"I'll call back in ten minutes." Howard hung up.

Ten minutes? Toni dropped her phone into the pocket of the men's trousers she was wearing, and still barefoot, she rushed into the hall. He wasn't conveniently sprawled out dead in the hallway, so she would have to hunt him down.

She jogged down the stairs to the ground floor. She didn't expect to see him here, but there were surveillance cameras in the foyer and the kitchen, and she knew Howard would expect to see her pass by in her search.

She'd been hired on a probationary status for two weeks, and Connor had warned her that the cameras in the townhouse were linked to monitors in White Plains. In other words, she was watched constantly to make sure she could be trusted. As if she would ever try to harm one of the Vamps.

Connor had stressed the fact that once she took the vow to protect Vamps, that vow would be sacred. The cost of betrayal was severe and final. If she incurred their wrath, there would be no place to hide where they couldn't find her. Her body would never be found. Then he'd proceeded to tell her about the great medical/dental plan, high-yield money market accounts, and vacation opportunities that MacKay Security and Investigation offered its employees.

Under normal circumstances, she would have chosen option number one: having her memory erased so she could return to her normal life. But circumstances weren't normal, so she'd gritted her teeth and taken the vow.

Ian was not to be found on the ground floor, so she headed down to the guardroom in the basement. Her gaze flickered to the couch by the wall. Nope, not there. She glanced up at the surveillance camera and shook her head.

She paused by the door of the dormitory. She was required to check this room four times a day, but it still gave her the chills. Well, not the room so much, but the dead bodies inside. She took a deep breath and entered.