I lean inside the car with the watch and press the all-clear. The interior light stops pulsing and the feminine voice silences its concerned intonations.
“It’s a nice car,” she says.
“It used to be mine.”
“Really?” She glances back at it. “I like it.”
Too many of the buttons on her pajama top are undone and my groin tightens. “Aren’t you cold?” I ask. “You always seem to be out in your sleepwear.”’
She glances down, notices the buttons, and frantically begins to fasten them. “I didn’t exactly have time to change after I escaped from that man in my bedroom.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Bedroom?” Sam hadn’t mentioned this.
Her cheeks bloom pink. “He tied me to the posts like you did. Are all Vigilantes this kinky?”
My gaze slides down to the top, now buttoned to the neck. I imagine Klaus unfastening them and a rage burns in my belly. “What else did Klaus do?”
Her face changes. “Klaus? So he isn’t dead.”
“The reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.” I take her arm and drag her to the other side of the Aston Martin. “Get in,” I say and open her door.
She ducks inside, scooting aside a quilt filled with all sorts of Vigilante tech. “Where did you get that?” I ask.
Her face beams up at me, all innocence. “I stole it.”
Picturing her rooting through Klaus’s clothes on the floor beside her bed sends another shot of fury through me. I slam the door and go around to the driver’s side.
I take a few seconds to restore my driving status in the computer and relegate Klaus to a guest driver so I can retain his data. Then we jet out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Mia asks. She’s bubbly and exuberant, like we’re on some sort of vacation jaunt.
I spot a motel ahead. The office is dark. That’s fine. I don’t need their pathetic keys. I’ve got Mia back under my protection and I will not allow Klaus or anyone else to do anything to her.
The car banks hard to the right as I jerk the wheel to circle around to the back side of the building. There were only two cars out front, and back here, there are none.
“Here?” she asks. I hear a small tremor in her voice.
I stop the car. My break-in kit is tucked in the door pocket just like I left it a year ago.
The back side of the motel has four rooms. I choose the second door. It’s locked with a simple deadbolt that I open with a strong magnet as if I were flipping it by hand on the other side.
Mia jumps out of the car, all energy and excitement. “Is this where we’re going to make a plan?” She looks around. “Are Sam and Colette coming? Have you ridden in her car? It goes over water!”
The door isn’t closed more than a second when I snatch her hand and jerk her toward me. “Shut up, Mia,” I say. And before I can contemplate my next move myself, I’ve pulled her into me and my lips are crushing hers.
19: Mia
Jax has completely stolen my breath.
I clutch at his shirt, unbuttoned at the throat. His lips roam over mine. The stubble on his jaw is rough against my skin.
His hands are on my waist, holding me against him. He smells of the outdoors, pine trees and cut wood.
His chest is solid. He bends down to me, his mouth hot and demanding. I’m spinning, the ground shifting beneath my feet. I sway against him and his arms wrap around my body. His belt buckle presses against my belly, and below that, I feel him, thick and hard.
We’re alone. In a motel.
And he’s kissing me.
