Page 118 of The Vigilante's Lover
Jax falls onto his back, his hands behind his head. I already miss his touch on me. I turn in to him and place my head on his shoulder. His skin is golden and smooth. He must have some Italian in him. Makes sense. De Luca. Plus, he’s going by Argetti now. It definitely works for him.
His voice is low, a touch of bitterness giving his words an edge. “I’ve had everything I’ve worked for all my life snatched from me over one incident. I’m going to locate Jovana and Klaus, and I’m going to find out what the hell they’re involved in.”
A huge lump forms in my throat and I can barely swallow around it. “I’m with you,” I say. “I can honestly say that I don’t care if I go down with you. As long as I’m with you.”
“Dying is on the table,” he says.
“I know it.”
He turns his face to me. “There aren’t many people like you in the world,” he says.
I shrug. “I guess people like us find each other, then.”
He moves his arm around me and draws me firmly against him. This was what I wanted. What I hoped for. For him to acknowledge me. To show me a sign that he gets that we’re a fit.
And I meant what I said. There’s nobody out there who will miss me. Nothing behind me is worth staying back for. Everything that might happen to me is out ahead.
I’m not going to be too scared to run toward it.
“When we get to the arena, I’m going to be looking for the two of them,” he says. “My aim is to get them to meet me somewhere less public. They probably know by now we’re not dead. I’m sure Vigilantes combed the wreckage of your house and know we got away.”
I picture strangers going through my home and shudder.
He squeezes me. “Judging from the last time Jovana went to a public MMA match to watch her brother, Klaus is against her being there. That makes them at odds with each other. We can divide and conquer. Klaus isn’t going to like you, because you already bested him once.” At that, Ican feel Jax’s cheeks move into a smile. I turn my head to see it, but by the time I’ve moved, his face is serious again.
He looks down at me. “He isn’t going to be pleased to see you again.”
“Good,” I say, remembering his icky touch on me. “I’m already upset I didn’t kick him in the balls.”
“You might get your chance,” he says. “Because you’re a special, they might treat you carefully. But they might know why you’re special. And we don’t.”
“How can we find that out?” I ask.
“Normally when records are wiped, even someone like Sutherland, who is in charge of the entire operation, can’t access them.”
“Someone must be able to.”
“Only the oversight committee can empower someone to open a record like that.”
“But electronic records can be hacked by anybody,” I argue.
He shakes his head. The sun is setting through the windows now, and the gold light warms our entwined bodies. “These records aren’t on the grid. They are on a single off-network, air-gapped machine, guarded like it could destroy the world.”
“Really? Something about me could destroy the world?”
His blue-gray eyes search mine. “Maybe. But more likely you are being protected. No telling why. It’s not something I come across very often.”
“Huh.” I snuggle into his chest. Only after we’ve been quiet a while, the sun’s glow shifting to red, do I realize something important.
Jax is telling me his plans. We’re going to do this thingtogether.
9: Jax
The arena is smaller than the ones in Vegas I’d been to back in my Vigilante days. The fighter culture was huge, but here it seems people don’t know quite what to expect as the crowd filters in and finds their seats.
Down on the floor is the octagonal fighting ring. Installed overhead are Jumbotrons that will give close-ups of the match.
Mia and I sit on the second tier near the back. It was easy enough to pick up a pair of scalper tickets, all cash and no trace of our arrival. I peer through a pair of binoculars at the crowd, scanning for Klaus or Jovana. No sign of them yet.
