Turned (29 page)

No matter how much this information hurt Ana right now, it was imperative that Belladonna shut it down.

He didn’t say any of this, of course. He didn’t have to.

She’d remember it on her own after her shock wore off.

“According to Miguel,” he said, “after you went to prison, new gangs began to form in your neighborhood. Devil’s Crew and Primos Sangre agreed to merge in order to combine their collective strengths. Not all of the gang members agreed, and those in opposition were rooted out.”

“You mean hurt,” she said tonelessly. “Or killed.”

“Yes. Well, those that were left learned that Devil’s Crew was comprised largely of vampires. Not turned vampires, but born vampires. Rogues.”

“Rogues. The vampires that were helping the FBI with its Turning Program.”

Ty nodded. “Apparently, once they were deemed trustworthy, Miguel and your sister were told the truth and were offered the chance of a lifetime—to be turned.”

“And they agreed? To be turned into—into—”

“Monsters?” he asked softly, seeing the revulsion on her face.

“No!
Not
monsters. You’re not a monster. But you’re not what nature intended, either. If what you’re saying is true, neither are they anymore. What made them want that?”

“Because from what Miguel says, the basic premise of Salvation’s Crossing is legitimate. They want to help those of Hispanic descent. To become stronger. To live longer. To gain an ‘in’ with the government they didn’t have before.”

“My sister was so gentle,” Ana murmured. “I guess she got goddamn sick and tired of being used. Can’t blame her.”

“No. Not really.”

Ana sighed. Ty could practically see her thought process. Yes, it made sense. Gloria, a victim of poverty,
abuse, and sexual deviation, had lost everything, including the only family she’d had left to count on when Ana was sent to prison. Left alone, she’d been given an opportunity for a new life. To be stronger than any mere human. And to help
la raza
do the same.

“I know what you’re thinking, Ana, but the intel is solid. This isn’t just a benevolent organization trying to help the disenfranchised. Someone in Salvation’s Crossing, be it a human or a vampire, is kidnapping migrant workers and selling them as blood slaves to other vampires—”

“You don’t know that. Not for sure.”

“No,” he answered bluntly. “But that’s why I have to go in. I need to be sure.”

She narrowed her eyes and raised her chin. “I’m going in, too. Just like we planned.”

He scowled. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous now.”

“It’s always been dangerous.”

“Not like this. Going in covertly, when I thought I was dealing with
mere humans
”—he almost snorted at the dreaded phrase that had left his lips so naturally—“was one thing. I’d have the edge. But now, with at least two other vampires, maybe even more—”

“What? I’m just a liability now? You still need me. They might let you in, but like I said, there’s no way Gloria will trust you. For one thing, just about every male in her life treated her like dirt.”

Ty took that in. “Maybe the Salvation’s Crossing ones don’t.”

“That’s a theory. Your best chance of infiltrating is if I’m with you.”

Ty threw his hands up in frustration when what he really wanted to do was smash them through the nearest wall.

She was right. He knew she was right. And it wasn’t so much that Ana’s presence would make Miguel or her
sister automatically trust him. But she would be a major distraction, one he could take advantage of. Problem was, whether he wanted to or not, he cared about her. He didn’t want her hurt.

“You seem to forget, vampires can read minds,” he pointed out.

“Not all the time, Ty. You can’t always. If they’re turned, odds are they can’t, either.”

“And you’re willing to take that chance? What if they read your mind and see what you’re up to?”

“I’ll set my brain waves to True Believer,” she said mockingly. “Let them read that. They’re going to be a lot more interested in what
you’re
up to—”

“I’m not briefing you.”

She blew out a disgusted breath. “By this point in my training, I can take an educated guess.”

“Supernatural black ops aren’t pretty. But, if you’re worrying about me—”

Ana glared at him. “Would it make a difference if I was?”

“Don’t lose sleep. I doubt they know how to kill their own kind any more than I do. And even if they did—” Ty shrugged. “Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for me to die.”

She seemed startled by his offhand comment. “That’s what you want?”

He grasped her arms and backed her up against the wall. “Not really. Since we made love, what I want is more of you. More of your body. And I want your blood.” He raised the hand he’d pressed next to her head and pounded it into the wall, causing her to jump. “I crave your blood. Every second of the day! Knowing that, you think you’re tough enough to walk into Salvation’s Crossing, where other vampires will want the same thing? Do you really want to spend any more time with me—”

“Yes,” she said, pulling his face down to kiss him. Her mouth opened and ravaged his. Startled, his defenses down, he groaned and took what she was offering.

He lost himself in the slickness of her mouth and her intoxicating taste. He touched her. Smelled her. Sucked her essence into himself. He felt his fangs unsheathe and he pulled his mouth away from hers to bite her throat—

He tore himself away from her. He stumbled back, his eyes glued to the sweet, pulsing vein where he wanted to plunge his fangs and feast on her for days.

Without knowing it, she’d again brought him from the edge of an abyss. He didn’t dare tell her that she made him
want
to keep living. Despite the ease with which she seemed to be adjusting, Ty knew he was running out of time. She’d seemed to accept his vampire status with aplomb, but he suspected that was because she was running on autopilot. Her world had been turned upside down and she was focused on getting to her sister. Eventually, she wouldn’t need him. Eventually, she’d look at him differently. Instead of craving his touch she’d fight him off.

It had been bad enough when she’d pulled away from him on the dance floor. If he saw fear or disgust in the beautiful brown eyes that had looked at him with such passion, he’d be lost for sure.

Right now, he could still find his way. And wherever that road led him, he knew it couldn’t lead to Ana. Not if he wanted to keep them both safe.

“It’s not going to happen. You’re not coming with me. And that’s final.”

When Ty turned away and left, Ana stared after him in astonishment. She couldn’t believe his gall. Once again he was actually
forbidding
her to go into Salvation’s Crossing with him. That he’d left her there, shaking
against the wall, her mouth missing him, her body yearning for him, was utterly infuriating.

She closed her eyes. God, her heart ached for him.

She loved him, she realized.

Somehow, Ty had slipped past all her defenses, and the fact that he was hurting so much, the fact that he was trying to protect her, made her feelings impossible to ignore anymore.

What he’d said—that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he died—had to have been triggered by a rush of hate. For himself. Wherever it had come from and why, she had to intervene.

And she couldn’t let him go into Salvation’s Crossing alone.

He was wrong about Miguel and Gloria, at least about them preying on others. They were vampires who were trying to do good. She’d help prove that … and then what?

Ty Duncan was entitled to make a few mistakes if he was willing to risk his life for others. He was her kind of man. No. Her kind of
vampire
, she thought defiantly.

She’d lived her whole life longing for someone who cared enough to not neglect her the way her mother had. Someone who cared enough to not use her the way Miguel had. Someone who cared enough to not leave her the way Gloria had.

So far, Ty was all that and more. If she took a chance on him, on
them
, maybe when this was all over, she’d have more than she’d ever hoped for.

Love. Rock solid and blazing hot.

If he had what it took, then she was in. All the way.

She was his. But …

First things first.

She had to find out whether he could ever see himself as
hers
.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE

Portland, Oregon

Mahone didn’t know what he’d been expecting from his
formal introduction to the Vampire Queen. A grand hall? A matronly female weighed down by robes, sitting hunched over in a gold-plated throne and surrounded by somber-faced, looming guards armed with archaic swords or javelins? Or maybe something a bit more austere? Rows of coffins? Furniture resembling the stuff one would find in a torture chamber?

Whatever he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been this.

Instead of being ushered into a cavernous room surrounded by her loyal subjects, Mahone had been escorted into a lushly appointed office, with wood paneled walls, a travertine fireplace, and jewel-toned upholstered chairs. The room had a decidedly feminine quality without being over the top, and it smelled of … He inhaled and closed his eyes, savoring the delicate floral and mint scent. Beside him, a crystal candy dish held caramels, and although the blackout drapes were drawn, giving no hint of the sun shining outside, the various lamps around the room twinkled with invitation.

But even as beautiful and luxurious as the room was, it was drab and pedestrian and utterly boring compared to the woman—no, the female vampire—who walked in and greeted him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Mahone. I’m Bianca Devereaux.” She smiled with what appeared to be modesty. “I believe you know me as the Vampire Queen.”

She held out her hand, as if she expected him to take it and kiss it as he bowed, and … Who would have guessed it? That’s exactly what he did.

Holy. Fuck.

She was stunning. Beyond stunning. She was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. She put cover models to shame. Her very presence made it impossible to even remember the faces or names of any cover models, let alone any woman he’d ever been intimate with.

Her pale skin actually glowed and she had long silver hair that should have looked ridiculous on a female clearly in her thirties. Silver, hell. It shone like platinum, heralding what a treasure she was.

Though nothing about her screamed arrogance, she exuded vitality and confidence. She was tall and slim, with perfectly symmetrical features, and a regal posture that in no way inhibited her sensuality. Mahone could just as easily picture her wielding a sword to protect her people as reclining in bed, her body cushioned by cashmere and silk, as she opened her thighs and beckoned him to top her.

To fuck her.

He gasped, appalled that he’d thought such a scandalous thing about vampire royalty, but at the same time something startling happened. She gasped, too. Her cheeks went pink. Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes grew slumberous. As if she was picturing the very thing he’d been—as if she’d been aroused by it.

Her reaction snapped Mahone back to reality. Eyes narrowing, he took a step away from her, and blurted out, “Are you reading my mind?”

At his words, her blush dissipated and her expression went smooth. She laughed, an inviting, tinkling sound.
“Why would I need to read your mind when your desire for me is so obvious?”

Again, she spoke without arrogance or disdain. It was merely a fact, one he couldn’t very well deny with his erection standing at attention inside his pants. Somehow, he managed to speak without sounding like a babbling idiot. “That doesn’t answer my question,” he said.

He just wanted her to know that he knew vampires couldn’t lie and thus were usually masters at evasion.

She smiled approvingly. “You’re right, of course. I apologize. It’s habit. But no, I wasn’t reading your mind. My people don’t read minds as a matter of course. We consider it rude. But I could read your mind anytime I wanted—if, for example, I felt you were lying to me or were a danger to my people.”

“We both know that between the two of us, I’m hardly the dangerous one here.”

She sighed. “Yes. I understand only too well why humans fear us. It’s natural. It’s why we’ve stayed hidden for so long. And why we want to stay concealed, despite the dissatisfaction that causes.”

“Who’s dissatisfied?” It seemed impossible. Not with her for a queen.

Her brows furrowed. “You can’t be serious, Mr. Mahone. Living in the dark? Hiding who we are? Suppressing our natural abilities? All so we can stay safe. You must know how unnatural and tedious that is. It’s certainly not our first choice.”

“Huh. Must be why some vampires no longer follow your rule. But a lot of laws are a pain in the ass.”

She politely ignored his second comment. “I assume that by ‘some vampires’ you mean the ones you call Rogues. I understand they’re causing all sorts of problems.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

She tapped her platinum-tipped fingernails together
for a thoughtful moment. “All societies have those who refuse to follow the law. We can only police them a little and that from a distance, unfortunately. Maintaining our secrecy is our chief concern.”

“Of course.”

She smiled again. “Well, Mr. Mahone? Is that why you wished to meet with me? To ask for my help with the Rogues?”

He was having a hard time remembering why he was here, given the all-consuming lust that was riding him. With effort, he crossed his legs and pretended to brush a speck of invisible dust from one of his wingtips. He needed to focus on bigger things. Not necessarily more important, just bigger. For now.

“Yes, Your Majesty. In part. But also because I know things can’t continue like this. The reason the FBI went to the Rogues is because you refused to give us any real information about your people. Information that would take away the mystery, and thus maybe the fear, of vampires.”