“No, thanks. I’ll be fine,” I said as I kept walking towards Main Street.
Duncan’s house wasn’t too far and although it was early morning, I decided to see if he’d made it home. As I neared his house, I realized in relief that their kitchen lights were on. I hurried to the door and knocked.
The door opened and I sighed in relief.
“Duncan?”
His face broke into a wide, relieved grin.
“Nikki. Thank God,” he said, pulling me into the house. “We’ve been looking for you all night. Your mom is even here.”
“Nikki!” cried my mother, rushing towards me. She threw her arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Thank God you’re alive! I was so worried about you!”
“I’m fine,” I murmured as she released me and stared into my face.
“You sure?” asked Sonny, moving towards me. “Those vampires didn’t get you?”
I stared at Sonny in shock. “You know about the vampires?”
He nodded. “I’ve known about them for a while now. Duncan just confirmed everything tonight, however.”
“Seriously, you really knew?”
Sonny sighed. “I had a suspicion. Especially after those girls started dying, and your old neighbor, Abigail, paid me a visit last summer. After she was murdered, I knew she’d been on to something. It was just hard to swallow at the time. Vampires are supposed to be fictional characters, not members of the city council.”
I turned to Duncan, who looked pale but didn’t have any bruises or cuts. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I heal pretty quickly. By the way, where is that asshole?” he asked.
I lowered my eyes. “He’s at the club.”
His eyes narrowed. “Nightshade?” he asked. “Were you there, too?”
“Yeah, but not for very long. Um…where’s Nathan?” I asked, looking around.
“He’s searching around town for you with Caleb,” said mom. “I’d better let them know. Listen, Nikki, I want you to know, Duncan and Sonny finally convinced me,” she said, smiling weakly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you. I feel like such a horrible mother.”
I gave her a hug. “It’s okay, mom. I’m just glad you’re safe and that you know.”
“Of course I’m safe,” she said, pulling away to look into my eyes. “Caleb’s been watching over me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You do realize he’s a vampire, too, right?”
She let out a ragged sigh. “Yes, I know. I still love him though, Nikki. I can’t help it.”
I understood it more than she realized. I was still in love with Ethan, even though he’d grabbed my heart, taken a bite, and then spit it out. More than once, obviously.
“You’re not going to let him turn you into one of those things, are you?” I asked, staring into her eyes, which weren’t covered with sunglasses for once.
She bit the side of her lip. “He says that I have cancer.”
“Mom, you don’t know for sure.”
“I guess I’ll have to find out for certain then,” she said, looking away.
“Listen,” said Sonny. “Caleb’s a pretty decent guy and all, but the truth of the matter is… these guys feed on us.”
“Some of them can’t help it.” My eyes met Duncan’s and he smiled sheepishly.
Sonny noticed our exchange. “Shit, you know I love you, Dunc,” said Sonny, patting him on the back. “And I will do anything to help you overcome this… blood thirst thing of yours. But the hell if I’m going to stand back and let the rest of those monsters kill any more folks in town.”
“Sonny, they’re not all monsters,” said my mom.
“Anne,” he replied. “I know how you feel about Caleb, but the truth of the matter is, he’s behind most of these murders. I mean, listen, he’s probably the head of their group. You have to stay away from him and keep your family safe. It’s too dangerous for any human to associate with the likes of them. Look at what happened to Nikki tonight. What if she would have turned up dead?”
My mom closed her eyes and nodded. “I know you’re right. I’d never forgive myself.”
“We have to stick together,” said Sonny. “And beat these creatures. Maybe get more people involved. Shit, maybe we can run them out of town.”
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “Faye Dunbar.”
Sonny’s eyes narrowed. “Who is she?”
Duncan’s face darkened. “She’s pure evil, that’s what she is.”
“They say she’s some kind of shape-shifter,” I said.
Sonny smirked. “Shape-shifter? Christ. Well, we’ll have to take care of her, too then, I guess.”
“Something tells me it won’t be that easy,” I said.
“None of it is going to be easy,” said Sonny. “But we have to try.”
***
When my brother and Caleb returned, my mother didn’t say much. I could tell she was confused and mulling things over in her mind.
“Thank goodness, you’re all right,” said Caleb, looking genuinely relieved to see me.
“Didn’t Celeste call and tell you she found me?” I asked him.