After a long pause, the woman finally muttered, “Not bad. At least you’ve got a little fight in you.” With that, she pulled the blade away from Echo’s neck.
Echo gave her a cold smile and slowly turned around. Sure, she wasn’t great in hand-to-hand combat-but she still had a gun tucked under her sleeve.
What was a knife to the neck compared to a bullet to the heart? If it came down to it, she’d see which was faster-the woman’s blade or her trigger finger.
In the moonlight, Echo saw the woman clearly.
Dressed in white, the woman stood there, her expression as icy as her voice.
Echo frowned slightly. The woman had taken decent care of herself, but there was no mistaking it-she had to be in her forties, maybe even fifties.
And this woman had feelings for Ryan? You’ve got to be kidding me.
The woman noticed Echo’s slight frown but kept her expression cold and unchanged. “At least you’ve got some ability to protect yourself,” she said flatly.
Echo raised an eyebrow and replied, “And if I didn’t, what would you do about it?”
The moment she got a better look at the woman’s age, Echo dropped her previous assumption. This woman had to be someone older, probably from Ryan’s family.
See? The idea of someone being in love with Ryan was ridiculous-only someone with a diamond-plated backbone would even dare.
“I’d kill you,” the woman said without a hint of hesitation. Her cold eyes locked on Echo. “No one who drags Ryan down is allowed to stay by his side.”
Echo, used to the cold stares from Ryan, Panther, and the others, found nothing impressive about this woman’s demeanor. She gave a faint smile and asked, “Then why didn’t you just do it earlier?”
If the woman really wanted her dead, she could’ve done it the moment she held the knife to her throat. Echo’s abilities-or lack thereof-would’ve been much clearer in a life-or-death situation.
The woman noticed Echo calmly holding a gun pointed straight at her chest, the corners of Echo’s lips curling slightly in a relaxed, self-assured way. That subtle spark of cleverness in her expression made the woman’s cold demeanor soften just a little.
With a faint, indifferent glance, the woman said, “You’d better sharpen those skills of yours. Next time, I won’t be so kind.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked straight into the villa, completely ignoring the gun still pointed at her.
Echo stood there, dumbfounded.
What the hell just happened?
Was that it?
She frowned, staring at the now-empty steps.
The woman brought her here just to test if she had the ability to defend herself?
Was her combat ability really that much of a concern? What was this woman playing at?
Echo tried to dismiss the thought of familial ties, but in the Dark family-a powerful clan in the arms business-family bonds weren’t exactly a thing.
That comment about “No one who drags Ryan down is allowed to stay by his side.” made it pretty obvious the woman was on Ryan’s side. Echo wasn’t dumb; she could see the care hidden behind those words.
And yet, from everything she knew, Ryan didn’t have any living relatives. The world of organized crime was full of stories, rumors, and half-truths.
Unlike most families that liked to play mysterious and secretive, Ryan didn’t care how many versions of his life story circulated out there.
His parents were dead. Ryan had clawed his way to the top of the Dark family on his own, using ruthless and decisive methods to become the family’s Boss. That wasn’t a secret in their world-if anything, it only added to his fearsome reputation.
So, whoever this woman was, she definitely wasn’t a relative.
And in a clan like this, where nobody believed in family loyalty, this whole thing was bizarre.
Echo frowned slightly as she holstered her gun.
The flash of murderous intent she’d sensed earlier wasn’t fake-the woman had seriously thought about killing her, all because her skills weren’t up to par. She would’ve risked going against Ryan just to take her out.
What a strange woman-and what an even stranger way to show concern.
But Echo didn’t have the energy to dwell on it.
Big old families like this were a headache, full of complicated relationships. Who knew if people were being sincere or not? She couldn’t care less.
Echo glanced up at the sky.
It was already pitch dark.
Frustrated, she stormed off.
Thanks to that weird woman, she’d missed dinner, and now she was starving. If she’d known all the woman had to say was pointless nonsense, she wouldn’t have bothered coming.
If the woman cared so much about Ryan, she could keep it to herself. Echo had no patience for that kind of drama.
Echo hurried back to Ryan’s place, only to find that the dishes were already set on the table.
Ryan was sitting off to the side, talking with Bill. The moment he saw Echo walk in, a cold glint flashed through his eyes, and he said sharply, “Clear it.”
The chefs, who had been waiting somewhere nearby, immediately appeared and started moving toward the table to take the food away.
Seeing this, Echo lunged forward and slapped her hand down on the table, stopping them. She turned to Ryan and called out, “Boss, I haven’t eaten yet!”
“Fifty-eight minutes,” Ryan said coldly, without even looking up.
Echo felt wronged and protested, “It’s not my fault! Some woman dragged me off and wasted my time by going on and on about you. If it weren’t for her, I’d have been back way earlier. Boss, I’m starving. Can you let it slide just this once?”
The trip from the basement shouldn’t have taken more than twenty minutes, and she knew Ryan was super strict about time. If she couldn’t give him a good reason, she might as well kiss dinner goodbye.
Knowing how Ryan operated, she told the truth right away and even gave him a pitiful look-this wasn’t an act; she was genuinely desperate.
Ryan finally lifted his head and gave her a sharp look.
Echo was still watching him while eyeing the food, her hands firmly planted on the table to block the chefs from clearing it.
His brows furrowed, and a flicker of anger flashed in his eyes. “She called you away, and you just went?”
At that, Echo knew she was in trouble.
She immediately plastered on a bright smile and said, “Boss, I thought it through. I made sure it wasn’t dangerous, and I had a plan to protect myself if needed. I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. Come on, it’s the Dark family. If someone wanted to pull something, they’d do it behind the scenes. And if an outsider managed to sneak in, well, that’d mean it’s not really the Dark family, right? So I wasn’t being reckless.”
She gave a little pout as she finished, thinking, I’m an adult, okay? I might not be a pro in this underworld stuff, but I know when to act and when not to. Don’t treat me like a kid-I’m not that useless.
Ryan’s expression darkened slightly, but the anger in his eyes faded.
The chefs, sensing that Ryan wasn’t going to stop them, quickly cleared the table.
Seeing her food disappear, Echo darted to Ryan’s side and plopped down beside him.
“Boss, I’m hungry!” she grumbled, her tone full of frustration.
Ryan frowned at her attitude and said coldly, “Watch yourself next time.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Echo broke into a grin and nodded eagerly. He had her in the palm of his hand, and she knew it-no choice but to agree to whatever terms he set. But she didn’t mind. Next time, she wouldn’t get involved in any nonsense like that again.
Bill, who had been quietly watching from the side, finally chuckled. Just a moment ago, Echo was glaring at Ryan, and now she was all smiles again-over a meal, of all things. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t realize food had that much power,” he muttered to himself.
Just then, Hawk walked in and said, “Boss, it’s Prince Antonio on the phone.”
Ryan gave a nod and got up, heading inside to take the call.
As Ryan disappeared from sight, Bill leaned back on the couch and glanced over at Echo, who was happily devouring the food.
“What woman did you run into earlier?” he asked.
Echo kept eating, barely sparing him a glance.
“Why do you care?” she mumbled through a mouthful of food.