Echo frowned immediately. No, Ryan hadn’t said anything, but-before she could finish the thought, Ryan’s furious voice cut her off.
“When I tell you something, why don’t you listen? Have I ever lied? I told you not to do it. Didn’t you hear me? Do you even have ears?”
The sudden explosion of anger from Ryan was like a lion roaring in her face. Echo blinked, stunned into silence.
The rage radiating from him was so intense that whatever angry retort she’d had vanished from her mind.
Ryan tightened his grip on her jaw, glaring into her eyes, his fury blazing. “Do you think I don’t know my own body? You think I don’t know if I can hold on? If I said I don’t need it, I don’t need it. You think I couldn’t survive a few more days without that last transfusion? And when Bill said I needed it, you just handed it over? Where do my orders rank with you? When I tell you something, where does it go? You only have one life, Echo. What if there wasn’t a matching blood donor? What if Adolph didn’t find anyone in time? Tell me-how the hell would you pay me back with your life? Say it!”
The sudden roar in his voice made Echo flinch.
When she looked into Ryan’s eyes, she saw something terrifying: a swirling vortex of rage that had turned into searing flames. The sheer intensity of his fury overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t help but shrink back into his chest instinctively.
Seeing her recoil, Ryan gripped her jaw even harder, his eyes sharp with deadly intent.
“So, you wanna die? Fine. You wanna die, I’ll make it happen.” With that, his hand shot to her throat, squeezing hard.
Echo panicked, seeing nothing but wild fury in Ryan’s gaze. She struggled weakly, her uninjured hand flying to his, trying desperately to pry his fingers from her neck.
Gasping, she rasped, “Hurts-hurts-I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”
Ryan watched her pale face drain of what little color it had left. The hand clutching his wrist felt cold and weak, with no strength behind it. With a harsh snort, he loosened his grip, though his hand remained on her throat.
His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “You don’t want to die? Then how dare you disobey my orders again?”
Echo shook her head quickly, her voice low and shaky. “No… Bill said you…” She trailed off, staring at Ryan uncertainly.
Ryan’s eyes darkened even more as he snapped, “Bill? Is he your boss, or am I? Since when does he decide what happens with my body? Do you think I don’t know whether I can hold on or not? If I were going to die, I’d make sure you came with me. If I wasn’t, then don’t you dare even think about sacrificing yourself for me.”
Ryan’s outburst finally made everything clear to Echo. He knew his own body better than anyone else, and even though things had been risky, he’d been certain he could make it through.
That’s why he told her no-Ryan wasn’t the type to be sentimental. If he needed something, he’d say so. If he didn’t, he meant it. He wasn’t the kind of man to bluff or sugarcoat things.
She’d misunderstood him, thinking he’d said no because he didn’t want her to risk her life.
How could she have forgotten?
This was Ryan-the cold, ruthless man who never said anything without meaning it. If he hadn’t been sure he could survive, he wouldn’t have told her not to help.
Seeing the fury still simmering in his eyes, Echo managed to force a weak, awkward smile. “Boss, I… uh…”
She struggled to find the right words, but nothing came.
Ryan’s expression darkened even more as he saw her hesitate.
His voice was sharp with anger as he growled, “From now on…”
“T-That hurts, boss, it hurts,” Echo whimpered pitifully the second Ryan started speaking.
She gave him a teary-eyed look, knowing that whatever came out of his mouth next wouldn’t be good-probably some kind of punishment. She was already in bad shape, stuck in bed, barely able to move, and on top of that, she’d lost blood. If Ryan threw in another round of punishment, she wouldn’t survive it.
Ryan’s brow twitched at her complaint.
Seeing the pitiful expression on her face only made his anger surge again, just when it had started to simmer down.
Echo noticed the shift immediately and cursed inwardly.
Crap-this isn’t gonna work on him.
Before he could get a word in, she rushed to say, “I get it! I was wrong this time. I didn’t listen to you, didn’t trust you. But I won’t do it again, I swear. Come on, Boss, look how loyal I’ve been to you. Don’t punish me now-I’m already hurt all over!”
Back in the Theft Organization, this kind of sweet-talking had worked on plenty of people. Even the sharpest minds-her old leader and her mentor-had fallen for it.
But Ryan was a different story. He seemed immune to tricks like this, as if he could see straight into someone’s soul and tell whether they were genuine or faking it.
She had always refused to bow down in front of Ryan, which was probably why he’d treated her differently from the start.
People’s nature doesn’t change overnight, and Echo wouldn’t suddenly become this weepy, pitiful person just because she was in pain.
Ryan despised lies and pretense, and the moment she realized her act wasn’t working, she gave up and told the truth.
Ryan’s anger, which had been building, slowly ebbed when Echo came clean. The rage that had been boiling over receded at her words about loyalty, though his expression stayed cold.
Looking at Echo, who still seemed a bit aggrieved, Ryan said flatly, “After you’ve healed.”
Echo let out a soft groan of frustration. “Come on, boss…”
Ryan didn’t acknowledge her protest. His voice was calm but firm. “Rest now.”
Then, without giving her any room to argue, he shifted slightly and wrapped an arm around her, settling down next to her in bed.
Echo knew there was no negotiating with him. Ryan’s stubbornness made her grit her teeth in frustration.
With no other choice, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She figured she’d just have to wait until her body healed.
Whatever punishment Ryan had in mind wasn’t going anywhere, and stressing over it now wouldn’t change a thing.
Meanwhile, Bill, who had been standing guard outside the room, finally exhaled a long sigh of relief when he heard the silence inside. He knew Ryan’s body could handle a little liver bleeding for a few more days, maybe even a couple of weeks. That gave Echo enough time to recover-it wouldn’t have to be as rushed as it felt now.
But the way the radiation-induced infection had flared up so quickly had left Bill with no room for error.
Containing the spread had been the top priority, and if there was even the slightest chance it could be controlled, they had to act immediately.
He couldn’t allow Ryan’s condition to worsen, not when there had been an opportunity to stop it early on.
Letting it spread unchecked would’ve been unthinkable.
They were probably thinking the same way Hawk did-that’s why they treated Echo the way they did.
But after realizing how unique her blood was, they’d held back. Bill had started looking for someone with a matching blood type, just in case.
When you roll with dangerous people, you never know what might happen.
They had to prepare a fallback plan for Echo. It wasn’t about wanting her dead-it was about making sure, just like Adolph, that she had what it took to be fully loyal to Ryan. And now, they knew the answer.
Bill rubbed the lash marks on his back and gave a bitter smile.
Ryan had seen right through them. He was too protective of Echo-he’d figured out their intentions, and the first thing he did when he woke up was stop Echo from risking herself. It wasn’t just to stop her from being reckless. Even with a backup plan in place, one wrong move could’ve cost her life.
And let’s face it-without a direct order from Ryan, no one would’ve dared to beat the five of them that badly. Ryan had done it to stand up for Echo.
Luckily, they hadn’t intended to harm her, and they’d prepared for the worst just in case.
Straightening his spine, Bill headed toward the dispensary, not bothering to glance back at the tightly shut door.
Echo, good luck.
To others, what you did might seem like an act of heroism, pure bravery.
But to the Boss? It’s just plain stupid. Stupid beyond words. You ignored his orders and nearly cost him the one life he cared about.
God help you.