Page 14 of Scars Run Deep

My senses were screaming at me about an impending attack coming at my back.

I pushed it all down and focused only on pulling her up toward me.

She threw her other arm out when she was finally high enough, and she managed to get a lock around my neck.

Grunting, she helped to push herself higher, getting a grasp on the back of my jacket.

“I’m there,” she rasped. “Let go. It’s okay.”

I released her wrist and she tumbled over my back and onto the ground, panting.

Jonah’s knife slipped before I could pull myself back safely.

I couldn’t use my right arm anymore.

It was fucking well done until I fixed my shoulder back into place.

A shriek sounded.

A mask sailed over my head and down into the ravine.

And then strong hands were wrenching me back.

I was dragged beside Aurora and I turned to see Jonah standing over us, wiping sweat off his brow, a haunted expression on his face that it had come so close.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed. “You all right?”

I took a moment, then pushed to my feet, staggering over to a nearby tree.

“I will be.”

As he gave a hand-up to Aurora, I angled myself, using the tree to full effect to wrench my shoulder back into place. “Argh!” I cried out, the sound echoing over the now eerily still battlefield.

When I’d managed to collect myself, I looked out to find Aurora gazing at me with fuck-me eyes.

Her gaze dropped to my cock and she bit her lip, her cheeks heating, before she asked, “How the hell are you hard after that?”

“How the hell are you turned on?”

Jonah chuckled. “Pain whores.”

“The way you… with the shoulder… it was… it was fucking hot, all right?”

“Fucking hot, was it?” I teased.

She grinned at me for a moment, then her expression sobered. “Thank you,” she told me, earnestly.

“You’re welcome.”

Jonah wrapped his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “Like he said, we’re in this together.”

I walked back to them. “Speaking of that, we need to get word to Killian.”

As I went to pull my phone out from its secure place inside my jacket pocket, movement through the trees either side of the bridge caught my eye.

Jonah was right behind me, easing from Aurora and spinning his blade that he’d retrieved a moment ago. “Seriously? These masks are like goddamn cockroaches.”

We watched as another ten of them poured out onto the road, then stalked our way.

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