Page 39 of My Vigilante Valentine

I hung my head, my shoulders shaking with a short, silent bubble of laughter. Giving in, I ran a hand over my face. “I didn’t say it wasannoyinglyenjoyable. I said,decent.”

Her grin softened into something different—less triumphant, more... knowing. Like she could see past all the layers of sarcasm and gruffness to the truth underneath.

The car filled with silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind.

And maybe that was why itdidmake me uncomfortable, so I straightened in my seat and put my hand on the gear shift. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

With a nod, I shifted into drive and headed back the way we came. The engine’s hum filled the cab as I drove, and Luna had gone quiet, her gaze out the passenger window as she tapped a lazy rhythm on her thigh with her fingers.

Inexplicably, I missed her teasing. Her rambling. I’d give anything to know the rapid-fire thoughts that no doubt flitted through her beautiful mind.

I snuck a glance at her when she wasn’t looking.

Big mistake.

Her face was relaxed in a way that made it hard to look away, the curve of her cheek looking softer and more delicate in the dim glow from the dashboard.

Then, a dimple appeared when she smirked at something only she knew. Probably some sarcastic thought she’d hit me with later, and honestly? I looked forward to it.

I dragged my eyes back to the road.

She got under my skin so easily, like it was second nature. But there was no denying it—when it came to knowing what to look for out in the streets? She had instincts. Sharp ones.

Tonight, she’d noticed something I hadn’t, and I had a feeling it was always like that for her. Like maybe she consistently saw connections where others missed them.

Looked like Luna Wilde was more than just a distraction, after all.

10

basically invincible

The morning after the mission felt like waking up after binge-watching an entire season of a crime show—brain buzzing, heart still racing, and zero regrets.

Wilde Brew was in that sweet spot between morning rush and mid-morning lull, the steady hum of coffee grinders blending with the lofi playlist I’d queued up to help the students with their studying.

Wednesday slung coffee and manned the register while I restocked the bakery case, working together with a natural, well-honed flow. We always found something to laugh about—like the weirdly specific customer requests that only food service people understood.

Owning a coffee shop wasn’t only about creating a great atmosphere for the patrons, and I liked to think I fostered a pretty great one with my employees, too.

They always had my back, and I had theirs. Teamwork, baby. Which was yet another reason Jax needed to stop pretending he was a lone wolf and accept the fact that we were a team now.

He’d been on my mind a lot since he’d dropped me off last night. Shocking, I know. But I’d spent a fair amount of my morning cycling through every detail from the night before.

I couldn’t help it. My brain had hit the “shuffle and repeat” button, and I was powerless against its will.

The alley and the dumpster phone.

Jax pulling me into the shadows, his breath warm against my face.

His hand wrapped around my wrist like I was made of glass, even as he pinned me to the wall like I wasn’t breakable at all.

Shiver.

Looking up, my gaze zipped to where he sat at his usual table, spending his daylight hours hard at work on his laptop like the tech-savvy vigilante he was.

Was he looking for another way to find the Valentine Villain?

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