A guarded look flitted over her face, then she smiled brightly and took his hand. "Sure. What do you want to know?" She rose gracefully to her feet.

His hand tightened around hers. The uncertainty in his gut twinged. He knew she wasn't going to be entirely honest. Her smile was too forced, and her heartbeat had just speeded up.

"Why do ye want this job?" he asked quietly.

She pulled her hand from his grasp. "It pays extremely well. And I get free room and board, which is worth a fortune in Manhattan."

"And ye get stuck in a house all day with some dead carcasses."

"No job is perfect." She folded her arms across her chest. "None of you wake up crying or needing a diaper change, so it's easier than the usual babysitting job."

Babysitting? Now that was bloody annoying.

Meanwhile Phineas was snickering. "Yeah, take care of me, hot mama. I need a sponge bath. And some of that baby oil rubbed all over me. I'm feeling a bit chafed, if you know what I mean."

Her mouth twitched.

Did she find Phineas amusing? That irritated him even more. Ian stepped closer to her, gritting his teeth. "We're no' babies. We're seasoned warriors."

She affected a big shudder. "Ooh, I'm scared."

Did she doubt their prowess? Ian moved closer. "Lass, ye have no idea how fierce we can be."

Her smile withered, and a pained look crossed her face. "I know that too well. There's no need to remind me."

"Were ye attacked?" Ian looked at her neck, but couldn't see any sign of bite marks above the high neck of her black outfit. "Is that how ye found out about us?"

The stubborn lift of her chin indicated her refusal to divulge more information. But she'd mentioned before that she tended to get pissed whenever vampires attacked her. The sun would be rising soon, and Ian and the other Vamps would fall into their death-sleep. All day long they would lie defenseless and vulnerable. And their guard appeared to hold a grudge against them.