Page 16 of My Vigilante Valentine

Not for her, and probably not for me, either.

Begrudgingly, I took a bite, though I wasn’t even sure why. I could’ve just left them on the plate so I’d be safe from the sparkles, telling her I meant it when I said I didn’t want them.

But… no.

It was the same thing that happened with my feet on the way over here. Control used to be easy—especially after everything I’d gone through to get where I am.

But with Luna? I’d lost all semblance of it, and?—

Oh,wow. The cookie was good.Reallygood. In fact, I probably couldn’t scowl about it if I tried.

Discreetly brushing a crumb from my lip, I glanced toward the counter.

She wasn’t looking.

The rest of the cookie disappeared.

The tension between my shoulder blades hadn’t eased, even after two hours of working on intel about a pawn shop’s illegal money laundering scheme. I’d hit a dead end with the guy who’d done the recent double homicide, so until something else came up, it was back to business as usual.

Feeling eyes on me, I glanced up.

Chris—whose name I only knew thanks to being aware of Luna’s every word—was staring at me from his spot at the counter.

He lounged there almost every day like he owned it, and the way he worked? The keystrokes, the intensity, his whole demeanor?

It was clear that he knew things. The kind of things that required firewalls, encryption, and maybe the occasional surf of the dark web.

There was no doubt in my mind that the guy was a hacker.

But was he the good kind or the bad?

I shifted in my seat, tapping aimlessly at my own keyboard, but my attention stayed on Chris. I might not like the way he got to have such an easy relationship with Luna when I was forced to torture myself over her, but there was no denying the guy had skills.

Our eyes met for a fraction of a second, and though it was brief, it felt intentional—like he was trying to read me as much as I was reading him.

I looked away first.

Not because I was rattled. As usual, I just didn’t care to engage.

Big difference.

I stared at my screen, the cursor blinking like it was mocking me. My tech skills weren’t bad. Basic hacking? Sure. Enough to scrape data, trace IPs, and bypass low-level security.

But Chris? He wasn’t basic. In the right context, I had a feeling he was capable in a dangerous way.

Could I use someone like that?

Well, yeah.

But… no.

I worked alone. Always had, and always would.

Attachments were liabilities. Rule number two of my nonexistent handbook.

But whether he was a hacker, whether I wanted to work with him, or whether I kinda hated him for his easy familiarity with Luna, it wasn’t lost on me the way he’d shielded her from danger at the bank.

And for that, he had my respect.

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