Turned
Authors: Virna Depaul
EARLY PRAISE
FOR THE BELLADONNA AGENCY SERIES
“If you’re looking for a hot, sexy, emotional read, Virna DePaul delivers!”
—J. K
ENNER
,
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of
Release Me
“Virna DePaul creates yummy alpha heroes, relatable heroines, and supercharged emotional plots. Run, don’t walk, to snatch up one of her stories.”
—New York Times
bestselling author T
INA
F
OLSOM
“A captivating start to a fascinating new series with a hero who’s to die for!”
—Nationally bestselling author R
HYANNON
B
YRD
“
Turned
is intense, intricate, and insomnia-inducing (plan to stay up way too late!). Virna DePaul puts the awesome in the awesomesauce of paranormal romance.”
—Joyce Lamb, curator,
USA Today’s Happy Ever After
“The chemistry between the two was great and made for some very sexy scenes.”
—Fresh Fiction
“This book has everything you could want and so,
so
much more!”
—Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
“
Turned
is an intriguing story with flawed characters who I connected with immediately. Fans of paranormal romance rejoice, here’s a compelling new series to sink your teeth into.”
—Harlequin Junkie
PRAISE FOR VIRNA DEPAUL
“Seducer and protector—this vampire has it all.”
—Fresh Fiction
, on
A Vampire’s Salvation
“Virna DePaul is amazing!”
—New York Times
bestselling author L
ORI
F
OSTER
“Incredibly well written, different, and hot.”
—New York Times
bestselling author L
ARISSA
I
ONE
“A gripping tale! DePaul creates the perfect blend of danger, intrigue, and romance. You won’t be able to put this book down!”
—New York Times
bestseller B
RENDA
N
OVAK
“If you have not yet started this [Para-Ops] series … you are really missing out.”
—The Book Reading Gals
“This is my first book by Virna DePaul and it will definitely not be my last.
Deadly Charade
is a suspenseful story full of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.”
—Fresh Fiction
, on
Deadly Charade
“Intense, emotionally charged, and thrilling.”
—Fresh Fiction
, on
Shades of Desire
“DePaul’s romantic suspense has shades of a thriller inside the pages, with damaged characters, love scenes that make the pages almost too hot to handle and hair-raising villains.”
—RT Book Reviews
, on
Shades of Desire
“Plenty of chemistry between the leads—along with edge-of-your-seat suspense—will keep you riveted.”
—RT Book Reviews
, on
Shades of Passion
“DePaul offers up an intriguing world rife with moral dilemmas and mistrust.”
—Publishers Weekly
, on
Chosen by Blood
“Seriously sensual! The sexual tension leaps off the page. DePaul has made a name for herself with paranormal fans who aren’t shy when it comes to titillating dialogue and interaction.”
—RT Book Reviews
, on
Chosen by Blood
Turned
is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A Bantam Books eBook Edition
Copyright © 2014 by Virna DePaul
Excerpt from
Awakened
by Virna DePaul copyright © 2014 by Virna DePaul
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
BANTAM BOOKS and the HOUSE colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book
Awakened
by Virna DePaul. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.
ISBN 978-0-345-54245-8
eBook ISBN 978-0-345-54246-5
Cover design: Lynn Andreozzi
Cover photograph © Claudio Marinesco
Bantam Books mass market edition: April 2014
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Part 1: The Job Offer
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Part 2: The Team
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Part 3: The Mission
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Other Books by This Author
Excerpt from
Awakened
PROLOGUE
He woke to the ugly whine of a power tool
.
Bright lights and shadowy figures hovered above him. His body seemed paralyzed. His mind numb. Caught in that ethereal place between dream and reality
.
Still, there was the faintest feeling of unease
.
Mental pictures of being with three others—his sister Naomi, Peter Lancaster, and Ben Porter. They’d been on their way to see a movie after work and had been stopped by a group of men. Men who’d turned on them
.
Bit them
.
Killed them …
The sound of the power tool—was it a saw?—grew louder. Sinister
.
A scream echoed in the distance, followed by broken pleas for mercy
.
So he wasn’t dreaming but rather having a nightmare
.
No matter. He’d lived with plenty of those, too. It would end soon, though he had to admit—this one seemed particularly brutal
.
“He’s coming to,” a distant voice murmured, but Ty’s vision remained blurred. “Should we keep going?”
Another voice answered, but it was muffled. Unclear. Even though Ty couldn’t decipher the words spoken, he heard the authority behind them
.
Then it happened …
Numbness fled. He felt again
.
He
hurt.
More than he’d ever thought possible
.
Was he sick? Had he been in an accident? Was that why he kept imagining Naomi screaming and covered in blood? Not just her blood, but his, too
.
That must be it, he thought desperately
.
He was in the hospital, maybe even in an operating room. They thought they’d given him enough to put him under, but they hadn’t. Given how heavily he slept, it was ironic that it took a boatload of drugs to put him out for any length of time; he’d woken up during medical procedures too many times to count
.
Pain radiated throughout his body. He was made of agony—excruciating, white-hot misery. It wasn’t just his hollow stomach and aching gums and parched throat. His bones were wickedly sharp knives piercing his organs and sawing through his skin. And just when he thought the pain had reached its peak, someone—or something—poked him or cut him or ripped at him, proving he was wrong and making him scream even as he prayed for death
.
Help me, he thought. They don’t know I’m awake but I am. Can’t they see my eyes are open? Can’t they hear my screams?
But as more and more time passed, he realized they could hear his screams. And they didn’t care
.
He wasn’t dreaming
.
He wasn’t in a hospital being operated on
.
He was a prisoner. And saving him was the last thing his captors were interested in
.
So, unfortunately, was killing him
.
Special Agent Ty Duncan’s eyes flew open just as a shrill ringing pierced his eardrums. Blinking wildly, he took
several seconds to realize the sound wasn’t coming from a surgical saw. Nor was it the pitiful screeches of men and women in agonizing pain. It was his phone.
His
fucking
phone.
But the nightmare—no, the
memories
of his captivity—had left him trembling and sweating, gasping for air, barely able to move. His heart slammed against his chest so hard he felt bruised and his stomach roiled with nausea.
It was as if his caller knew what he was going through because the phone just kept ringing.
Ring. Ring. Ring
.
When Ty could finally breathe and move again, he picked up his cell. “I’m here.”
“Surveillance is a go,” his new boss, Carly, stated. “We’ve set you up next door with all the equipment you’ll need. You fly to Seattle tonight. You ready?”