Page 52 of Scars Run Deep

Uncle Drew: Let me know, yeah?

Aurora: I will.

Uncle Drew: I love you, cupcake. Stay safe.

Aurora: I love you too.

Uncle Drew: Watch your six.

Aurora: Always.

I frowned, staring at his last message.

Something was up.

There were just too many odd comments for it to be natural and off the cuff, just coincidences.

“Everything okay up there?”

Jonah’s shout jolted me and I hurriedly stuffed my phone into my pocket and called back, “Yeah, fine! Just got distracted! Sorry, I’ll be one moment!”

“No worries.”

I smiled to myself. He was being a sweetheart again, because we were kind of on a time crunch to get the dinner done in time, and we hadn’t even started yet. Now here I was eating up more time.

Dammit. That text conversation had just caught me by surprise.

Hell, it had really unsettled me.

I pushed off the bed and rushed to my nightstand safe.

Hurriedly unlocking it, I pulled out what I’d come in here for, and then I hurried back down the stairs to find Jonah waiting patiently exactly where I’d left him.

He brightened when I came into view.

And then he grinned as he saw I was holding one hand behind my back.

“Come on now, give it up,” he teased.

I brought my hand in front of me and he took in the silver baton I was holding.

I shifted my grip to the middle, and then I snapped it down hard against the meat of my thigh.

It activated the release and it shot out, extending either side to double the length of its collapsed state.

“A retractable, collapsible bo staff,” Jonah breathed in awe.

I held it out to him. “All yours now.”

“Mine?” he asked, hesitant to take it.

“Yeah, this is my surprise, my gift to you.” I eased it into his hands.

“This is a sweet piece of weaponry,” he said, as he took it and studied it carefully.

“And it’s in good hands now.”

“What about you?”

---