His heart beating faster than usual, he ran his hands around the frame of the mirror, feeling for any indentation or hook, when his fingers encountered a groove on one side. He pressed against it and heard a click. Gripping the frame, he pulled the mirror toward him, away from the wall and peered behind it. A dark tunnel opened up before him. He sniffed and smelled the scent of vampires who’d used it only recently.

His vampire vision was sufficient for him to see into the tunnel and realize that it was empty.

Without hesitation, he walked into it and followed it around a bend. By his estimation, it was at least a hundred feet long, most likely longer, and when it suddenly stopped after another turn, he found himself in front of a door. He listened for any sounds, and heard cars going by.

Stunned, he turned the knob and pulled the door toward him, opening it only a sliver to peek outside. He was at street level. He opened the door wider and stepped out onto the pavement, searching for a street sign. He found it instantly and realized that the hidden tunnel had led him to a street parallel to the one Xander’s headquarters stood on. The vampires had snuck out this way while Scanguards had watched the front, unaware of the secret escape route.

“Shit!” he cursed and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

As he speed-dialed Gabriel’s number, he rushed back to where he’d parked his motorcycle.

“Yes?” Gabriel’s tense voice came through the line.

“The house in Chinatown is empty. Thomas is gone. They’re all gone.” The words suddenly sank in, and his heart constricted as if somebody were squeezing it with an iron fist. He needed to find Thomas.

“How the fuck—?”

“I found a secret walkway leading to the street behind it,” Eddie interrupted him.

“Shit!”

Having reached his motorcycle, Eddie swung himself onto it, jammed the key into the ignition, turned it, and hit the starter button. The engine howled and he kicked away the stand.

“I’ll be at HQ in fifteen minutes.”

Without waiting for Gabriel’s answer, he disconnected the call.

Now he could only hope that Thomas hadn’t disabled the GPS chip in his own cell phone yet.

He had to hurry to get to the IT lab at Scanguards to run a trace and see if he could locate him via his phone. Quickly, Eddie dialed the IT lab’s number so they could start setting up the trace. He didn’t even want to think what to do if that didn’t work, because the prospect of losing Thomas hurt more than he’d ever imagined anything could hurt. Thomas was his best friend and the only lover he’d ever wanted. He needed Thomas like he needed his next breath, and living without him for the rest of eternity was unimaginable.

39

The elevator doors opened, and Eddie rushed onto the executive floor of Scanguards’

headquarters. He’d already been in the IT lab and run a trace on Thomas’s phone, with disappointing results: Thomas had disabled his phone, making it impossible to be located.

The floor was buzzing with activity. He almost collided with Nina as she came around a corner.

“Eddie!”

“Fuck, Nina, what are you doing here? You’re not even allowed on this floor.”

Nina rolled her eyes. “For your information, the no-humans rule on the executive floor doesn’t apply to blood-bonded mates. And besides, have you forgotten that you were supposed to meet me?”

Eddie ran a shaky hand through his hair and down his nape, feeling the perspiration that had built there. “What for?” His mind drew a blank.

“To look at that apartment near the waterfront. I told you about it. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten. Gee, can’t you put those things in your calendar?”

Eddie sighed. Maybe this was as good a time as any to come clean. “Nina, I’m not moving out.”

She stared at him, her eyes widening in surprise. “What?”

Eddie put his hand around her arm and pulled her into the copier room. “We need to talk.”

Nina looked up at him, a frown building on her face. “I hate it when somebody starts a conversation like that. It never ends well.”

“You might have a point there,” he admitted, hesitating for a moment. He rocked back on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. “There’s something you need to know.” He took a deep breath. “Nina, I’m gay. And Thomas is my lover.”

He expelled a breath and looked away, not wanting to see the disappointment in her eyes.

Not a word came from his sister, only stunned silence greeted him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat.