Echo turned her head toward Ryan and noticed his expression looked awful. She had felt his attempt to lift her earlier, but he couldn’t manage it. For someone like Ryan, who could probably crush a rat with less effort, this must’ve been a first. The thought made Echo smile faintly-so even Ryan had moments when he couldn’t do everything.
“If you say that again, I’ll-”
“Do it.” Echo cut him off softly, her voice barely above a whisper, but somehow everyone in the room heard it loud and clear.
“You damn idiot,” Ryan snapped, fury flashing in his eyes as he gripped her hand tightly. “I already told you-you’re not dying by anyone else’s hand!”
Echo smiled gently at his anger and said, “Even if I die, it’ll still be because of you, right? So what’s the problem? Besides, it’s not certain I’ll die, anyway.”
Ryan’s domineering nature didn’t falter, even now. Lying there without the strength to move, he still radiated the same overwhelming authority. “Since when do you get to argue with me?” he demanded, his voice sharp and commanding.
Bill and the others exchanged glances, caught off guard. Echo’s willingness to cooperate was unexpected, but Ryan’s furious awakening was not. Everyone knew Echo held a special place in Ryan’s heart.
Echo, still smiling at Ryan’s stubbornness, gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Then she turned toward Hawk and the others and said calmly, “Hold him down.”
Hawk, Panther, Tiger, and Cobra shared a quick look, then checked the monitor. Blood was starting to leak from Ryan’s vessels again.
Without hesitation, all four knelt on one knee and said, “Forgive us, Boss.”
Then, in one swift motion, they sprang up and pinned Ryan down from all sides to keep him from getting up.
“You’ve got some nerve!” Ryan roared, his face twisted with rage.
The four kept their heads down, not meeting his gaze, but their hands stayed firm, pressing him into the bed without any slack.
Echo chuckled softly. “Draw the blood, Bill,” she said with a grin.
Bill hesitated for a moment, his hand trembling as he held the syringe. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Echo, eyeing her arm-already covered with needle marks. He clenched his jaw and whispered, “Sorry.” Then, without wasting time, he slid the needle in.
Echo flinched slightly as the needle pierced her vein. Adolph, crouching beside her, didn’t hesitate-he wrapped his arms around her to support her as she started to slump.
“Let go of me! Did you hear me?” Ryan growled, his voice low and threatening.
Ryan didn’t struggle-he didn’t have the strength-but the fury radiating from him was almost tangible. It felt like the presence of a wild beast, bloodthirsty and dangerous, making the four men holding him tremble involuntarily. Still, they held him down, not daring to loosen their grip.
“What are you so mad about? They’re doing this for your own good,” Echo said, leaning her head against Adolph’s shoulder, forcing a smile as she looked at Ryan.
Ryan’s gaze snapped toward her, locking onto her face. His cold, deadly eyes were calm-too calm, like the stillness before a violent storm. The quiet rage within him carried the weight of something far more dangerous, teetering on the brink of uncontrollable madness. This was the kind of calm that hinted at destruction waiting to be unleashed.
Echo smiled weakly at Ryan, forcing herself to squeeze the hand he held.
In a soft voice, she said, “You saved me once, now I’ll save you. You didn’t even think twice about it, and I won’t hesitate to risk my life for you. Boss, if I survive, at least try to be a little nicer to me. But if I don’t make it, don’t blame them. With subordinates like these, you should be grateful.”
She’d always valued her life. Any other time, if Ryan had asked her to risk it for him, she wouldn’t have even considered it. But now, seeing him deteriorate so quickly, with his organs failing-because of her-she couldn’t just stand by.
Echo wasn’t heartless. If someone gave her respect, she’d give it back tenfold. Ryan had risked his life to save hers; there was no way she could ignore that now.
As Ryan stared at her, fury in his eyes, Echo smiled slightly.
This would settle the debt between them. Ryan had saved her because he didn’t want her to die at anyone else’s hand, so maybe it was only fair that she made sure he didn’t die at anyone else’s hand either.
The thought seemed ridiculous, but after this, they’d be even-no one owing anyone anything.
Ryan’s expression flickered for a moment. Gone was the usual coldness and sternness; for once, there was something new on his face, something unrecognizable.
Ryan stared at Echo intensely and spoke slowly, enunciating every word. “You better hang on, because if you don’t, I swear I’ll never forgive you.”
Echo chuckled weakly. “So bossy,” she murmured before her eyes fluttered shut.
Adolph quickly caught her as she slumped forward, holding her tightly. Bill clenched his jaw and, without wasting a second, turned away to process the blood sample, moving with urgent precision.
“You can rest easy-I won’t let you die,” Adolph whispered, his arms wrapped securely around her unconscious form. “I’ll track down someone with your blood type, no matter how rare. If it’s out there, I’ll find it. When I make a promise, I keep it.”
Adolph had made up his mind the moment he stepped in to ask Echo for her blood. As long as her blood type wasn’t truly one of a kind, he’d move heaven and earth to find it. Exchanging one life for another was the tactic of those without power. Adolph had the resources to prevent things from reaching that point, and he fully intended to use them.
He had waited to make this promise because he needed to know if Echo would willingly save Ryan. Ryan wasn’t like anyone else-Echo was special to him, in a way that bordered on obsession. For someone as cold and calculated as Ryan to risk everything for her was practically insane. The scariest part was that Ryan had probably known the consequences but had chosen to save her anyway.
For Echo, though, Ryan didn’t seem quite as special. Every time she’d saved him, it had felt more like coincidence or convenience-or someone else’s interference, forcing her hand. But now that Echo had shown she was willing to risk her life for him, that was enough. The rest would be between the two of them to sort out.
Adolph gently laid Echo next to Ryan. Hawk and the others stepped back without a word, retreating to the edges of the room.
Ryan didn’t say anything, just reached out and pulled Echo into his arms, holding her tightly against him.
Adolph glanced at them one last time before turning toward the door. As he walked out, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll make sure this is taken care of.”
Then, without wasting a second, he left. Echo’s condition was critical, and every moment counted.
Bill quickly injected the serum into Ryan’s body, watching the vitals on the monitor settle exactly where they needed to be. When the readings stayed stable without rebounding, he let out a long breath of relief.
He glanced up at Hawk and the others, giving them a small nod. A flash of joy crossed their faces before they exchanged looks, and then, as if in unison, they dropped to their knees in front of Ryan.
No one said a word.
Meanwhile, Ryan held Echo tightly, not wasting breath on unnecessary conversation.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
It was a long, suffocating silence.
Hawk and the others knelt by Ryan’s bedside without daring to speak, letting the thick tension fill the space like a heavy fog.
“Boss, you can’t-” Bill began to say, but Ryan suddenly forced himself upright, cradling Echo’s unconscious body.
Without hesitation, Ryan climbed out of bed and headed for the door.
Bill opened his mouth to warn Ryan against too much exertion, knowing it wasn’t wise for his current condition, but he swallowed the words before they came out.
Ryan didn’t slow down or look back as he said coldly, “Go to receive your punishment.” With that, he carried Echo out of the room.
Hawk and the others exchanged glances, each of them exhaling in quiet relief. They all understood Ryan’s sense of justice well. He was never one to act out of emotion; rewards and punishments were always fair. They had disobeyed him today, so they would take the consequences without complaint.
Even though they’d gone against Ryan’s wishes by forcing Echo to donate more blood, they weren’t punished beyond that. After all, Echo had volunteered, and their actions had been for Ryan’s sake.
Ryan could easily distinguish between sincerity and deceit. His men followed him so loyally precisely because of that clarity.
But, as they all knew, touching someone Ryan considered special-no matter how justified-came with its own price. Adolph had only crossed that line once, and he’d been shipped off to a mining operation in Africa. They figured their punishment would be even harsher-maybe a one-way trip to Mars to mine coal.
Ryan laid Echo down on his bed, staring at her pale face and bloodless lips.
Holding her tightly, as if trying to fuse her to him, he whispered with quiet intensity, “I don’t know how to be gentle. But if you survive, you’ll learn what it costs to defy me.”
His voice was cold, carrying the weight of blood and menace. Whether Echo could sense it in her unconscious state was anyone’s guess.