Page 30 of My Vigilante Valentine

New superpower unlocked?

“Luna, of all the people I’ve helped, you’re the first person to ever chase me down and ask to join my team.”

I adjusted my basket, grasping for something light and dismissive to wave him off. “How do you know? Maybe you’re just too fast for them to catch you.”

His lips twitched. “Maybe.”

And then he just watched me, silent and unreadable, waiting. Like he already knew the answer, but he wanted me to be the one to say it.

I snapped out of it, eyes narrowing.

He thought he won this round? Absolutely not.

“Well, since I have caught you,” I teased, “just know that I’m excellent at multitasking. I can make a killer latteandhelp you fight crime. This is basically destiny.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, probably rethinking his mission to keep an eye on me. “I work alone.”

“But do you have to?”

The silence stretched again, but then it seemed to settle into something different—more fragile.

Humor was one thing, but this felt raw and vulnerable in a way that had me treading carefully. “All kidding aside, I justthink it’s probably exhausting, you know? Keeping a secret that big, living in two worlds. Hiding, even when you’re sitting in plain sight.”

He gazed at me like I’d peeled back a layer he wasn’t ready to expose. His lips parted, then pressed into a thin line, like he was weighing the consequences of letting me in.

“It’s not about me,” he admitted, gaze dropping to the floor before flicking back to mine.

“Maybe not, and I think that’s amazing. What you’re doing is... Well, I know I’m grateful for it, and I’m sure others are, too. But I can’t imagine it’s easy to carry all that alone, and now that I know, maybe you don’t have to do that anymore.”

I wasn’t sure if he’d reply, judging by how hard his lips were pressed together.

But then a cash register beeped somewhere at the front of the store, and I decided not to push more than I already had. I could tell the door was open... and while impulsive blabbering was my toxic trait, there was no need to knock that door right off its hinges.

“I need time to think about this,” he finally replied.

“Fair enough.”

With a nod, Jax turned to walk away, and for half a second, I thought that was it. Just a weirdly intense conversation in the midst of quinoa and chia seeds.

Because of course he’d leave it like that—all abrupt and intriguing, with zero closure.

It was basically his brand.

But then he stopped.

Paused mid-stride, in fact, like something had physically tugged at him.

He didn’t turn around right away, just stood there with his back to me, spine straight in that rigid, tough-guy way of his.

And then, slowly, he glanced over his shoulder, the look on his face landing somewhere between exasperation and amusement. “While I’m thinking, I won’t have time to find a new coffee shop.”

I blinked, processing.

Then, as if he hadn’t just lit a fuse, he added with the faintest, most infuriating smirk, “Guess you’ll just have to deal with me for now.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me clutching my box of mac and cheese like it was the only thing keeping me tethered to the Earth.

To be fair, it kinda was.

---