Page 40 of The Vigilante's Lover
Obviously she doesn’t know what it is. “It will sedate me if I do,” I say.
“No,” she argues. “That’s definitely one of the first things we learn to identify. It’s just a tracker.” She reaches out for me.
I try to smack her arm away, but when I connect, I realize Katya is a lot more than she seems. Her arm is like steel. What we can’t see beneath that generic white suit is a solid layer of muscle.
I feel a sharp tug against my skin.
“It’s best to yank it like a Band-Aid,” she says. “See?” She has the device in her palm.
I slap my hand against my neck, already feeling woozy. I sag against the sofa.
Katya turns the adhesive strip over. “Just a GPS model. An old one. No sedative.”
I stare at it. There’s nothing but a fine wire curled inside.
I sit up. She’s right. I’m fine.
Then I’m mad.
Ohhhh, that Jax. I could have run at any time! I burn with rage. He thought I was so stupid.
Katya sets the adhesive strip on the table. “How long were you in that safe house? This is a really old device. It should have been in your training even if it was years ago.”
A yellow bar on the wall catches my eye. It’s Katya’s screen. There’s now an extra icon at the bottom. It blinks steadily. I have a funny feeling it has to do with our conversation, and that Dell will come back any second to keep me from finding out anything else.
No more sitting around this place, whatever it is. I want to get the layout, make a plan. I stand and head to the door at ten o’clock, the one Katya came through. “Does this go to the kitchen?”
Katya jumps up. “Yes. You want to see the place?” She seems relieved to do something other than talk.
“Yes,” I say. “Let’s do that.”
When I approach the door, the scanner begins its journey, then stops at the bracelet. The doors open instantly.
Excellent. Maybe I am a little bit special.
Now to figure out how to steal this girl’s shoes.
19: Jax
The interrogation room is silent and chilly. I stare at the black dome on the table. Inside are cameras, microphones, and thermal sensors. Everything that just happened will be stored in my file for future reference.
I’ll give them an eyeful when I find Mia. Just picturing her makes me hot with rage.
She’ll tell me what happened to Klaus. I will hold nothing back now that I know he died in her safe house. Vigilantes are authorized to use any force necessary against civilians.
I know I’m being watched via the dome, so I make sure I appear calm and composed until I strike.
The doors work on scanner technology, probably keyed to heat signatures, DNA if they are the latest models. This means I will have to act fast to get one open before it scans me and sets off an alarm. It also means most personnel here won’t think twice about someone wandering the halls, since the scanners keep unauthorized personnel corralled.
Even so, I’ll have limited time once I leave this room to find Mia. I need them to think I’m still in here. The skeleton key can probably cloakmy position for a few seconds, but that will not do me much good with a camera visual. Unless…
I slowly, carefully, slip the thin bit of cellophane out of its hidden pocket. I pop it on the underside of the table and set it to analyzing the nonexistent lock to confuse it.
I take off my jacket. The key beeps in error because it’s not attached to a locking mechanism, but that’s not what I’m after. A quick tap sets the key to power surge. The dome crackles with static from the unexpected jolt.
I toss my jacket over the dome and retrieve the key. If I’ve done this correctly, it will seem as if the camera simply malfunctioned and shut down. They’ll send someone to check, but I’ll have several minutes before a technician arrives.
Hopefully. I don’t intend to stick around to find out.
