“Wait.” Just as the bullet seemed ready to fire, Kevin suddenly spoke up, halting the moment.
His footsteps followed, heading toward her.
Echo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. For some reason, she’d never really felt any intense hatred for Kevin-she didn’t like him, but she didn’t dislike him either. Having him notice her now felt like grabbing onto a lifeline.
The sudden light hit her eyes, and she instinctively squeezed them shut, but in less than a second, she forced them open again, meeting the gaze of the person looking at her.
Kevin stood nearby, momentarily stunned when the bed sheet was pulled away to reveal Echo. His brow furrowed tightly, and he gestured to the man beside him. The man’s expression changed as he looked at Echo, then rushed out, responding to Kevin’s silent command.
“Well, well, well. A rare guest. I never thought I’d get to invite you. What brings you here today? What wind blew you my way?” Kevin said with a seductive grin, moving forward to untie the cloth gag from Echo’s mouth. His words sounded casual, but his eyes were cold, icy even.
“Kevin, I…” As soon as the gag was removed, Echo tried to speak, but after just two words, she realized no sound was coming out.
She quickly moved her mouth, trying again, but still no sound. Her throat ached, and the panic set in as she realized she couldn’t speak. Her face paled instantly.
Kevin noticed immediately. His smile didn’t fade, but the warmth was gone. The cold, murderous aura filled the space, and he quickly scanned her throat.
He raised an eyebrow and said, “A slap won’t ruin your vocal cords, but it looks like you’re unable to speak right now.”
As soon as he said that, Echo looked at Kevin, and he stared right back. A flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes as he glared at her.
“Trying to pin this on me? They’ve got some nerve,” he growled.
Kevin wasn’t an idiot; as soon as he saw Echo, he realized this was all an attempt to frame him.
Echo, seeing the fleeting murderous look in Kevin’s eyes, opened her mouth wide, trying to speak, but no sound came out. It was clear that the person who’d attacked her had planned this, aiming for this exact result.
Kevin crouched beside her, reaching out to gently touch her cheek. His touch was cold, but there was a strange, almost delicate allure to it as he spoke, “A well-planned move. I’m facing off with Ryan right now, it makes perfect sense. What do you think? Should I kill you and escalate the war, just to please a few people?”
Echo felt the blood flowing steadily from her abdomen, her life slowly slipping away. She closed her lips and stared deeply at Kevin.
Kevin, the leader of the Street Family, was not someone who could be easily manipulated. If he wanted to save her, he would. If he wanted to kill her, despite her resistance, he would-no begging necessary. He would make whatever decision served his interests best, and she couldn’t afford to lose face for Ryan.
Kevin looked at Echo, and for a moment, she managed to calm her panicked breathing, staring back at him. A sinister smile slowly spread across his face as he spoke in a low voice, “But if I kill you, and then destroy the body, even if Ryan moves fast, he won’t catch up to me. I’ll make sure he can’t find you-he won’t be able to.”
He paused, not expecting Echo to respond. Kevin’s expression shifted through several emotions, and after a brief silence, he coldly scoffed, “But I really can’t figure out who has the guts to calculate both me and Ryan, trying to get me to kill you. Hmph, I don’t even care. I want to see who’s behind this.”
With that, he wrapped the sheet around Echo and started to lift her up, intending to leave. As Kevin touched her abdomen, Echo felt a jolt of pain shoot through her, her body trembling, but she couldn’t express anything.
Kevin noticed the slight movement immediately. He saw how pale Echo’s face had become, and without hesitation, he set her down. He pulled back the covers to see that her abdomen was soaked in blood, blood pouring from her back to her front, continuing to bleed out.
A bloodstained smile twisted on Kevin’s lips-fierce, beautiful, and cold. He let out a dark chuckle, “Well done. Really well done. Trying to pin this on me.”
He had originally thought this was just a kidnapping, meant to frame him and give someone leverage over Ryan. But Kevin, who had ruled the underworld for so many years, wasn’t stupid enough to fall for something like that. Sure, ruthless methods were his specialty, but against Ryan, using such a trick was beneath him.
Still, since someone had set this trap, Kevin wasn’t about to let it go. It was a bit thrilling to think that someone had dared to target both him and Ryan, two major players. But now it looked like the blame was falling squarely on him.
With the severity of Echo’s injuries and the blood loss, by the time Ryan arrived, she would either be dead or unconscious. It didn’t matter whether he accepted or not-he’d have to take responsibility for her now.
Before he could finish speaking, gunfire erupted outside.
Kevin raised an eyebrow and smirked coldly, “That was fast.”
He glanced at Echo’s wounds, then at the gun she was still holding, a flicker of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He muttered, “Such precision, such skill. This is really my kind of work.”
“Mr. Ryan, don’t make us get more aggressive,” a harsh voice called from outside, the gunfire intensifying.
Clearly, Ryan’s side was skilled, but Kevin’s team was no slouch either.
“Kevin, hand her over!” Ryan’s enraged shout pierced through, and Echo couldn’t help but smile silently.
If she made it out of this alive, she knew Ryan would probably make her wish she hadn’t. She didn’t even have the strength to protect herself now, and her future was looking bleak.
“Swallow this.” Kevin saw Echo was slipping into unconsciousness and a small smile appeared on his lips.
His brow furrowed slightly as he forced her mouth open and pressed a pill into her mouth.
“What is this?” Echo tried to ask with her eyes, struggling to stay conscious.
Kevin gave her a cold, feminine smile, “The worst that can happen is death. What are you still worried about? You really think you’re going to survive this?”
Echo glanced at Kevin in response but didn’t speak. The man didn’t exude killing intent. Whether he was just skilled enough to hide it, or if he really didn’t plan on killing her, she couldn’t tell. Despite hearing Kevin’s words, she felt little emotion.
Bang, bang, bang, the sound of gunfire grew louder, mixed with some frantic voices trying to calm things down.
It sounded like Ryan was charging in, while Kevin’s people were trying to block him. Others who had shown up were probably trying to mediate.
It was chaos, a total mess.
Kevin noticed that Echo remained eerily calm, not reacting at all. He let out a cold laugh. That was his special concoction, and he had actually gone out of his way to give it to her. It felt almost like an act of mercy on his part.
“Shadow.” Kevin glanced at Echo, who had passed out after taking the drug, and called out in a cold tone. A shadowy figure appeared in front of him almost without a sound.
“Take her downstairs. Get her fixed up,” Kevin ordered in a menacing voice.
The man, Shadow, nodded silently, and without hesitation, scooped Echo up, blankets and all, and retreated.
With a loud bang, the ancient castle door was blasted off its hinges, crashing against the side of the fireplace. The intricately carved door was destroyed in the most artistic way possible.
“One minute and twenty-eight seconds. Impressive,” Kevin said, standing by the bed with his hands clasped behind his back, watching Ryan.
“Kevin, give her to me,” Ryan demanded, his anger palpable.
The murderous aura around him was so thick, it seemed to press down on everyone even from meters away. He didn’t need any weapons; his mere presence was like a sword aimed directly at Kevin, sharp and unyielding.
“Boss, I failed you,” one of Kevin’s subordinates said, looking ashamed as he kneeled in front of Kevin.
Kevin dismissed him with a casual wave. “Get out. Ryan’s not someone you can handle.”
The men silently withdrew, knowing better than to argue.
Though they were loyal to Kevin, he knew Ryan far too well. Even though his men were strong, able to take on ten or twenty people without breaking a sweat, facing Ryan was a whole different level.
Plus, Kevin hadn’t given orders to kill. His men were holding back, not aiming to end Ryan’s life. So letting Ryan barge in had been inevitable, but one minute and twenty-seven seconds was still faster than expected.
As Ryan stormed in, his fury only seemed to fuel Kevin’s indifference. He met Ryan’s cold glare with a chilling calm of his own. “Ryan, who gave you the authority to act like this in my house?”
Hawk and the others, who had followed Ryan in, were quickly searching the room. It wasn’t big, and they immediately saw Kevin standing by the blood-soaked bed. Bill’s face went pale when he saw the blood and rushed out to investigate further.