Page 90 of The Vigilante's Lover
A map is projected on the screen. I’m in a small town called Jamestown. But I’m just twenty miles from one named Alpine.
“Tell Jax I learned how to tie an alpine coil in Tennessee,” I say.
“All right,” Armond says. “I will try. Be careful.”
“I will.”
The screen reverts to its standard line of commands.
I can only hope Jax isn’t too far away.
18: Jax
I’m just inside the Tennessee state line when Sam patches through on an encrypted channel.
“Don’t tell me. You need a cinnamon roll,” I say.
Sam doesn’t laugh.
“This’ll be quick since I have to cover my tracks,” he says. “You need to head to Alpine, Tennessee. Pronto. Mia is waiting for you.”
“What? Mia?” My hackles rise.
“She was attacked by a man with a German accent.”
“Klaus?”
Sam nods. “Possibly. Apparently she tied him up. She also stole an Aston Martin from the guy.”
“My car?”
“That’s what Armond says. He got a visual during the transmission. When Mia couldn’t find you, she contacted him. Smart lady. Okay, I’m out. Get to her, Jax. They’re on to her.”
He kills the transmission.
Holy hell. Mia is in the game.
This is an incredible betrayal by Klaus.
My fury is hard to contain that someone who once worked so closely with me is now in league with Jovana. If I hadn’t seen all the evidence myself, I would never have believed it.
There’s something larger at play here. More than Jovana getting me out of the way to protect her father’s criminal network. My mistake in killing Singer for her is part of a bigger plot. I aim to find out what it is, but not until I know Mia is secure.
I’m doing a shit job convincing myself I only care about her safety. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since she took off down that drive back in Missouri.
But I was right to let her go then.
Just like it’s right to meet up with her now.
It’s eighty-five miles from where I am to Alpine, which is more of a community than a town. I probably shouldn’t call attention to myself, but now that Sam has wiped this car, I decide, screw it, and plug into semi-stealth at high speeds. Without Vigilante status, I don’t have the luxury of blatantly ignoring civilian safety laws, but this car can repel standard-issue speed monitoring easily enough.
Mia has shown more pluck than I gave her credit for. Tying up a Vigilante and stealing his car? Who does that? As a silo director, I rarely saw trainees come through with that level of tenacity. Hell, I rarely saw full-fledged Vigilantes take that level of risk.
Other than my team. Sam. Colette. And back in the day, Klaus.
If I have his car, I can get to Jovana for sure. The data inside it will lead me directly to her. His driving history. The identities of people who rode in it.
I want that car. It used to be mine, until I got sent to Ridley. Klaus kept it.
