Page 66 of The Vigilante's Lover

Probably the only thing worse than dying from a Vigilante poison is surviving it.

I always imagine that this is what college kids feel like after a night of cheap liquor. Head pounding. Stomach like a punch to the gut. I don’t appreciate feeling weak or slow.

And Jovana got away. Klaus has admitted to a bigger plot, but for what? I don’t have a next step other than to go for Sutherland himself.

Which is suicide.

Mia drives the car with alert attention. The lights passing by light up her face and hair, then she falls into darkness again. She glances at me every few seconds as if to make sure I’m really still alive.

“I’m not easy to kill,” I assure her.

“Good thing,” she says. “Because you’re pushing your luck lately.”

Damn, she’s fun. And clever. And capable.

“So what happened to you?” I ask.

“Not much,” she says. “Got trapped in the car. Escaped. Played with firearms.” She keeps her eyes on the road. “Oh, and jumped your ex-girlfriend.”

“What?” The sound comes out like an explosion.

She doesn’t flinch, expecting my reaction. Her laugh is musical and light. “She thought I was a crack whore.”

“She didn’t recognize you?”

“No.” She reaches into a pocket and pulls out a wad of cash. “She even contributed to my habit.”

“That’s…odd.”

“I let her think it. But I did get some information.” She glances at me slyly, pleased with herself. “She’s meeting Sutherland in the Washington office tomorrow evening. She was pretty pissed that you were alive. Apparently she didn’t know.”

“Interesting.” So they aren’t keeping her in the loop anymore. That’s a promising turn.

“So are we going to Washington?” she asks. She seems almost afraid to ask the question.

“You’re doing better than I am,” I quip. “Maybe I should send you in after them.”

“Well, I am a special,” she says. “And we’re even now on assassination attempts.”

“That we are.”

We’ve crossed a pretty solid section of Nashville now. “I think it’s safe to double back to the hotel,” I tell her.

“I have no idea where I am,” she says with a laugh. “Should I use the car navigation?”

“Let’s be old school for now, just in case,” I say. I’m not so naive as to think they can’t track every car that left the arena. But it’s unlikely they’ll get it right. We’ve switched cars, gone cloaked. I press my hand to my empty pocket. “Where is my phone?”

“Oh, that,” she says. “Sam said it was compromised, so I tossed it.”

Hopefully he’ll wipe it remotely, if he can. “It was smart to call him like that.”

“And not easy.” Her voice is hard. “This mean car never lets me connect to anybody.”

“Voice recognition,” I say. “It’s a good system, mostly. You did well.”

She smiles at the compliment. “So, Mr. Jax the Vigilante, what are we going to do tonight? Head on to Washington?” She tilts her head.

“Turn left up here,” I tell her. “I think another night at the hotel is in order.”

She bites her lip as she maneuvers the car. My body starts to right itself, my head clearing.

We’ll buy ourselves one more easy night. Then back into the fray we go.