Turned by Virna Depaul

Author:Virna Depaul [Depaul, Virna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780345542465
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 2014-04-01T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Two days after Carly had Ana bond with the other women over horse shit, Ty stood on the upper story of the Belladonna training facility and looked down at the paddock, watching as Ana got dumped off the gray horse yet again. She cussed first at the horse, then at Barrett, who was teaching Ana to ride. Barrett responded with a cool smile, and gestured for Ana to get back up on the horse. Although she hesitated at first, Ana gathered the reins, and apparently her courage, and launched herself back into the saddle.

When Ty’s cell phone rang, he answered it.

“How’s our ghetto girl doing?” Carly’s sultry voice queried.

“Don’t call her that,” he snapped out even as he kept his gaze on Ana, who’d gamely pressed the horse into a canter. She bounced a bit in her seat, but held on.

“Sticking up for the masses?” Carly taunted. “So magnanimous of you, ignoring class.”

“There is no class system in America,” he responded, hitching in a breath as the horse took the jump.

Carly laughed bitterly. “So goes the lie. So how’s Ana’s training going?”

“Quite well. She’s handled everything we’ve thrown at her. Before today, she’d never ridden a horse, but she’s getting the hang of it.”

“Why the hell does she need to ride a horse?”

“The compound has a few horses, so riding just might come in handy. Plus, the lessons are another teambuilding experience more than anything else,” he said.

“Ty, we need to push forward,” Carly said. “We have less than a week left before the fund-raiser. If Miguel takes the bait, things could move quickly. We need to tell her.”

Ty stiffened. He understood what Carly was getting at.

Tell her what I am. A freak of nature. A monster.

Instinctively, he resisted. “I don’t want to tell her. Not yet.”

“She’s done everything you’ve asked of her, Ty, and that’s been plenty. She’s proven she’s invested in the mission. Peter and I will be talking to the others. Tell Ana or I will.”

As the line went dead, Ty cast his gaze below, focusing again on Ana. She’d dismounted, and stood next to the horse, stroking its shoulder as she spoke animatedly with Barrett. And smiled.

After Carly’s little bonding exercise, he’d put Ana through hell all over again, but she’d done everything he’d asked without complaining. More than that, she’d started to take pride in her own achievements and the small connections she was making with the rest of the team. She’d been smiling more and more easily. And, God, but Ana smiling was something to look at.

Too bad he had to wipe that smile right off her face.

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