“I don’t think that’s quite the deterrent you think it is,” I say with a chuckle as he sits me back on his lap. How did I get so lucky to find myself here, with this man who looks at me like I hung the damn moon? I press a kiss against his lips, my chest aching with each inhale as we stare at each other for what feels like an eternity. I know that time is passing, but right now, I couldn’t care. I’m too wrapped up in the sensation of him. His touch. His scent. His taste on my lips.
I amobsessed. And I don’t care one bit.
A soft groan from behind me breaks the spell and I turn to see Veon’s eyes fluttering open. I jump off Max’s lap and scramble over to Veon, grabbing his hand and brushing his hair back from his face.
“Feck,” he groans, an Irish lilt slipping through. Huh. I never knew he still had his accent. Must be the morphine making it harder for him to maintain his cool façade.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you,” I whisper as he drifts in and out of consciousness.
“Sphinx,” he mumbles, and my eyebrows hit my hairline. I turn to Max, who looks back at me with a knowing grin.
“Sphinx has been holding vigil by Veon’s bed, talking to him about code and all sorts of random shit. It’s quite sweet, really. Veon is completely oblivious to both his own and Sphinx’s feelings.”
I squeeze Veon’s hand as he drifts back under the spell of his morphine drip and reset his blanket across his torso. There’s a large bandage covering his abdomen, and a stab of guilt slices through me as I look at the wound.
Max steps beside me and pulls me into his side. “It’s not your fault, Echo. He knew what he was doing. We all did and still do.”
“Doesn’t make it any easier to stomach,” I grumble.
He grips my chin in his hand and forces me to look at him instead of the floor. “Now you listen to me, pet. This isnotyour fault.”
Fuck, that name does something to me and I instantly melt. And his tone of voice… shit. My knees weaken and my core clenches with anticipation. But something in his eyes makes me believe him and his words. There’s a fierceness and sheer bloody determination in his dark grey depths that rocks me to my core, and I find myself nodding in agreement with him.
“Now, you’re not to worry about Veon. He’s going to be absolutely fine. He might be a little grumpy for a week or two because I don’t imagine he’s the sort of person to lie still, but I’m sure Sphinx will keep him entertained. You, however, are going to put a plan in action to get that phone as far away from you as you possibly can. I don’t care what you do with it; I’ll support any decision you make, butpleaseget rid of it. Do you understand?”
I nod and love how his lips twitch with the hint of a smile.
“Need your words, pet.”
“Yes, I understand.” Jeez, why do I sound like I’ve run a marathon?
“Good.” He presses a kiss against my forehead, and I love that feeling ofhomethat wraps around me. I feel safe, wanted, loved, and cherished. Hell, the way Max is looking at me now… I feel like I'm beingworshipped.
My phone buzzes on the table with an incoming message, pulling me away from the comfortable little bubble I was hiding in with Max.
I pick it up and see a text from Sphinx.
Sphinx:
Your dad agreed to the meet. We’re on.
“I need your help,” I say to Sphinx as I sit in the chair next to him.
His eyes whiz back and forth across the computer screen, his fingers typing away furiously as he does… something. I have no fucking clue, and I’m not too proud to admit that I’ll never truly know what he is capable of. All I know is that he’s amazing at it.
“With what?” His tone is short, and he doesn’t drag his eyes away from the screen to engage in a conversation with me.Rude.
I slam Bennie’s phone down on the desk in front of me.Thatgets his attention.
“Echo, what the fuck?”
“I’m trying to talk to you, and you’re ignoring me.”
He scowls and grumbles an apology.
“Look, I know that whatever is going on between you and Veon is—”
“There’s nothing going on between us,” he interrupts peevishly.
