Page 111 of Run, Little Rabbit

“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 anythingbuta 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 yourboat. “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 ispolyamory, but they might dub themselves as apolycule,” 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.

---