Page 37 of My Vigilante Valentine

“I thought there were no rules? Or was that just no code?”

I didn’t have time to argue.

Marco was still lingering, scanning the nooks and crannies of the cluttered alley.

I shifted, pressing in slightly to shield her from view, my body a barrier between her and the consequences of not listening to me.

Unfortunately, those consequences weren’t just about Marco.

Because now that I had her this close? Now that she was pressed against me like this?

My thoughts fully spiraled—each one worse, better, or more reckless than the last.

She wasn’t just in trouble for not staying put…Iwas in trouble for the want and need that now coursed through me.

Her breath hitched, and for a split second, I thought my heart was going to burn out from overexertion. It wasn’t supposed to pound like this. Not for this reason.

I focused on Marco, forcing myself to ignore her warmth and the way her eyes darted to my mouth and then quickly away.

She was a distraction neither one of us could afford right now.

Butman, was she good at it.

Marco kept moving, his footsteps echoing down the expansive alley, each one a keen reminder that I was supposed to be focused onhim—not the woman pressed between me and the wall at her back.

But Luna pulled at the edges of my concentration with every shallow breath that fanned against my jaw. I could feel her heartbeat, quick and unsteady, mirrored by my own.

Then she gasped softly, her breath a warm rush against my neck.

“What?” I hissed, my voice rougher than intended.

She shifted, her lips now dangerously close to grazing my ear. “He just threw something—small, it looked like a phone—into that dumpster.”

My focus snapped back to Marco, and sure enough, his pace had picked up as he walked away from the dumpster, shoulders relaxing like he was lighter without whatever he’d ditched.

I cursed under my breath. If I hadn’t been so focused on keeping her out of sight, I would’ve seen that myself.

Or taken it off him after I’d caught up with him.

Either way, I needed to know what he’d tossed—and if it was a phone? Maybe it would hold the missing pieces we needed to stop The Valentine Villain.

I exhaled slowly, letting my frustration bleed out along with it. She really was observant. It wasn’t ideal to spook the guy, but at least she’d kept her eye on him.

“Good catch,” I muttered, not looking at her because I didn’t trust my face to hide the grudging admiration I felt.

She preened. “See? This is why I needed to be here.”

I shot her a look. “No, you needed to be in the truck. Where it was safe.”

“But then maybe we wouldn’t have spooked him into ditching the phone.”

I hated that she was even half-right, almost as much as I hated the little thrill that came with realizing we made a pretty decent team.

We waited a few beats longer after Marco disappeared around the corner, and then I finally let go of her wrist and stepped out of her space. The absence of her touch felt weirdly noticeable, like my body was missing something vital that it shouldn’t.

I moved toward the dumpster, keeping low and scanning the alley for any lingering threats.

Luna followed, of course, because staying put was clearly against her own personal code.

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