeting tomorrow night. Find a way to bring them into the alley, and we’ll do the rest. What time are you meeting them?”

“Midnight.”

“Perfect. You’re making the right decision,” he said.

“I hope so,” I replied.

“You are.”

I
walked over to my mom and kissed her cheek. “I have a plan,” she whispered.

Her eyes widened.

I smiled, grabbed Duncan’s hand, and left.

We snuck into Sonny’s Marina and stayed there until the following evening. Neither of us could sleep so we spent most of the time making love
, as well as plans.

“How do you plan on getting that chip out of her?”
asked Duncan, sitting down in the break room.

“There’s got to be a way,” I said. “I just don’t want her living with that monster. I don’
t trust him and he’s a walking time bomb.”

He stared at his fingers as he tapped them on the round wooden table.
“They’ll track us down.”

“Probably, but we’re faster. The
Lycans can’t fly, Duncan. We’ll just stay on the move until we find someone who will remove the chip.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “I guess I wouldn’t
trust him either. Besides Nathan, she’s all you have left of your family. I’d do anything to get mine back.”

I
sat down on his lap. “I’m your family now. Me and Nathan.”

He smiled and kissed my lips.

***

There was a long line waiting to get into Club Nightshade the next evening. We stood in the back of the line, and within seconds, were ushered past the others waiting to get in.

“Obviously they’re expecting us,” I said as we entered the loud club.

Duncan said something.

“What?!” I hollered over the loud pounding of the music.

“Place hasn’t changed!”

I had to ag
ree there. Not only was it overcrowded, but it seemed like everyone was on Ecstasy or something. The entire place reeked of sin and debauchery.

We walked through
a swarm of undulating bodies towards the stairs and I tried ignoring the sweet smell of salty mortal flesh. Although the idea of putting my mouth on a stranger’s skin didn’t sound very appealing, my stomach began to growl.

“The V.I.P. lounge is upstairs,” said Duncan.

“Oh, you’ve been there?” I asked, smirking.

“A couple times with Celeste and your brother. That’s where she usually hangs out.”

“What, is there a bed in there?”

He chuckled and grabbed my hand. “
Let’s go.”

When we got
to this so-called V.I.P. room, a bouncer was monitoring the door. He had dark skin, muscles on muscles, and towered over both of us.

“Private party,” he said, chewing on gum. “You’ve got a pass?”

“Is Celeste inside?” I asked.

He stared at me for a minute. “You Nikki?”

“Yep.”

“Go downstairs and through the kitchen. When you get out the other side, you’ll see a door marked
‘Office.’ She’s waiting for you.”

“
Okay,” I said, pulling Duncan with me. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, a guy in his thirties stopped us.