My Vigilante Valentine

Chapter 19

19

because i can

Luna’s hand was in mine as we walked down the hall to Chris’s apartment, and even though it was a small thing—just fingers interlaced, a casual touchpoint—it felt like a much bigger deal.

It was like crossing a line I’d drawn in the sand, only to find that the other side wasn’t as bad as I’d made it out to be.

Well, not in the way I’d expected, anyway.

The bad part was that I’d wasted so much time fighting against gravity with this girl, and now that I’d stopped, everything was exactly where it was supposed to be.

“You’re doing that broody thing again.”

Would she ever stop saying that word? I knew the answer right away: No.

One thing I’d noticed since we started all of this, if Luna’s brain latched onto something she could use to get a rise out of me, she’d repeat it as much as she could just to watch me squirm.

I was pretty sure it was part of her flirting game, so I let it slide.

Who wouldn’t?

I glanced down at her. “I don’t brood.”

“Sure, Jan.”

“You keep saying that. Who’s Jan?”

She laughed, the sound echoing off the walls and straight into my chest. “You’ve never watched The Brady Bunch? What decade did you grow up in?”

“Uh… Not the ‘70s?”

She sighed. “I love the ‘70s. We’ll binge with the Bradys later. Right now, we have a serial killer to catch.”

I snorted.

But she was right—the mission came first.

And that was good to remember because I wasn’t sure when The Villain would strike next, and no part of me wanted to let it happen after what went down last night.

Though, technically, this was just a briefing. And even though Luna had basically dragged me into a team kicking and screaming, Chris had found something. Thanks to whatever he got from the phone, in fact. And yet, I hadn’t even been able to find a hint of anything useful on that thing.

Team Blade for the win.

Whether I liked it or not.

Okay, maybe... maybe I didn’t hate it all that much.

Chris opened the door before we could knock, his eyes dropping to our joined hands. And then a slow—slightly creepy—smile spread across his face. “Well, well. Since The Valentine Villain isn’t currently in my apartment, I’m gonna assume you two finally stopped pretending?”

Luna’s cheeks flushed, but she lifted her chin. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Chris’s eyebrows shot up. “Luna, you wouldn’t shut up about how hot The Blade was even while spending months talking about how hot Jax was. And now that you know they’re the same person?—”

“Chris, chill!” Luna cut in, her face now roughly the same shade as a stop sign. “We all know the story, okay?”

“I’d like to hear that story,” I deadpanned, earning me a glare from Luna and a chuckle from Chris.

I tried not to smile, but the thought of Luna having a crush on both versions of me?

I definitely didn’t hate that.

Chris’s apartment was just like his mind—organized chaos that somehow worked. Multiple monitors displayed scrolling data, and there was evidence of the midnight oil he’d burned last night in the form of an empty take-out container.

“Nice setup,” I said, nodding toward his made-for-TV workstation.

“Thanks.” He gestured for us to sit on the couch. “It’s not quite Batcave level, but it gets the job done.”

I shot Luna a look. “You two and the superheroes...”

“Get used to it, oh, fearless leader .” She dropped onto the couch as if suggesting Rocky and Bullwinkle could even sit at the same table with superheroes, then pulled me down next to her. “So, what did you find?”

Chris held up a finger. “First things first—I’ve been trying all day to find something on that guy who was at the restaurant’s bar. I have a clear shot of him from the restaurant’s security footage?—”

“How did you get that?” Luna asked, sounding impressed.

“They keep it in the cloud,” he replied with an easy shrug. “The only problem is, no matter what system I hack into, I haven’t been able to find him on facial rec. Dude’s a ghost.”

Luna and I sighed in unison. We still weren’t even sure if the unremarkable man who’d been watching us had anything to do with this, but it was disheartening to hear that he was so hard to track down.

That had to mean he was involved. Who couldn’t be pulled up on facial recognition software these days? And, more importantly, how did he have the skills to stay hidden?

“Guess he wasn’t such an Average Joe, after all,” Luna murmured.

“Keep working on it,” I said, belatedly realizing I’d sort of barked it like an order. I softened my tone a bit in the name of good team building. “If he’s our guy, I’ll be shocked. He didn’t look like he could win a fight against a high school wrestler, let alone me.”

Chris’s face took on a focused edge as he pulled up several windows on his main screen. “I will, but now lemme show you this other stuff. I found a pattern.”

Luna and I exchanged a glance as he rambled about a bunch of tech stuff that I didn’t understand.

Then, his tone changed as he clicked through several files, bringing up what looked like a surveillance log. “The Valentine Villain doesn’t just randomly pick couples. He watches them first. Studies their routines, their favorite spots, their social media presence.”

“Hunting them,” I murmured.

Chris nodded. “Yeah. And get this—all of the victims had connections to local businesses. Not just as customers but as regulars or owners. The kind of people who show up so often that everyone knows them, and the staff knows their orders by heart.”

Luna sat forward, her shoulder pressing against mine. “Like Sam and Fatima at Wilde Brew.”

“Yep.” Chris’s voice softened. “They were probably targeted because they were so visible there. The Villain must have seen them during their study sessions.”

The thought of that monster watching Luna’s customers—watching her —made my blood boil. My free hand clenched into a fist, and Luna squeezed the one she was holding.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, her voice steady despite the tension I could feel in her body.

“I have it all mapped out, but we have a few days to lay the groundwork, or traps—of the dating in public places variety—before his next kill.”

This time, I had to squeeze Luna’s hand as her whole body snapped to attention.

“How do you know that?” she whispered.

“Long story short, a very intense algorithm that scans the?—”

“Virtual streets,” I cut in, shooting Luna a wink.

And just as I’d hoped, some of the tension left her body.

“Send us whatever you want us to look over for the groundwork,” I told Chris. “That way, we know what we’re doing in the meantime.”

“Will do.” Chris grinned. “That said, I know we’ve been doing a lot of training since this all started, but never in the field.”

“For a good reason,” I bit out.

Chris and Luna shared a wary look, then Luna jerked her chin at me and mouthed, “Tell him.”

I lifted my chin, waiting.

Chris scratched his neck. “So, I may or may not have bought an old police surveillance van and tricked it out so we could use it in your missions.”

I closed my eyes.

“And, tomorrow night, I figured we could use it. We need to test our team dynamic on something in the field, but obviously smaller than The Villain. It’d be good to get used to working together before we go after the big bad, right?”

Luna’s eyes lit up. “Like a side quest? I’m in.”

“Hold up,” I cut in. “What kind of smaller field thing are we talking about?”

Chris pulled up another window, this one showing security footage of what looked like a warehouse. “Remember that money laundering operation you were looking into? The one connected to the pawn shop?”

I nodded.

“Well, I did some digging. They’re moving some product tomorrow night. Not sure what it is, but it appears to be a small operation with minimal security.” He glanced between Luna and me. “Perfect for a trial run with the van.”

“And with us in the field for the first time.” Luna bounced in her seat. “What would we need to do?”

I cracked my neck, hating this with a fiery passion. I’d seen Luna in the field last night. It didn’t go well. Not through any fault of hers, but still. I didn’t want her anywhere near some pawn shop money laundering ring, whether she was safely tucked inside a secondhand surveillance van or not.

“You’d be our eyes,” Chris explained. “You’re good at noticing details, patterns. Things most people miss. You’d stay in the van with me and monitor the cameras while I run tech and comms, and Jax will be outside, doing his thing.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Luna beat me to it.

“Stay in the van?” She wrinkled her nose. “That sounds suspiciously like trying to keep me safe, but in a here’s a little taste of the action kind of trickery, and not at all the right place to be if I’m supposed to be your eyes .”

“It is to keep you safe,” I said firmly. “That’s his point.”

She turned those big, bright eyes on me. “Makes sense, but I have a better idea.”

“If your idea is for you to be out on the streets with me, then you don’t even get to be in the van.”

Her jaw dropped. “Rude. And what if you need backup?”

“I don’t need backup.”

“Everyone needs backup sometimes.” She poked my side—mercifully not the injured one, but I got her point. “Even vigilantes with super-speed.”

I caught her hand before she could poke me again, but instead of letting go, I just held it. “Luna.”

“Don’t ‘Luna’ me.” But she was smiling. “I get it, fine. I can help from the van. But... don’t make it weird, okay? Let me actually try. No bubble wrap.”

And there it was—that look that made it impossible to say no to her. The one that had gotten me into this whole mess in the first place.

I sighed. “And you’ll stay in the van? No matter what?”

“Scout’s honor.” She held up her free hand in what was definitely not the scout salute. In fact, it was definitely a gang sign that she absolutely should not throw.

Chris snorted. “You were never a scout.”

“Details.” She waved him off. “So, what else do we need?”

For the next hour, we planned. Chris walked us through the tech he’d use to monitor our operation, and I outlined entry points and potential threats.

And Luna?

She asked questions I hadn’t even considered.

She pointed out details in the security footage that could be useful.

She even made connections that had both Chris and me exchanging impressed looks.

Maybe this team thing wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Maybe I was in love.

“One more thing,” Chris said as we wrapped up. He pulled out what looked like modified earpieces. “Comms. So we can stay in contact during the op.”

Luna grabbed one, examining it with childlike wonder. “ Best day ever. Do we get code names, too?”

“No,” I said at the same time Chris said, “Obviously.”

She grinned. “Two against one, Batman.”

Why is it always Batman?

I groaned, but there was minimal real annoyance behind it. When she was looking at me like I’d hung the moon just by letting her be part of this, it was pretty hard to be too annoyed.

“We should probably head out,” I said, standing. “Big day tomorrow.”

Luna pouted, but got up too. “Fine. But this isn’t over. We’re definitely discussing code names later. We should get them since you already have one.”

Chris walked us to the door, but just before we left, he caught my arm. “Hey, can we talk for a sec?”

I stared down at his hand, telling myself the key to team harmony was decidedly not breaking your teammate’s arm.

Chris must have sensed that because he quickly let go.

I nodded once, then turned to Luna. “I’ll meet you downstairs?”

She glanced between us like she was deciding if she should be worried, but then she shrugged. “Sure. Just remember, Chris—if this is the ‘hurt her and I’ll kill you’ speech, Jax has super-speed, super-strength, super-who-knows-what-else, so you should probably be careful.”

Chris made a face at her. “Luna, just go .”

She did, and once she was gone, Chris’s expression turned serious. “Look, I know you’re worried about her. I am, too. But Luna... she’s stronger than you think.”

My back went up immediately. Did he think I didn’t know that?

I thought this guy was smart.

“I know she is,” I replied evenly, keeping the rest to myself.

“Do you?” He crossed his arms and stepped up.

Brave man.

I nodded. “I do.”

“Okay, because sometimes it seems like you forget that she’s been running her own business since she was twenty-two. That she’s built something amazing from nothing. That she faces entitled customers, late shipments, and budget constraints every day without breaking a sweat. All with a serious side of ADHD and way too many shoes to keep track of.”

I ran a hand through my hair, torn between laughing and sighing. “I am fully aware of how capable she is.”

“And yet…”

“And yet, all of that stuff is a lot different than facing down criminals.”

“Hand-to-hand combat? Going up against a gun or a knife? Yeah. Clearly.” He raised an eyebrow. “But there’s more to this gig than that, and you can’t tell me you don’t know that because I see you at Wilde Brew on your laptop all the time, and you’re not doing anything physically dangerous.”

I dipped my chin, giving him that.

“The point is, she can handle herself in a lot of ways that might surprise you. She loves new things, and she throws her all into everything she sets her mind to. Maybe that’s her superpower. And yeah, maybe she needs to stay in the van for now. But don’t underestimate her just because you want to protect her.”

The words hit home in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Sure, he was right—on many levels. And yes, I had been underestimating her. Not because I thought she was weak but because the thought of her getting hurt made some primal part of me want to attack anyone or anything attached to that.

But the biggest take-home from this conversation?

Not only was I looking forward to discovering all of the ways Luna was as amazing as her cousin said she was, but it turned out… he wasn’t so bad himself.

Guess she wasn’t the only one I’d been underestimating.

“I hear you,” I said, letting his familiar fondness for using a metric ton of words give me another reason to be nice. “And… thanks.”

Chris nodded, apparently satisfied. “You’re welcome. Anytime. Now go catch up with her before she decides to start the mission without us.”

I smiled, because yeah, that sounded exactly like something she’d do.

When I got downstairs, Luna was waiting by my truck. And the sight of her standing there under the streetlights?

It made my heart do something entirely obnoxious in my chest.

“Everything okay?” she asked as I approached.

Instead of answering, I wrapped my arms around her middle, lifting her off her feet as I pulled her close.

And then, I simply kissed her.

She made a surprised sound against my lips before melting into me, her hands fisting in my hood when they slipped around my neck.

My head spun from the feel of her pressed against me, warm and soft and perfect.

It was a feeling I could get used to.

Or, maybe I already had.

Like a man fully giving in to an addiction, I set her on her feet, then backed her up against my truck. One hand slid into her hair while the other gripped her hip, and she gasped.

I took advantage, deepening the kiss until she whimpered, and that one sound shot straight through me—center-mass—and I knew I was done for.

I loved her.

I was in love with her.

I just had no idea what I was supposed to do with that.

When we came up for air, she blinked up at me with dazed eyes, her lips swollen and cheeks flushed.

And… Wait . There were no words. I could tell she was trying to find some, scouring the recesses of her mind so she could form some teasing remark or rambling confession.

But when she closed her mouth with an audible snap, it appeared she’d come up empty.

I blinked.

I’d done that . I’d made Luna Wilde—the woman who always had a joke at the ready— speechless .

She’d been right back at Chris’s apartment. This really was the best day ever.

“What was that for?” she breathed, finally making her way out of that kiss-induced stupor.

Happy beyond belief, I pressed quick kisses across her jaw before whispering in her ear, “Because I can.”

Her responding shiver was worth every single thing it had taken to get here.

“And just... thank you,” I told her.

She jolted slightly. “For what?”

“For being you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “For what you’re doing.”

“And… what am I doing other than totally melting on a public sidewalk like a discarded ice cream cone?”

I laughed at the visual, way too pleased that she’d found her sass again. “You’re making me better.”

Her smile was soft, intimate in a way that couldn’t have been more unfamiliar to me. “Well, Mr. Thorne, you were already pretty great. But I’ll take the praise, and you’re welcome.”

I kissed her again, gentler this time, before pulling back with a sigh. “We should get you home so you can rest before tomorrow.”

She nodded, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement. “Our first field mission as a team.”

“A small field mission,” I reminded her as I held her door before letting myself in on the other side. “From the van.”

“A side quest—and van or no van, it still counts as the field.” She poked my chest from across the center console. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the code names.”