Page 163 of The Vigilante's Lover

Mark glances back at me apologetically. “As long as you don’t make any sudden movements, the grid restraint shouldn’t be too uncomfortable,” he says.

He notices the bag. “Is she supposed to have that?” he asks Jovana.

“I took the weapons and tech,” she says and turns to fix her stare at me. “I left you your tawdry underwear and that tacky ring.”

I glance at the bag. At least I have a couple things of my own.

“You’ll want to buckle up,” Mark says. “It will help you stay still.”

I look around for a seat belt, but don’t see anything. Then Markmust hit a button, because one slides out from between a gap in the cushions. I tug it around me and snap it into the other side. A red light on the face of the buckle shifts to green.

Instantly, a hundred yellow lines appear across the seat, marking my body with their grid. They flash for a second, then go red.

“What is it?” I ask. I lift my arm and feel a little jolt, a gentle burn.

“Laser restraint,” he says. “If you make any sudden movements, it will zap you.”

My heart hammers. I move a finger slightly and feel a warm buzz on my skin. That’s not too bad.

“It’s like this,” Jovana says, and tosses a paper wrapper to the back.

It immediately incinerates in a flash. The smell of smoke chokes me.

“That would be considered a fast movement,” Mark says.

“Got it,” I manage to cough out.

Mark shakes his head as we pull away from the clearing. He turns on a fan that sucks the smoke under the dash.

“Let’s see that transmission,” Jovana says.

Mark taps his screen as he navigates the dirt road. I guess auto-drive doesn’t work in places like this. Even Vigilante tech can’t manage the deep country.

The terrible, awful thought of Jax being dead creeps in on me again. A tear slides out of my eye and rolls down my face. I feel a warmth from the laser catching the movement and warning me with a shot of heat.

Why has Jovana taken me, anyway? I don’t know what good I am. Maybe as a bargaining chip. It does seem Sutherland has been blowing her off. But here’s another Vigilante, perfectly willing to help and using all the tech that would register in the network surveillance. He’s not trying to hide anything.

His car’s dash voice is a commanding male voice. “Identify your prisoner.”

Mark glances over at Jovana. “I’m not sure I can avoid a scan on her,” he says. “What’s the situation?”

“She’s a special,” Jovana says. “They won’t get anything on her. Let them scan. The cloak will keep it from actually transmitting until we go back on grid.”

Mark punches at the screen. The laser lines turn off. I think I should make a lunge for the door, but Mark quickly says, “The beam can burn you too. Hold still.”

I wait for the line to pass over me, too scared to even breathe. When it’s finished, the laser grid flashes back into place.

Jovana busts out with a laugh. “That girl believes anything.”

My face burns. I guess the beam wasn’t dangerous after all.

Mark watches the screen. “She’s just unfamiliar with all the tech. It’s a year’s worth of training.”

Jovana’s face contorts in anger. I guess she doesn’t like Mark defending me.

The screen flashes with only my name, like it did in the silo with Jax. No wonder she didn’t recognize me in the parking lot. Until I showed up in the car with her watch, she didn’t know who I was.

Mark whistles. “They don’t even have a last known location on her,” he says. “She’s up there in the pecking order. That’s good, as it means it won’t transmit our location.”