Kevin chuckled darkly. “I didn’t know you had a talent for sniffing around, Bill.”
“It’s Echo’s blood, Boss,” Bill confirmed, his voice tense. The amount of blood was unmistakable-almost immediately, he could tell it was Echo’s.
Ryan’s gaze swept across the blood-soaked bed, the crimson stains covering nearly the entire surface. The sheer amount of blood made it clear that Echo had suffered devastating injuries. Echo’s blood was special-losing this much would put her life in danger, if not already.
Ryan’s rage boiled over, the air around him practically crackling with fury. Even Hawk and the others looked visibly shaken.
“Kevin, don’t make me have to kill you.” Ryan’s voice was like ice, full of fury and bloodlust.
A bloodstained smile curled at the corners of Kevin’s mouth, but his eyes remained just as cold. The two locked eyes, and in that moment, the intensity between them was palpable. “Ryan, you’ve got some nerve. I, Kevin, am not someone you can come and go as you please.”
The two stood there, staring each other down-anger against coldness, murderous intent against sinister calm. The stark contrast in their energy made everyone in the room feel like they were walking on eggshells.
“Mr. Ryan, you came in here without my boss’s permission, treating my Street Family like it’s no one’s business?” A calm voice came from behind everyone.
It was Kevin’s right-hand man, Aaron, who always carried himself with the elegance of a scholar, slowly walked into the room.
With an air of sophistication that didn’t match the rough crowd around him, Aaron looked completely out of place in the underworld. He didn’t give off the commanding presence you’d expect from someone in such a high position in the Street Family, but his aura demanded respect. As if he hadn’t even noticed the tension in the room, Aaron casually walked over to Kevin and gave Ryan a cool glance.
Before Ryan could speak, Hawk cut in, his voice sharp. “One of my Dark Family’s own, Echo, was hurt. Someone saw your Street Family’s people drag her here. What do you have to say for yourself?” With a wave of his hand, Cobra shoved the witness forward.
At the same time, Bill held up a bloodstained piece of the bed sheet and spoke in a low voice. “This is Echo’s blood. It has a distinct smell-easy to identify.”
The others quickly positioned themselves behind Ryan, their eyes locked on Kevin and Aaron, their expressions cold and calculating.
Hawk and the others could feel Ryan’s fury bubbling under the surface, absolute rage. They knew Ryan was about to explode, so Hawk jumped in first, trying to calm the situation before Ryan went off.
They couldn’t afford to let Ryan lose control, especially not in front of Kevin. And this whole thing seemed off-they were all suspicious. If Kevin had really done this, it would’ve been a terrible move-so low, it didn’t make sense. It would only escalate things and make them more intense. The Dark Family wouldn’t collapse over something like Echo.
After years of being rivals, if Kevin didn’t see that, then he wasn’t much of a threat anymore.
Something didn’t add up. The timing, the way everything lined up so perfectly to take Echo-this looked like a setup. As soon as they figured out it was Kevin’s people involved, they knew they had been caught in a trap. They hadn’t hurt Kevin’s men on their way in, they’d just walked right into the situation, playing along.
But Ryan… when it came to Echo, he wasn’t acting like himself. Although he was trying to hide it, the way he charged in, so frantic, wasn’t Ryan’s usual style. He wouldn’t rush in demanding someone be handed over like that.
So, they didn’t want Ryan to speak, hoping they could use these so-called pieces of evidence to cool him down and keep him from blowing up completely. They had to find Echo.
Aaron glanced at the man Cobra had dragged forward-the castle servant, the one who had been serving coffee earlier. He looked pale, too frightened to move, trembling and barely able to meet their eyes. His lips moved as though he was trying to say something, but no words came out.
Aaron gave a cold smile and said, “Mr. Ryan, you believe this? This kind of thing is easy to come by anytime.”
As he spoke, Aaron raised his hand casually, and there was a faint sound of a gunshot. Aaron’s expression didn’t change, not even a flicker of emotion. He remained just as calm and refined as before, while the servant let out a soft grunt and collapsed, a bullet lodged in his chest.
Cobra quickly tossed the body aside. Since this man had dared to come here, he’d already prepared to die. They wouldn’t get anything useful from him, and even if they didn’t kill him, someone else would. Better to get rid of him now than drag out the inevitable.
“I’m only asking you one thing: where is she?” Ryan stared at Kevin, and suddenly, he yelled so loudly it was like thunder cracking, causing everyone to jump.
Kevin let out a cold laugh. “This place isn’t that big. Don’t tell me you’re blind.”
He gave Ryan a wicked, almost seductive smile, as if Ryan wasn’t even worth acknowledging. He clearly had a lot of nerve.
Aaron spoke up, his tone calm but firm. “Mr. Ryan, all the people our boss brought with him are here. If you’re trying to frame us, at least make it believable. We’re just walking into this room, and you come barging in looking for us? If our boss had lost someone, would he just storm in here and kill you? Mr. Ryan, this is King George’s territory, not your Dark Family’s. And this is our boss’s room. You barge in here like this, do you really think we’re that easy to push around?”
His voice carried a strange mix of indifference, arrogance, and an underlying threat, all wrapped in that refined manner of his. It was hard to figure out exactly what kind of person he was.
Kevin watched as Ryan’s eyes turned bloodshot, a twisted grin spreading across his face. “Ryan, if you’re looking for trouble, don’t make excuses. I’m happy to play along.”
As soon as he finished speaking, all of Kevin’s men who had stepped back raised their guns, pointing them straight at Ryan’s people. Hawk and the others did the same, facing off with Kevin’s men. The tension in the room was unbearable.
“What’s going on here? What is this?” King George and Count Owen rushed in, out of breath, their faces pale from the exertion.
King George had been enjoying the company of the people in the main hall, while Prince William had been standing guard outside a private meeting. He’d noticed something was wrong and immediately rushed to help.
Count Owen, who had been with Kevin, was the second to realize the situation was serious.
Both of them hurried to the king’s side, joined forces to calm down the people in the hall, and then quickly ran to the confrontation, exhausted by the time they arrived.
Breathing heavily, King George stepped into the middle of the standoff and said with a look of panic, “What’s going on here? Let’s talk this through. Please, put your guns down. We can work things out. You’re both men of honor. Just give me some face and stop with the weapons. Whatever’s going on, let’s sit down and figure it out. Don’t let this escalate between your two families.”
Count Owen also spoke up, his voice full of urgency. “Mr. Ryan, Mr. Kevin, let’s talk this out. We’re all here. If there’s something we can do to help, just let us know. We don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
Prince William, however, stayed silent. He just stood in the middle of the room, gesturing for Ryan and Kevin to calm down. He knew exactly what had happened with Ryan, and didn’t dare speak to him directly. He understood how deep Ryan’s feelings for Echo went. If things went wrong here-whether it was Kevin or anyone else responsible-they’d all be in trouble.
“Talk things through? What’s there to talk about?” Kevin scoffed, as if hearing the biggest joke in the world. He burst out laughing coldly.
Ryan’s hands, clenched tightly at his sides, were shaking. His knuckles turned white from the pressure. Despite the efforts to calm him down, the sound of his knuckles cracking was loud enough to drown out King George and the others’ words.
Ryan was angry-like nothing anyone had seen before. His emotions were on the edge of exploding, and he was quickly losing control.