Page 28 of The Vigilante's Lover
Great. She’ll be incapable of walking more than five feet. No matter. We have to get moving.
I touch a button on the table and within minutes, a man enters. With only a faint nod from me, he gathers my packed suit and another red bag that contains additional outfits for Mia.
When he has gone out ahead of us, I say, “It’s time.”
She has walked to the French doors and turns, backlit by the morning sun. Her hair is glorious and wild, the red dress giving her a sultry silhouette. Yes, she will make one hell of an operative, in time.
I step forward and take her hand. She makes an obvious show of looking away but does not resist.
We walk the hotel hallway in silence. Mia concentrates on her balance as we go down the elevator and arrive at the back entrance.
The Lexus is already waiting in the pull-through, the driver’s door hanging open. The attendant opens the front passenger door, and Mia hesitates for a second before climbing in. I slip into the driver’s seat and pull away the moment he closes her door.
I’m not sure how much I should warn her about what we’re about to go into. If she’s a Vigilante, she’s been to syndicates before.
I consider the possibility that Mia’s information board will be as blank at the silo as it was on the Identipad. If that’s true, I’ll ask them to hold on to her for me. I’ll get to the bottom of who she is on my own.
If she really is one of my enemies, she’ll be captured. I’ll take great pleasure in interrogating her myself, no holds barred.
Great pleasure.
Mia stares out the window, lost in thought. Her skin is fair in the morning light. I may just have to accept the fact that I’m caught by her.
I decide not to say anything about the situation. Hopefully things will work out without too much drama. I’ll go in, confess my role in killing Jovana’s rival and how it came about, and we’ll start the process of clearing my name.
After the night it all went down, no one brought me to the syndicate for questioning. I was taken to Ridley Prison like a common criminal, without any sort of Vigilante tribunal. I aim to find out who arranged that and why no one stepped forward to challenge how my case was handled.
“Is it far?” Mia asks.
“An hour,” I say.
Mia smooths out a rumple in her skirt. She seems almost nervous. I wonder if she has something to hide, something that will be revealed when she enters the silo. Maybe she plans to attack me and escape before we arrive.
This is going to be a very interesting morning.
14: Mia
Jax seems different than last night.
I steal peeks at him as he drives. This car, now that I’m in the front, isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. The dash at first glance seems like the new fancy electrics. A whole-car perimeter camera screen. Gauges that tell you time to next charge, miles per amp, the size of your environmental footprint.
But there’s other things. Maps display on the windshield. There’s a countdown that is twenty-four hours in and will end in forty-eight more. Another inexplicable hexagon projected onto the glass has pulsing red lights of varying brightness.
“So what is that one?” I ask, curiosity eating at me. I point to the hexagon.
Jax shifts his attention to the display. In the bright light of day, he seems less imposing. His eyes are actually a gray-blue, now that I can see them beneath his hooded brow. He’s ridiculously handsome. I’ve never seen anyone like him before. Maybe in a movie.
I remember him looking at me last night, when I thought he wouldkiss me. My heart quickens.
“That is just a view of my compatriots and their positions,” he says. The way his voice dips on the word “compatriots” suggests that the dots represent something quite the opposite of anything friendly.
“You said my aunt’s house was ‘compromised’ last night. How, exactly?”
His eyes flick over to me, then go back to the road. “It was your own alarm that went off. You should know.”
“I had no idea there was anything in my lampshade.”
His expression darkens. That’s the Jax I remember. Angry. Suspicious. I’ve hit a nerve.
