Turned (38 page)

Had the queen sent a vampire to help them? Had someone from Belladonna broken into the compound? Maybe Peter?

Not him. Her rescuer was someone who’d known her
before
, she thought confusedly … someone who’d called her
m’ija
 … but only Miguel had ever called her that …

Miguel and Gloria.

Gloria.

Had she already killed Ty?

Ana
.

She heard her name, spoken in Ty’s voice. Muffled. Barely there. But yet … there.

Ana, Miguel and Gloria want to hurt you. They’re coming for you. Run!

Fear ripped through her. Fear and doubt.

Was that really Ty in her head, warning her that Gloria was coming for her?

She wouldn’t believe it … except she knew he’d been in her head before. When they’d had sex. When he’d heard her screaming no even when she’d let Louis paw her outside that club. But where was he? Why wasn’t he coming for her?

I love you, Ana. I can’t live without you. Save yourself
.

Her body jerked upon hearing Ty’s confession.

He loved her. He was trying to save her.

And as much as she’d wanted to believe her sister would never hurt her, she knew that was a lie now. She loved Ty. And she believed him.

But she couldn’t wait for him to save her. For some reason, he knew that wasn’t possible; that’s why he’d inserted himself into her mind.

She couldn’t stand. She couldn’t run.

But somehow … she had to save herself.

A rabbit was sitting not six inches from Ty’s outstretched hand.

If he could just grab it and bring it to his mouth, he could drink its blood. The influx of fresh animal blood might counter the effects of whatever poison or drug was still running through him.

Might give him some hope of getting to Ana and saving her before Miguel or Gloria harmed her.

His fingers moved closer toward the rabbit. Just three inches away now.

He could see the rabbit’s damn nose twitching.

Help me, he thought. Help me help Ana.

Ty almost had it … almost had it …

With a burst of strength, he lunged out, frantically grasping for the rabbit, but it bounded away.

Ty groaned, an inhuman sound of frustration and despair that was cut off as suddenly as the fleeing rabbit was picked up. He hadn’t moved his fingers more than an inch.

He blinked when someone grabbed his shirt and yanked him into a sitting position. A man who looked vaguely familiar stared back at him even as he brought the rabbit to his mouth and tore open its neck. Then he
held the carcass over Ty so the rabbit’s blood dripped down on him.

“Drink. Ana needs you.”

Ty already had his mouth open and was swallowing the rabbit’s blood, but the man’s words caused an influx of power all on their own. They meant everything to him because they told him Ana was still alive. And that he could still save her.

The more blood he swallowed, the more his head cleared. The more his muscles awakened. The more his rage promised vengeance.

He recognized who the man was in front of him. Ty had seen him talking to Miguel inside Bobbie Hernandez’s head. He’d been the one who had sent Officer Southcott after Ty. He’d been the one protecting Ana. And now he was giving Ty the chance to save her life.

I’m coming, Ana. Hang on, baby. I’m coming
.

Though she’d tried to prepare herself, Ana couldn’t help it—she jolted when her bedroom door was thrown open and Gloria walked in. Their gazes immediately met and held, just before Gloria’s eyes dropped to the floor where her lover lay in the center of the room. Ana had positioned herself in the corner farthest away from Miguel, her back protected by the wall.

Shock flooded Gloria’s expression, followed swiftly by grief. With a feral shriek, she flung herself at Miguel’s body, her screams growing louder as she realized he was indeed dead. She cradled him in her arms and rocked back and forth until her anguish faded away.

After several minutes, she looked up at Ana.

“Eliana?” she whimpered, her voice that of a little girl seeking comfort. “Eliana, what happened? Are you—are you okay?”

Her words and tone immediately drove Ana back in
time. Despite what her mind was telling her, they made her drop her guard. This wasn’t an evil creature bent on killing her or exploiting others out of greed. It was her sister. Gloria. Someone who needed Ana’s compassion and help, not her suspicion.

“Eliana, why are you looking at me like that? I need you, sister.” Gloria reached out a hand. “Come to me.”

Ana straightened slightly, wanting to go to her so badly. Wanting to trust her. But Ty’s warning played in her head, making her hesitate.

That’s when she saw the expression that flickered across Gloria’s face.

Hatred.

Utter hatred.

Ana saw it clearly then.

But she still couldn’t move. Couldn’t throw the knife she’d dragged out of Miguel’s dying body, hoping there was enough liquid nitrogen left on it to kill her sister.

She stood stock still until Ty called her name and staggered into view in the doorway.

Gloria didn’t even turn around. She just smiled and her muscles tensed as she prepared to lunge for Ana.

And Ana knew at that moment that she had to make a choice.

Her sister or her life. Her last chance at happiness with Ty.

Silently, Ana didn’t flinch from her feelings of betrayal or grief. She accepted them. Embraced them. And threw the knife the way Ty had taught her.

The blade pierced Gloria in the heart.

Her sister gasped even as she stumbled closer.

“Eliana, you hurt me. Eliana … why?”

She was almost to Ana before she dropped to her knees.

And died.

With a sob, Ana collapsed next to her.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-NINE

Ty stepped over Gloria’s body and gathered Ana in his
arms. She stared numbly at her sister, clearly in shock. Her skin was cold, so cold.

He recognized that chill. He’d felt it himself. Every hour of every day since he’d been turned. It had only been in the past few months that the chill had begun to dissipate …

It had left him completely the first night he’d made love to Ana.

Ty glanced up at the man who’d saved him and accompanied him to Ana’s room. “She’s freezing.”

“When I came in, Miguel had started to turn her. I stopped him, but not in time. Her body’s cold because the turning process has begun. There’s a chance I can stop it if I feed her my blood, but I have to do it soon. Even then, it might already be too late.”

“How soon?”

“Within the next ten minutes.”

Ty growled. “You should have fed her your blood instead of coming after me!”

“She loves you. And I knew if I didn’t save you, she wouldn’t want to live anyway. This way, she has a choice, but it’s one she must make. Otherwise, I’ll make the choice for her. I believe she’d want to be with you, not just for a human lifetime, but for eternity. So unless
she tells me herself to stop the turning, I’m not going to do it.”

Ty looked frantically down at Ana and he saw it clearly then—the possibility of a life with her. No, infinite lifetimes. The idea of being what he was, even the idea of living forever, didn’t scare him when he thought of spending that time with Ana. But he couldn’t be selfish. Couldn’t consign her to becoming a creature like himself, a being she would loathe as he had loathed himself for so long.

No matter what the other vampire said, she hadn’t chosen that. So he shook her.

“Ana. Ana, goddamn it, listen to me. Tell him you don’t want to be a vampire. Ana!”

Ty was calling her, and he sounded panicked. Frantic. That realization finally enabled her to look away from Gloria and search for Ty. He was right beside her. Holding her. The first thing she did was smile. He looked so worried and she wanted to reassure him but the words wouldn’t come. She raised a hand to his face to caress it, but her hand froze and fell when she saw the man standing beside him.

At first, she thought it was Miguel. Then the past—everything in the past—came rushing back at her. What he’d said. What he’d done. Her hand flew to her neck, but before she could touch it, Ty grasped her wrist. “Shh. You’re okay. Don’t touch it. Don’t—” His voice broke and he quickly looked away, as if he was ashamed to look at her.

But what did he have to be ashamed of?

“Listen to Ty, Ana. Everything’s going to be okay.”

How?
was her first thought.
My friend and my sister are dead
. But she was again too distracted by the other man to get the words out. She studied him more closely,
and was immediately struck by that powerful sense of recognition. This time, however, pieces to the puzzle drifted closer together.

She’d seen his face before. A long time before. But despite the passing of years, he looked exactly the same as he had back then. Not a single wrinkle marred his skin. Only his hair and eyes were different. Silver.

A vampire. But what kind? Born or made?

“Pablo?” Ana asked, her tone laced with disbelief … and fear.

“Ah.” He smiled widely. “You remember me, even after all this time. That’s good.”

She tried to stand, but her legs wobbled and Ty gently pressed on her shoulders, keeping her sitting on the floor. She glared at him, even as she snapped, “Of course, I remember you. You’re the one who gave me this scar. The one who came in with the others, guns blazing, the night I tried to jump out of Primos Sangre.”

Her voice was a shaky whisper, not the scathing retort she’d intended to make. But Pablo heard her anyway.

“Both things I truly regret,
m’ija
. All I can say is that you and I didn’t know each other then. I had no reason to know what a beautiful creature you were, inside as well as out. But when I learned what you were willing to do to get your sister out of the gang, when I read your mind after the shooting, well … that changed and I’ve been with you ever since. Watching you. Protecting you. It’s why I came here. To help you … and the vampire you love.”

Her head ached. She tried to think it through. Carly had said Devil’s Crew had been made up of Rogues. Likely he’d been a vampire even then and was simply no longer hiding it. But he’d said he was here to protect her, which made no sense. “Why me?”

“Because of what you were willing to do to protect your sister. Anything and everything. You let yourself be
beaten to get her away from Primos Sangre. And you were willing to do whatever it took to be reunited with her. I’ve seen it all. Everything that’s happened. And your loyalty and goodness is what tells me you’re beautiful. Deserving of the protection I’ve given you. You remind me of my Carolina. My love, my wife. I lost her hundreds of years ago and I’m growing so weary without her. You’ve helped fill a void in me.”

“Were you—were you turned, too?”

“No,
m’ija
. I was born this way. Even born vampires can love. Can care.”

She remembered what Ty had said about someone following her. Someone protecting her by killing off anyone who had hurt her.

“I cared about Téa Montgomery, too.”

“Yes. Unfortunate. An associate of mine—you remember Officer Southcott, don’t you?—getting a little too carried away. She was supposed to be given a warning, not killed. I apologize, but rest assured, Officer Southcott got what was coming to him.”

“And that’s supposed to make it okay? Your apology? The fact you killed another man? Because it doesn’t.”

Pablo nodded sagely. “I understand if you feel that way.”

“What about Bobbie Hernandez? Is it true that he’s been working for you? That he wants to be a vampire?”

A look of regret flashed over Pablo’s face.

Ana shook her head. “Bobbie, too? Did you—did you—?”

“No,
m’ija
. He was doing a job for me. Talking to a few men who were in the bar before Ty killed Louis. I wanted to be sure what Ty meant to you, and Bobbie was helping me with that. Unfortunately, Louis’s friends were stronger than Bobbie thought. They killed him. But I took care of them. For you, but also for him. Bobbie was loyal to me. I owed him that. I should have protected
him, but I’m happy I didn’t fail you, Ana. I want only for you to be at peace at last. Happy.”

Had he protected her? She supposed he had in some way. But he hadn’t been in time to save her. Nor had Ty. Not to save her from Gloria. She’d had to do it herself.

“Ty … I heard him.” “In my head, just like before …”

Pablo smiled and nodded. “It’s a rare talent, even for vampires, the ability to connect minds with someone, even from a distance. I can do it. Obviously so can Ty.”

Yes, she thought. A very powerful thing. She looked down at Miguel, then her sister, but strangely, she felt no grief.

How could she not feel grief for the boy she’d once loved? For her sister, who’d meant everything to her. It was as if her heart had frozen over. Even hearing Pablo refer to the vampire she loved—
Ty
—felt strange. Distant. As if that love was still there, but encased by layers and layers of ice.

She shivered and shook with cold, and thought of how cold Ty had been when she’d first met him. Was that what was happening to her? Was her body temperature dropping as she lost her humanity?

She turned to Ty. “Miguel was going to kill me,” she said slowly. “I—told him to change me instead. He bit me. Am I—?”

“Pablo stopped him,” Ty said in a low voice. “But not quite in time. The process has already started. He says he can still stop it, though, Ana. He just needs you to tell him to do it.”

He said it with relief but no hint of envy. As if he were glad she could regain her humanity. But what had being human given her? Nothing. It had left her a victim to the whims of fate. Why shouldn’t she want to be something stronger? Something more powerful?

Her thoughts shamed her. Reminded her that Miguel
and Gloria had coveted that power, too. But even through her shame, she couldn’t deny she wanted something more than her humanity could give her. “Do you hate what I am now?” she asked him.