“She took that better than I expected,” Carly said over the intercom.
Ty cursed. “Life’s always thrown her shit. Maybe she’s simply used to it. Little does she know the worst is yet to come.”
“You sound upset by that fact.”
“Of course I’m upset,” Ty gritted out. “She doesn’t deserve this. None of it. Least of all the games we’re playing with her.”
“Whether she deserves it or not, we can’t just blurt out what’s really going on here. We decided the best strategy was to get the women here, assess their talents, and evaluate what they’re willing to do—all before we drop the mother of all bombs—that you and Peter are vampires and, oh yes, by the way, will you help us prove Salvation’s Crossing is turning humans into vampires and trafficking in human blood slaves?”
Pacing, Ty swept his hands through his hair. “You don’t have to remind me why we’re doing what we’re doing, Carly.”
“No? Because it certainly sounds like you need to be reminded. It sounds, God forbid, like you’re getting soft.”
“Soft? You think? I almost bled a homeless man dry; the fact that I left him alive didn’t matter. He still died because of me. Believe me, I’m not going soft.”
She hesitated for a moment, but when she spoke, her voice was gentler. “You fucked up, Ty. You caught the attention of two vampires and one was able to read your mind. Bad luck for us, but as far as the homeless man is concerned? You didn’t kill him. They did.”
“He was killed because of me. Same difference.” He closed his eyes. “Just like you think Ben was killed because of me. Because he was trying to help Peter and me escape the Rogues. You do think that, right? And if that’s the case, then I’m just as much responsible for the homeless man’s death as I am for Ben’s.”
This time Carly’s lapse into silence was longer. He pictured her stricken face—a sickly white, her features pinched, grief and anger flashing in her eyes because of the way Ty had mentioned Ben, a man who had been Carly’s lover. But when she spoke, her voice was measured and controlled. “We don’t know if Ben’s dead. Even if he is, I wouldn’t blame you for that, Ty. He was trying to escape, too, remember? He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like you and Peter. Just like that homeless man. But I’m not going to argue with you. Right now, we need to focus. Ana knows enough. She knows we need her to get into Salvation’s Crossing. She knows about Ramona and Becky Montes. She’ll learn the rest later.”
“Right. The rest. Like the fact that the Rogues turned humans into vampires for the FBI? And that even though the FBI wants those Rogues dead now, it also wants to find a way to continue the Turning Program? God, everyone wants a part of the immortal pie. But what they can’t know is that it sucks. It sucks being a vampire!” he roared as he swept a table free of books.
The silence in the room was deafening. Then Carly laughed. Not one of the mocking, arrogant laughs that he hated, but a genuine, I’m-trying-to-stifle-it-but-I-can’t laugh.
And to his shock, after hearing his own words echo around him, Ty laughed, too.
“Fuck,” he said when he could finally catch his breath. “I can’t believe I actually said that.”
“Screamed it at the top of your lungs, more like it. Let’s hope Ana didn’t hear you. Or maybe that was the point. You’ve never liked deception, not when it comes to someone you consider an ally. If that’s going to be a problem … if you feel it’s imperative that you tell Ana about vampires now … then maybe you should. She’s going to learn it soon, after all, and—”
“No,” Ty said tiredly. “You’re right. It’s too much to spring on her at once. We need her invested in Belladonna first. Committed to doing whatever it takes to find her sister. Only then can we tell her.”
“You’re that sure she’ll fall into line? Because proving that she’s committed to doing whatever it takes? That’s not going to be easy.”
“We need her,” Ty said.
“We need her in control,” Carly corrected. “But I suppose if anyone can tame her, you can. You’ve had to work to control your wild side, too. As a human and a vampire. Your tirade a few minutes ago aside, Ty, I want you to know I have confidence in you. You’ll be able to get her where she needs to go. So what now?”
“Now, we test her. Train her. And hope that in two weeks, she’ll be ready to attend that fund-raiser with me and, more important, get us inside Salvation’s Crossing.”
Twenty minutes later, Ty knocked on Ana’s door then entered without waiting for her to give him permission.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, arms folded over her chest, glaring at him.
She probably hated him right about now, assuming she hadn’t already felt that way before. He couldn’t blame her, but he couldn’t afford to go easy on her, either.
“Have you made a decision?” Ty asked Ana.
“About whether I’m going to join Belladonna or whether I’m willing to fuck Miguel in the process?” she snorted. “I don’t have a choice.”
“We all have choices. And I never said you have to actually fuck him.”
She shot him a look of disbelief and he scowled darkly. “I’m not saying it’s not a possibility, but do you think I want that? After the way I kissed you? The way you almost kissed me back?”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t—” she whispered.
He leaned down, getting right in her face. “You’re attracted to me. Just as attracted as I am to you. And believe it or not, I’m not dragging you into this situation for fun, Ana, but because something very important needs doing. We’re giving you options. You have a choice whether to be involved in all this. And you’ll obviously have a choice if and when it comes to … that. Doesn’t mean you’ll like it and it doesn’t mean I will, either. Never think that. Never think that anything I ask of you, I ask lightly.”
Her eyes were even wider now and she looked away. “I obviously have a history of making the wrong choices. I’ve been trying to change that. I thought—I thought I was going to be able to rewrite my past, but …” She shrugged. “I can’t change my past. Not until I can be certain Gloria has moved past it herself.”
He straightened, giving her breathing room so she’d look at him again. “That’s why you want to find your sister so badly? So you can write her off as happy and healthy, and in doing so, write off your past? Or how did you put it—rewrite your past?” So he’d been right about her tendency toward denial; he just hadn’t realized she was conscious of it, as well. “No one can rewrite the past, Ana. We have to face it. Accept it. Move on.”
At his words, his conscience tingled.
Was he being a hypocrite, telling her that? No, he reassured himself. He wasn’t denying he was a vampire. He just accepted the fact that being a walking science experiment wasn’t something he wanted. That didn’t mean he was in denial. Ana, however, still had her entire future in front of her. She just needed to accept what had happened in her past, move on, and stop caring more about her sister’s well-being than her own. Of course, he couldn’t tell her any of that because it was her connection and her loyalty to her sister that they were counting on for this mission.
“Easy thing to say when you obviously grew up on easy street,” she retorted.
“And you know that how?”
“Your clothes. Your accent. You reek of old money. Why? Am I wrong?”
He pressed his lips together. “No. You’re not wrong about my privileged childhood. But you think that made my life easy?” He shrugged. “You’re obviously not as smart as Carly and I gave you credit for.”