Page 6 of Run, Little Rabbit (Blood & Bonds #1)

Chapter Five

Echo

S phinx is pissed when I turn up on his doorstep. The top lip of his plump mouth is pulled back in a snarl, and his eyes are two narrow slits. His white-blonde hair is damp, and judging by the towel hung low on his waist, he’s just got out of the shower.

That’s not his real name, by the way. At least I don’t think it is. I mean, who calls their kid Sphinx?

We met at an underground fight ring a few years ago. He likes to fight, and I was there watching because violence is my jam. He’s pretty lethal in the ring, but I found out he’s more deadly behind a computer screen. Jeez, the things this man can do with his fingers… and not in a sexy way.

“You gonna let us in?” I ask sweetly.

He folds his arms over his bare chest. “The fuck you want?”

“Aww, sweetie, is that any way to talk to the woman that keeps you?” And I literally do keep him.

He needed a place to stay after doing some shady black hat hacking shit with those secret three-letter organisations, and I offered him this cute little house in exchange for his computer skills.

It’s become quite the fruitful partnership.

Sphinx cocks a pale eyebrow. “How long are you going to keep spouting that bullshit?”

I snort. “For as long as you stay here.”

He scowls again because we both know he is comfortable here and probably isn’t going to leave for a long time.

He pushes the door open wider and walks down the hallway. “Let me get some clothes on.”

Veon clicks his tongue behind me but says nothing as he follows me into the house. I can still feel the wet heat of his mouth against my skin, and it’s like an itch. It fucking burns, and every time I catch him staring at it with fire in his eyes, I want to break him until he surrenders.

I stroll through the house and plonk my ass in a chair at the dining table. Veon is in full-on bodyguard mode, with his head on a swivel and checking every dark corner.

“I don’t think there’s any danger here,” I say, amused at his diligence.

“Can never be too careful,” he replies gruffly.

“Sphinx doesn’t like people, so I doubt he’ll ever have anyone here, and he only tolerates me because I’m useful to him. I’m pretty sure he hates you.”

Veon snorts but doesn’t reply.

“It’s true,” I say with a dramatic sigh. “Sorry, buddy.”

“I’ll live,” he deadpans and throws me a flat look.

Silence descends as we wait for Sphinx. It’s probably a power play.

He knows I’m here because I want something, so he’s gonna make me wait for it.

He’s an asshole like that, but somehow, I still find the guy oddly endearing.

Maybe I’m protective of him. He asked me for help when he was vulnerable, and even if he’s a little shit now, I’ll always remember that somewhere deep inside of him, he does have a soul that I occasionally catch a glimmer of. That makes him worth saving.

That and his wicked computer skills.

“Are you sure you can trust him with this?” Veon grumbles from the corner behind me.

I purse my lips. There’s so much I don’t know about Sphinx. His real name, for one. I don’t know if he has family or siblings; hell, I don’t know if there’s anything that exists beyond the safety of this house, but one thing I do know is that he’s fiercely loyal.

“He’s had chances to betray me before, and he never has.”

“This is different,” Veon says. “What if there’s something on this phone about him?”

“I don’t care about that.” And I didn’t.

I couldn’t deny I was curious about the man I was all but hiding from the police, but something about him had me trusting him.

Maybe that would bite me on the ass one day and I would be cursing his name, but until then, I was going to trust my gut. “Sphinx can keep his secrets.”

“Good,” the man himself grumbles as he walks into the kitchen to make some coffee. He’s wearing a faded band tee and ripped black jeans. His platinum blonde hair hangs in shaggy waves by his ears, and he’s donned some black eyeliner around his icy blue eyes.

The whole downstairs is open plan with a large kitchen, dining area and sitting area. A desk in the corner is covered in computer screens, and it’s basically where Sphinx spends most of his time.

Sphinx drops a cup of coffee in front of me and pulls out the chair next to me, plonking his ass into it with all the grace of a baby giraffe.

Veon scowls at the two cups of coffee, and I chuckle. “Told you he hates you.”

Sphinxsmirks over the rim of his cup as he takes a swig of his own drink, eyeballing my bodyguard and daring him to comment.

They stare at each other, and Veon’s scowl deepens, and oh my god, is that a flush creeping up the side of his neck? Does Veon have the hots for Sphinx?

Sphinx blows Veon a kiss, and my bodyguard snarls at him. Fucking snarls . It has the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.

“I’m going to check the perimeter,” Veon snaps. He pulls Bennie’s phone out of his pocket and slams it on the table. “Echo, don’t do anything stupid.”

I snort. It’s like the guy doesn’t know me at all.

“Enjoy your walk, sugar,” Sphinx croons as Veon leaves, and I swear the guy’s shoulders tense even more as he leaves the house.

“Stop winding him up,” I chide Sphinx. “I’m pretty sure he could kill you seven different ways with his bare hands.”

“I think that’s what I find charming about him.” Sphinx’s eyes darken. “That and his prickly exterior. Makes me want to try and smooth all those rough edges.”

You and me both…

“Anyway, what do you want, Echo? And what the fuck is that?” He jerks his chin in the direction of the phone on the table.

“That, dear Sphinx, is Bennie Walker’s phone.”

Sphinx chokes on his mouthful of coffee, spitting it across the table. “The fuck?! Are you insane?! How did you even get your hands on it? Wait, I don’t want to kn—”

“I killed the guy.”

“Fuck.” Sphinx pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why did you tell me that?”

“Because I want you to break into it, duh.”

“Nope. Absolutely not.”

I flutter my eyelashes like Marilyn Fucking Monroe. “Pretty please?”

He stares at me for the longest minute. “Do you know how many people are looking for that?”

My smile is wide and a little twisted. “Oh, yes. Kind of thrilling, really. That I’m suddenly a keeper of secrets. I just want to know what secrets. Is that too much to ask?”

Sphinx stared at the phone like he thought it might bite him. “Does anyone else know that you have it?”

“Absolutely not,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not a fucking idiot, Sphinx.”

“That’s debatable.”

“Rude,” I scoff.

“But true. Jesus, Echo. The whole underbelly is looking for that, and you bring it here?”

I shrug. “I want to know what’s on it, and you’re the best at the whole breaking into tech thing.” I lean forward over the table and lower my voice to a whisper. “Don’t you want to know what’s on there?”

Sphinx purses his lips, and I can almost see the tiny cogs turning in that magnificent brain of his.

His eyes darken, and there’s a war of something going on in those pale blue orbs.

A push and pull of curiosity and wariness.

A desire to know warring against a desire to keep away.

I just need something to tip him over the edge.

“I’ll bet there’s something on there about those ghosts that haunt you.”

His eyes flash with anger and pain. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I take a deep breath and tentatively reach out to wrap his hand in mine.

He flinches but doesn’t pull away. “Sphinx, I know you’re hiding out here from something other than people you’ve pissed off with your computer.

” If it was just a case of the hacking of some jumped-up government department, I know Sphinx had the skills to make him disappear.

But there is something else, something darker and more dangerous that he needs the protection of my family name for.

I’m not stupid, despite the cleverly constructed mask telling the world I’m nothing more than a pampered princess with air for brains. “Don’t you want to stop running?”

He tugs his lower lip in between his teeth, gnawing on it. A few moments pass in silence before he squeezes my hand and gives me a nod. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“Yes!” I say with a fist pump.

Sphinx snorts. “You’re such a dork. Give me the phone.”

I slap the heavy brick into his open hand and follow him over to his desk. He turns it over in his hands for a few minutes before plugging it into his system.

Sphinx lets out a low whistle as a load of code lights up his screen.

“What is it?” I ask, leaning closer.

“You weren’t kidding. This is some high-level encryption shit.”

“Can you break into it?”

He hits me with the flattest look of flat looks over his shoulder. “Sorry, could you repeat that? It sounded like you said something stupid.”

I flick his ear and delight in his little yelp. “Fuck you, asshole.”

“It’s going to take a minute. I’ll text you when I’ve got through, and you can bring me some of my favourite Chinese as a thank you.”

“Whatever,” I say with an eye roll, but he’s already lost to the code.

I leave the house and find Veon standing by the car, looking the complete opposite of inconspicuous.

The guy stands out like a sore thumb. His red hair catches in the sun, and he’s leaning against the hood of the car, wearing a pair of dark aviators and a black tee that is putting up a hell of a fight to contain his massive chest and arms. He looks hot .

“How the fuck did you ever go unnoticed on super-secret missions?” I ask, fighting the urge to jump up and wrap my legs around his waist.

He grins but doesn’t reply, just slides off the hood of the car and opens my door for me.

I get in and tell Veon to take me home. There’s nothing for me to do now but wait, and I have a feeling I might be waiting on Sphinx for a while.

My phone pings, and I read the text from Verity.

Verity:

Hey babe, want to visit the new club opening tonight? I got VIP tickets!!

A sigh falls from my lips, and I tap the back of my phone.

“What is it?” Veon asks, his voice soft and low. God, it’s like a caress against my damn eardrums. He should read audiobooks because his gravelly low rasp would have panties fucking dripping.

“Verity wants to go to the new club.”

“Another new club?” Veon peers over the top of his sunglasses at me. “Aren’t there enough?”

“Yeah, but this one is being run by the Volkovs and—”

“Nope. Absolutely not,” Veon cuts in.

“Excuse me?”

“There is no way that you’re going to a club run by the enemy.”

I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms across my chest. “Last time I checked, I was in charge, and you do what I say. If I want to go, I’ll fucking go.”

“You’re such a brat, Echo,” he grumbles. “And I work for your father, not you, and you know he wouldn’t approve.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Not the point.”

But it kind of is the point. I can handle myself, and I know that if I don’t go and all my ‘friends’ are having a night out without me, it’ll be all over social media before I can even blink.

“You know what will happen if the people see Verity and the girls without me, and besides, none of the Volkovs know I exist.” The world knows me as Echo Nolan, which was my mother’s maiden name.

My father spent a long time keeping me away from the family business, so there are only a very few select people who know who I really am.

That trust went as far as my dad’s inner circle and no further.

“You know I’m right, Veon.”

The guy grumbles something under his breath – probably a colourful collection of curse words – and starts the car.

Me:

Hey bitch, count me in!

Verity:

Sweet. Theme is Leather and Glitz. I’ll send the car at 10pm xx

“Verity will pick me up later. Will you be coming with me?”

He nods sharply. “Absolutely. There is no way you’re going into Volkov territory on your own.”

Perfect .

I grin wide, and he side-eyes me warily.

“What is it?” he asks nervously.

“Oh, nothing,” I reply sweetly. “Just that if you’re coming, you’re going to have to wear leather pants.”