Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four (4 page)

Nikki



Even though I knew the service for our mother was a hoax, it still brought tears to my eyes. I missed her smile, her hugs, and even the way she yelled when Nathan and I argued. I even missed the way she chided me about being paranoid and always telling me to “chill the hell out.” Ironically, this time I really
did
need to chill. I had to be extra cautious around Victor and act like I believed that she was really gone, in hopes that he’d let his guard down so we could figure out where he’d hidden her. I really didn’t believe that Duncan would find her back at the cabin. Something told me that he’d moved immediately after he claimed she’d committed suicide. He had to have known that we’d never take his word.

During the service, I no
ticed Drake staring openly; I could tell he was attracted to me. There had been a time when I’d have felt flattered, but now that I knew he was a devious prick and worked for Victor, I couldn’t have cared less.

At th
e end of the funeral, Victor opened up the urn and then emptied it into the lake, claiming that “Anne would have wanted it that way.”

“Boy, for someone who was never around, you sure knew her better than us,” commented Nathan.

Victor played it off well, however. “I know, son. And I’m sorry that my job took me away from all of you so much. It was hard for me, too. It’s even harder knowing that I’ll never see her again.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and I shook my head.
Growing up, all I could recall was their constant bickering and her misery. They’d never had a normal, loving relationship and she’d only stayed with him because she’d felt trapped. At least that’s what she’d told us. Now his arrogance and cruelty made sense, and I was relieved that the maniac hadn’t actually killed her or even us.

When it was over, Pastor Sherman asked Victor if there’
d be some kind of reception in honor of mom.

“I wish we could have thrown one,” replied Victor as the snow began to fall. “But, unfortunately, I’ve been called away for work. My flight leaves at five
, so I didn’t think to arrange anything.”

“
You’re still flying with the snowstorm that’s expected?” asked Nathan.

“You know, t
hey might end up cancelling some flights,” replied the pastor, staring up toward the sky. “I heard that we’re supposed to get five to eight inches of snow.”

“I’m not too worried about it,” said Victor. “The worst of it isn’t supposed to hit until after my flight leaves
anyway.”

“I hope you’re right,” he replied as we walked back
toward the church. “But, something tells me we’re going to get dumped on, regardless.”

“
I think you’re right. Anyway, about the reception – it’s not like Anne had a lot of friends or family in Shore Lake,” said Victor. “So, I guess I didn’t really make it a priority. I suppose that I should have, anyway. As a matter of respect.”

Nathan opened up his mouth
to make a sarcastic retort, but I elbowed him. Ribbing Victor wasn’t in our best interests at the moment. Especially in front of decent people who could get hurt should he really get pissed off.

“It’s understandable under the circumstances. If you’d like, I can set something up at the church. I’m sure Maddie and Lila can whip up some sandwiches?” asked Pastor Sherman.

Both Maddie and Lila were the two older ladies following us. I had the impression, from their conversation, that they were the pastor’s sisters.

“No, it’s fin
e. Thanks for the thought, however,” said Victor. “We do appreciate it.”

“I
f you change your mind,” he replied, “the offer still stands.”

He looked at his watch.
“Like I said, I’ve got a flight to catch and I’m sure these two have things going on. You know… teenagers.”

“Actually
, I’ve got nothing,” said Nathan with a smug grin. “In fact, I’m kind of bummed out that you didn’t hold a funeral reception for mom. She would have expected some kind of proper sendoff. You know – where we’d get together and talk about the good times we all had together. I would have loved reminiscing with you about those special memories.”

Victor’s eyes hardened. “Obviously
you’re upset. But, we can’t change the past. Only the future. We’ll reminisce about your mother another time. I didn’t plan a reception, and I probably should have. I’m sorry.”

The pastor cleared his throat. “Like I said
–”

“No,” interrupted Victor
sternly. “Thanks for the offer, but there’s no need. Well, I really must be leaving. Thanks again, Pastor Sherman. Maddie, Lila.”

“Of course,” he replied.

“It was our pleasure,”
agreed Maddie. “It’s the least we could do.”

“Yes, we know that Anne didn’t have time to meet a lot of folk
s here in town,” said Lila. “We felt it was only right to pay our respects.”

“Well, thank you,”
he replied, smiling grimly. Then, he turned back toward me and Nathan. “I’m off to Vegas for a couple of days. If you need to get ahold of me, talk to Drake. He knows where I’ll be.”

“Okay,” I said
as he turned on his heel and headed toward the car, leaving Drake behind.

Nathan and I thanked the pastor and his sisters for the service
, and then began walking toward his Mustang.

“So, w
here can we find you?” I asked Drake, who walked beside me.

He grinned. “I’ll be around. Don’t worry.”

“We’re not worried,” said Nathan, glancing back. “We just want to know how to avoid you.”

“Such a jok
er,” said Drake, his eyes glinting. “I’ll keep in touch,
Nikki
.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about him “keeping in touch”
, especially after the way he’d been eyeballing me at the funeral. The guy was obviously hungry for more than just blood. “Uh, sure.”

Before I knew what was happening,
he grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks.

“What are you doing?” I asked,
now totally unnerved.

Smiling
darkly, he raised my hand to his lips. “I have information. Meet me tonight at the cabin,” he whispered against my knuckles.

“
Sure.”

He
released my hand and turned to Nathan, who’d also stopped in his tracks.

“
You kiss my knuckles and I’ll break your face with them,” stated Nathan.

“You do
have balls. I’ll give you that, cobber,” replied Drake, smirking as he walked away.

“
Cobber
… If we weren’t near a holy place, I’d kick his ass.”

“You’d be better off shooting him with one of your silver bullets,” I replied.

“If I were a vampire…”

“We a
lready went over why that would be a bad idea,” I replied. “Besides, you’d have to find a female vampire willing to sleep with you.”

“Which reminds me, I wonder what happened to Celeste?”

“Seriously? You really care?”

“
I guess I’d like to know if she’s still a threat.”

“To be honest, I think Victor killed
Celeste. Otherwise, we’d have run in to her by know.”

We got into Nathan’s car and I watched as Victor and Drake
drove away.

“
So, did you hear what Drake said?”

Nathan shrugged.
“Something about meeting you at the cabin later?” He grinned. “What, is he trying to get into your pants, too?”

I frowned
. “No. He said he has information.”

He chuckled. “
Information. For what price? I think he wants a piece, Nikk.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Do you think about anything else other than sex?”

He started the engine.
“I’m just saying… he was drooling over you at the service. It’s obvious that he’s had it bad for you from the very beginning. You’re blind if you haven’t noticed his interest.”

“I guess he was checking me out a little today.”

“Exactly. I don’t even think he realized he was at a funeral.”

“I
f you think about it, it really wasn’t.”

“True. A meeting
, huh? I wonder if he’s going to give us information on mom.”

“We can’t trust him,” I replied. “The guy is Victor’s puppet and obviously pays him well.”

“So, what do you think he wants? Besides you.”

I felt a shiver go down my spine.
“I don’t know. But, I think we should try and find out.”

Ethan



“Is Nikki really okay?”

Duncan sighed
. “She’s fine. She’s attending her mother’s funeral.”

Ethan stared at him in shock. “What? When did Anne die?”

“Apparently, she killed herself.”

He stared at him in exasperation.
“Fuck, will you please tell me what’s going on? I’ve been locked up inside of this shithole and have no idea what’s going on.”

“Right,” sneered
Duncan. 

“
Obviously we’ve all been had,” said Ethan. “Don’t you see? And Faye is behind it.”

“So, what are you saying – that Faye and Victor are working together?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe. I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“Just for shits and giggles,” said Duncan. “Explain what
it is that you do know.”

“
I don’t know much, just that I’ve been locked in this prison for over a month.”

“You certainly smell like
it,” said Duncan.

“
Whatever. Look, the last time I’ve seen you or Nikki was in the casino. Remember when I went to the bar to find out if Miranda was there?”

“What is it about you and this Miranda chick
anyway?”

“She was my wife. A couple of centuries ago.”

“And you think she’s a vampire?”

“At first I thought she’d been… I don’t know… reincarnated.”

Duncan’s eyebrows rose. “Seriously? You believe in that shit?”

“Do you believe in vampires
, werewolves, and shape-shifters?”

Duncan smiled grimly
. “Okay, good point.”

“Anyway, I
guess I may have thought she was. I had my suspicions at least.”

“Why?”

“It was something I just… felt. A certainty that she was alive and looking for me. And then, when I found out that Faye had murdered girls around the country who looked a lot like her, it made me wonder.”

“How did Faye know about Miranda anyway?”

Ethan sighed. “Unfortunately, I confided in her one night, before I realized how psychotic Faye was. I even made the mistake of pointing out a woman who reminded me of her. Anyway, after that, Faye started killing anyone who looked like the woman I thought could have been Miranda.”

“But why?”

“Because she’s obsessed with me. Ever since we’ve met, she’s wanted me all to herself.”

“Lucky you.”

“Tell me about it.”

“
When did you two meet?”

“Me and Faye?”

“Yeah.”

“
I met her in Vegas a number of years ago. We had a thing, I guess you could say. For a while. Then, she started getting too possessive, and I had to put some distance between us.”

“In other words, you broke it off?”

“Something like that. Anyway, she wasn’t too happy about it, although during the past few years, we’d still hook up once in a while.”

“Hmm… So, h
ow did you meet Caleb and Celeste?”

“Faye introduced us
a few years ago. We met in Vegas one weekend.”

“Why did you
join up with Caleb and his group?” asked Duncan.

He stared at the wall.
“I’d been alone for many years. I was tired of feeling like an outsider and needed to be around others who were like me. So they let me into their little group, and I guess you could say we were kind of like a family. A very dysfunctional family. Especially when it came to Celeste.”

“Yeah, she’s a piece of work.”

“I agree. That’s why I’ve always kept my distance from her.”

“
So, what about Victor?”

“
I told you, I’ve never met the guy. In fact, the first time that I’d even heard of Victor was from Faye’s partner, Maximus.”

“So, in other words, you’re trying to tell me
that you didn’t know that Victor is Nikki’s stepdad?”

Ethan stared at him in shock. “What?”

Duncan’s eyes hardened. “Knock off the act, Ethan.”

“What in the hell are you talking about? Victor,
the wolf-man from Vegas?
He
is Nikki’s stepdad?   

“
You already knew that.”

Ethan’s eyes blazed.
“Bullshit I did!”

Dunc
an smirked.

“Look, i
s Victor even still alive?” asked Ethan. “Or, did Maximus help you guys stop him?”

Duncan smiled coldly. “
No, you made sure of that.”

“I
… what?!”

“
Oh, come on.
You
killed Maximus. Quit the games, Ethan.”

“
I’m not the one playing games, I’m just another pawn who doesn’t know what the hell is going on.” 

“
Let me fill you in, then.
You
killed Maximus in the desert. But, not before you stood back and watched as a lycan attempted to rape Nikki.”

Ethan’s stomach clenched and he could barely breathe.
“One of the lycan raped her?”

“No.
Almost
. Maximus stopped Jordan.”

“Who
is Jordan? Where did he come from?”

“Victor’s nephew. The lycan who tried raping her
.”

“I’ll kill him,” said E
than, pulling at his restraints, his blood boiling. “I’ll kill him and cut off his balls.”

“No need to wo
rry about it, Victor already took care of the asshole.”

Ethan
let out a ragged breath. “What else can you tell me?”

“What else? Let me see
– after Maximus interrupted Jordan’s attempted rape, you took it upon yourself to end his life.”

“Bullshit!
I
didn’t kill Maximus. Jesus, don’t you understand? I’ve been stuck in this shithole and have no idea what’s happened. Obviously Faye transformed herself into me and that’s who is behind all of this.”

“Faye?”

“Think about it! She’s a shape-shifter! Wake up!”

Duncan laughed coldly. “If she is, then
she’s a hell of a good actress.”

“It’s what she does. She changes into other forms… other people… and she messes with their lives. And,
because she hates Nikki, it’s obvious she’s trying to turn her against me.”

“
One of you has succeeded. Whether it was Faye or you.”

“By killing Maximus?”

“Yes, but more importantly, by handing you over to Victor.”

E
than face turned red with rage. “I would have
never
done that! You of all people know how much I care about Nikki. What I would have done to keep her safe.”

He didn’t reply
. He stared at the wall pensively.

Ethan pulled at the restraints again. “I’ve got to get out of here. I need to talk to Nikki
and correct everything that Faye has destroyed.”

Duncan looked at him.
“Even if everything you’ve said is true, the best thing you could do is stay away from her.”

Ethan sneered
. “Why, because you want Nikki for yourself?”

“Yes, I’m not going to lie. I love her and want her safe, too
,” said Duncan. “But, think about it – you’re nothing but a danger to her. Faye’s obsession for you is going to kill Nikki.”

“Not if I do something about it,
” he said slowly.

“You tried doing something about it before
, and I’m pretty sure you failed.”

Ethan’s eyes blazed with fire
. “That won’t happen again.”