“Clement is the closest thing Boss has to family now,” Panther muttered, as if lost in thought.
Echo blinked, surprised for a moment.
“By the way, did you tell Boss what the message was about?” Cobra suddenly asked, turning to Echo.
Echo straightened up and replied seriously, “No, I didn’t even get the chance to open my mouth. Boss seemed to already know what it was about.”
Thinking back to how Ryan’s expression changed without her saying a word, Echo raised her eyebrows slightly.
Damn, he’s sharp-too sharp. However, calling him sensitive feels… off.
“Go tell him now,” Hawk and Panther said in unison, grabbing Echo by her collar and shoving her toward the door.
“You gotta be kidding me! You trying to get me killed?” Echo snapped, her face full of anger.
With the way Ryan was acting, throwing herself back into the fire would be insane.
If she didn’t know, maybe she’d take the risk. But now that she does? No way in hell-she’s got plenty of life left to live.
Bill sighed quietly when he saw Echo holding the doorframe for dear life. “Look, Boss has only got this one person left that means anything to him. It’s not like we’re sticking our noses where they don’t belong, and we’d never go against Boss unless it was serious. If it were anyone else, we’d let it slide-one less person to worry about. But Clement… well, he’s different.”
“Every year, Clement sends Boss things-just little things like photos and some local gifts. Boss used to toss them out without a second glance, but Clement kept sending them anyway. From what we know, Boss lets it happen, just quietly ignores it.”
Bill paused, studying Echo’s expression. “You’ve been around long enough to know what kind of man Boss is. The fact that he hasn’t killed Clement yet-that’s already more mercy than most people ever get from him. So yeah, we had to pay extra attention when we heard Clement was missing. Now tell me-are you gonna tell him now, while he’s still venting? Or are you gonna wait for him to calm down and get hit with all that fury at once?”
Bill’s words were sharp, cutting through any last bit of resistance Echo had left. Soft reasoning, hard truths, cold logic-he covered all the bases. Echo’s face darkened in frustration.
“You want to die twice or just once?” Cobra chimed in, blunt as ever. “Dark family members don’t back out, and they don’t make empty promises. You’re the sixth leader now-don’t embarrass us.”
Echo clenched her jaw, glaring at the men in front of her. These were high-ranking Dark family members, each one running their own territory, and now the responsibility had fallen squarely on her shoulders. Like it or not, there was no way out of this. Damn it.
“Let go,” she growled, her face a storm of anger as she glared at Hawk and Panther.
They exchanged glances, then let her go at the same time. Watching her storm toward the door, they shared a brief, awkward look. What the hell are they doing, bullying a woman who’s not even on their level?
Echo marched into the room, her expression as dark as thunder.
Bill’s right-might as well get this over with. The fire’s already lit. Throwing some more fuel on it won’t make much difference now.
If she holds off and waits until later, it’ll just burn hotter. Better to face the flames once than risk being scorched twice.
Echo glanced around the hall, and only one thought came to mind: it looked like a typhoon had ripped through.
Damn. The once sleek and coldly elegant space was now nothing but debris, wrecked beyond belief, like a battleground after an all-out brawl.
The destruction was staggering.
She looked up and met Ryan’s gaze. His fiery anger was still burning just as intensely as before. Standing in the middle of the wreckage, he radiated fury like a living flame, too dangerous to approach without risking getting burned to ash.
“Boss, we got the news-Clement’s gone. No idea if he’s dead or alive,” Echo said, throwing the words over her shoulder as she turned to make a quick exit.
Pride was one thing, but self-preservation was way more important. Ryan had always drilled that into her head-staying alive was the priority. And right now, she intended to follow his advice to the letter.
“Come here.” His cold voice stopped her in her tracks.
The chill in his tone made the sweltering summer day feel like she’d been dumped into the Arctic-so heavy it was hard to breathe.
Echo had already taken a step out the door but froze when she heard him.
Outside, Hawk and the others had obviously caught the command too, and they all stared at her. Bill even looked ready to step in for a rescue.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Ryan’s sudden roar cracked through the air like a thunderclap, shattering the tension with raw rage.
Echo shot Hawk and the others a murderous glare, then turned back with a forced smile and began walking slowly toward Ryan.
“Boss,” she said, trying to think fast.
Surrendering wasn’t her style, but right now, she didn’t have a clue how to handle this.
Ryan watched her approach, a storm still simmering in his eyes. Without warning, he took two quick steps forward, grabbed her arm, and yanked her toward him with a jerk. His arm swung back, ready to throw a punch straight at her.
Echo screamed, “Ryan!” and instinctively raised her arms to block it.
His bloodshot eyes glinted with savage rage, like he needed to destroy everything in sight to find any relief. The punch barreled toward her, but just before impact, the sound of her scream flickered something in his expression. His arm suddenly loosened, pulling back nearly all its force. His fist unclenched, transforming into a grip that latched onto her arm.
In a fluid motion, he hauled her into his chest and bent down, biting into the side of her neck.
“Ow! Boss, that hurts!” Echo cried out.
She had braced for a bone-breaking punch, only to be caught off guard by this sudden change of attack. The sharp pain exploded in her neck, catching her completely off guard.
Outside, Cobra and the others heard her yelp and rushed inside. They froze at the sight-Ryan clutching Echo tightly in his arms, biting down hard on her neck. There were no signs that he intended to throw her out or break her limbs, so they silently retreated without making a sound.
The intense pain in her neck slowly dulled into numbness. As Echo adjusted to it, she realized Ryan’s entire body was trembling. This wasn’t just anger-it was something deeper, a rage so overwhelming he couldn’t control it. And now, it seemed like he was doing everything in his power to hold it back.
Echo rolled her eyes.
Why did Ryan have to take his anger out on her?
Why couldn’t he go bite Hawk or the others? They were all his subordinates too, right?
But, hey-better this than ending up like Panther, who got beaten to a pulp, had his arm broken, and was tossed out. If Ryan wanted to bite, then let him. She’d just take it as payback for her biting him this morning.
With her body locked tight in Ryan’s iron grip, she couldn’t even move an inch, barely able to breathe. But she’d gotten used to this and didn’t find it too hard to handle.
Grabbing the fabric of his shirt on either side of his waist, she whispered, “Boss, don’t be mad.”
Her soft voice, carrying a gentle tone unique to women, didn’t soothe Ryan at all. Instead, his arms only tightened around her like a steel vice.
This guy always did the opposite of what a normal man would. Echo let out a deep sigh.
Fine. If he wanted to bite, let him bite. As long as he didn’t kill her, she’d endure it.
When you’re under someone’s roof, you’ve gotta keep your head down.
And honestly, Ryan was already holding back a lot.
A heavy silence fell over the room, so still that those waiting outside-Hawk and the others-thought maybe the storm had finally passed.
Echo’s neck had gone completely numb, but she could feel Ryan’s body gradually stop trembling as his anger slowly dissipated. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Ryan was usually great at controlling himself; once he had a grip on his emotions, he wouldn’t lose it again.
The metallic taste of blood filled Ryan’s mouth. The warmth of Echo’s body didn’t just bring heat but also stirred something inexplicable inside him. The slippery texture of her skin between his teeth somehow eased his rage.
Lifting his head slightly, Ryan glanced at the mess he’d made of her neck-her skin torn, blood smeared all over. Without thinking, he bent down again, his lips closing over the wound, sucking gently on the bloodied flesh. The taste of blood usually excited him, but this time, it calmed him down. It was an unfamiliar but welcome sensation.
No one dared approach him when he was in a rage. He didn’t hold back for anyone.
Yet, somehow, the sound of Echo’s voice had made him stop and change course without even realizing it. With her slender build, there was no way she could’ve taken one of his punches. This was the first time he’d ever held back.