My Vigilante Valentine

Chapter 23

23

jovial pain in the butt

I woke to cold concrete and the smell of rust.

My head felt stuffed with cotton, but Jax’s training… Even just thinking about it had me alert and paying attention, like he was here with me and telling me to do so.

Stay still.

Assess the situation.

Control your breathing.

Through my lashes, I could make out industrial lights hanging from a high ceiling. A warehouse, maybe? The air was damp and cold, with that musty smell old buildings get when they’ve been empty too long.

I was lying on my side, hands zip-tied behind my back, and another set of zip-ties secured my ankles.

Okay…

I knew he’d been taking notes on The Blade’s methods, but seeing the zip ties on me hit different.

And speaking of The Blade...

Jax would come for me. That wasn’t even a question. But I couldn’t just wait around to be rescued, and I had a few new tools that I could use to help with that.

I was part of this team for a reason, right?

Carefully, I tested the zip ties. They were tight but not cutting off circulation. And if?—

“I know you’re awake.”

The voice came from behind me—male, cultured, with an edge of something I couldn’t quite place.

“Well, that’s awkward,” I said, somehow keeping my voice steady. “Here I was, trying to be sneaky.”

A low, almost whimsical chuckle. “You’re not afraid.”

“Oh, I definitely am.” I managed to push myself into a sitting position, grateful for all those core exercises I’d been doing since I began hanging out with a stupidly ripped vigilante. “But I cope with fear through inappropriate humor. Rest assured, the wittier I am tonight, the more terrified you’ll know I am.”

Footsteps approached, and then he was there—The Valentine Villain himself.

And, while he had his horrible mask in his hand as my clue as to who he was, the man that usually hid behind it?

He was the guy from the restaurant, after all. The one who was a ghost and couldn’t be tracked down using facial recognition.

And, just as I remembered him from the restaurant, he was just an ordinary man who wouldn’t stand out in a crowd.

But his eyes... up close? They were something else. Cold. Empty in a way that made my skin crawl.

“Interesting,” he said, studying me like I was a bug under a microscope. “Most people start begging right away. There are at least a few tears by now. Sometimes, both.”

I shrugged, ignoring the way my heart seemed to gain another crack with every second I spent with this anti-love killer. “I’m not most people.”

“No.” He crouched in front of me. “You’re not. And that, sweet child of the Moon, is why you’re perfect.”

“ Child of the Moon?” I snorted, unable to help myself. “Sir, be for real right now. Just call me Luna without making it weird, please.”

His slow smile was the last thing I expected. “See? Perfect .”

Gulping, I vowed to cut down on the snark—fear or no fear. “Perfect for what?”

“For breaking him.”

The words hit me like a slap, but I internally begged myself to stay calm.

To think.

He couldn’t mean…

But, if he did, why?

“Sorry, to break who?” I whispered.

His smile was awful. “Jax Thorne. Your vigilante boyfriend. The man who thinks he can save this city from itself.”

“And you want to what? Stop him?”

“I want to teach him a lesson.” He stood, pacing in front of me. “About love. About weakness. About how caring for someone makes you vulnerable.”

I almost laughed. “Seriously? That’s your classic villain motivation story? You’re really just not a fan of love?”

“Love is a lie. A chemical reaction that makes us weak. Makes us stupid. Makes us...” He broke off, jaw tight.

But I heard it. There was a story behind his story, and whatever it was, I knew he must have lost someone. Someone he loved, and the loss must have been so great that it’d turned him into this .

“What matters is that he’ll come for you,” he said after he’d collected himself again. “And when he does?”

“Let me guess—it’s a trap?”

“Perfect, as usual.” He smiled again. This time, it reached his eyes, and that was somehow even worse. “But don’t worry. You won’t be alone for long. I left him a message. A Valentine, if you will.”

My stomach turned at the thought of what that “Valentine” might look like.

But instead of showing fear, I decided to step into my strength. To be exactly who I was—exactly who Jax loved me for being.

The girl who joked during bank robberies, flirted with vigilantes, and yes… had absolutely sounded too peppy while preparing to face off against a serial killer this afternoon.

“Quick question,” I said, tilting my head. “Did you practice that speech in the mirror? Because it fell a little flat in places. I have notes, if you want them.”

His expression darkened. “You think this is a game?”

“No. I think it’s sad.” The words came out against my will, but I kept going, needing to trust my rambling self. “Something happened to you, didn’t it? You lost someone important? And instead of dealing with it in therapy like a normal person, you decided to hurt others?”

His hand shot out, gripping my jaw. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know you’re lonely.” I met his gaze, refusing to look away. “I know you’re angry. And I know that killing people won’t fix whatever’s broken inside you.”

For a moment, something flickered in those empty eyes—something almost human.

Then it was gone, replaced by cold, dead, icy fury.

“Enough.” He released me roughly. “You talk too much.”

“I’ve heard that. A few times, in fact.”

He ignored me, turning away and stalking toward what looked like a makeshift workspace against the far wall. “Your boyfriend should be getting my message any time now, and then the real fun can begin,” he called over his shoulder.

Numbly, I stared at the back of his average, round head.

Jax would come—that wasn’t even a question. But he’d be walking into a trap if he did, and given how much this guy seemed to know about him...

I had to do something.

Carefully, I shifted position. If I angled my wrists in that crafty way that Jax had taught me…

And , ugh.

This could take a minute.

Apparently, even if armed with The Blade’s zip-tie escape hacks, there was a bit of a learning curve. And what if I didn’t have time to get myself free?

But maybe...

I scanned the room. There . A piece of broken glass, possibly within reach if I could scoot back far enough.

Shifting again, I began to inch toward it. I moved as quietly as I could since the Villain was still so close, but even slow progress was better than no progress.

I kept my eyes on my captor as the concrete scraped my legs, biting back any sound of discomfort.

I could do this.

I had to do this.

I refused to just be the bait in this scenario. That was always part of the plan, but not the whole plan. It was supposed to be a team effort, one that included backup, and Doritos, and…

Jax .

Chris .

My eyes stung with a sudden rush of unshed tears, but I blinked them away.

Damsels cried.

I was Luna Wilde—coffee shop owner, vigilante team member, and jovial pain in the butt.

And I was going to help save myself, thank you very much.

The glass shard was closer now.

If I could just sneak a little bit closer…

“I wouldn’t do that.”

I froze.

The Villain hadn’t turned around, but somehow, he knew exactly what I was doing.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” I said lightly.

He glanced over his shoulder, and that ghastly smile was back. “No. But I can stop you.”

Before I could react, he was there.

How was he so fast?

He hauled me away from the glass and deeper into the warehouse, and although I tried to fight him off, he was also way too strong.

See? This is why I asked for the superhero version of Jax’s training. But no, he had to assume he was a special superhero snowflake, and I wouldn’t need those skills.

I struggled in The Villain’s grasp, but there was only so much I could do with my hands literally tied behind my back.

And my feet, too.

“A for effort,” he sang, dropping me roughly onto a metal chair. “But you’ll want to save your energy. The show hasn’t even started yet. In fact, maybe you should take a nap. You know, rest, in case it’s a long night?”

I grimaced. Was he quoting what I’d said at the coffee shop earlier?

“I’m sorry I don’t have a bed for you, though.”

And that answers that question.

“Oh, ew,” I murmured as the depth of his surveillance sank in. “Is my shop bugged? Our phones?.”

He ignored me, but whatever.

He’d clearly bugged something, and that took creepy to a whole new level.

But after The Villain went on to secure me to the chair with more zip ties, I dug deep, looking for some inner zen.

Jax was coming.

And if I couldn’t get free because zip ties truly were a formidable restraint?

There were other things I could do.

Observe. Gather information. Look for weaknesses.

Talk .

Could I get this guy to spill his full supervillain origin story and then somehow use it against him?

Those ideas—and more—were what made me valuable to the team and what would be of use when the moment came.

I just had to hang onto that and remember my training so that when Jax arrived—I would be ready.

Because that was what partners did.

They had each other’s backs. No matter what.