Page 45 of The Vigilante's Lover
Jax jumps inside and has the car in motion before I can pull the handle closed. All his dash monitors are issuing warning beeps. The grid with the dots pulses red in every direction.
“Have they found us?” I ask.
“They’re about to.”
Jax slams on the gas and drives us out of the trees. We hit the gravel in a full skid. He yanks on the wheel and we head to the highway.
“They’re totally going to follow us,” I say.
“Yes, they are,” he says.
“But you have a plan?” I ask.
“Of course,” he says.
Now that we’re in the car, I feel a crazy sense of elation. I can’t help it, but let out a little squeal.
“What?” Jax asks.
“This is so exciting!”
I’ve never been so crazy hyper before. I don’t care anymore how I got into this world, that Jax tied me up and dragged me into it. It feels right. I belong here. This is the best I’ve ever felt in my life.
“They were going to send me home,” I tell Jax. “Like I could go back there after all this!”
Jax careens down the road. The red blips concentrate on a spot well behind us. I’m betting that’s where my bracelet is. I squeal again. We fooled them!
“Would you stop with that damn noise?” Jax growls.
“I’m too excited!” I punch him on the arm. “What are we doing next? Where are we going? Did you find out where Klaus is? I want to meet him!”
With that, Jax jerks off the road and we’re back in the woods again.
21: Jax
I’m not sure what game Mia is playing, but I’m done going along.
I grab her by the neck and squeeze a spot that I know creates a screaming pain through her skull.
Her eyes go bright with pain, but she can’t easily speak while I’m doing this.
My voice is like ice. “Who killed Klaus? Was it you? Or Jovana? Or one of her people?”
I let go. She slumps forward so fast that her forehead bangs the dash.
I wait until I know she is recovered enough to hear me. “Who killed Klaus?” I ask again.
Her back shakes a little, and that annoying protective urge in me is pricked again. I ignore it. “Answer me,” I insist, “or I’ll do that again.”
She sucks in a long shuddering breath. “I—I thought I was special,” she manages to get out.
I grab her shoulder and drag her back against her seat. “I am aware that you have somehow managed to compromise the Vigilante information network. That is no small feat.” I pull my hand away. “Thatdoesn’t tell me who killed Klaus.”
She turns her face to me, eyes wet with pain and fear. “Klaus is dead?”
If her training is this good, I need to know who did it, because her confusion, fear, and innocence are so convincing that I let go of her and sit back.
“He was killed at your safe house, six months ago. Both his record and the notification of his death were deleted.”
