Page 114 of Scars Run Deep

When he’d made sure I was okay, he smiled at me, then turned on his heel and pulled out his phone, staring at the fallen guys, obviously calling to have them dealt with and removed from the rear of the restaurant.

Ronan came up to us and Killian shook his hand. “Thanks. We hightailed it down here once we saw what was happening, but we weren’t fast enough. You were.”

“Just in the right place at the right time,” Ronan rumbled.

I stared at him. No. It was more than that.

He’d been… ready.

And the way he’d just thrown himself into the fight… he’d known what he was doing. He’d been prepared to do it too.

“Aurora?”

I jolted and looked at Killian who was calling to me worriedly. “Yeah?”

“Let’s get you home, okay?”

I nodded. “Good idea.”

“Wait,” Ronan said, and I watched as he reached into the pocket of his puffer jacket and handed me my pay check. “Don’t forget what you came for.”

“Right. Thank you. And thanks for your help. Really.”

“No worries at all.”

As Killian went to ease me away so we could head home, Ronan pulled us up short, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder.

His looked at me intently. “With all of this happening, now would be a good time for you to take a break from Hexwood for a while, get away from it all. Maybe before the Christmas break.”

What the—

“That’s enough,” Killian bit back, tensing against me. “I need to get her home.”

Ronan stared at me for a few moments, before plastering on a smile for Killian. “Sure,” he said. “Just please take care of yourself, Aurora.”

With that, he gave me a sweet smile, his eyes swimming with worry, before he turned on his heel and headed back into the building.

Killian led me around to the parking lot, fussing over me and checking my face, lip, and cheek. As we reached my bike, I started in shock as I found his a few feet from mine on the ground, just downed. His pride and joy.

“Oh my God!” I cried, pulling from him and going to it. “How did—why?”

“It’s fine.”

I looked up at him incredulously. “It’s not fine.”

“I came in here fast with Jonah. There wasn’t time to be gentle about anything.” He stepped up to me and slid a hand around my waist. Brushing my hair out of my face, he told me, “All I could think about was getting to you, making sure you were okay, that they didn’t touch you, hurt you.”

“Thank you for coming for me.”

He grimaced as he eyed my very mild injuries. “We weren’t fast enough. They did touch you.”

“Just scratches. I’m really fine. I promise.”

He pulled me to him and he held me tightly for several moments.

I sank into him, breathing him in.

“Where are Jonah and Asher?” I asked after a while, pulling back to look up at him.

---