Page 103 of Run, Little Rabbit

“Yes, Detective Inspector Kodiak. He’s quite handy to have on the payroll. We all call him Teddy Bear. Which he hates,” Max says with a fond chuckle.

“Teddy Bear?”

“Well, his first name is Theodore, and Kodiak is a type of bear.”

“Oh, poor Detective.” It is a name that I vaguely remember. “Isn’t he the guy earmarked for the next Chief of Police?”

Max nods and snuggles me in closer. “That’s the one. He grumbles all the time, but he’s quite happy to work his way up the ladder with my help. Ambition is an excellent motivator. And he’s a pretty good detective as well. He’s also an old friend, though I think he tries to forget that sometimes.”

“I’ll bet,” I mutter, content to just sit with Max and watch the slow, steady rise and fall of Veon’s chest. Angel said he was lucky. A millimetre or two to the right and Veon wouldn’t have made it.

“Where are we?” I ask eventually. I wasn’t paying attention when we arrived. I have a vague recollection of a cul-de-sac in a remote suburban location, but if you put a map in front of me, I wouldn’t have the first clue where we actually were.

“Apparently, this is Sphinx’s safe house.”

The hell? Thatfucker!

He’s been living under my roof, but he’s had this property all along?

“That cheeky asshole,” I grumble, and Max tilts his head to look at me, a question in his raised brow. “I’ve been letting him stay at my mum’s old place when all the time he could have been living here.”

Max shrugs a shoulder. “He probably had his reasons.”

“Pfft, he’s clearly not short on money, though.” This place wasn’t massive, but it was well kept. Clean and tidy, like he paid someone to come in once a month. Besides, if he’s got this place, I wouldn’t put it past him to have others dotted around the country.Asshole. “I didn’t even charge him rent.”

A chuckle rumbles against the shell of my ear. “Well, at least you know now.”

“I guess so,” I mutter. “Still going to kick his arse over it, though.”

Max presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Always, Echo. You can always ask me anything.”

I tip my head back so I can look in his eyes. “What do you think I should do with Bennie’s phone and all those secrets?”

He purses his lips and takes a deep breath. “Honestly, I’m not sure. You could keep it, use the data to eradicate the filth that’s on there, but then you run the risk of being a target for as long as you have it. Or you could destroy it. Then no one will be able to use it.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking. I don’t think it’s right for one person to have this much information.” I agree, tracing my lips with my forefinger.

Max captures my hand and presses a kiss against my fingertip. “But do you know what I would do?”

“What?”

“Publish the whole lot in a public domain for the whole world to see.”

Well. Isn’t that a thought? “All of it?”

“Mm-hmm,” he hums. “And I’d give the phone to Teddy so he could do some actual good with it.”

“That’s a really good idea. Thanks, Max. You’re actually quite useful.”

He smiles again, but there’s a cheekiness about this one. “You do know I’m the head of a major crime organisation, don’t you?”

“Are you?” I gasp as my eyes widen. “I did not know that.”

He growls at me before rolling me over on his knee and swatting my ass playfully. “Behave, pet, or I’ll have to turn this lovely ass a very bright shade of pink.”