Echo cursed under her breath, realizing she had forgotten that Ryan wasn’t the type to respond to soft or hard tactics. He never got what he wanted through conventional means, and treating him like a decent person was her mistake. Her head raced as she kept him from taking the earring.
“If you move again, I’ll cut off your ear,” Ryan warned, his voice cold as he watched Echo squirm. He wasn’t in the mood to play games with her.
Echo froze at his words, feeling the cold edge near her ear. Her eyes widened as she stared at Ryan, realizing he was serious.
The earring wasn’t just one piece; it was a series of pieces linked together. Ryan struggled with it for a while before finally removing it and tossing it to Hawk. “Give this to Tiger for analysis,” he ordered, and Hawk immediately complied.
Ryan looked down at Echo, who was glaring at him with anger and hurt. He frowned slightly and said calmly, “I’ll make it up to you,” while giving her back what seemed like a reassuring pat.
Though Echo put on a show of being upset, she wasn’t really that mad. She knew Ryan was someone who took what he wanted by force, so getting angry at someone like him was pointless. Besides, she’d been through worse with him, so this was just a small inconvenience.
The earring was something she had designed herself; it wasn’t something just anyone could crack and use. And she still had the other one. Ryan wasn’t completely ruthless-at least he didn’t take both.
But was he really trying to comfort her? She must’ve been imagining things.
Just as Echo was about to speak, someone came in from outside.
“Boss, someone delivered an invitation,” they said.
Bill, who was sitting further down the table, took the invitation and inspected it carefully before opening it.
“Boss, it’s from the Archer family. They’re hosting a banquet at Pensax tonight and have invited you to attend,” Bill said with a slight, mocking smile.
Ryan raised an eyebrow, a bloodthirsty smile creeping onto his lips.
Cobra put down his glass and looked at Ryan. “The Archer family? Aren’t they the Street family’s lapdogs? Which territory did they swallow up to have the nerve to throw a victory banquet?”
Panther chuckled coldly. “They took over the Nowaks family’s territory. This isn’t a celebration-this is them declaring their control. Pensax is their turf now, and they probably want us to back off and stay out of their territory.”
The Dark family’s recent large-scale operations had solidified their dominance. Even though the Street family had taken over the Nowaks family’s territory in Southeast Asia, they were no threat to Ryan. So, they had to swallow their pride and invite Ryan over.
Hawk sneered. “They’re not qualified to invite the Boss to anything. Just because the Street family is backing them, they think we’ll do them a favor? What a joke.”
Ryan listened to them without any change in his expression. Then, he looked down at Echo, who was still glaring at him with disdain, and asked, “What’s your take?”
Echo stared at Ryan in surprise.
What was he getting at? She wasn’t part of the underworld, and she had no clue about this gang warfare and territory business.
Why was he asking her opinion? Besides, the only names she recognized were the Dark family and the Street family-she had no idea about anyone else. What could she possibly say?
Noticing Hawk and the others’ curious yet expectant expressions, Echo raised an eyebrow and replied casually, “I don’t have an opinion.”
Ryan’s face darkened slightly, and after a moment, he said coldly, “If you say that again, I’ll send you to the dark prison in Africa.”
Echo looked at him, completely taken aback.
“The dark prison is the Italian mafia’s concentration camp,” Cobra explained, seeing Echo didn’t fully understand.
Echo’s face immediately went pale. Seriously? A single comment and she was getting sent to a concentration camp?
Once someone went in, they didn’t come out. A shiver ran down her spine, and she quickly flashed a sheepish grin at Ryan. Next time, even if she didn’t have an opinion, she’d better come up with one.
Ryan’s eyes narrowed, and with a bloodthirsty smile, he said, “Go? Why not? The Archer family is nothing. They actually think I’d give them a face? If they want to hand themselves to me, I’m not going to refuse.” He hadn’t planned on messing with their territory, but since they were dumb enough to offer it, he saw no reason to let it go to waste.
Hawk and the others, who’d been with Ryan long enough, didn’t need him to say more-they all understood his intentions. Cold smirks appeared on their faces. The Archer family? Who did they think they were?
Echo watched them and chuckled along, though her hands quickly grabbed a piece of crab meat, hoping Ryan wouldn’t notice. Expanding territory was more important than her sneaking a bite, right?
“Who said you could eat that?” Fail. Ryan’s cold, angry voice rang out next to her ear before she even had time to swallow. A sharp pain hit the back of her neck as Ryan smacked her on the back. Echo lurched forward and spat out the food, coughing uncontrollably. The force of the hit left her chest aching.
Echo’s eyes watered from the coughing as Ryan pinned her arms behind her back. The pain in her wrists made her gasp as she collapsed against his chest, trying to catch her breath.
“For the next two months, you’re not touching this stuff. If I catch you, I’ll break your hands,” Ryan said, his voice harsh despite Echo gasping for air in his arms.
“Why? If I did something wrong, I deserve to know! What did I do to deserve this? You won’t even let me eat!” Echo’s frustration burst out. If she’d made a mistake, fine, but taking away her only joy? That wasn’t fair.
“Seafood slows down wound recovery, and you need to eat light for now to help your injuries heal. You were stabbed near the heart, after all,” Bill chimed in with a calm tone, raising an eyebrow at Echo’s rebellion while stifling a laugh.
Echo was left speechless. No one had ever told her what she couldn’t eat when injured, that certain foods could slow healing. All she knew was to grit her teeth and push through the pain on her own. No one had ever treated her wounds, let alone worried about her. She’d spent so many days and nights barely holding on, with no one to care. There were too many kids in her organization-no one noticed a small, ordinary one like her.
So she had learned to endure, to fight, to survive. Growing up with boys, the weak girls couldn’t compete. To survive, she had to fight as if she were one of them. That’s why she valued food so much. She knew how important it was. A child who was injured and starving didn’t survive. She’d learned that from a young age, and it stuck with her ever since.
Echo looked up and met Ryan’s angry eyes. For once, she softened her voice and said, “I get it. I’ll listen. Just let go of my hands, it hurts.”
Ryan let out a cold snort and grabbed the bowl of porridge sitting where Echo had been seated, slamming it down in front of her.
“Eat,” he ordered, releasing his grip on her hands.
Echo gave a small nod, raising her bruised wrists from where Ryan had gripped them, and slowly fed herself.
For the first time, she actually found the porridge tasted good.