Page 58 of Run, Little Rabbit

“What’s the plan?” Kai asks, his voice a little too calm. I hope he doesn’t go rogue on me. I don’t want to have to rescue him as well or explain to his father why he didn’t come back. I mean, how would that conversation even go?‘Sorry, Jace. Your son is dead because he saw his girl getting fucked by three Volkov brutes and he snapped.’

What a fucking mess. I’m not even sure howIfeel about what I’m seeing. It’s a mixture of disbelief, jealousy and pain. I thought we had something. Did I leave it too late?

Kai taps my shin with his boot, dragging me back to the problem at hand.

Right. The plan. “I’ll clip one of them with a bullet, which should send them into action. There’s no clear cover, so they’ll either run to those trees or to the structure to the west.”

“What structure?” Sphinx asks.

Fuck me. “Did you evenlookat the map?”

“Um… what map?” he says, a confused little frown tugging at his brows.

“The map of the location. The one I specifically told you to memorise on the way here. What are you gonna do if you get split from the rest of us? How are you going to find your way back to the Jeep?” Sphinx just looks at me blankly, and I want to throttle him. “You know what? Never mind. Just stay on my six.”

I knew I should have left him behind. Should have just done this on my own. I could have taken down the top tier of the Volkov hierarchy on my own, right?

“I’ll circle the tree line and try to cut them off before the summer house,” Kai says as he readies his weapon.

“Remember. Don’t kill them,” I remind him again. I don’t trust that he’s not going to take an opportunity if one presents itself to him.

“Yeah, yeah. Boss’s orders.” Then he disappears into the trees, and I have to admit, he’s good at being stealthy. Asshole.

I turn to check on Sphinx and find him staring at his gun and gnawing on his bottom lip. There’s a vulnerability in his pale eyes that I’ve never seen before, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I’m so used to the snarky, prickly exterior and the sassy comebacks that this honest expression of his hits me dead centre.

“Are you okay?” I ask softly and instantly regret it.

He flinches, and his bored expression slips back over his features. “Yes. I’m fine. Come on. Let’s go get Echo.”

“Sphinx—”

“I said I’m fine, Vee,” he snaps. “Just leave it alone.”

“Okay,” I reply, ignoring the fact that he shortened my name and I actually quite like it. No one calls me that except my sister. “Then stay behind me and do exactly as I say.”

“I know. Iwaspaying attention.”

I shake my head at him and take a deep breath.

I will not kill him. I will not kill him.

When I’m confident I’m not going to put a bullet between his eyes, I turn my attention back to Echo and the Volkovs.

I raise my rifle and look through the scope. I take a deep breath and release it slowly.

Then I squeeze the trigger.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Echo

Iawake with a start, my body flinching and sending a wave of pain coursing through every limb. Everything aches, even muscles I didn’t know that I had hurt. But I suppose if you’ve been hanging from a meat hook for a few hours, then chased through the woods and thoroughly fucked, you’re bound to feel a little exhausted and sore.

I open my eyes slowly and wince as the light burns my retinas. The lights aren’t even that bright, but it feels like staring at thesun. The familiar sights of my bedroom fill me with both comfort and sadness. I’m glad that I’m home, but I feel like I’ve lost something.

“Echo?”

I flick my eyes to the side of my bed and see Veon sitting there, relief flooding his features as he stares deep into my eyes.