Turned (30 page)

She pursed her glistening lips for a fraction of a second. Fascinated, Mahone stared at her.
Do that again, honey
.

She didn’t.

“And maybe the reason I refused is because any information I give will only highlight what a threat we would be.
If
we were so inclined. We’re not, but despite the fact I’ve assured your people of that time and again, you don’t believe me. There’s nothing I can do to change that.”

“You’re wrong,” he said, obviously surprising her. He got the distinct feeling she didn’t hear those words very often.

She sat down on the chaise next to him, crossed her legs under the gown she wore—that, at least, resembled
something a queen would wear—and said, “Tell me more.”

“You tell us the truth about your powers and we devise ways to reassure humans about them.” He cleared his throat, unsure if he could actually say the words out loud, but he had to. It was the only way FBI Director Hallifax would even consider negotiating with this female.

The queen obviously sensed his discomfort and narrowed her eyes. “Continue.”

“Right now, part of the problem is the fact your people
are
hidden. We have no way to police you. What if vampires agree to wear some kind of emblem or monitoring equipment—”

She pushed to her feet, her sudden anger all too apparent. “Like a scarlet A? Or ankle bracelets? We are not in-home-custody defendants. My people are a sovereign nation.”

“A sovereign nation existing within another sovereign nation,” he pointed out.

“Don’t waste my time, Mr. Mahone.”

With that, she strode toward the door, obviously ready to end their meeting when it had barely begun. No wonder. He’d known she’d never go for such things. But he’d tried. And now he’d try again. His way.

“Wait. Please. You must realize the position I’m in. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

She paused with her hand on the doorknob, then turned back toward him. “I know. But that won’t be accomplished by treating my people like pariahs or criminals or victims. We’ll fight before we’ll allow that to happen, and you can take that to the bank, Mr. Mahone.”

Mahone wondered for a second if the vampire community had its own kind of money.
One nation, under blood—

He realized she was staring at him.

“Sorry. Zoned out for a sec. Hey, how about helping me help you?”

“I beg your pardon?” Her tone was elegantly frosty.

What a voice. He felt hotter.

“Help me bring down the Rogues. The longer they run amok, the more havoc they create. Which will lead to more and more problems between your people and mine.”

Queen Bianca took a step toward him. Just one.

“You’re asking me to help you silence Rogues so that … what? The FBI can find others to turn humans in opposition to our laws?”

“Strengthening the Turning Program by eliminating the Rogues is definitely what the FBI wants. It’s why I wanted them captured initially. But I know now it’s much more than that. Avoiding or ignoring you will only postpone the inevitable. The day is coming when our nations either turn against one another or unite. I think we should get a head start on our unification—by working together to defeat our common enemy.”

“Just to be clear. You want information that will enable you to easily defeat the Rogues.”

“Yeah.”

“But that would mean sharing vampire secrets that will place those loyal to me in peril if humans are informed.”

She was considering what he was asking, but she was far from convinced. Mahone thought about Belladonna, and the news he’d just received that Salvation’s Crossing had invited both Ty and Ana inside its walls.

He’d okayed the trip. So had Carly.

Mahone pondered the issue of his loyalty to the FBI and its mission to use the vampires to its best advantage versus his duty to humans in general, which included keeping peace with vampires so no one got unnecessarily
hurt. He thought about the very real possibility that if the FBI continued to do what it was doing, vampires would fight back in a big way. And he thought about this female, who would no doubt lead the vampires in their fight against humans, and the way he still wanted to fuck her.

Before he knew what he was going to do, he said, “I need your help, but I know I’m asking a lot of you. You have to trust me, when you have no real reason to. So I’m giving you permission to read my mind and find out exactly what I’m thinking and planning. And you’ll see that I sincerely do want to help my people—and yours.”

She gasped again. Okay, so he’d shocked her. But he could see he’d also impressed her.

“Don’t make an offer you don’t want me to take you up on, Mr. Mahone. Because, frankly, the only way you’ll get help from me is if I do read your mind, and if I like what I find there.”

“Do it,” he said, his voice loud. Challenging.

And before he could even blink, she did.

He felt her probing his thoughts. Gently but thoroughly.

The unusual sensation should have horrified him, but it didn’t.

Somehow it brought him great pleasure instead.

CHAPTER
THIRTY

Two days after Ty had decreed Ana was staying put, it
became glaringly apparent he was going to be outvoted. He pointed a finger at her, ignoring the rest of the Belladonna team seated in their preferred spots around the library. The room was uncomfortably warm and not only because the late afternoon sun streamed in through mullioned windows. The air was thick with tension.

“I told you,” Ty said in a low voice, “you’re not coming with me.”

“Not your decision.” Carly’s voice shot from the intercom before Ana could speak. “She has to accompany you tomorrow, Ty. You know perfectly well the only reason you got an invite to Salvation’s Crossing is because of Ana. Miguel is in love with her. That fact should tell you she isn’t in that much danger.”

“It’s still danger,” Ty gritted out. “I can do this by myself.”

“We all take risks, Ty. Ana didn’t sign up for a desk job. And you don’t get to grab all the glory,” Peter said. “Unless that was your plan all along.”

Ty whirled on him. “Keep the hell out of this!”

Peter’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. “Like that’s going to happen. We’re a team, man. That means I get to call bullshit when I see it.”

Ty strode toward Peter and got in his face. “I’m in this
fucking mess because of you. At least let me handle it the way I need to.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Peter snapped.

“You and Carly knew about vampires. You supported the FBI’s Turning Program, and what’s worse, FBI collaboration with Rogues,
vampire criminals
—and you kept the rest of us in the dark.”

The other man was silent but visibly nervous.

“You continued to be my friend, continued to date my sister, knowing what kind of shit you were mixed up with. And when the inevitable happened, and the Rogues turned on you, we got caught in the crossfire. You caused that. You and Carly. You fucked up my life just like you’re about to fuck up their lives.”

He swept out his arm in a wave that encompassed Ana, Collette, Barrett, and Justine, then stopped to catch his breath.

The ex-cop shook her head and began to rise from her armchair. “Ty, listen—”

He held up his hand and gestured her to back down. “I know I don’t speak for all of you.”

“Damn right,” Ana muttered.

Ty shot her a glare. “Keeping you out of trouble may be too much work.”

She caught Barrett’s steady gaze. The blond woman shook her head ever so slightly as if to say
don’t argue
.

Ty looked around the room at his silent colleagues. “Well. Awfully quiet in here.”

No one said anything.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming in,” he said acidly. “And thanks for listening. Please sign the guest book on your way out and exit to the left. Jesus. Why should I kill myself for any of you?”

“Don’t make idle threats.” Carly’s voice held a note of irritation.

“At this point, it’s not a threat. It’s my plan B. Save the world and drop dead.”

The rawness in his tone got everyone’s attention.

“All right. Enough,” Peter said. “You blame us—well, Carly and me—and not without some justification. But turning this assignment into a suicide mission for reasons you seem disinclined to explain—”

Ty’s dark eyes flashed with fury. He didn’t look at Ana.

“You may be burned out. Or suffering from PTSD.”

Barrett spoke up before the intercom could crackle. “That’s enough, Peter. You’re not his psychiatrist.”

He turned to Ty without responding to her. “If you’ve been seeking a way to kill yourself, then get help.”

“Good advice,” Ty said. “But fuck it. And fuck you. Why is it that you don’t seem to be suffering?”

Peter finally cracked. “I never meant for it to happen, Ty. If I could, I’d give my life to bring Naomi back.”

Seeing the other man’s agony, Ty’s bluster left him as if it had never been. Control was an illusion. None of them had it. Some things they simply didn’t have the power to fight. He couldn’t stop Ana from doing exactly what she’d been trained to do. Trying to was making him crazy. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

All he could think was that she wasn’t his.

And she never would be.

He had other things to think about at the moment. Ty reached out a hand and placed it on Peter’s shoulder. “I know that. Sorry. Guess I lost it.”

Peter muttered assent.

Ty turned, surprised by Ana’s lifted gaze. Her brown eyes seemed brighter than usual.

“You win,” he said with finality. “If you want to go in, I’ll do my best to protect you. Just be sure, Ana. Be very sure.”

With that, he walked out of the room.

*   *   *

After Ty left, none of them spoke. Finally, Carly asked, “Do you need time to think about your decision?”

Ana stared at the intercom for a minute, then let her gaze wander around the room. She still didn’t really know the people who were supposed to be her team, though they were connected in a way that couldn’t be denied. Their training, individual and group, had made that happen.

Everyone who’d heard Ty had to have identified with his rage. That shit came from helplessness. Where he was concerned, she knew it was more than that. She knew it had to be.

“I’m going into Salvation’s Crossing with Ty,” Ana said firmly. “But first, I want you to tell us the full truth, Carly.”

Carly let out an exasperated sigh. “You know about vampires and the FBI’s Turning Program, Ana. What do you think I’m keeping from you?”

“Why us? Why did you bring in the four of us to help? Because I know there’s something that ties us together. My sister was turned into a vampire after she got involved with Devil’s Crew, the same gang that tried to kill her at my jumping-out ceremony. It all goes back to then. Seven years ago and that shootout. Doesn’t it?”

They all stared at the intercom, even Peter, which told Ana that even he was curious about what Carly was going to say.

“I’ll do more than go into Salvation’s Crossing,” Ana said. “I’ll get you the information you need, no matter what I find out. Even if you’re right, even if Miguel and Gloria are involved in what you’re saying, I’ll do my part. But first I have to know the truth.”

A minute ticked by.

Then finally, Carly spoke.

“You weren’t the only one affected by that gang shootout, Ana. You all were.”

Ana’s brows knitted. “I don’t understand.”

Justine raised her hand. “Seriously. You’re not the only one.”

“What are you talking about—” Barrett said.

“Just hold on a second. Let me back up for a moment,” Carly said.

A stern look from Collette got them to chill. The women quieted and let Carly continue.

“You asked to be jumped out of the gang, Ana, but they didn’t want to let you go, correct?”

“So what? That wasn’t unusual. They considered me family. And Miguel wanted to keep me safe. He thought the best way to do that was with the gang. But after I told him I was resolved, that leaving the gang was the best thing for Gloria, he relented. He made sure the jumping-out ceremony was scheduled.”

“It’s an ugly ritual. For the rest of you, let me explain: she got beaten twice—once for herself and once for Gloria.”

Ana shifted uncomfortably when she felt the eyes of her teammates on her. “That’s right.”

“But Miguel insisted that Gloria be there. To see what you were willing to suffer for her. And the beating had already started when gang members from Devil’s Crew broke in. Had you seen them before?”

“Yes. Especially the one named Pablo. He’s the one who gave me this scar. He and several others came in shooting. Someone next to me dropped his gun. I had a split second to act, and I chose to shoot Gloria myself, in the shoulder, so she’d fall to the ground.”

“You mean gangbangers wouldn’t shoot someone who’s down?”

Ana answered Barrett’s question. “Depends. Sometimes
they don’t. But she had a greater chance of survival if she was down rather than standing up.”

More shots had been fired after that. She still remembered the screams. People ducking for cover. Blood. She’d lost track of time and space and what was real and what wasn’t. Her last clear memory was cradling Gloria’s blood-soaked body in her arms, rocking her sister, begging her to live.

Miguel had stood protectively over them.

Then they’d heard the sirens.

Helmeted cops burst in, wearing bulletproof vests, heavy weapons cocked and blazing. A deafening fire-fight broke out and she’d been arrested. She’d fought them at first, panicked about who would care for Gloria, but Miguel screamed that he would watch out for her. The memory was painful.

“What are you getting at, Carly? Because I know for a fact none of you were there,” she said to the other women in the room.

Barrett spoke again, jolting Ana out of her memories. “I was in New York seven years ago, but I wasn’t anywhere near a gang shooting. You’ve been misinformed, Carly.”

“I agree.” Justine came to standing, one hand firmly on her hip, the other clutching a glass of wine she must have sneaked into the room. “I happened to be in New York around then, too. As a rule, I’d have to call myself a not-so-innocent bystander, but nothing like that happened to me. I’m sure I would’ve remembered.”