Page 51 of Run, Little Rabbit (Blood & Bonds #1)

Chapter Forty-Three

Echo

M y hands shake in front of me.

Hands that are covered in blood.

Maxim’s blood.

It’s dry and cracked now. Itchy. I want to wash it off, but what if it’s the last part of him I’ll ever have?

There had been so much blood. The ground beneath him had been soaked with it.

I hadn’t even been aware of anything else that had happened around me.

I just sat there and watched as Angel tried to keep Max alive long enough until the paramedics came.

Niki had been furious. He’d killed everyone who tried to run.

Not that there were many who had been loyal.

The twins had made sure of that over the last year.

The only one I wasn’t sure about was Jace, but I’m sure the twins will either make him see things their way or kill him.

Angel and Niki sit either side of me, their bodies pressed against mine as we wait.

I’m sick of waiting. The not knowing is eating away at my insides.

What if he doesn’t make it?

No. I can’t think like that.

I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe long and deep. In and out. I do it again and again until my hands stop trembling quite as much.

“How long has it been?” My throat is raw, and it makes my voice sound scratchy.

“Four hours and thirty-seven minutes.”

I look up and see Cillian standing in front of me, his hands tucked into his pockets.

There’s a black duffle bag at his feet, and a man in a navy blue suit stood next to him.

“I brought you all some clothes to change into,” Cillian says as he walks towards me and drops into a crouch. “You should clean up, Echo. You all should.”

I look at my bloody hands again, and I know he’s right, but my heart clenches at the thought of washing his blood off. “I can’t. Not until…” I know he’s okay.

Dammit. I can’t say the words. For nearly five hours, he’s been fighting for his life, and I don’t know if he’s going to make it.

He has to make it.

We can’t go on without him.

My heart cracks, and a whimper escapes my lips. Angel wraps his arm around me and pulls my head to rest on his shoulder.

“I know,” he says into my hair, his voice shaky with unshed tears. “I know.”

I don’t know how long passes; time seems to have lost all sense of structure in the waiting room, but I realise that only one brother is here. “Where’s Conor?”

A sadistic grin pulls at Cillian’s mouth. “Dealing with Kai. We’ve strung his dad up in the basement to test his loyalty, and Kai isn’t happy about it.”

“Oh. Poor Kai.”

“Don’t feel sorry for him. Once he realises the power he has over Conor, he’ll be insufferable.” Cillian grimaces at his own words before shaking his head and changing the subject completely. “This is Detective Kodiak.”

Ah, the navy blue suit. “The infamous Teddy Bear.”

The man in question scowls. His brows are dark and slanted, so it makes him look like anything but a teddy bear. Unless it’s a demonic teddy bear.

“Please don’t call me that,” he says gruffly. “It’s bad enough hearing it from Volkov.”

He looks taller in real life. I’ve only ever seen him on the telly, and he’s definitely more striking in the flesh.

He is taller than Cillian, with broad shoulders and a neat figure, but his face is sharp and angular.

A square jawline, dark eyes, a straight nose, and slanted brows combine to give the impression of a demon that's clawed its way out of hell.

He is actually quite intimidating to look at.

Which I find surprising. He seems so pleasant when he speaks on the telly.

“Look, I know this isn’t great timing,” he says as he steps a little closer to us, putting Cillian behind him. That’s brave. Not sure I’d turn my back on a sociopath, but whatever floats your boat. “I just wanted to say thank you for sending me the phone. Not many people would be that…”

He frowns as if he’s searching for the right word.

“Honourable?” I supply.

“I guess,” he huffs. “I was trying to think of a better word than ‘stupid’.”

Niki tenses beside me and I shoot him a look that I hope says ‘play nice’.

“ I don’t like that he called you ‘stupid’. If he does it again, I’ll cut his dick off. I don’t care if he’s a police officer.”

I snort. “Oh, my precious, violence-loving psycho. Never change.”

His grin is as wide and bright as the sun as he looks down at me before pressing a kiss against my lips gently. “ Not a chance, baby. ”

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Kodiak says as his eyes roam between the three of us.

“Echo is in a relationship with the three of them. I believe the technical term is polyamory , but they might dub themselves as a polycule ,” Cillian explains matter-of-factly.

I almost laugh at the comical way Kodiak’s eyes bug out of his head.

I go to make some sassy comeback, but my heart leaps in my throat when a doctor walks in the room. His face is expressionless, so I can’t tell if it’s good news or bad news.

Please let it be good news .

“Miss Quinn?” he says as he walks deeper into the room.

Cillian and Kodiak step to one side to let the man through. He’s older, dressed in blue scrubs and with a pleasant sort of face.

“Yes?” Fuck, I feel like I can’t breathe.

A small smile curls the older man’s mouth. “So, Maxim lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to be just fine. He’ll need to stay here for a few weeks—”

“No,” Angel says sharply. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so curt, but once we’re able, we will have him moved home.”

The doctor flinches back, looking affronted. “I don’t think that’s wise, Mr?”

“Lexington.” Angel stands up and holds his hand out with a stiff formality. “It’s actually Mr Lexington the Third.”

Shock flares wide in the doctor’s eyes, and I’m pretty sure Kodiak covers a laugh with a cough.

I’ve never seen Angel look so authoritative, and it’s doing something rather pleasant to my core.

“I am already having a medical suite built at my estate to house Mr Volkov while he recuperates, so once he’s stable, we will have him transferred there.”

“Of course,” the doctor replies, shaking Angel’s proffered hand. “If there’s anything else you need, Mr Lexington, please let me know.”

The man practically bows on his way out, and I finally release the breath I’d been holding.

Max is going to be okay.

We’re going to take him home.

Everything will be alright.