Page 57 of The Vigilante's Lover
“Depends,” he says.
“What?”
“Most girls come in after college. It’s long gone.”
I feel really naked now, too exposed for this conversation. I let go of him and cross my arms over my chest. “Well, mine isn’t.”
“I realize that.”
“Is it a problem?”
The ground crunches outside and Jax leaps to his feet. Before I can even figure out what he’s doing, he’s snatched an axe from the wall and is crouching next to the door.
Which is opening.
And I’m naked and sprawled out in the hay.
I grab the shawl and drag it around me. Jax’s shirt is near my feet so I pick that up too.
The door only opens an inch. A friendly voice says, “You got a woman in there, don’t ya?”
Jax visibly relaxes, although he doesn’t set down the axe.
“Who’s with you?” he asks.
“Just Colette.” The door opens wider and a broad dark-skinned man in a blue T-shirt and jeans appears in the gap.
Now the axe comes down. “How the hell did you find me?” Jax asks.
“We headed toward the silo the minute you stupidly set foot in it,” Sam answers. “Then about an hour ago you powered down. Figured you’d only do that in a jam.”
“You had it transmit a signal, I assume,” Jax says.
“Indeedy.” He looks around the barn until he spots me. “Yup, there’s the woman.” He calls out behind him, “I owe you a cheeseburger, Colette!”
“Vegetarian!” a voice calls back with an accent like women in perfume commercials, exotic, with an unexpected lilt. French, I guess.
“Jax, my man, you’ve lost your shirt!” He extends a hand.
Jax sets the axe on the ground and shakes the hand firmly. “Gave it to the lady,” he says and nods his head at me.
I clutch the shawl around me, grateful that it is so large, and try to give a little wave with my fingers.
“I’m Sam,” he says. He walks forward as if to shake hands, then realizes my situation, holding tight to the shawl. “Jax is terrible with introductions.”
“Mia,” I say.
His gaze falls to the Phase One Trainee uniform shoes on the ground.
“You snagged a Phase One?” he asks Jax and lets out a whistle. “Good thing their ID transmitters are short range.”
“Long story,” Jax says. “Is Colette coming? We have to find out who killed Klaus.”
“We wanted to talk to you about that. I’ll fetch her first.” Sam heads back out into the sunlight.
When he’s gone, Jax turns to me. “I guess you’ll want your clothes now.”
His reflexes are good, so he manages to dodge the clod of dirt I fling at his face.
