“Ah shit,” Eddie cursed. Thomas had snapped because of him. “No need to say any more.

Who’s on guard in Chinatown?”

“Jay, why?”

“Call him and tell him I’ll relieve him in fifteen minutes.”

“What are you planning?”

What he’d been planning all along. “I’m going to talk to Thomas.” And if talking wasn’t enough, he might just have to drop to one knee. Hadn’t Thomas once said that he didn’t find it old fashioned to drop to one’s knee? Well, suddenly, Eddie didn’t find it old fashioned anymore either.

Eddie turned his motorcycle around and headed for Chinatown, reaching it in record time. He parked the bike and walked to the dark entryway where Jay stood waiting.

“Any movement?” Eddie asked by way of greeting.

Jay shook his head. “Nobody entered or exited in the entire two hours I’ve been here. It’s all yours.”

Eddie lifted his hand, bidding him goodbye and looked at the house across the street. The lights were on in several rooms, but he couldn’t detect any movements inside the house. He shoved a hand through his hair, brushing it away from his face, and realized that it was a gesture he’d picked up from Thomas.

During the many months they’d lived together, he’d grown so used to Thomas. What had started out as a mentorship had morphed into a friendship, and now that he’d driven Thomas away, he finally realized how much his friendship meant to him. But friendship alone wasn’t enough anymore. In the last week, his feelings for Thomas had deepened and turned from friendship into love in the blink of an eye. It was time to man up, as Thomas had demanded. He was ready now.

With determined steps, Eddie crossed the street and walked up the few steps to the entrance door of the house. He rang the doorbell, once, twice, then a third time. He strained to listen, but no sounds came from the inside.

“Thomas!” he called out. “It’s me, Eddie!”

Thomas would hear him, he was convinced of it. Still, nobody came to the door. Frustrated, he exhaled. But he wouldn’t give up now. He’d come this far and wouldn’t let a flimsy door stop him.

He looked to his right. Or a window. Bracing himself at the railing with one hand, he kicked his leg up, shoving his booted foot through the glass, which shattered on impact. He reached inside it with his hand and unlocked the sash, then pushed it open. Hoisting himself up, he crawled through the narrow opening.

When he was inside, he jumped up instantly, ready to defend himself should one of Xander’s people already be waiting for him, but to his surprise, he was alone in the foyer. Even a human should have heard his forced entry. In a house full of vampires, they should have been on him like dogs on a mailman. Something was wrong.

His gut constricting with unease, he walked farther into the house. There was a large living room on this floor, the door of which stood wide open. It was warm inside, but equally empty.

Eddie glanced at the fireplace: a low fire was still crackling there, evidence that whoever had been here couldn’t have left too long ago.

Eddie turned and continued his search, his senses alert to be prepared for a possible ambush as he walked up the stairs. Most rooms on the second floor were bedrooms interspersed with several bathrooms. The windows were hung with heavy drapes, and the disorder in the rooms indicated that the inhabitants had left in a hurry. But how?

The house had been watched ever since they’d found out that it was Xander’s headquarters.

And Jay had confirmed that nobody had come or left.

His surveillance of the top floor didn’t yield any other results. It was just as empty as the other floors. Frustrated, he walked down to the first floor and looked around once more. He turned to the living room, letting his eyes wander over the furniture and the wood-paneled walls.

Then he marched back into the hallway. The door to the half bath stood open. Besides a toilet and a sink, a large, floor-to-ceiling mirror graced one wall. Eddie saw no reflection of himself in it and turned away from the useless item.

An errant thought penetrated his mind. If he still had to shave, he would probably have had a hard time doing it without the help of a mirror. Vampires didn’t reflect in mirrors, so it was rare that a vampire had any in his home.

Eddie whirled back to the half bath. He walked inside and looked at the sink. The mirror above it was missing, just as in many homes belonging to vampires. His gaze swept back to the full-size mirror. It didn’t belong here. If somebody had gone through the pains of removing the mirror above the sink, why had he left the tall mirror standing? It made no sense. Unless the mirror served another purpose.