Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three (6 page)

He looked at me incredulously.
“Did it ever occur to you that the only reason you believe you
love
this guy, is because he charmed you and is still doing it?”

“
It’s crossed my mind. But he claims that he isn’t manipulating me in any way, and I have to believe him.”

“
Why? Why do you
have
to believe him?”

Because if I’m wrong and he has charmed me, I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you,
I thought. “I just have to believe him. He saved you, Duncan, and he didn’t have to. He’s also helping us try to find Nathan and mom. If he had any other agenda, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“
I don’t know about that, in fact, I think that whatever benefits Ethan, is part of his agenda. That would include helping you, to keep you under his thumb. I’m sorry, Nikki, but I trust that asshole about as much as I did Faye.”

“Your judgment is a little
clouded too, don’t you think?” I asked tightly.

“What do you mean?”
he asked, following me off the bench.

I turned to him.
“Ah… Celeste?”

His eyes flashed angrily. “
Celeste? Listen to me,” he said, grabbing both of my arms. “She
charmed
me, the same way that Ethan charmed you. They’re both toxic.
Poisonous.
And it doesn’t even matter that they saved our lives. You know as well as I do that they are responsible for the danger we both needed saving from.”

“
Maybe, but Ethan is just as much of a victim as we are. He was human once, too,” I protested.

He closed his eyes and opened them, his expression softer.
“Nikki, I don’t care if Ethan and Celeste helped us. They can’t be trusted, neither of them. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the only person I completely trust, besides your brother, and I’m willing to do anything to help you.
Anything
. I doubt Ethan would offer you the same, if it really came down to it.”

I felt in my heart that Ethan would, but t
he longing and raw emotion in Duncan’s eyes made my own fill with tears. I blinked them back. “Thank you, Duncan.”

He touched my cheek. “I want you to know that there isn’t a moment that goes by that I don’
t think about you.”

“Duncan
–” 

“Shh
...” he whispered, putting a finger to my lips. “I know you’re confused and that you believe your feelings for Ethan are real. I get it. But what I want you to understand is that I’m here for you. Always. And I will never let any of them hurt you. Ethan, Celeste, Caleb. I’d rather die myself before that happened.”

I smiled weakly. “
Thank you, Duncan. I’m here for you, too. I promise.”

He pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Nikki,” he whispered into my hair. “And I will never let you down.”

“I’ll give you five seconds to release her, or I’ll take the life I gave back to you in Shore Lake,” growled Ethan.

Duncan s
tiffened up and released me.

I turned to Ethan who looked ready to throttle Duncan.
“He was just trying to offer me support.”

“Good, as long as that’s all he’s offering,” said Ethan, putting his
arm around my shoulders possessively. “I recommend you do it from a safer distance next time, though. One that’s not going to get you killed.”

Duncan smirked.
“You don’t frighten me.”

“
It’s too bad your change didn’t make you brighter. Nikki’s mine. We’ve bonded, and there’s no way you can come between that.”

“
Bonded, huh? That’s funny, Celeste and I had also bonded and I couldn’t give a shit if we’re together or not. Obviously, bonding doesn’t mean
mates for life
.”

“
Maybe not, but what Nikki and I have isn’t anything you could ever understand. Besides, Celeste is a coldhearted bitch, who is only out for number one. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that.”

Duncan snorted.
“And that doesn’t sound familiar?”

“Do us all a favor and quit trying to analyze me.
So you didn’t get the girl, quit dwelling on it.”

“
Are you sure that you really have the girl? I wouldn’t count ‘mind control’ as getting her. At least not fairly.”

“Enough,” snapped Ethan, releasing me
abruptly. In a flash, he was nose to nose with Duncan. “I’ve had it with your snide remarks. You’re lucky I saved your ass when I could have just left you to die. Maybe death is where you really belong.”

“Would you two just stop
!” I hollered, stepping between them. “We don’t have time for this when my mom’s and brother’s lives are in danger.”

Neither of them answered me and still looked ready to pounce.

“Hello? Ethan, did you find out anything?”

Still glaring at Duncan, he took a step back. “I did, actually. I’ve set up a meeting with the hotel
owner.”

“
Seriously? Does he know where they are?”

“He wouldn’t say. He wants to speak with you, however.”

My eyes widened. “Me?”

Ethan’s lips thinned. “Yes,
you
and that’s why I think he knows something. He’s dangerous, however, so I have mixed feelings about taking you to him.”

“What, is he in the mafia or something?” asked Duncan.

“Much worse. He’s a Lycan,” replied Ethan.

Nikki

“Are you sure we should be meeting with this guy?” asked Duncan as we stepped into the hotel lobby. “Isn’t there any easier way to get information? And seriously, what exactly is a Lycan? You brought this up before and I’m still a little confused.”

“I think it’s another word for werewolf,” I said.

“Not quite. Don’t confuse them or you’ll be in trouble.” Ethan removed his sunglasses and I watched as a woman walked by, eyeing him appreciatively. Dressed in black slacks and a dark blue silk shirt, which emphasized his tanzanite eyes, I couldn’t blame her. “To tell you the truth, he wouldn’t say why he wanted to see her.”

“Great,” mumbled Duncan. “So, we don’
t really know what we’re walking into. What if it’s some kind of trap that Caleb’s set up?”

Ethan flashed a dazzling smile at two younger girls staring at him dreamily, while their parents checked in at the counter. They immediately giggled and began whispering.
He turned to Duncan. “I don’t think it is. When I mentioned Faye, there was definitely some animosity on his end. Caleb was Faye’s main boy, so I think this guy might be on our side.”

I sniffed.
“I thought
you
were Faye’s main boy?”

“
No. I wanted her to think I was, to keep you safe. But I was never
with
her. Not in that concept. Now, don’t look at me like that,” he said, smiling in amusement. “We went over this, Nikki.”

“I know,” I replied
, still irritated about seeing them together at Ruth’s Diner, holding hands. “I just couldn’t stand that woman. She was an evil, ruthless bitch.”

“She’d take that as a co
mpliment if she were still alive,” he replied.

“So,
back to this guy we’re meeting. Faye and this dude owned the hotel, but didn’t like each other?” asked Duncan.

Ethan
brushed a piece of white lint from his sleeve and nodded. “Yeah, it sounds that way.”

“I thought you mentioned earlier that
Lycans and vampires were mortal enemies,” I said, apprehensive about this so-called meeting.

“
Most are. In fact, they don’t particularly like anyone. They feel they are the superior race and everyone else is beneath them.”

“Aren’t
Roamers
like that?” asked Duncan with a sneer.

“
Some are, definitely. Obviously, if those were my own personal thoughts,” he smirked. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Don’t forget,” I said
, teasing him. “You’re a Roamer now, too, Duncan.”

“
Bullshit. I’m nothing but a victim of the Roamers. I am certainly not going to put myself in their category.”

Ethan smiled humorlessly. “We are all victims. I didn’t ask for this, either.”

Duncan didn’t say anything.

“Well, it’s a stupid reference, anyway,” I stated. “A vampire is a vampire.
The other name sounds almost… romantic.”

“Nothing romantic about ripping a guy’s throat out
for survival,” said Duncan.

“
It’s a hard way to live,” replied Ethan. “But you learn to adapt.”   

“Right,” I muttered.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” said Duncan as we stopped at the elevator. “I mean, what’s the benefit for this guy helping us?”

Ethan pushed the button. “I don’t know. I guess we
’ll find out soon enough.”

A shiver went down my spine. “
Ethan, what if he’s planning on attacking us and it really is nothing more than a setup? Are they stronger?”

“Tell you the truth, I’m not sure
. What I do know is that I won’t let him hurt you,” said Ethan, grabbing my hand. He kissed my knuckles. “Besides, we’ve got speed on our side. No way are Lycans faster than us.”

“
But why even risk it?” asked Duncan. “Maybe you and I should go talk to this guy, alone. Leave Nikki somewhere safe.”

“
He specifically asked to meet her and I don’t want to piss him off. I mean, it’s all we have right now,” replied Ethan. “Unless you have any better ideas?”

Duncan shrugged.
“We could keep searching the city. Check with other hotels?”

I sighed.
“No, that would take too long. Time is running out.”

“It may have already
run out for them,” said Ethan with a grim expression. “You’d better be prepared for that, Nikki.”

I watched as the elevator doors closed and tried to ignore the feeling of doom
in the pit of my stomach. “I know.”

He pushed the button
, and we rode to the top floor in silence. When the elevator opened back up, we stepped into a long hallway which led to a large gold-plated door.

Ethan grabbed my arm
and stopped me from moving forward. “A word of warning, one thing I’ve heard about male Lycans is that it’s unwise to stare directly into their eyes. Especially if you’re female. Chances are, with this kind of money and power, he’s an Alpha”

“What is that?” I asked.

To me it sounded like the guy was in a sorority or something.

“He’s considered dominant and demands respect,” he replied. “In other words, t
hey’re very dangerous and aggressive.”

“
Wonderful,” I replied dryly. “A dog who really does think women are bitches and prefers them obedient. Why doesn’t this surprise me?”

Ethan
chuckled.

“Let’
s get this over with,” said Duncan, glancing towards the doorway. “I’m starving and won’t be much use if I’m too weak to help you guys.”

I linked my arm through his. “Don’t worry, Duncan, we’ll find you something soon.”

“Vegas is a smorgasbord of blood candidates,” said Ethan, glowering at our closeness. “We’ll stop at this club I’ve heard about, after we meet with this guy. If my contact is correct, they’ve got blood type ‘O’ on tap.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me? Why didn’t you just take me there last night?”

“Because you need to practice hunting. Blood isn’t usually handed to you in a beer stein.”

“Right,”
I said, still very much annoyed that he’d made me do something I hated.

“You’re a vampire now. You have
get over your anxieties and take what you need, when you need it.”

“Yes,
I understand, Ethan,” I replied a little too snidely.

His eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head and began walking down the hall.

“You okay?” asked Duncan.

“Yeah…
peachy. Never been better.”

He smirked
. “Same here.”

I thought about his dad and immediately felt like a jerk. At least there was a chance my family was safe. Sonny was gone. Forever.

“Seriously, I’m fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Easier said than done,” he replied.

“Chill out, guys. Nothing’s going to happen,” replied Ethan, over his shoulder.