Ryan’s men, ever prepared, split into two groups-one to provide cover for Ryan and Echo, and the other to charge toward the source of the gunfire.
Everything happened in a split second.
Ryan had just reached the entrance when he paused, quickly stepping back to avoid the gunfire.
Echo, who had just caught up to him, reacted on instinct. Without thinking, she dove forward, hitting the ground.
At that moment, as their movements crossed, Ryan had retreated behind Echo, while she threw herself in front of him.
A gunshot rang out. Echo’s body slid past Ryan’s, and after a brief hesitation, she continued her dive forward.
Ryan, who had been retreating quickly, saw this and for a brief moment, a look of disbelief and surprise flashed in his eyes. His long arm shot out, pulling Echo to his chest, and with a swift movement, he dodged behind the safety of the gate.
Echo was forcibly pulled behind the door by Ryan, finding herself nestled against his chest. She looked up at Ryan, who actually seemed surprised, and then felt a slow, creeping pain in her chest.
Glancing down, she saw blood slowly spreading across her shirt.
Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Ryan, who was staring at her intently.
Damn, she thought. How could she be this unlucky? All she wanted to do was… dodge.
Ryan stared in shock as Echo slowly closed her eyes. His expression was frozen in disbelief.
Scooping her up in his arms, Ryan shouted to Cobra, who was rushing over, “Get Panther to prepare the team, now!” Without a second thought for the danger outside, he bolted toward the car with Echo in his arms.
Inside the villa, Ryan’s personal doctor, Bill, was frantically treating the unconscious Echo. His hands trembled as he tried to stay calm, but sweat poured down his face.
Panther, who was standing nearby, wiped the sweat from Bill’s face and frowned, saying, “Stay calm.”
Bill frowned slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay calm, or that he wanted to tremble. But the man standing next to the bed radiated a murderous aura so intense, with eyes as cold and bloody as hell, that Bill simply couldn’t keep steady. It was terrifying-he had never seen Ryan like this before.
“If she lives, you live. If she dies, you’re going down with her,” Ryan’s icy voice sent a chill down Bill’s spine. It was so cold.
The murderous aura around Ryan was suffocating.
The attackers had already been executed by Hawk and the others, but Ryan, who had been deeply angered, issued a rare extermination order from the Dark family. He was mobilizing a massive force from the Americas to hunt down everyone in the Southeast Asian drug trade. This time, he wanted them to die a horrible death.
Ryan stared down at the unconscious Echo, his brows furrowed deeply. He stood up and moved closer to her, fixating on her.
This woman… had saved him? She had risked her life to protect him?
In his entire life, no one had ever chosen to save him without expecting something in return. He hadn’t imagined it-this woman had thrown herself in front of him, taking the bullet meant for him.
“Boss, we’ve traced the people behind today’s attack. I’ve ordered no one to be spared, but Boss, you-”
Hawk rushed in, but before he could finish, Ryan’s expression turned dark. He glanced at the unconscious Echo before walking out, his voice chilling, “Just let them die? Not that easy.”
Hawk and Panther exchanged a glance, realizing that this time the Boss was truly furious-furious enough to get personally involved. Hawk raised an eyebrow at the unconscious Echo before turning to follow Ryan out.
Time flew by, and a day and night passed in the blink of an eye.
At that time, Southeast Asia had been shaken to its core. No one dared to mess with the Dark family. No one dared to challenge them for a reason-because a century-old family like theirs had power that had seeped into every corner. No upstart force could ever compete with that.
The oldest arms-dealing family in the West, the Dark family, was like a sleeping lion that, once angered, lashed out fiercely at its enemies with claws bared. Only then did those who had become its enemies realize their deep regret, for their actions had nearly destroyed everything they had.
But while the outside world was in turmoil, the villa in the countryside remained peaceful.
Pain. Her chest hurt so much. The groggy Echo slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Ryan’s blue eyes. She was momentarily stunned.
Ryan, who had been sitting by the bed, noticed Echo frowning as she woke up. A rare hint of relief flashed in his eyes, but his face remained indifferent. He picked up a glass of water and said, “Drink.”
He held the glass to Echo’s lips.
Echo raised an eyebrow at Ryan, feeling her dry lips. Without questioning why Ryan seemed so attentive, she leaned forward slightly to reach the glass. Ugh, it hurt. Even the slight movement made her chest throb, and she gasped in pain.
Seeing this, Ryan frowned slightly, then climbed onto the bed, gently lifting Echo so she could lean against his chest. He held the glass to her lips again, and Echo eagerly drank the water.
“Slow down,” Ryan started to say, but before he could finish, Echo choked on the water, triggering a fit of loud coughing.
Ryan’s expression darkened as he propped Echo up a bit, patting her back to help her breathe.
But the coughing tugged at the wound in her chest, turning her face pale with pain. And Ryan’s attempts to “help” by patting her back only made it worse, causing her to feel pain in both her chest and back.
She weakly grabbed his hand, coughing as she said, “Stop-cough-stop, it hurts.”
Ryan saw her face turning red and pale, he let out a cold huff, but he did stop, switching to holding her hand instead. He let her lean against his chest. Without the added pain from his “help,” Echo relaxed slightly, focusing on steadying her breath.
Ryan looked at the frail Echo in his arms, silently wiping the sweat from her face. The bullet had hit just two centimeters from her heart. For someone like him, this wasn’t a serious wound, but for a woman like Echo, it was no small injury.
“Boss, it’s time to change the dressing.” Bill walked in carrying medical supplies. Seeing Echo in Ryan’s arms, he made sure to keep his expression neutral. He hadn’t forgotten the murderous aura Ryan had that day-best to keep quiet.
“Leave it here. Get out,” Ryan ordered coldly, shooting Bill a glare.
Bill raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Leave it? Get out? Who’s supposed to change the dressing-was the Boss planning to do it himself?
Bill couldn’t help but twitch at the thought, but without saying a word, he placed the supplies next to Ryan and quickly slipped out.
Ryan glanced at the bandages and medicine in front of him, his face expressionless as he reached out to undo Echo’s clothes.
Echo, who was leaning against Ryan to catch her breath, saw him moving his hands toward her chest and weakly asked, “Do you even know how to change a bandage?”
“No,” Ryan coldly replied, but he didn’t stop.
Echo’s eyes widened.
He didn’t know how? Then why was he trying to treat her wound?
She’d already made the mistake of throwing herself in front of that bullet; she didn’t need to suffer more.
Weakly, she grabbed Ryan’s hand and said, “I don’t want to die.”
Ryan frowned and coldly replied, “You won’t die.”
He shook off her hand and started undoing her clothes.
Looking down from Ryan’s chest, Echo realized that underneath her clothing, there was nothing but a bandage wrapped around her chest, now slightly stained with blood. She felt a rush of heat to her face, her cheeks burning bright red. She didn’t know where she found the strength, but she quickly grabbed onto her clothes, trying to cover up.
Ryan’s voice turned stern. “What are you doing? Let go.”
With a slight force, he tore her top in half.
“You’re not even a doctor! Why are you the one treating me? I need a doctor,” Echo muttered, her face flushed with embarrassment.
It was one thing for a doctor to see her chest, but why did it have to be him?