Echo heard footsteps in the sand, heading straight for her. Echo’s brows furrowed.
Coming to silence me? They had some nerve.
As the footsteps drew closer, Echo sprang to her feet and pointed her gun right between the intruder’s eyes.
The man before her was strikingly handsome, even in his disheveled state. His face radiated joy and surprise, with not a trace of fear.
Echo’s brow twitched in recognition as she locked eyes with him.
“Michael,” she said coldly.
“I’ve been looking for you for so long,” Michael replied, breathless, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Echo! No way-it’s really you!” another voice exclaimed from behind Michael, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Echo tilted her head slightly, peeking past Michael. Two bodies lay lifeless on the sand, blood pooling beneath them. Two other men were now walking toward her, their faces lit with disbelief and joy. It was Frank and Brook.
Echo scoffed, quickly holstering her gun as her expression darkened. “Nothing good ever comes from running into you guys,” she said coolly.
Frank rushed over, grabbing Echo’s hand with a big grin. “Long time no see! You’re my lucky charm, Echo! Every time I meet you, you pull me out of trouble. My savior!”
Echo shot him an annoyed glare. What’s with all the enthusiasm? Sure, he was always friendly, but this was over the top.
In a low voice, Echo growled, “Let go.”
Frank was about to keep going, but Michael, who had been watching quietly, grabbed his arm. “Look at her. She’s hurt-let her go.”
Frank glanced down and quickly released her, guilt washing over his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drag you into this. My bad.”
Echo’s clothes were ripped from the rocks, and parts of her skin were scraped and bleeding, making for a rough and alarming sight.
Echo gave Frank one last glare. “Good that you know,” she muttered, turning on her heel to leave. Running into these guys is always bad news. It was never good before, and now it had almost cost her her life. What a bunch of jinxes.
“Echo, where are you going?” Michael frowned when she started walking off and instinctively reached out to stop her, but Brook, who had been silent until now, stepped in. “Let’s get out of here first,” he said, gesturing toward the scene around them.
Michael snapped back to reality and nodded seriously, following after Echo. Brook pulled out his phone to make a call. With all the noise they’d caused, it wouldn’t be long before someone showed up. Getting out fast was the only sensible move.
After scrambling up to the main road, a sports car screeched to a stop right in front of Echo. Without even glancing at it, she turned to leave. The last thing she wanted was to get mixed up with more people-especially troublesome ones. And she hated trouble.
“Echo! It’s really you! We finally found you!” A voice, bursting with joy, called from behind her.
Hearing the excited footsteps coming closer, Echo rolled her eyes but didn’t resist when the person rushed up and hugged her tightly.
“Ivy, let’s get out of here first. We can talk later,” Brook called from the driver’s seat, sticking his head out of the window.
Ivy clung to Echo, grinning. “This time, I’m not letting you slip away!” she said, dragging Echo toward the car.
Echo shot Ivy a look. “You don’t have to drag me-I never said I wasn’t coming.”
Staying in this deserted place with no signs of life wasn’t exactly a smart move. What was she supposed to do-wait around to become a witness for the cops? And as much as Ivy could be a handful, Echo didn’t have it in her to completely reject someone who treated her this warmly.
Michael leaned against the car door, waiting for them, and gave Brook a small smile as he heard Echo’s words. Brook glanced at Echo without a word, but there was a strange flicker in his eyes that was hard to read.
After a fast, wild drive, Brook pulled up in front of a high-end villa nestled by the mountains and water-prime real estate. Before Echo could say a word, Ivy tugged her out of the car and led her straight inside.
“Here you go, your favorite fruit snacks,” Ivy said as soon as they walked in, handing Echo a big bag of food filled with all the things Echo used to love.
Echo hadn’t even noticed how hungry she was until now. She’d been too excited and nervous about Skye to remember she hadn’t eaten much. Now that there was tasty food in front of her, she dug in without hesitation.
“Echo, why did you just up and leave without saying anything? It made it so hard for us to find you! You have no idea-Michael searched all over the U. S. looking for you. We all had a rough time trying to track you down. You really pulled off quite the disappearing act!” Frank babbled as he sat down.
Echo shot him a glance. “I didn’t ask you to find me.”
Frank raised an eyebrow, momentarily at a loss for words.
Ivy jumped in. “But we wanted to find you!”
Echo met Ivy’s gentle gaze and then looked down at her food, saying nothing. She hadn’t called them to look for her, but she couldn’t blame them for wanting to. The desire to find her held so much meaning, and she wasn’t heartless. She couldn’t ignore people who genuinely cared about her.
Michael smiled at the scene and handed Echo a glass of water. “It’s a rare occasion to run into you during such dangerous times. It’s like searching for someone a thousand times and suddenly finding them in a moment of light.”
“Gag me,” Frank said, making a face as he adjusted his hair.
“Maybe you should take a break and clean up those wounds. You don’t want them to get infected,” Michael said, ignoring Frank and looking at Echo with concern.
“It’s nothing major,” she replied, brushing off the small scrapes. Compared to the injuries she’d gotten while with Ryan, these were practically nothing.
But Ivy stood up, pulling Echo with a frown. “What are you talking about? You can’t just ignore all these wounds! Let me help you clean them.” She started dragging Echo upstairs, and Echo raised an eyebrow but followed her.
Downstairs, Brook watched as Michael leaned back on the sofa, staring at the spot where Echo had disappeared around the corner. He frowned slightly. “Michael, maybe Echo isn’t as simple as she seems. You’d better not fall in love with her.”
Michael smiled faintly without looking at Brook. “What does it matter if I love someone? Simplicity has nothing to do with it.”
Brook shook his head slightly. They had suspected that the carefree playboy might have genuinely cared for someone, but they hadn’t expected Echo to be more than just a pretty face. He lowered his voice. “You saw how she reacted earlier. She didn’t even blink when faced with violence; she was calmer than either of us. And that gun she had? It wasn’t just any model. It had to be custom-made or from someone influential. You can’t let your guard down.”
Michael shook his head, amused. “If you replaced Echo with Ivy, would you be wary of Ivy?”
Brook was momentarily speechless, looking at Michael without saying a word.
Michael’s eyes sparkled with determination. “I’ve searched for her for so long. Running into her again today? This time, I’m not letting her go.”