Page 54 of Run, Little Rabbit (Blood & Bonds #1)

Echo - One Mon

“ S o, where do you want to go on holiday?” I ask the guys. Angel and Max sit on the opposite sofa, while Niki rests his head on my lap and I run my fingers through his hair. It’s getting long enough for him to tie it up in a little man bun, and it’s fucking sexy. I won’t let him cut it.

We’ve been spending time rebuilding Aurum, and true to his word, Kodiak kept us out of the massacre that happened there.

The new partnership between the Quinns and the Volkovs was working well, and there was peace throughout the city.

Well, mostly. There were a few gangs like the Seventh Street Diablos that were causing a bit of trouble, but we’d deal with them eventually.

The twins were building quite the reputation when it came to anyone challenging their authority. They hung the perpetrators up for all to see, like mediaeval warlords gutting traitors. They were fucking savage, the pair of them.

Sphinx had gone off to deal with his Cypher problem, but I asked Veon to go with him to protect him.

He’d grumbled about it, but I just pestered him until he eventually caved and agreed.

Secretly, I think he wanted to go. They’ve been gone just over a week now, and I miss them.

If it weren’t for Sphinx sending me updates on how much Veon was annoying the shit out of him, I’d definitely be pining.

The sound of the doorbell echoes through the house, and I immediately look at Max. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No,” he replies as he stands and heads out of the room, buttoning his suit jacket as he goes.

I lift Niki’s head and jump to my feet, following him out of the room.

Angel's and Niki’s footsteps follow, but I’m more intrigued by the person who is either brave or foolish enough to ring our doorbell.

Max reaches the door and throws a scowl at me over his shoulder when he realises that I’m standing right behind him, but it doesn't deter me. I love those scowls almost as much as I love him.

The door opens, and standing on the other side is an older gentleman, probably in his mid-fifties, dressed in dark jeans, a fitted black tee and a leather jacket. He’s handsome and has a warm smile, and there’s something about that smile that I recognise. “Hatcher?”

“Hey, kiddo,” he replies, his voice as warm as his smile. “Can I come in?”

“Y-yeah.” I look up at Max, who has a curious expression on his face, but he steps aside and lets my mum’s old bodyguard step across the threshold.

Hatcher gives Angel and Niki an assessing glance, and his eyes track the room, noting all the exits and strategic spots. I guess it’s a skill you never lose.

“How did you find us?” I ask as I step a little closer to him.

“You asked me to find you,” he smirks, his green eyes twinkling with amusement.

“I did?” Wait a minute. “ You’re Larke?”

“I am.” He tucks his hands into his pockets, and I can’t tell whether that’s arrogant or not. That he’s so confident in his abilities that he’s comfortable enough to relax around us.

“You were there that night, weren’t you?” Max asks as he steps up next to me, also tucking his hands into his pockets.

Hatcher chuckles, and his smile widens as he turns his attention to Max. “I was. You’re welcome, by the way.”

I look up at Max. “What’s he on about?”

“On the night I got shot, I thought I’d heard a sniper, but I didn’t know if I’d imagined it, what with the dying and everything.”

I slap his chest, but there’s no real strength behind it. “Hey, we don’t talk about it like that.”

“Sorry,” he huffs before turning back to Hatcher. “Thank you, Hatcher. You saved my life.”

Hatcher shrugs, and there’s one thing I can’t quite get my head around. “Did Rory know you were Larke when he hired you? And did you kill my mum?”

“No, kiddo. I didn’t kill your mum,” he says with sincerity. “That’s why I’m here.”

Hatcher steps forward and pulls a photo out of his jacket pocket. It’s a picture that must have been taken recently because Hatcher looks like he does now, with the same wrinkles around his eyes and the same amount of grey at his temples.

But he’s not alone in the photograph.

He’s looking at the camera with a woman, their cheeks pressed together and bright smiles on their faces. She’s older now, but I’d recognise her face anywhere.

“She’s alive?”

“What?” Angel gasps as he looks at the photograph over my shoulder.

Niki waves his hand to get Hatcher’s attention. “ Why isn’t she here?”

Hatcher casts a wary glance at me before answering Niki by signing. “She didn’t want to upset Echo too much. She wasn’t sure she’d be welcome. ”

Niki’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “ You can sign? ”

Hatcher nods, a slight frown above his eyes. “ Yes, Norah is deaf. ”

Niki turns to me then, a question burning in the depths of his eyes.

“I didn’t know much when Mum was there, but yes, she taught me to sign, and then when she died—left, whatever, the twins and I kept it up for a while, communicating so the nannies didn’t understand what we were planning.

But that stopped when Rory got his hooks into the twins, and then I just didn’t sign anymore.

” I turn back to Hatcher and look deep into his eyes.

“Rory said that he wasn’t sure he was my father. Is… is that true?”

The smile that spreads across his face is impossibly wide and full of love. “You might have the name ‘Quinn’ on your birth certificate, but your real name is Echo Moira Hatcher. Moira was my mother’s name.”

A sob rips from me at his words, and my knees threaten to crumble.

Hatcher throws his arms wide, and I run straight into them, feeling something click into place. Something I never really knew was missing but something I knew I’d never had.

He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “You’re mine, kiddo. I’m sorry it’s taken us this long to reach out, but we didn’t want to put you at risk.”

I understood. I did, but it still hurt that they left me behind. It hurts that I had to grow up not knowing them.

I take deep breaths, breathing him in, and he reminds me of the sea. Something wild and free, strong, powerful and resilient.

“I’d like to see her, to meet her again.”

“She’d like that. We’d love for you to come and see our home; perhaps we could tempt you over to Ireland for a holiday?” Hatcher asks, hope lacing his words.

“We were just discussing where to go on holiday,” Angel says with a chuckle.

“ I, for one, am not surprised our Rabbit is a little killer with a man like this for her dad,” Niki says, a little flush creeping up his neck.

“Oh my God, are you fangirling right now?” I ask, disbelief making my voice a little higher.

“ No ,” he says quickly.

Too quickly.

“You totally are,” Max says, and his grin is wicked.

“ Fine, ” he says with a dramatic huff. “ He was like my first real man crush. I mean, look at the guy; he’s gorgeous, and he kills people for a living. Why wouldn’t I be obsessed?”

“Do you want to take a picture?” Hatcher asks, amusement sparking in his eyes.

“Really?” Fucking hell, Niki looks like the cat who got the creamiest of creams.

I look up at Hatcher and laugh. “You do know you’ll never be rid of the guy now?”

Hatcher shrugs. “Isn’t that what family is all about?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” And I give him another squeeze, feeling like my world just got a little bit brighter. “Can I get you a cup of tea?”

Hatcher smiles down at me and nods. “Sounds wonderful.”

It wasn’t going to fix everything, but I hoped that a conversation over a good cup of tea might start us on the path to getting to know each other a little better.

“Come on, the kitchen is this way.” I grab his hand and lead him towards the back of the house, the guys following after us. Niki and Angel were arguing about what makes an assassin worthy of a following while Max just surveyed the whole thing with a warm smile of contentment on his face.

I’d never been happier than I was at that moment. The world was full of possibilities, and I was on the cusp of having the family that I always wanted.

The End.

Thank you for reading Run, Little Rabbit. I hope you enjoyed it.