Page 147 of The Vigilante's Lover

Mia.

I cross-reference that number with the one currently tied to the ring.

It’s a match.

I’m dumbfounded. No wonder they protect her. No wonder she has the key to everything.

She’s a Vigilante. And not from just any Vigilante family.

The very first one.

My head buzzes. This explains so many things. The safe house. Heraunt. Her parents, and the gun on the boat. And all the wiped records surrounding them.

But how do I tell her?

A noise from beyond the closed door pulls me from my thoughts. I check the time. Too early for the bartender to show up, and any other staff would have announced themselves.

Not good. I scout the room for defendable positions and weapons. No telling where the gun is. Somewhere on the floor, under the bed. Out of reach. I grab the rope we used last night. I can work with this.

I jump from the bed as the bedroom door swings open on silent hinges. Two men fill the doorway, one standing and one crouched low, dart throwers in their hands. I catch a glimpse of a woman behind them.

No mistaking Vigilantes.

“Please don’t,” says the standing man, motioning at the rope in my hands. “We really don’t want to involve Ms. Morrow.”

I look at the bathroom door. The shower is still running.

“She’s fine. And alone,” says the woman from behind the two men. “But we are not.” The implication is clear. The building is surrounded. And I’m trapped.

For the moment.

I sit back down on the bed. The rope and ring are still in my hands. I need to stall long enough to come up with a plan. “I expected you sooner.”

The woman looks bemused and tosses me a shirt. I guess I’m leaving in my pajama pants. “We didn’t want to interrupt your romantic interactions,” she says.

The crouching man snickers, and she nudges him into silence.

“And that’s why you haven’t shot me yet, despite the standing kill order.”

She nods. “Our orders were to take you away from the special first. We’ll take care of the messy parts soon enough.”

“I’m sure you don’t want your lady in danger,” the crouching mansays.

If they are even entertaining the idea of involving her, then they have no clue how special Mia really is. I do not doubt the hell they would go through if any harm befell her. Accidents happen, however. And with Sutherland calling the shots, a cover-up would be a certainty.

A sick feeling forms in my belly. The longer I stall, the greater the chance she gets hurt.

Or worse.

I can’t risk it. But I can’t just vanish on her.

“Very well,” I say. “I will go with you. On one condition.” The woman raises her eyebrows but says nothing, waiting. I start tying a simple knot around the ring. “Mia’s gotten wrapped up in this circus surrounding me. I must know she will be safe and protected once I’m out of the picture.”

“She’s a special, of course she will be,” says the woman.

“Not good enough. You know her house was blown up. That wasn’t just about me.”

The woman’s eyes harden for a second, as if she thinks I’m accusing her of something. But just as quickly, they soften.