Turned (8 page)

“Son of a bitch,” Lesander growled. He came at Ty and struck him before he could even blink. As the force of Lesander’s initial blow forced him backward, the vampire flew with him and continued to pummel his face, each blow feeling like a metal spike was being driven through his skull.

Ty hit the wall behind him with enough force that plaster rained down on him. Rained down on them both. Lesander wrapped his hands around Ty’s throat and squeezed, cutting off his air. He tried to break Lesander’s hold, but despite his own considerable strength, he dangled in the air like a broken puppet and gasped for breath. Clear as day, a vision formed in his head, one in which the homeless man dangled from his own hands. Helpless.

Yeah. Talk about karma.

“You fuck,” Lesander snarled. “Who turned you?”

“I—I don’t know,” Ty gasped, blinking in an effort to
see past the blood dripping into his eyes. Lesander fractionally loosened his grip on Ty’s throat and immediately moved on to the next question.

“How long ago were you turned?”

How long ago was it? It felt like years, decades since he’d been himself. Truly human. Pleasantly oblivious to the fact that vampires really existed. But no, it hadn’t been that long. “Several … months …”

“Been having fun since, huh?” Lesander opened his mouth to say more, but suddenly shook his head. “Oh fuck it. There’s a better way to see what you’ve been doing.” He stared intently at Ty, and within seconds Ty felt it—a faint tingling in his mind, as if someone was sifting through his thoughts …

No! he thought, outraged. Get out. Get out of my head.

“Damn it, everything we’ve suspected is correct,” Lesander said. “The FBI has been working with born vampire traitors—they call them
Rogues
—to turn humans. This explains the increase in vampire deaths and disappearances. The Rogues must have blackmailed them. Threatened their families. This one’s a fucking agent, only he …”

Ty barely processed Niles’s claims of blackmail and threats. He was more concerned with the secret he’d inadvertently given away. He and the rest of Belladonna were supposed to be protecting the FBI’s Turning Program, which was in jeopardy due to the fact Rogues had stepped out of line, and now these vampires knew about it—or at least he’d just confirmed their suspicions for them.

The faint wail of police sirens could be heard in the distance but were obviously getting closer. Had someone else seen what he’d done in that alley? Had they followed him here, just like these vampires had?

“Shit,” Niles hissed. “Damn it, they’re coming. We need to go. We can’t be seen by the police. Not yet.”

“We need to take him with us,” Lesander said. “I don’t know who … I don’t know
how
 …”

“Then that means he doesn’t know, either. Doesn’t matter,” Niles said. “We need to disappear fast and we can’t teleport with him. Dear Goddess, we have to go to Queen Bianca. Tell her what the FBI is doing—”

“Shut up, you fool,” Lesander shouted.

For a second, Lesander squeezed Ty’s throat tighter, cutting off his ability to speak completely when all he wanted was to shout, “Wait, don’t go. I know you don’t like what the FBI is doing, but I need to know more about what you are. What I am. Can I become human again? Can I die?”

But apparently, he didn’t need to shout. Not when the vampire could so easily read his mind.

“Why on earth would you want to be human again?” Lesander’s lip curled with disdain. “As for the way to kill a vampire? I’m sure you can understand why we don’t go around advertising that kind of thing. But tell you what. I’ll let you live … for now … and next time we meet, I’ll see if you’ve figured it out.”

Abruptly, Lesander let him go. Then he hesitated, as if weighing his options. Abruptly, he took off the necklace he was wearing and looped it around Ty’s neck.

“What the hell are you—” Niles shouted, but Lesander cut him off with a look before turning back to Ty.

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to find proof that Rogues are preying on humans. You’re trying to stop them. Well, I want the same thing. If you want any hope of completing your mission, then do not remove this necklace. It will prevent another vampire from being able to read your mind. Do you understand?”

Understand? Fuck no, Ty didn’t understand, but he nodded his head anyway.

Then Lesander and Niles vanished into thin air.

They didn’t even leave behind wisps of smoke or glittery particles in their wake.

Even as he crumpled to the ground, Ty stared in shock while the vampire’s words echoed all around him. Automatically, he lifted the medallion hanging around his neck and studied it. Was this a trick? Had the other vampire really given him such a powerful means to protect his mind?

He mentally noted the other details he could catalog about the encounter: the vampires’ names were Lesander and Niles. They’d worn matching medallions. Lesander, unlike Ty, could wield his mind-reading power with precision, and both vampires had been able to teleport themselves away. Lesander had implied there was a way to kill vampires. And despite his disdain at the idea, Lesander
hadn’t
denied there was a way to become human again, as well.

While Ty couldn’t do anything with all this information now, it was more than he’d ever had before. He now had several leads to follow. And renewed hope.

As the sound of sirens became almost deafening, Ty stood, tucked the necklace inside his shirt, and forced himself to start moving. He ran to the same door he’d used to enter the warehouse, but had traveled only several yards when the sound of screeching tires behind him made him curse. Within seconds, shouts of “Police” and “Freeze” made him do just that. “Bloody fuck,” he muttered, putting up his hands and slowly turning around.

He wouldn’t risk harming the police or chance making a spectacle of himself, which could later be traced back to Belladonna. Better to let them arrest him and break out of jail when they weren’t looking. But one
thing was for damn sure—he wasn’t going to let them take the necklace around his throat.

The older of the two cops approached him, and Ty relaxed slightly. His partner, who lagged behind by a few feet, was young. An obvious rookie. It was always better to deal with an experienced veteran who had less to prove. Reduced the chances of things unexpectedly going bad.

The cop, whose name tag read Southcott, stopped just in front of Ty. Instead of ordering Ty to turn around and present his wrists in order to be cuffed, he took a quick scan around the area. Then he raised his gun and took aim, his intent to shoot plain on his face.

Swiftly, Ty’s hand shot out to knock Officer Southcott’s gun away, but it was too late. The other man fired a bullet that hit him squarely between his eyes.

CHAPTER
SIX

From his hiding spot behind an abandoned cargo container
, Bobbie Hernandez barely flinched when he heard the cop’s bullet hit bone. After all, Bobbie had instigated the hit by telling his boss about the dark-haired man who’d been hassling Ana. What he hadn’t known then was that the man was a vampire. He did now. The cop’s bullet couldn’t kill him. But it would cause Fang Face a shitload of pain.

Ducking his head, Bobbie stifled a grin. Delight rippled through him. Even as a kid, he’d loved the mingling of blood with pain. Whether it was the sight of it, the smell of it, the sound of it … whether it was his own or someone else’s … didn’t matter. He’d cut himself and cut up others, animals and humans, enough times to know what floated his boat.

His mother had tried to make him feel bad about himself. She’d always told him he was a freak. Twisted. And for a while there, he’d started to believe her. He’d even let her commit him, and had undergone weeks of treatment by doctors who’d prescribed handfuls of pills. The medication had clouded his mind until he’d found the strength to fight back. Until he’d finally understood the truth.

Until he’d joined the Devil’s Crew gang and learned that vampires weren’t just myth, but joyful fucking reality.

In the end, he’d realized his instincts weren’t wrong, he’d just been
born
wrong. How many times had he heard about men who felt like women trapped in men’s bodies? So much so that they’d willingly cut themselves up to change their gender. Well, Bobbie sure as shit hadn’t been born the wrong gender, but he had been born the wrong
species
. He should’ve been a vampire, and now he was going to have his own shot at reassignment surgery.

But only if he played his cards right.

Vampires. Damn, he knew for a fact they existed. He’d seen them for himself. Still, sometimes doubt reared its head. Sometimes he expected to wake up in an insane asylum. But having just watched this dark-haired one drink from a homeless man’s throat, Bobbie knew that no, he wasn’t crazy, just lucky. Lucky to be in the know when ordinary fools didn’t have a fucking clue. When so many were still operating under the delusion that humans were at the top of the food chain.

As the cop got back into the squad car with his partner and drove off, Bobbie shook his head with awe. His boss’s efficiency was impressive as hell. All it had taken was a phone call from Bobbie saying a strange male was sniffing around Ana and that he’d gotten rough with her inside the café—though from Bobbie’s hiding spot outside, their tussle had seemed more like foreplay than actual violence. He’d been immediately instructed to follow the guy and make sure the hit went down as planned.

When the guy had freaked and attacked the homeless man, Bobbie had been surprised. Mesmerized. And undeniably excited. When the vampire had run, Bobbie had lost him. He’d been panicking when he’d heard the sirens and decided to follow them. And his hunch had paid off. He’d seen the cops pull up. Knew from prior experience who’d sent them.

And knew what Officer Southcott didn’t—the man the boss had wanted dead wasn’t. Wasn’t a man. And wasn’t dead.

But just to be sure …

Bobbie walked toward the wounded vampire and crouched beside him. Instinctively, he felt a shiver of pleasure at the bloody hole in the man’s forehead. He was still breathing, however, his chest rising and falling with his jerky breaths.

God, how awesome it would be. To be that strong. That indestructible.

But despite his capacity to heal, this vampire hadn’t been as strong as the other two.

Why? Did vampires come with varying degrees of strength? If that was the case, Bobbie would have to make sure that when his time came he was turned into the best of the best. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a vampire yet, and that meant he had to hurry before this one woke up. Even if he was the weakest vampire, chances were he could crush Bobbie with a flick of his little finger.

Sure enough, the wound was already starting to close, pushing the bullet out of the man’s skull. Bobbie quickly patted down the man until he found the silver case with the cards inside.

Belladonna. There was only a phone number. No email or nothing.

Per his boss’s instructions to identify the man, Bobbie took the card as well as the guy’s license. As soon as he left, he’d call his boss and tell him what he’d discovered. He’d report that this male was a vampire, something Officer Southcott had failed to notice. The boss would be pleased and Bobbie hoped he’d finally be rewarded.

Although it was difficult for him, he didn’t take the wad of cash in the guy’s wallet—the boss might not approve. He was about to stand up when it occurred to
him to take the guy’s cell phone, too. Maybe there’d be useful information on the SIM card that his boss could use. He was searching for it when he caught sight of the gold medallion around the man’s neck. He couldn’t help himself—he picked it up.

Shit, it was heavy. Was it real gold? And what did the three triangles symbolize? ’Cause they looked a little like fangs. A genuine vampire artifact. He started to lift it, but felt the buzz of a mosquito at his temple. Frowning, he swatted it away.

Don’t take the necklace
.

Forget you ever saw it
.

Leave the necklace alone
.

Take nothing else from me. Go
.

The words echoed inside Bobbie’s brain, but surely he was imagining them.

He slapped at the mosquito again.

Then abruptly he released the chain and stood, slightly woozy.

He wasn’t going to take the necklace. Was going to forget about the necklace. Would leave the necklace alone. He would take nothing else from the man. He would leave.

He turned, swayed a little on his feet, and headed out.

He had a phone call to make.

As the man dropped the necklace, Ty’s tense muscles relaxed. He’d been preparing to fight if the man had actually tried to take it, but frankly, Ty hadn’t been sure he’d be able to lift his arms, let alone overpower anyone. He struggled not to scream with pain. Fuck, it was bad. He felt like his skull was going to blow off but he forced himself to remain silent. To not give himself away.

Distantly, he listened to the man who’d searched him walk away.

The man’s scent carried on the wind long after his footsteps faded. Ty recognized it. A kick of adrenaline numbed his pain and had him feeling faintly satisfied.

The young guy who’d been in Ana’s café with his girlfriend. Ana had called him Bobbie. Bobbie Hernandez.

He’d obviously followed him. Did Bobbie have anything to do with the cops who’d shown up and shot Ty? He was betting that was the case. Unfortunately, that was all he could do. Although he’d tried to read the kid’s mind, a lot of blood and ugly visions had gotten in the way. Bobbie was a wannabe vampire. His brain was crowded with violent fantasies.

Besides that, Ty had picked up two images. One of Ana. And one of two men talking about turning humans into vampires. One of those men had been Miguel Salvador, the very man they were hoping she could influence in order to get them inside Salvation’s Crossing. The same man who knew exactly where Ana’s sister was—right by his side.

What he’d read of Bobbie’s thoughts was just further confirmation Belladonna was on the right track. That Salvation’s Crossing was indeed more than it appeared to be and that by getting inside, they’d be able to eliminate the Rogues.