Page 48 of My Vigilante Valentine

The vigil carried on, voices weaving together in hushed remembrance, but I was already planning the next conversation we needed to have. Because after this, we weren’t just going back to the coffee shop to tell Chris about my secrets so he’d hopefully help us with the phone.

We were telling him that, starting now, Luna Wilde was my fake girlfriend—making us nothing more than bait on the hook of a killer.

It would be a dangerous game.

A completely desperate play.

And then? The real work could begin.

The candlelight vigil left a hollow ache in my chest. As comfortable as I was within Wilde Brew’s familiar setting, even being here couldn’t easily chase it away.

Luna unlocked the front door with shaky fingers, and the urge to reach out and steady her hand was almost overwhelming.

But I kept my distance, knowing that what she needed right now wasn’t comfort.

It was action.

When we made it inside, Luna flipped on minimal lighting, causing the usually bright and airy shop to be clouded with pools of amber and shadow.

“So, are we gonna talk about why you brought me to a closed coffee shop? Because if this is your way of telling me you two are dating, I gotta say—the cloak and dagger routine seems a bit unnecessary.”

Luna shot him a look that could’ve curdled milk. “Really? Little soon for dagger jokes after tonight, don’t you think?”

“Gallows humor.” He shrugged. “Now, answer the question.”

“About us dating?” Luna asked. She turned to me as if seeking my help, but when I only lifted a single brow, she rolled her eyes. “Chris, that’s not why we’re here.”

“Good,” he said, bringing an upside-down barstool off the counter so he could sit. “Because it’s not like that would be breaking news after the two of you spent like three hours in the storage room this afternoon.”

Luna gaped at her cousin. “Excuse you, it was not three hours!”

“You’re right. Closer to five.”

“Right, and you sayI’mthe one who has no grip on the passage of time.”

I watched this exchange with equal parts fascination and dread.

Their dynamic was...interesting.

Could I go from living in the shadows, only having my blades to keep me company to suddenly being trapped in cousin bickering 24/7?

Luna threw up her hands. “We’re here because we wanted to tell you that Jax is The Blade, and we need your help hacking into this phone that we think might be connected to the Valentine Villain.”

My brows nearly flew off my forehead.

Well. That was one way to do it.

Turned out, the unpredictability that was Luna Wilde might just be worth the headache of their bickering.

After all, she bickered with me, and I wasn’t too sure that I minded it.

Chris blinked as he processed Luna’s dramatic revelation.

Once.

Twice.

Then, his lips curved into a slow grin that was eerily similar to the one Luna used when she was about to say something that would drive me nuts.

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