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The strange voice didn’t come again, but neither did sleep.

Wide awake, Ty turned his head on the pillow and stared at the roses. Their scent filled the air. The petals of the heavy blossoms were wet.

And they looked like they were dripping blood.

Dark red blood.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

“Show us again!” A little girl named Elsa tugged at Ana’s
sleeve. Sitting on a grassy hill overlooking the compound, Ana was surrounded by six preteen and young teenage girls, each wanting to learn how to play Slide. When Gloria had suggested she take over after-school activities to give their teacher a break, Ana had expressed reluctance. Who was she to serve as a role model? After all, as much as she’d worked to protect Gloria, she’d led her own sister to a gang.

But Gloria had insisted, claiming the girls needed to see a strong Hispanic woman as a leader. Two teachers were in charge of the children. One was Ramona, whom Ana had finally met. She was the main teacher to the older girls, which had been perfect. Ana had already conversed with her several times. During those conversations, Ramona had made it clear she had escaped a bad marriage. That her husband had indeed abused her and their daughter, Becky, a beautiful sixteen-year-old who was very shy. Ana had told them she understood abuse, and that if they ever needed anything, she’d be happy to help. They’d just smiled and told her they were well taken care of. They were happy.

Now here Ana was, sitting on a hilltop, teaching young girls from countries as far away as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico, part of American culture. So far, she’d taught them One Potato Two Potato, Rock-Paper-Scissors,
and Miss Mary Mack. She found herself enjoying the lessons just as much as the girls were.

“Bueno,”
Ana said, encouraging Elsa and her friend Marcia as they slapped the back of their hands together, then the fronts.

Elsa flashed her a grin. “Speak in English, please, Miss Garcia. We want to practice. And you’re such a good teacher.”

Elsa’s comment almost made Ana flinch. These girls were innocent. They had no idea that Ana was here under false pretenses. They didn’t have to worry about such concerns, which was good. Gloria had created a place where they could be safe. Free. Granted, her sister had admitted that she was helping the FBI turn humans into vampires, and some would argue that was unnatural, but since all the humans were volunteers, she wasn’t doing anything illegal or immoral, any more than the FBI was. She wasn’t one of the Rogues Ty was looking for, going behind the FBI’s back and preying on the innocent or selling humans as blood slaves. No, there was absolutely no proof of that.

In the three days Ana and Ty had spent at the compound, the only thing they’d observed was an idyllic life. The mothers and the children Ana had been fortunate enough to meet all were grateful for the help Salvation’s Crossing had given them. Grateful for the work provided to their menfolk.

Still, that the husbands and fathers had to stay away for an entire growing season made Ana’s heart ache. She’d never trusted men much—the horrific choices her mother had made in men had set her on a path of distrust. That Gloria’s own grandfather—her flesh and blood—had sexually molested Gloria for so long had solidified her distrust. Oddly enough, Miguel had been the only male she’d trusted. Maybe because even though he’d led her to Primos Sangre, he’d done so with good
intent. To protect her. And although she trusted Ty completely, he had an undeniable agenda, and was blind to the possibility that her sister and Miguel could be innocent.

She played with the girls for another half hour before they got bored and ran off. As they did, movement on the path up the hill caught her attention. Miguel. She smiled, though she felt herself tensing slightly. She was open to believing in his innocence, but she wasn’t a fool, either. The longer they stayed here, the more she saw what Ty had—the way Miguel looked at her. With love. And sometimes with desire.

“Playing pat-a-cake?” he asked when he made it to the top of the hill.

“Something like that,” she answered, forcing herself to grin and pat the ground beside her. He sat, stuck his legs out in front of him, and leaned on his hands behind his back. Close enough so their shoulders could touch. She tensed, unsure whether he’d touched her deliberately or not.

After making love to Ty the other night, the two of them had not touched except for a few displays of kisses and hand-holding. Even so, no matter how much she told herself it was impossible, she kept fantasizing about a future with him, one in which they didn’t just fuck or work together, but gave each other everything.

Peace.

Happiness.

“You’re good with them,” Miguel said, nodding toward the chattering girls.

Ana blinked and refocused on the present rather than on her thoughts of Ty. “They’re good kids, that’s all.”

“Be honest with yourself,
chica
. They like you for a reason. Don’t sell yourself short. You always did before.”

“Gracias, mi hermano.”

A flicker of movement appeared near the corner of his eye, then he smiled, but didn’t look at her. “Is that what I am to you now? Your brother?”

“My sister loves you,” she said carefully.

“Not as much as her cause,” he bit out in response.

How could he possibly think he was second fiddle? Ana had seen the way Gloria looked at Miguel when she thought he couldn’t see. The look of a woman completely in love.

“I’ve tried to talk to Gloria about what happened to her after I went to prison. She avoids the subject. I don’t want to dig into her private business, but do you know what happened to her? After the shooting?” she asked.

“I never left her side, Ana. I took care of her, just as I promised you I would. We returned to the gang, but it wasn’t long before Devil’s Crew came to us. Shoved their way in, really. But not with disrespect. Just talked to the members about how bad our people were being treated. Gave legal options for how to get our families out of dangerous countries. Worked with us to find scholarships for our kids. Mostly, they talked to the women. The
cholos
at first ignored the representatives, thinking anything different was a threat. But the women—the mothers, the daughters—” Miguel cut himself off, his voice going thick with emotion. “The women knew how bad things were. How there was no hope. Salvation’s Crossing offered hope. Some, like Gloria, listened. Some men, like me, listened to their women. Went against machismo.”

“So you and Gloria were together by the time Salvation’s Crossing came to Primos Sangre.”

He looked at her sharply. “You were in prison …”

She patted his knee, automatically wanting to reassure him. But then she reconsidered … and kept her hand on his knee. If Miguel really did desire her, then perhaps avoiding him was taking the easy way out. She’d told Ty
she’d do whatever the mission required, so what she should be doing was capitalizing on any feelings Miguel had for her.

“I don’t mind that you’re with Gloria, really. I want both of you happy. Always have, always will. But I must admit … seeing you now … I wish …”

A shadow crossed Miguel’s face. “What do you wish?”

“I wish things could have been different for us. For all of us.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t you happy with Ty?”

She didn’t have to fake her uncertainty as she looked away.

“Ana?”

She smiled as she turned back to him. Nodded. “Of course. Ty saved me.”

“You love him?” Miguel asked.

Pain hit her midsection—tight and sharp. Love? There was that word again.

She did love him, but …

Love couldn’t enter the equation. And thankfully, though she couldn’t lie to herself about loving Ty, she could lie to Miguel—to see how he’d react. “No. I don’t love Ty. Not the way I should. But I like him enough.”

He looked away, but not before she saw a hint of a smile on his face. Another ripple of unease climbed up her spine.

“Is he good to you?” he asked.

“What does it matter?”

His head snapped around and anger flashed in his eyes, causing her to gasp. “It matters. Believe me, it matters. A man should worship you. Kiss the earth beneath your feet. Swear his fealty to you. End his life for you.”

She stared at him in shock for a moment. The way he was talking, the intensity of his response, it was all consistent
with a man who’d loved her so much he’d been doing whatever it took to keep her. Even kill her sister.

But what was she going to do? Ask him straight out if it was true?

Miguel stood abruptly. “I need to go now. The sun …”

Ana nodded and waved him off. “Yes. Go. I don’t want you to get hurt. Besides, I’m supposed to meet Ty for a horseback ride soon.”

He raised his brows. “That’s right. He told me he wanted to check out our current irrigation system. But you? On a horse? I’d like to see that.”

She crinkled her nose at him. “Well you can’t. You’ve been in the sun too long, remember?” she said playfully.

He frowned, then nodded. “We’ll talk later. But know this, Ana. I never forgot about you. I never stopped missing you. If you ever need anything, if Ty doesn’t treat you right, you can always come to me.”

“Thank you,” she said finally, not knowing what else to say.

When he was gone, she got up and saw movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Becky Montes. How long had she been there? And why hadn’t she announced herself?

The girl smiled and waved. “Hi, Ana.”

“Did you want to talk to me about something, Becky?”

“No.” She held up a ball. “I let it get past me.”

“Becky! Come on!” a voice called. Three of the other girls waited down the hill.

Becky waved. “See you later, Ana.”

“See you later,” Ana said softly, then made her way toward the stables so she could meet Ty. During their stay he’d periodically disappeared to scour the property for anything suspicious. So far, he’d found nothing and she could tell his frustration was growing in proportion
to her relief. Even so, as she walked Ana couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Miguel. She went over everything he’d said and weighed it against everything she’d seen thus far. She tried to be objective and fair.

Nothing had changed. There was still no proof that Miguel or Gloria were involved in illegal activity or that anyone’s human rights were being violated. Based on what Ramona Montes had told her, her husband was a complete liar.

However, she was another step closer to believing that Miguel wasn’t the man she’d thought him to be. She’d never allowed herself to think of their one time together, the day he’d jumped her into the gang, as rape, but now that she was older … Now that Ty had classified it as rape … Well, that’s technically what it had been, right? Statutory rape. Someone older taking advantage of someone younger, even if there had technically been consent. And if she could have been so wrong about him, wasn’t it possible that maybe, just maybe, she could be wrong about her sister, too?

At the stables, Ty helped Ana mount a chestnut quarter horse before swinging up on his own palomino.

“They know their way home. Don’t worry about getting lost,” the stable hand said, about to retreat into the huge aluminum-sided barn. The stables were recently built and held multiple stalls, but there were only two horses besides his and Ana’s. Why? To make it harder for anyone to leave?

“Thanks. I won’t.” Ty turned to look around at Ana, who lifted her head and gave him a nod.

Ty guided his horse out of the paddock, hearing the metallic clang of the gate closing once Ana had passed through, too.

Silently, he turned the palomino toward a path on the edge of the fields. Before them, the golden land was drenched in the long rays of the setting sun. The compound was many miles from the nearest town, nestled into a valley between hills that weren’t as low as they looked. There was no view of anything else. Salvation’s Crossing was a world apart.

Ana had balked at the suggestion of an evening ride, since she’d never ridden Western before and didn’t know the first thing about neck reining. He’d raised his eyebrow at her and finally she’d understood: the twilight horseback ride was a chance for Ty to explore more of the land, but it would also serve as a cover so they could talk.

Soon into their ride, Ty spotted an aboveground valve for the irrigation system and rode toward it, with Ana some distance behind, going more slowly as she and her horse got used to each other.

She caught up with him by the time he’d dismounted. Ty was kneeling on the ground, using a fence slat to dig down.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked.

“Checking the system. That’s the reason I gave for being out here.” The slat hit metal. “Sounds like a pipe to me.” Ty scraped at the ground and revealed a section of heavy, curved gray metal. “And it looks like a pipe.”

“So you’re an irrigation expert, too?”

Ty grinned and sat back on his haunches. “I do my homework.”

Ana rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

“I think Miguel’s trying to scam me. My guess would be that the system works fine. You can hear the water gurgling.” He dug a somewhat wider hole. “Now what is that doing there?” A section of white plastic pipe ran parallel to the metal one.

Ana dismounted by the fence and tied up her horse next to the palomino.

“Don’t ask me,” she said. “I’m from the Bronx. Water comes from water towers.”

He looked at her blankly. “Those barrel things on top of the buildings?”

“That’s right. And I have no idea how it gets up there.”

Ty dug some more. He pressed his hand to the white plastic pipe. “There’s no water in this one.”

Ana glanced at the ground he’d opened up, her hands in the pockets of her jeans-clad hips. “Maybe there’s something wrong with the irrigation system after all,” she said. Then she looked up at the sunset sky, rocking back on her boot heels. “Let me know when you’re done, Sherlock.”

Ty stood and kicked the dirt back over the two pipes. “Let’s keep riding while there’s still light. I want to see where these pipes end up.”