Page 100 of The Vigilante's Lover

I inch the window up gradually, allowing the room to adjust in temperature and barometric pressure. Then I carefully pop the locks on the door. There are a half dozen, but I opened them that first night. For a safe house, it is only marginally secure.

I ease open the door, avoiding that push of air that happens whenyou enter quickly. They probably expected I would come in with guns blazing. Maybe they thought I wouldn’t have any tech to identify their traps.

The bomb is just inside the door. It’s a simple matter now of walking up to it and shutting off the sensor. Now I can take it if I want it for myself. I pick it up and set it on the counter.

The pantry door is open and I have to smile when I see the shattered floor that reveals the metal hatch. That’s no Vigilante job. Mia must have managed to get it open. I turn my camera to show it. “Is this your work?” I ask her.

She nods and gives half a smile.

“Subtle,” I say.

This gets more of a reaction.

“Just two more to go,” I say.

The hallway bomb is a motion-sensor trigger. Maybe they hoped Mia herself would rush to her room. The thought of them hurting or killing her makes my blood start to pound.

It’s a smallish bomb, designed to maim someone at close range. “I’m just going to set this one off,” I tell Mia. “Don’t panic if you hear it fire.”

She nods.

I glance around the kitchen and spot a basket of oranges on the counter. I pick one up and head to the door to the hall. With a swift motion, I set the orange rolling down the hall and back away.

The POP of the bomb rings in my ears. I check the scanner. It’s the only one, and done. I glance at my handiwork. The wallpaper is scarred near the blast, and the floor is a little damaged. But overall, not too bad.

Just the one near her bedroom to go.

I approach the closed door with caution. They’ve set up something my scanner can’t quite identify. But the previous blast would have set off anything triggered by motion, sound, or pressure. So it’s something else.

Her door is tied like a gift with a large blue and yellow knot in thecenter.

“They’ve tied us a puzzle,” I say to Mia. I turn the video so she can see. “It’s a blood knot.”

“What’s the trap?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I assume if I untie it, it will blow.”

“Must be a joke since Klaus was probably not happy I tied him up.”

It actually sounds like something Jovana would do, but I don’t tell Mia that.

I scan the door. There’s another explosive on the other side, a big one. It could theoretically take out half the house.

“Looks like if I put too much pressure on the knot, it will blow,” I say.

“Just walk away,” Mia says.

“I’ll diffuse it,” I tell her. “I just have to untie it without creating any additional tautness in the line.”

“Let me see it closer,” she says.

“It’s simple,” I say. “A normal blood knot linking to different-colored ropes.” I point to the blue and yellow parts. “It’s like in the barn. I just have to work into the knot instead of away.”

“A blood knot is tightened by pulling on the opposite lines,” she says. “So sure, you can push them toward each other to undo it.”

“Not a problem,” I say and slip the video in the pocket. “I’ll be back out in just a few minutes, and I can show you how to disarm a land mine.”

“Show me that knot again,” she says, but I don’t pull the camera out of my pocket.