Page 97 of My Vigilante Valentine

“Wow,Star Wars, now?” I stepped back, dropping into a fighting stance.

My chest still felt like it had been cracked open, but I let her have the moment. Let myself have it, too.

With Luna, I never seemed to be capable of lingering in the dark for too long. Her light was just far too bright.

“Come on,” I taunted, crooking a finger, “show me what else you’ve got.”

22

romance gold

“Are you sure about this?” Chris glanced up from his laptop, where lines of code scrolled faster than my caffeine-addled brain could process. “This plan seems...”

“Perfect?” I suggested, precariously balancing on a stepstool. I reached up, hanging another string of paper hearts across Wilde Brew’s front window. “Brilliant? The best plan ever planned? The most amazing trap to ever trap?”

“Uh, yeah… No. I was going to sayrisky. Also, maybe get down from there before you fall and ruin the whole mission by breaking something important. Like your neck.”

“Everything worth doing is risky.”

I stepped back—carefully, because Chris wasn’t entirely wrong about my tendency to break a bone or two—to admire my handiwork.

If Wednesday thought it was bad before, the shop now looked like Cupid’s Pinterest board had exploded after a glitter factory accident. Pink and red decorations covered every surface, twinkling in the afternoon light like tiny beacons of love.

It was equal parts delightful and horrifying.

Once again… the perfect trap.

“Besides,” I went on, “The Valentine Villain targets couples in love. What better bait than the vigilante’s girlfriend throwing a Love Day party? I’m extra in love. Over the top full of love.”

“You’re full ofsomething,all right,” Chris muttered under his breath.

I cupped my hand around my ear. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I said you’re a little too giddy about being serial killer bait,” he blatantly lied, but I caught the worry underneath his snark.

I tossed him a reassuring smile as I added an extra sparkly heart to the display just because I could. “That’s my superpower. Inappropriate cheerfulness in the face of certain doom.”

From his usual corner nearby, Jax made a sound that might have been a laugh—though he’d probably deny it if asked. “You’ve got a lot of superpowers, Menace. Making danger look like fun is just one of them.”

“Aww.” I bounced over to him, planting a smacking kiss on his cheek. “That was almost sweet.”

His eyebrow lifted in that piratical way that never failed to make my heart skip three beats. “Almost?”

“Well, you’re still speaking fluent Grumpy Cat and looking likethatwhile you say it, so...” I gestured at his general... everything. The black hoodie, the way he’d positioned himself to see all entrances and exits, the barely-concealed weapons I knew were hidden on his person.

He caught my hand mid-gesture, pulling me closer with theslightesthint of inhuman speed. “I don’t brood.”

“I didn’t even say it that time!”

But, yep. Yes, he did.

“You would have if you’d kept talking.”

Also, probably true.

But, since that reckless display of superpowers made my knees weak and my mouth too dry for a comeback, I decided to let it slide.

Sighing contentedly, I settled against him, enjoying the way his arm automatically wrapped around my waist.

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