Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four (21 page)

“Fuck you,” said Ethan.

“No, you’re the one who’s fucked when I tell her about the female Roamer hiding above,” he replied and then began punching
him
in the face.

“Oh hell
,” mumbled Martin, jumping off the loft.

I also
leaped over the side and landed next to Duncan, who appeared dazed and confused.

“Nikki?” he whispered, staring at me with uncertainty.

I pulled him into my arms. “Yes, Duncan. It’s me.”

He inhaled and then slid his arms around my
waist. “Yes,” he whispered, relaxing. “It definitely is.”

“I knew you were up to no
good,” hollered Godrick, now standing. He grabbed Martin by the neck and slammed him against the wall. “And here Faye is trying to save your little sister at this very moment. You should be ashamed of yourself for teaming up with these losers.”

“What?” rasped Martin, trying to pry Godrick’s fingers from his neck. “What do you mean?”

Before the guard could answer, Ethan hit him in the back of the head with a shovel.

Still, he didn’t flinch.

Crap, this guy is strong
, I thought, now looking around for something to stop him.   

Sighing, Godrick released
Martin, who slid to the ground, and then turned on Ethan.

Ethan brought the shovel back and hit him in the face with it.

Godrick growled, then grabbed it from him, and tossed it aside.

“Jesus,” mu
ttered Martin, standing back up, looking slightly dazed himself.

Ethan
raised his fists and growled, “You want to do this, douchebag? Let’s go.”

Godrick threw his head back and laughed. “You’re stubborn, I’ll give you that.”

Ethan’s knuckles connected with his nose.

Godrick stepped backwards and touched it, a cold smile on his face
. “Did you see a fly around here? I think it may have landed on my face. “

Winc
ing, Ethan curled and uncurled his fist. “It probably was attracted to that shitty breath of yours.”

His face darkened.
“You never learn, do you?” snarled Godrick, pulling out a dagger from his belt. He unsheathed the knife and then held it up, looking at the point. “You know, I’m going to enjoy cutting out your heart. Then, I’m going to bring it to Faye, so she can see Nikki’s initials carved there.”

I rolled my eyes. As far as I was concerned, Ethan didn’t have a
conscience or a heart.

Ethan’s eyes darted to me and back to Godrick. “
Let’s talk about love, shall we? You’re a fucking coward. If you’re so in love with Faye, why don’t you just tell her instead of acting like a slave? She will never invite a man to her bed who grovels at her feet.”

“Believe him, he knows,” I added sarcastically
.

Ethan’s lips twitched
but he didn’t reply.

“Don’t worry about me and Faye,” replied Godrick. “When I prove your deception, she’s going to need someone to comfort her.
Someone much stronger than you.”

“If I’m dead and unable to answer her questions, she’s not
going to be too happy. You realize that?” stated Ethan.

“Ma
ybe, but someone needs to cut you out of her life,” he grinned down at his knife again. “And I’m just the guy to do it.”

“Nikki,” whispered Duncan. “Let’s get out of here. This isn’t
even our fight. It’s between those two and Faye.”

“I can’t leave Martin,” I said, watching Celeste’s brother
quietly pick up the shovel, while Ethan and Godrick continued arguing.

“
Seriously, I think they just about have it under control,” Duncan replied.

I watched as Ethan tried dodging Godrick’s knife. It sliced through the air
. He did it again and this time it grazed his cheek.

I sucked in
my breath. “Uh, you sure about that?”

But then
Martin thrust the edge of the shovel into Godrick’s back. He howled in pain and fell to his knees.

“See,
under control,” said Duncan. “Let’s at least find something to get these restraints off of me. Then I’ll help these guys out if they still need it.”

“You’re too weak,” I argued
, staring at his pale face.

“Yeah, probably. But, I feel like a pussy watching from the sidelines. I
really need to get free.”

“Okay.”

There was another loud grunt from Godrick, who was now taking a beating from both Ethan and Martin, as they took turns with the shovel.

“Here it is
,” said Duncan, as Martin raised the end of the shovel over his head. “The finale.”

I cringed as he brought the sharp steel edge
down onto Godrick’s neck. Blood sprayed everywhere as Martin raised it several more times and finished him off.

“Well, that’s that,” I replied, seeing Godrick’s head roll away
. Martin kicked it with his boot. I shuddered and turned away.

“I think the house is empty now. Let’s go find some
thing to get these off,” said Duncan, who was already stepping out of the barn.

“Wait,” I said, scurrying to catch up with him
. “Duncan!”

He slowed down and turned to me
, his silver eyes holding mine.

Smiling up at him, I threw my arms around his neck
and closed my eyes. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

Duncan
let out a deep sigh and kissed the top of my head. “All I thought about was you. I was so worried that she’d already caught and killed you. Jesus, I’ve never seen someone so obsessed with another person.”

“I know,” I
replied. “I’m definitely at the top of her hit list.”

“She even transformed herself to look like you earlier.”

I backed away and wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Really? She was impersonating
me
?”

He smiled.
“But, it was obvious that she wasn’t you.”

“He’s right
,” said Ethan, walking over to us. He crossed his arms under his chest and gave me one of his movie-star smiles. “Nobody could ever replace you.”

I rolled my eyes and pulled Duncan
toward the house. “Let’s get you free before I throw up in my mouth a little more.”

“Nikki,” called Ethan
, his voice stern this time. “We need to talk.”

I turned back and smiled coldly. “I don’t think we have anything
else to say to each other. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to help Duncan get these restraints off so he can give me a proper greeting. One involving hands, lips, and maybe even a little tongue.”

Duncan grinned and then raced up the stairs to the porch. I
turned back around and followed him, irritated that Ethan was still trying to cause problems.

Ethan

Ethan
watched Nikki follow Duncan into the house. He ached to take her into his arms and fly her someplace quiet where he could make her see the truth. To show her the trueness of the love he had for her in his heart. But, now that she was a Roamer and in love with Duncan, he didn’t see that turning out too well. Especially without any proof of his innocence. Faye had definitely done a number on Nikki, and it was more than obvious that now, she wanted nothing to do with him.

“Got yourself into a bit of a bind with th
at one, didn’t you?” remarked Martin, wiping the blood from his hands with a towel.

Ethan smiled grimly
. “That’s putting it mildly. Nikki and I had something going before Faye fucked it all up. Now, she thinks I’ve deceived her.”

Martin dropped the towel onto the grass
. “Did you?”

“No,”
he muttered, frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair, which needed a good washing. “I would never hurt Nikki. Ever. I love that girl with everything I have.” He then explained how Faye had captured him in Vegas and how she’d set him up.

“
And all of that because Faye is jealous of Nikki?”

“
Faye is insanely jealous of her, or anyone that reminds her of my late wife.”

“
Obviously you need to tell Nikki what actually transpired.”

He sighed.
“She won’t even give me a chance to open my mouth. And believe me, the girl is as stubborn as they come.”

“So what – you’re just going to give up?”

His face darkened. “No. Hell no.”

“Good.
Because she deserves to know the truth, no matter the outcome.”

“Yes, she does,” he agreed. “I just need to figure out a way to make her listen.”

“Handcuff her?”

Ethan grinned. “If I did that, I may forget all about talking.”

“Martin laughed. “Oh, to be young again and frisky.”

“I’m not that young.”

Martin grunted. “Physically you are, you bastard.”

“
That’s all I have going for me at the moment,” replied Ethan.

“S
omething tells me that if you don’t talk to her, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. I should know.”

“You still haven’t found Emily?” asked Ethan, remembering how Martin had confided in him about a girl who’d haunted his dreams. One
who hated him about as much as he loved her.

“No.”

“Sorry, man.”

Martin nodded and looked away
. “We’ve got to get moving. I want to find Victor.”

“
What’s going on with your sister?”

He shrugged
. “She’s fine for right now. I received a text from her about twenty minutes ago.”

“Maybe you’ll
luck out and Faye will kill Victor.”

“Something tells me she won’t go that far. She may try to talk him out of it, but like she told me earlier
– she isn’t willing to cross him. At least not in front of his face.”

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, we need to kill both of them.”

“I know that you have issues with Faye, and so do the others, but I can’t help you there. My sister would never forgive me.”

“
That’s fine. Just don’t stand in our way then.”

Martin smirked. “What you do to her is none of my business.”

“You’re right,” said Ethan. “But I owe her for fucking up my life.” His lips thinned. “Hell, she’s screwed it up so much, I’m not even sure if I can rectify it.”

“
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, if I were you, I would never give up on that girl inside. If she’s the one you really want.”

“She
is.”

Nikki and Duncan stepped out of the house. He was free from th
e restraints, but still looked a little dazed.

“So, you ready to head to Vegas?” asked Martin. “To find your mom and help kill Victor?”

“Yes,” replied Nikki. “But Duncan needs to feed. He’s really weak.”

“So am I,” replied Ethan. “I think we should all take care of that before we do anything else.”

Nikki’s eyes flashed angrily. “You are
not
coming with us, Ethan. We certainly don’t need your help.”

Before he could reply, Martin spoke up. “Actually, Nikki, we could use all the help we can get. I’m sure Victor is heavily armed with both men and weapons.”

“I don’t care, I don’t trust him,” she said, clenching her fists. “Just like before, he could turn on one of us in an instant.”

“No, I would never do that. Nikki
, I explained to Duncan what happened… that I’ve been locked away in Faye’s prison for the last month. Tell her, Duncan.”

Duncan’s eyes met his. “To be honest, I don’t know if what you told me is true or not. This could be another game of yours.”

“Yes, and we all know how good you are at playing those,” said Nikki, putting her hands on her hips.

Ethan wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she listened
. “Nikki, Faye turned herself into me and tricked you. I swear to God, I would
never
hurt you. You have to believe me.”

The contempt in her eyes cut him to the core
. “There is no way that she could have pulled all of that off, Ethan. She didn’t know all about…”

His eyes narrowed.
“All about
what
?”

“
I don’t know… everything. Look, it doesn’t matter. You’ll never trick me again. I won’t fall for you lies, so don’t waste your breath.” She then grabbed Duncan’s hand. “We’re going back to the marina to feed. We have a supply of blood in the refrigerator. Martin, you’re welcome to join us before we head off to Vegas.”

“
I’d appreciate that. I could use a lift myself, and… we should check on Celeste and Nathan anyway,” he replied.

“
Exactly,” she said, and then without another word, she leaped into the sky, along with Duncan, and they disappeared.

Martin shook his head and
gave him a wry smile. “You’re right. She’s a stubborn one.”

“Tell me about it.
”

“Like I was saying,
if you love someone, you need to fight for them. Looks like you’re going to need to pull out all the artillery with this gal.”

“
And what if it means hurting someone else?” said Ethan.

“You mean, Duncan?”

“I guess I do.”

“Do you really care if he gets hurt?”

Ethan wanted to say “no”, but instead, he sighed. “In a way, I guess I do. He’s been good to her. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling a little guilty.”

“Well, I guess then you’re going to have to sort that out for yourself. The important thing, however, is to make sure she knows the truth.”

“But how, if she won’t give me a chance?” he replied, exasperated.

“Find a way.”

“Just find a way, huh?” Ethan laughed humorlessly. “I guess I’ll just have to, won’t I?”

“Yes, you will,” said Martin. “And then, once she believes you, it will be up t
o her to decide who she wants. Not either of you two.”

I just hope
it won’t be too late by then…
thought Ethan.