Bill noticed Echo’s displeased expression and chuckled softly.
He had originally thought Echo would be up and about long before now, but under Ryan’s “care,” the injury had been dragged out until now.
Ryan was definitely not the type to take care of someone; it was more like he was tormenting her. Fortunately, Echo’s body was strong, or she might’ve been ruined under his so-called care.
“Alright, I won’t mention it. By the way, Echo, I heard you were quite the legend in the past. It’s rare to meet someone like you-why not share some stories?” Bill said with a smile, clearly eager to hear more.
He’d heard that Echo had a bit of a reputation and had always wanted to ask her about it. Today seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Echo looked at Bill, who was all smiles, and couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless.
Was this guy really one of Ryan’s men? Ryan was a mix of iceberg and volcano, so shouldn’t his subordinates be more like Hawk-stoic and unreadable? How did someone this cheerful end up in Ryan’s circle?
“Echo, come on, sit down, let’s chat,” Bill said, gesturing to a nearby chair with a friendly smile.
Echo noticed Bill’s warm and kind demeanor, which was truly a rarity. But anyone who could freely come and go around Ryan definitely wasn’t just a minor character. Whether Bill was warm or Hawk was steady, neither could be simple.
She smiled and replied, “What’s so legendary? The only thing that’d be legendary is if I ever took Mr. Ryan’s place.”
Bill raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’d like to be in the Boss’s position?”
Echo frowned. Did this guy not understand what a compliment was?
She glared at Bill and said, “Do you think I’d like it even if I could?”
Bill smiled slightly at Echo’s bluntness, but before he could respond, a cold voice came from behind.
“You want to take my place?”
Echo quickly turned her head to see Ryan walking over with an expressionless face, and Cobra trailing behind with a mischievous grin.
She pouted and said, “Mr. Ryan, are you planning to let me take it?”
Just looking at Ryan’s figure made her injuries ache all over again, and her voice grew weak.
“You don’t have the ability,” Ryan said as he walked up, frowning at Echo and stating this as a simple fact.
Echo raised an eyebrow-if she had the ability, she wouldn’t be talking about it; she’d just take it.
“Who told you to get out of bed?”
Echo quickly responded, seeing the hint of anger in Ryan’s sharp eyes. “I need to move around more so the wound heals faster. You said you don’t keep useless people around.”
She used his own words to try to get herself out of trouble.
Ryan frowned slightly but coldly replied, “Then follow me.”
He turned and headed toward the main house.
Echo, surprised that Ryan didn’t scold her-though to be fair, if Ryan ever did that, the sky would probably rain gold-hurried after him. If anything, he was more likely to kill someone than yell at them.
“Mr. Ryan, slow down.” Echo was struggling to keep up with Ryan’s usual pace, which felt like two of her steps for every one of his.
She knew Ryan had a rule about not waiting for anyone-his subordinates had to be in position by the time he sat down, or they’d face the consequences.
As she watched Ryan’s figure getting smaller in the distance, Echo tried to pick up her pace, but the pain in her chest flared up, and she couldn’t help but call out.
“I can’t keep up, slow down,” she gasped, clutching her chest.
“You said you needed more activity for your wound to heal faster. You’ve barely walked a few steps,” Ryan’s cold voice came from behind her.
Echo looked up to find that he had suddenly turned back and was now standing right next to her.
She forced a small, appeasing smile. “I said I needed more activity, not intense exercise. I can’t keep up with you even if I ran.”
Ryan glanced coldly at her hand pressed against her chest and scoffed. “You’re a liability, a disgrace. Useless.”
Then, without warning, he scooped her up and carried her inside at a brisk pace.
Cobra, who was following behind, raised an eyebrow. Echo was the first person to talk to the Boss like that and get this kind of response-being carried instead of punished. He exchanged a glance with Bill, who was grinning wickedly, and they both followed along.
In Ryan’s arms, Echo stayed quiet, knowing that struggling was pointless and would only make things worse. She had enough bruises from previous struggles with Ryan to prove that. His words had stung, though-she wasn’t on death’s door, just recovering. But arguing with someone as domineering as Ryan was futile.
When Ryan set her down in a chair at the dining table, Echo noticed Hawk, Cobra, Bill, and a strikingly handsome man she guessed was Panther already seated. It looked like something important was about to go down, but she decided to stay out of it.
Once Ryan took his seat, the food was quickly served. Thanks to the influence of Southeast Asia and Echo herself, Ryan’s table now featured a mix of all kinds of dishes.
As Echo’s eyes fell on the mouthwatering shrimp, golden crab, and other delicacies, she momentarily forgot about the pain in her chest and eagerly reached out with her fork.
After days of nothing but bland soups and porridge, her mouth was practically watering. Finally, she could enjoy some real food.
She was about to dig in when, suddenly, her fork was swatted away. She turned to glare at Ryan. “What’s your problem? You brought me here to eat, didn’t you?”
Ryan frowned at her, his cold eyes filled with harshness.
Echo hesitated, confused about what was going on. Wait, wasn’t she called here to eat?
But before she could finish that thought, a bowl of bland soup, a bowl of porridge, and a few small side dishes were placed in front of her-all the stuff she’d been eating for the past few days. Echo’s face immediately fell when she saw it.
“This is what you’re eating,” Ryan said indifferently, ignoring her disappointment.
Echo stared down at the bland soup, gritting her teeth. It seemed the ordeal wasn’t over yet.
Hawk and the others exchanged glances, raising their eyebrows as they took in everything happening across the table.
Once Ryan started eating, Hawk finally began his own meal, speaking respectfully, “Boss, about that shockwave device, Tiger’s finished the investigation. The intel we received says it’s a product developed internally by the Street family. It’s still in the confidential phase and hasn’t hit the market yet, but its destructive power within a certain range is significant.”
Ryan listened without any visible reaction, as if he’d expected this all along.
Cobra’s face darkened as he said, “So it was the Street family pulling the strings. I knew those Southeast Asian drug lords, no matter how disgruntled, didn’t have the means to threaten the Boss’s safety. Turns out it was the Street family behind it all. They played that ‘use someone else’s knife’ trick pretty well.”
Panther nodded in agreement. “We should’ve figured it out sooner. Even we don’t have access to such advanced equipment. There’s no way the underdeveloped Southeast Asia could have it. Looks like we really hit the Street family where it hurts this time.”
“Exactly,” Bill added, taking a sip of his drink, still smiling slightly. “The Street family may deal in arms, but they haven’t let go of the drug trade either. With Boss cutting off over 30% of their drug supply, it’s a heavy blow. After all, the Street family’s drug suppliers used to come from Southeast Asia.”
Echo listened to the conversation filled with talk of arms deals and drugs, topics she had no interest in. Noticing that Ryan’s indifferent expression hadn’t shifted in her direction, she stealthily reached out with her fork toward the roasted meat closest to her.
“Eat your own food,” Ryan said sharply, catching her fork mid-air.
Echo looked up, glaring at him, but Ryan’s eyes were just as impatient as his tone.
“I’m fine now. I don’t want this stuff. I want what’s in front of you.” Echo, eyeing the delicious dishes like her life depended on them, wasn’t about to concern herself with proper behavior. It wasn’t fair to show her the food and then forbid her from eating it.
Ryan saw her glaring back at him, a far cry from her usual obedient demeanor. He coolly nodded and said, “Fine, if you’re that recovered, go drive Panther.”
Echo’s head snapped up to look at Panther, who seemed to be cut from the same cold mold as Ryan.
Was this a demotion? Going from serving Ryan to being Panther’s chauffeur? Did that mean she’d lose her access to Ryan and her chance to find out where Skye was?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Echo’s mind, but before she could come to any conclusions, Panther said coldly, “Perfect timing. I’ve been in a lot of firefights lately. I could use a good driver to help break through the encirclement.”