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the task?” one of the gangstas demanded.
    Dennis reached for the door handle and gestured to Eddie. “In your midst stands a vampire. Your assignment is to kill him or die trying.”
    Everyone looked at the designated victim.
    Shock zipped through Eddie. Gaping, he dropped his arms to his sides. “What?”
    Dennis met his eyes and growled with fury, “ Never run from a fight.” To the humans he said, “Whoever still stands after the vampire has been destroyed will become a soldier in my army.” Stepping into the den, he closed the door and slammed the bolt home.
    The humans shared glances, then looked at Eddie, their hands tightening on the grips of the unfamiliar weapons they held.
    The gangstas nodded to each other, then surged forward.
    Oh shit.
     
    In the den, silence reigned. Both televisions had been muted, and the vampires, still as statues, stared at Dennis and the door behind him.
    Dennis smiled as screams and thuds erupted inside The Hole, countering the growls of one panicked vampire. “Never run from a fight,” he repeated for the solemn audience.
    Someone swallowed audibly.
    “Help us!” one of the humans cried, voice hoarse with terror.
    Closing his eyes, Dennis tilted his head back and listened to the beautiful music produced within.
    “This is bullshit!” Eddie shrieked. “This is bullshit!”
    Thud. Thud. Thunk.
    The door shook against Dennis’s back. The scent of blood wafted from beneath it.
    Dennis inhaled and sighed in ecstasy.
    “Help us!”
    “Get him!”
    “Ahhh!”
    Pure bliss.
     
    Monday evening Ami sat at the desk Darnell had had delivered that morning upon hearing the bad news. Based on her conversation with him, she suspected he had engaged in a rather heated argument with Seth over the wisdom of naming Ami Marcus’s Second.
    Not that he didn’t like Marcus. Ami had never heard Darnell speak a foul word against him and knew they shared a love of music. But Marcus had been deemed dangerous to be around. His behavior had grown increasingly erratic in recent years. And Darnell feared for Ami’s safety.
    Her eyes slid from the heavy Second’s handbook she had been pouring over all day to the laptop before her. Not much activity on the Immortal Guardians Web site. No doubt the Seconds were all busy readying their respective immortals for another night’s hunt.
    Whatever would compel Seth to believe Ami would make a competent Second? With all of her ... issues ... she would think—
    Out in the hallway, the door to the basement living quarters opened and closed.
    Ami’s heart stuttered.
    Setting the handbook aside, she closed her laptop, stood, and followed the sounds of Marcus’s movements to the armory.
    Most immortal households possessed such a room, which usually boasted exercise and sparring equipment and wardrobes packed with weapons. Ami stepped into the doorway just as Marcus opened the doors to one of the wardrobes.
    The greeting she had thought to offer stuck in her throat. She hadn’t seen him since shortly after Seth had left the previous night. Marcus had been rumpled, dirty, and liberally coated in blood at the time. Now ...
    She drew in a deep breath and tried to slow her racing pulse.
    Now he was all cleaned up and incredibly handsome. Black cargo pants encased muscled thighs. A long-sleeved black T-shirt hugged broad shoulders, arms thick with muscle, and rippling abs. His long, midnight hair had been tamed into a neat ponytail.
    Ami had met many immortals during the time she had spent with Seth and David. All shared the same dark good looks. So, why did this one wreak such havoc within her?
    “Hello,” she finally forced herself to say.
    Marcus spun to face her, his face lit with surprise that rapidly devolved into a frown. For a moment, she thought he would say something, then he turned back to the wardrobe.
    Well, after his less than enthusiastic response to Seth’s thrusting her upon him last night, she hadn’t exactly expected him to greet her with