Page 36 of My Vigilante Valentine

The warehouse door creaked open, a shadow slipping out.

Marco.

He was moving fast, head down, shoulders hunched like he was trying to outrun something he couldn’t see or name that lurked in the night.

I straightened in my seat, eyes narrowing on Marco as I reached out and pointed one finger in Luna’s direction. “Stay in the truck. Lock the doors.”

“Wait, what—” Luna started, but I didn’t wait for the rest.

She had one job: stay put.

I just hoped she’d do it.

Lightning fast, I grabbed my jacket and blades from the backseat and got ready. And then—after waiting to make sure I heard the quiet click of the locks as she did what I asked—I slipped away from the truck.

Hood up, I kept to the shadows, footsteps silent as I trailed Marco down the dimly lit street. He veered into an alley.

Perfect.

Familiar territory.

I was just closing the distance when the unmistakable clatter of a trash can lid echoed through the alley like a gunshot.

I froze.

Marco froze.

The world froze.

I didn’t have to look to know who the culprit was.

Luna.

I whipped around just in time to see her drop the metal lid, her face a mix of horror and guilt. Becauseof courseshe didn’t stay in the truck. That would’ve been too easy.

Too safe.

Apparently, that just wasn’t her style.

Marco’s head snapped toward the noise, eyes narrowing.

Great.

I moved as fast as I ever had, crossing the distance in a few quick, blurring strides. I grabbed Luna by the wrist, pulling her into the shadows, pressing her back against the cold brick wall just as Marco turned the corner, squinting into the dark.

I could feel her breath, quick and warm, against my jaw.

My hand was still wrapped around her wrist, her pulse rapid beneath my fingers. Our faces were inches apart, close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes, even in the dark.

And our bodies?

Much too close for comfort.

“I thought I told you to stay in the truck,” I whispered, low and sharp.

“You did,” she whispered back. “But it was more of a suggestion than a rule, right?”

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to summon patience from the void. “It was a rule.”

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