Page 131 of The Vigilante's Lover

I want to scream with frustration. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I’m incompetent!

As the minutes pass, I force myself to calm down. I’m behaving like a civilian. Like I’m helpless.

I’m not. I’m getting out of here.

I start looking around the interior of the car. There has to be something in here I can use to escape.Think, Mia!

I crawl over the console to look out the driver-side window. I can’t see below it, but I spot a faint reflection of a glow. That cellophane thingy. That’s what has this car on lockdown. Jax probably didn’t realize he was locking me in. Of course, he probably didn’t anticipate my foolishly turning the car off.

I close my eyes, remembering all the times Jax used that special key. He blew that lid off the silo hatch with it. So it has some explosive power. And he broke into this car. There weren’t any keys. It runs off a code. So it can descramble those kinds of locks.

I can’t reach it with the window up, so it’s useless to me. I need a way out from the inside.

I struggle to think of a way. I could break a window, I guess. But the alarm would surely go off and attract attention.

I glance at the gun. Then I might have to use it.

Think, Mia,think.

Don’t fancy cars have a valet mode? Maybe that could circumvent that code descrambler. Do something manual to pop the door.

I feel under the dash well below the steering wheel. I find a button and press it.

A faint click outside the car tells me I just opened the cover of the gas tank. Not helpful.

I find another one, and the hood pops up an inch. Great, I’m booby-trapping the car if we need a quick getaway. I’ll fix it once I’m out.

The next one makes the hazard lights start blinking. I quickly shut them back off.

Then I find another small lever. I pull it.

The car chimes. The electronics come on for a second. My heart hammers like mad.

A female voice says, “Valet mode initiated.”

I tentatively tug on the door handle.

It opens!

I step out onto the asphalt. I did it! I got out! On my own! I dance in a little circle.Go, Mia. Go, Mia.

The exit opens at the back of the arena and I drop to the ground. Shoot. Excessive celebration. Not very Vigilante.

I crawl forward, thankful for the jeans. A drop-dead-gorgeous black-haired woman comes out, walking too fast to be normal. Is it her? I can’t tell in the uneven light of the parking lot.

Maybe this woman is just late for something. She heads toward the rows of cars. I close the door quietly and move to the back of a delivery truck as she passes by about four cars down. Her hair swings like a shinycurtain. She’s petite but everything about her is like a panther, strong and stealthy.

It’s her. I would bet on it.

And the gun is in the car.

Crap.

Something on her wrist lights up. A watch! She starts talking into it.

A Vigilante watch?

Maybe. I mean, there are ordinary watches you can talk to. They have Internet, as well as remote controls for cars and house functions. Those have been around for years.