Turned (37 page)

Ty studied the unearthly scene in numbed silence. He saw more. An outline of a broken chain. A snakelike coil of surgical tubing. A scrawled word.
Ayudenos
.

Help us
.

Ty blinked as the light came on again. Ana stared back at him, her face pale, her features pinched.

“You were right,” she said. “About everything. You were right.”

“Princess,” he said, his heart aching for her. But as he stepped toward her, intent on folding her in his arms, she shook her head and stepped back. Whirling around, she ran from the room.

Ran from him.

Ty barely stopped himself from going after her. Give her time, he told himself. A few minutes to sort things out. Meanwhile, he searched the walls, something he cursed himself for not doing earlier. He found the secret compartment with the chute that propelled the bottled blood through the PVC pipes and to the loading bay. He was taking pictures with his smartphone when the wave of dizziness hit him and he blacked out.

Ty came to. For several moments, he didn’t know where he was. The last thing he remembered was Ana spraying that room with luminol. Seeing the results. Finding the chute.

He didn’t remember anything after that, but he felt
dizzy. Nauseous. Was he sick? Did vampires even get sick?

He was outdoors. Underneath some kind of tree, with moonlight shining through the branches.

Unable to comprehend the present, he cast his mind back to the recent past. What had he eaten? The fare at the compound didn’t vary.

At breakfast, he’d had the same thing he’d had the morning before, and the morning before that. Animal blood supplied by—

His eyes widened, but he couldn’t move any other part of his body. Had Miguel put something in the blood he’d given him? Had they been slipping him slow-acting poison a little at a time, so that he was only now feeling its full power?

Ty tried to sit up but he couldn’t.

“Hey.” A female voice broke through his racing thoughts. Ana’s sister. “Are you okay?” Gloria asked. “Do you want me to get Ana?”

She was taunting him in a malevolent voice far different than anything she’d used before now. “Oh wait. I can’t. She’s going to have her own shit to worry about soon. But tell me. What hurts? Because I really, really want to know.”

Nothing, he wanted to say. Everything. And it was true. Technically, he wasn’t in significant pain, but the knowledge that he
had
been poisoned, that Gloria had known about it, and that Ana was going to be defenseless without him, made him want to roar with agony.

He strained to move. Could feel his muscles tensing and the veins in his neck bulging. He tried mentally commanding her to let him go, hoping he could exercise some kind of mind control the way he had seemed to with Bobbie Hernandez.

None of it did him any good.

He was utterly paralyzed. His mind wasn’t working right.

He hadn’t felt this helpless since he’d learned his sister was dead. That had almost killed him. If anything happened to Ana—

God, Ana.

After fleeing that horrible room, Ana had immediately jumped into the shower, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, she couldn’t wash the stink of betrayal and despair off her.

Oh, God, those people. Those poor people, she thought.

She needed to get dressed. Needed to get back to Ty. Needed to get out of here—

Ana was drying off when she heard Ty moving around inside the room. He’s back, she thought. He came to check on me and I’m going to tell him. I’m going to tell him that despite the fact he was right, I don’t hate him. I’m not going to be a coward. Not this time.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she entered the bedroom. “Ty—”

She stopped abruptly as she saw the tall, dark-haired man standing in the bedroom. Fear washed over her.

“Miguel? What—what are you doing here?” When he didn’t answer, she dared to take a step closer. “Are you okay?”

Because he didn’t look okay. He looked ill.

As if he was going to puke at any moment.

“What’s wrong? You’re sick?”

Miguel shook his head and stared at her with glassy eyes. “I’m sorry, Ana. I—don’t want to do it. But we have our orders. Gloria was so close to changing her mind. So close.”

“What orders? What are you talking about?” She
clutched the towel tightly, afraid she might drop it. She couldn’t run away stark naked. And where was Ty? Where the hell was Ty?

“You and Ty being here—it’s a setup. A trap. You thought you could stop us, but it’s the other way around. We’re supposed to get rid of both of you.”

There it was. Miguel had just laid it out, plain and clear. And now he was going to make sure she couldn’t tell anyone.

She had to stall him.

“So everything we saw—the compound, the good you do—that’s all a lie?”

“No. Vampires can’t lie. But we can hide the full truth.”

Once again, she saw that luminol-stained room. She thought of the women and children she’d met. She thought of her foolish hopes of being reunited with her sister.

“The men who are supposed to be working in the fields? Where are they really?”

“They work the fields, just as we said. Some also provide human blood. A worthy service.”

“As blood slaves?”

“Slavery implies they had no choice. The men sacrificed themselves for the greater good. We’ve kept our part of the bargain. We’re providing a better life for their families. A better life than they could ever provide.”

A flicker in his expression caused her eyes to narrow. “That’s bullshit. Why do you do it, you and Gloria?”

He shrugged. “Why else? Money. Perks. Like being turned into a vampire. It comes with such amazing powers, Ana. You can’t know—”

“Oh, I know,” she said, backing away from him. She’d seen the vampire power firsthand when she’d seen Ty tearing into a man’s throat, but that had been self-defense,
not cold-blooded calculation and self-interest. “Where’s Gloria? Why isn’t she here? She’s my sister and she can’t even grant me the privilege of killing me herself? Because that’s what you meant by doing ‘it,’ right? You’re going to kill me?”

“Gloria is taking care of Ty, but I asked her to let me have you. I’ll make it fast. I’ll make it painless,
m’ija
.”

Miguel stepped toward her and she held out her hand in an instinctive attempt to ward him off.

With an anguished look on his face, he stopped. “Please,
m’ija
. Don’t fight me. It will only make things worse.”

“You can’t, Miguel. You can’t kill me.
Te quiero
. I loved you and I know you loved me.”

At first he looked confused, then angry. “Yeah? You left me, Ana. And you love Ty now, no matter what you say. You asked me to stay with your sister, to protect her, and you fell in love with someone else.”

“Did you put a hit out on Gloria?”

“Of course I did,” he shouted. “That’s how much I loved you. That’s how much I wanted to keep you with me. But you screwed it up. You saved her, the way you always saved her, with no thought for what it would cost you. And then you went to prison.”

Her mind was spinning. All she could think was she’d been too late. She’d realized she loved Ty too late. She hadn’t told him she loved him, his vampire side included. He was good. Kind. He’d taught her so much. Not just to fight, but to feel again. She didn’t want to stop feeling again. She wouldn’t. Not if there was a chance of him surviving.

She was going to do whatever she needed so that if he came looking for her, she’d still be alive when he found her.

“You wanted to keep me with you, Miguel. So do it now. Please.”

“What?” he asked, his expression stunned.

“Don’t kill me. Turn me instead. You know how it’s done, don’t you?”

She reminded herself that he couldn’t read her mind as her thoughts tumbled over each other.
Please know how it’s done, Miguel, please. But don’t pick up what I know—that by turning me, you’ll be sacrificing your own life
.

“Why—why would you want me to turn you?”

She forced herself to do it then. She walked up to him and kissed him. She kissed him the way she kissed Ty. As if she loved him. As if she’d die without him. And when she pulled back, she knew he’d felt exactly what she wanted him to feel. He looked dazed. Elated.

“So we can be together,” she urged. “Finally. The way I’ve always imagined.”

“What about Ty?”

“You’re totally wrong about him,” she forced herself to say. “I don’t love him, and I see now you don’t love Gloria. It was always us who were meant to be together. Just be with me, Miguel. Please.”

The last traces of hesitation left his expression. With a look of determination on his face, he came for her, fangs unsheathed.

She felt his fangs plunge into her throat. There was none of the pleasure that came with the act when Ty did it. This time it hurt. It hurt so much she screamed.

In her mind, she called for Ty. She told him to fight for his life. To fight for her.

To fight for their love.

And then, just before everything went dark, she saw something move behind Miguel.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT

Ty grunted and instinctively tried to reach out and grab
Gloria’s ankle, surprised when his fingers actually responded by curling infinitesimally. Not enough to actually grab hold of anything, but enough to tell him he wasn’t completely paralyzed anymore.

“How’s the moonlight feel, Ty? Good, yes? Enjoy it while you can. In a few hours, the sun will rise and the real show will begin.”

Ty was silent. He licked his cracked lips.

“Ohhh. I love it when you do that,” she taunted. “By the way, I saw your fingers move. Feeling coming back? Believe me, it won’t be enough to matter. Try turning your head toward me …”

He did as she said. It was like slogging through hardening cement. He didn’t know how long it took him to actually turn his head a couple of inches until he could see her, sitting beside him, but eventually it happened.

She waggled her fingers at him.

“Hi there. That took you about fifteen minutes, just so you know. Soon, Miguel will be finished with Ana and he’ll be able to join us.”

Inside, Ty screamed with rage. Was it true? Was Miguel killing Ana while Ty lay here helpless? He wouldn’t believe it. He
couldn’t
. Maybe Gloria thought her lover could actually murder her sister, but Ty knew
exactly what Miguel had done in an attempt to keep her with him seven years ago …

Only Gloria didn’t know Miguel had actually put a hit out on her back then. If he could just tell her, get her upset enough that she left him …

Maybe she’d attack and the two vampires would be locked in battle long enough to give Ana a chance at escaping.

It was a long shot.

Ty tried to form the words. Tried to speak.
The man you love tried to kill you so he could have Ana. You’ve always been second best to him
.

Nothing came out.

But Gloria saw him struggling to speak and laughed.

She came closer and cupped her palm over her ear, pretending to strain to hear him.

“What is it? Are you trying to beg for mercy? Go ahead. Beg.”

“Read … mind,” Ty breathed.

Her eyes narrowed. “No such luck,
mi amigo
. I’ve been trying to do that since you got here. Strange, since it’s something I’m quite good at.”

He gritted his teeth and tried to speak again. It took several tries before he got out, “Off … chain.”

“For God’s sake, I have no idea what you …” Her eyes widened and her gaze bounced to Ty’s throat. “Take off your chain? Your necklace? Is that why I haven’t been able to read your mind? Or Ana’s?”

Ty didn’t bother responding. Gloria chewed her lip. Finally, she crouched down and ripped the necklace off him. Ty immediately felt a tickling sensation in his brain. He saw the moment Gloria read his thoughts in the widening of her eyes.

“No, you’re lying. You’re lying. You’re. Lying!”

She’d started to scream. “Miguel loves me. I know he
loved Ana, but he said he always loved me, too. He wouldn’t have hurt me.”

She’d read the truth in Ty’s mind but still denied it.

“You’re wrong,” she said. “You’re wrong and I’m going to prove it. Then I’ll be back to see you burn and suffer, you son of a bitch.”

With that, she was gone.

He’s drinking too much.

One moment, Ana felt her life draining out of her and in the next, she sensed Miguel being ripped away. Something wet splattered on her face. Her torso. Instinctively, she knew it was blood. As she crumpled to the ground, she heard muted screams. She tuned them out, struggling to breathe and get her pounding heart under control.

In the next instant, a shadow hovered over her. A face and form came in and out of focus, one she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Ty, she thought sadly. Even though someone or something had just killed Miguel, she was still going to die, and she was going to die without seeing Ty again or telling him that she loved him.

“Ty …”

Her savior pulled her into a sitting position, propping her up against the wall. He caressed her face. “You’re hurt and bleeding, but your sister has him,
m’ija
. I must go if I’m going to save him. I’ll bring him to you. You wait here. Just wait.”

Instinctively, she tried to reach out and stop him from leaving. She wanted him to get Ty, just as he said he would, but she was cold, so cold, and she knew the specter of death was near. She didn’t want to die alone. It didn’t seem right. Didn’t seem fair.

Once he disappeared, however, she began to think maybe she wasn’t going to die after all. Her throat
burned where Miguel had bitten her but the pain was easing somewhat. The more she blinked, the more her vision cleared. She could make out distinct shapes now. Colors.

A few more blinks and she saw Miguel, lying on the floor in front of her.

His blood pooled around his body from a mortal wound to the chest.

A knife, she thought. It had to have been dipped in liquid nitrogen. Whoever had saved her had known how to kill a turned vampire, per the instructions of the Vampire Queen.