She looked around expectantly. Collette got right to the point. “Basically, this is a do-it-yourself, super-duper spy kit. You get to choose.”
“We’re going to get searched,” Ana said.
The ex-cop nodded. “Of course. That’s why none of this looks like spy stuff.”
“Does Ty get a kit, too?” Ana asked.
“Yup. Peter’s taking care of that. Some items overlap. Carly wants you both to be prepared. But first … We never did get around to that mani-pedi,” she said with a wink.
Ana gave her a puzzled look. She didn’t get the other woman. She was dying. Why wasn’t she more angry? “It’s not a high priority.”
“Most of this is ordinary drugstore stuff. But not all.” With almost inaudible clicks, Collette demonstrated two small weapons disguised as manicure tools.
“Cool,” Ana said with interest. “Like switchblades. Or shivs.” She’d had blades in her street days, and in prison, a handmade shiv concealed in her bed frame. Women could be more dangerous than men.
“Use them only if you have to,” Collette advised.
Justine yawned. “You know, in case your hero is flexing his muscles in the mirror at a critical moment.”
They all laughed.
Barrett thought of something else. “Ana, keep in mind that we are maintaining high surveillance on the compound. The eyebrow thingy is actually a laser beacon.”
“Got it. So what’s in the little bottles?”
“Some are just nail polish. One has luminol,” Collette answered.
“Which bottle?”
“The lavender-colored nail-polish remover, so you can remember it easily. L for lavender, L for luminol. If you need to test for latent blood, use it.”
Ana nodded.
“The others hold reagents for different tests—Ty knows how to use them. But we couldn’t put all this girly stuff in his luggage.”
“I understand.” You didn’t venture onto enemy turf unless someone had your back. An ex-cop knew that all too well.
“Thanks, Collette.”
They all stood and Ana escorted them to the door. She hesitated, however, before opening it. After swallowing hard, she forced the words out. “Thanks to all of you. I—I appreciate what you’ve done and I …”
I’m glad I met you.
I’m glad we’re working together.
I hope we’ll get to do mani-pedis when this is all over.
It’s what she wanted to say. What she should say. After all, if she was willing to fight for Ty, it made sense she’d be willing to fight for everything, and that included her place here. Among these women who, even though they were as different from her as women could be, had come here to support her. Who knows, their assistance could even save her life.
Even so, she couldn’t get the words out.
Her eyes burned with frustrated tears until Barrett put a hand on her arm.
“Ditto, Ana,” she said. Collette and Justine smiled and nodded.
They didn’t hug her as they left, but it didn’t matter.
They’d shown her what was important.
Somehow, some way, they’d become a team, one in which she mattered.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
Somewhere in the Sierra Foothills of California
The following day, after a luxurious ride in a private jet, Ana and Ty drove their rental car into Salvation’s Crossing. The compound was rustic but beautiful, set in green rolling hills dotted with venerable oak trees, and orange poppies and purple lupine in the meadows. But despite the fancy plane that had flown them here, there was still something makeshift about the organization’s headquarters. There were no paved roads, and Ana could see a clothesline with sheets and towels dangling off it strung between two cabins. Other than that, everything seemed orderly. A vast blue sky arched overhead, serene and somehow welcoming.
She could see how someone would feel at home here. Safe.
They hadn’t gotten past the security gate of Salvation’s Crossing without being thoroughly searched by armed guards. Fortunately, the manicure kit hadn’t attracted a second glance. Justine had done Ana’s nails with lavender polish just to be on the safe side.
Their luggage got a good going-over as well. Then they’d been given a pat down by uniformed staff and their rental car had been inspected with mirrors on metal wands, inside and out and underneath.
The closer they got to the main house, the more armed guards she saw. Ana told herself the intense security was reasonable. After all Gloria had lived through, safety would be a huge concern. And if she and Miguel were indeed working with the FBI and vampires, their involvement had to be kept top secret.
As far as Ana could tell, the building layout and land under cultivation matched the satellite surveillance photos they’d reviewed. The compound was too big to take in all at once.
“Quite a place,” Ana said. “How long have they been operating again?”
“About five years. Basic but not cheap. The communal buildings look like cinder block and stucco. Built fast but built to last. Miguel wants me to fund a new irrigation system, but some generous benefactor must have donated a few million already.”
Ana’s distracted mood gave way to excitement as they drove up to the main house. Her stomach quivered, nervous tension radiating through her. After years of searching, years of hoping, years of waiting, and years of grieving, she was finally going to see her sister again.
There was no predicting Gloria’s reaction.
Ty reached over and stroked her hand. She savored the small touch. “Remember, we met at your coffee shop,” he said. “I saw something in you I liked, and I swept you off your feet. The closer we keep to the truth, the easier it will be to play this role.”
“Well, that’s true enough. But you can’t lie. So how are you going to explain having millions of dollars to spend on a worthy cause?”
“It’s not a lie,” Ty responded.
She turned her head to stare at him. “Seriously?”
“Not all of it.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and smirked. “Watch your step.”
Interesting. She’d thought the cover stories about his wealth had been completely fabricated. How much did she really know about Ty? Besides his deepest, darkest secrets, that is—the everyday stuff hadn’t been covered. She wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything.
They’d reached the front porch of the main house. Ty pulled the car into a graveled area at its side. Polished oak steps led up to a shaded veranda, with square columns made of river rock tapering up to the top. Wide windows were open, and soft music escaped from the inside.
“Ready?”
“Huh?” Ana caught a glimpse of a vehicle with blacktinted windows that must have followed them at a discreet distance turning off onto a different road. “I mean, yes.”
“Is there a problem?”
A faint plume of dust rising at the turnoff was the only sign of the other vehicle. “I think we were followed.”
“That’s to be expected,” he said curtly. “I’ll help you out.”
She waited for him to come around to play his assigned role. What a gentleman.
Only she knew even as she thought it that vampire or not, Ty was a gentleman.
Ty walked up the steps with her and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal an elderly Hispanic woman in a neat and tidy dress. Ana felt Ty’s hand on her back, his thumb stroking her spine.
“Mr. Nunes? Ms. Garcia?” the woman asked. At Ana’s nod, the woman gestured for them to follow her and come inside.
Ty kept his hand on her back, as if he knew she needed that simple connection, that acknowledgment that she was not alone. She stepped over the threshold and entered the building, seating herself on a bench the woman pointed out. Ty sat next to her, close enough so their shoulders, hips, and thighs were touching, the closeness both an emotional comfort and a sensual distraction. She clutched her handbag until he slid a hand underneath her forearm and tugged one hand loose, then wrapped it up in his.