Turned (28 page)

Damn, she hadn’t trained enough for this at Belladonna’s headquarters. She should have worked more on dressing and walking like a lady. She thought back to what Collette had taught her about appearing relaxed when she was anything but: focus on her core. She took a steadying breath, closed her eyes, and tightened her abs, trying to remember what Barrett looked like as she glided around the headquarters in her spike heels, oozing rich-girl attitude.

Chin up. Balance between her heel and the ball of her foot. Shoulders down, face relaxed.

“You’re doing beautifully,” Ty said. “As beautiful as you look.”

This time she did more than wobble. She stumbled. He caught her arm to steady her. His dark gaze burned into her.

“Thank—thank you,” she managed to choke out.

“No, thank
you
. For coming to Belladonna in the first place. For flying all the way out here. But most of all, for letting me make love to you.”

Her joy was tempered by confusion. For the past several days, he’d treated her just like the other female agents. He hadn’t betrayed by expression, word, or touch that what they’d shared had meant anything to him. Even in her dreams, he’d remained distant from her.

She’d dealt with the pain of that distance by telling herself over and over again it was for the best. But her heart had never believed it and his polite comments now
caused a flood of inconvenient emotions to rush through her—regret, affection, anger, hurt, desire. He made her feel them all, and it weakened her resolve to keep herself safe from him.

“Despite everything, I think of our time together as a gift. I always will. I should have told you that before now.”

She felt tears fill her eyes and quickly blinked them away. Nodding, she tilted her chin toward the large bar in the corner. “How about we get a drink?”

Ty smiled slightly, acknowledging her failure to respond to what he’d said, but he simply nodded and led her toward the bar.

“What would you like?” he asked when they reached the front of the line.

Her mind went blank. She’d just suggested they go to the bar as a distraction. But now … “A shot of tequila,” she said defiantly, knowing it wasn’t something most would order here.

He raised a brow.

Her embarrassment just made her voice sound snotty. “What? You afraid I’m going to get hammered?”

“Maybe. I remember the last time you went to a bar and drank tequila. I remember what you did and how I almost couldn’t protect you.”

“Well, let me assure you, I have no intention of leaving your side.”

“How about instead of a drink, I offer you something else?”

“What’s that?”

“A dance.”

Her face stiffened with insecurity. She’d undergone basic dance training at the compound and every time she’d felt like a horse wearing roller skates.

“Come on,” he urged, grinning. “It’ll be fun.”

As she looked at him, his expression and words seemed genuine. As if he really wanted to dance with her because he’d enjoy it and not because it would be a means to an end. Of course, that wasn’t true, but it didn’t change the fact that she very much wanted it to be. Now that their night of passion was over, she wanted to be in his arms again, and if dancing with him was the only way to make it happen …

She nodded. “Lead the way.”

They walked past the other couples on the dance floor and faced each other. He slid his hand beneath her hair and cupped her nape. Just cupped it. Whatever chill had clung to him when they’d first met was completely gone now. She couldn’t help wondering if the fact he’d drunk her blood had something to do with it. The warmth of his hand was like a fiery brand, instantly heating her and making her quiver with anticipation. She stared at his mouth, willing him to press it against her own, but he didn’t move, didn’t pull her closer. He simply held her, lightly but with an unmistakable air of possession that had her biting her lip to keep from moaning.

She wanted him again. Wanted his mouth on hers. His hands all over her. His body inside her. Here. Now. What came afterward didn’t matter.

Only it did. And as she stared into his eyes, that knowledge stared back at her.

He wanted her, too. He wanted to do everything he’d done to her before and more. He wanted to push her, make her once again accept the kind of pleasure she’d never allowed herself before. The kind she hadn’t even believed existed until she’d met him.

But he was content with touching her, just touching her, because he knew what happened next
did
matter. Not just to them, but to the countless others whose lives he thought might be made better if they could successfully
complete their mission. And whose lives would be lost if they couldn’t.

With great sex comes great responsibility, she thought, then had to fight the urge to giggle hysterically. What a joke. She’d never had great sex, not until Ty, but her life had always been about responsibility, whether it had been to her sister or to the gang. Their time together was the first time she’d had one without the other. She wanted it again. But it wasn’t going to happen. Not with him. Not now.

With a sigh of regret, she closed her eyes. An instant later, he made the same shaky, puffing sound, pulled her into him, pressed his forehead gently against hers, and began to sway in a gentle, barely there dance. The hand at the back of her neck moved, massaging her muscles in a distinctly soothing rhythm at odds with the tension coursing through his body and her own.

“I still want you,” he said, his breath caressing her lips the way she longed for his tongue to do. “Don’t think for a second that I don’t.”

“I know,” she answered softly. “I—I still want you, too.”

His eyes blazed and a sense of certainty filled his gaze. “Fuck it. I don’t care about our pasts and I don’t care that our futures are uncertain. I will have you again,” he vowed. “We’ll have each other. But …”

His voice trailed off, and she whispered, “But I’m a nice human girl who should stick to her own kind.”

He didn’t dispute what she’d said. Ana desperately wanted him to. Hope was a stealthy specter, overwhelming her before she could stop it.

She warned herself to get real.

“Maybe not,” he said slowly. “If you want more, I’ll show you that what I gave you was only the beginning.”

In other words, he wasn’t promising her anything beyond the pleasure he could give her during the night.
Why would he? She’d told him sex was all she’d wanted. She knew he couldn’t lie, but part of her wished vampires could smell lies uttered by others, too.

They danced for a little while, as close as they dared. Eventually, she couldn’t help herself. She leaned forward and kissed him.

His lips on hers were like coming home, or at least what coming home should feel like. Pleasure and contentment and familiarity. She opened her mouth, urging him to take her deeper, and he did. He took things from her she didn’t even know she had to give.

When he finally pulled away, she looked off to the side, feeling too vulnerable. Gently, he held her chin and turned her face until she had no choice but to meet his gaze.

She licked her lips. Wanted to cry out that she wanted him. Needed him. Not just for sex or for a night or even until their mission was over. She tried to imagine her life without him in it and she couldn’t. Somehow, she knew that when he left her, he’d leave a bigger hole in her heart than even Gloria had when they’d been separated.

And that scared the shit out of her.

Once he adjusted to being a vampire, he’d probably go back to his privileged life. He’d forget about her. Hell, he’d probably forget about Belladonna and Rogues on the loose. She had yet to meet one of those, but they were out there. Using and torturing humans.

Pathetic, helpless, inferior humans, which was all
she’d
ever be.

“What are you thinking?” he asked her.

She raised her chin. “You don’t know?”

He frowned. “I told you. I’ve never tried to read your mind. And I won’t.”

“Unless you need to. For the job. For some other reason you think justifies your actions.”

“It’s hardly a power I can use at will. Most of the time
it doesn’t work, no matter how hard I try. But what’s your point?”

“The point is, you can read minds. You’re a
vampire
, for God’s sake. We need to keep things professional between us. Get the job done. Get into Salvation’s Crossing and get out. And then move on.”

“Okay.” He nodded and far too easily seemed to dismiss her. As they continued to dance, his gaze swept the room.

“Do you—do you see Miguel yet?”

“No,” he said grimly. “I don’t. And something tells me he’s not going to show. Damn it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s supposed to be here checking out potential investors. The net worth of the people in this room reaches billions.”

“Maybe he’s just trying to exercise a little finesse. Miguel was never the brash type. He worked his charm. Moved in for the kill nice and slow.” She frowned, wondering why she’d described Miguel more like a predator than the friend she remembered. Belladonna’s suspicious mindset must be influencing her more than she’d thought.

“You’re right. We’ll stay. Assuming you can stand my company for another few hours, that is.” He smiled at her. “Are my fangs showing?”

Did he really think that’s why she’d retreated from him? “No. And I never said I can’t stand your company.”

His tense expression relaxed slightly and he shrugged, the careless gesture tearing at her heart. “Great. So we’ll drink. We’ll dance. We’ll get where we need to go, and at the end we’ll go our separate ways. Right?”

“Right.”

So they drank. And they danced. But unfortunately, it was all for nothing, since Miguel never showed up.

Or so they thought.

*   *   *

Once they were back at the Belladonna compound, Ana saw very little of Ty. Her days were filled with getting to know her teammates better and teaching them skills she’d learned on the streets or in prison. Every night, however, she dreamed of her dance at the ball with her devilish prince. Even more than she’d thought possible, she missed him.

So much so that when someone knocked on her bedroom door and she opened it to see Ty standing there, she was ready to tell him she’d made a mistake. That she’d take whatever time with him she could get. But as soon as she looked in his eyes, the words died in her throat.

He nodded formally, distantly, as if they’d never held each other. As if he truly planned to never hold her again and was completely fine with that.

“I’ve been contacted by Salvation’s Crossing,” he said. “We did it, Ana. They’re sending a private jet to fly me back out to California in a few days. Carly and Mahone listened in and okayed it.”

“Who’s Mahone again?” she asked, more for something to say than anything else. She was still stunned by the news that their ruse had actually worked. That all it had taken to give Ty what he wanted was wearing a fancy dress and dancing with him. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?

“The FBI’s liaison to Belladonna.”

She should have felt proud. Relieved. Instead she felt only dread that Ty had obviously been right about what it would take to get them inside Salvation’s Crossing. What else was he going to be right about? “Miguel saw us together? Why didn’t we see him?”

“He saw us. We didn’t see him because he didn’t want us to. Bottom line, you were the key to getting us into
Salvation’s Crossing, just like we thought you’d be. He trusts you, he trusts me. Even if he doesn’t trust me, he’s decided to play the game. And he’s going all out. He said he wants my help, to provide funds for Hispanic rights—but also to help those of Hispanic descent become vampires.”

“What?” she whispered, shocked yet again despite herself. “He actually said that? He admitted he knows about vampires?”

“He knows. And he knows I’m one.”

“But how?”

“Because as I told you, he’s been watching you. Watching both of us, apparently. And because he’s been turned into a vampire himself.”

The shock should have killed her by now, but perhaps she was getting used to it, because she just stared at him. “For real?” she asked softly.

Ty shrugged. “We circled the subject at first, but when I asked him straight out—”

“He couldn’t lie.”

“He could have evaded my questions if he’d really wanted to, but he didn’t. He was upfront about wanting my money. And about wanting to see you. He’s going to be very disappointed when you don’t show up.”

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly at first. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m going into Salvation’s Crossing but I’m going alone.”

He said it so calmly. As if it was a done deal and she had no say in the matter whatsoever. “Ty, we talked about this. You can’t—”

“I can. Because as I said before, things have changed. And—and there’s more, Ana. I’m sorry, but there’s more.”

“Tell me,” she whispered.

“Your sister is a turned vampire, too.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT

This is it, Ty thought. This is where she breaks. But I’m
here. Just like she was there for me in that parking garage after I’d shot Louis. I’m not letting her come with me, but I’ll help her through this.

Only Ana was even stronger than he gave her credit for.

Although she went white and swayed on her feet, she quickly composed herself. “How?” she asked.

He was struck by how similar she sounded to Carly at that moment. Pushing aside all emotion to ask for only the necessary facts. That ability to distance herself emotionally had been learned the hard way, and the habit would only become more ingrained the longer she stayed at Belladonna.

He’d been right to question himself when he was in Seattle. When he’d wondered if he was doing the right thing by dragging her into all this. He should have left her alone.

Yet in his heart, he knew if he had to do it all over again, he would.

Especially
if he’d known Miguel and her sister were turned vampires; it was only further confirmation that Hallifax was right. That the Crossing was a cover for a human blood slave distributor.