An Echo in the Mafia (Echo Reid, Reid Family Book #1)

Part 37

Echo shrugged.

"Take that as you will. IF you think that I have a reason to be mad, then YOU should address it." She said.

Luke let out a sigh. He had never apologized for anything before in his life. Here he was, a very wealthy, very powerful, very feared mob boss and he was about to apologize to this very small, very annoying but very adorable woman because having her mad at him made him very, very unhappy.

"Echo can you come here?" He asked, making her look to him. He patted the empty spot beside him. "Please?"

"Alright." She said, trying to sound casual as she sat at the very edge of the bench. He watched and shook his head. She wasn't going to make this easy.

"Well?" She asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

"I was out of line when I yelled at you the other day." He said. Echo raised her eyebrow.

"The other day?" She said, pretending she couldn't remember.

"The other day meaning a couple of weeks ago at the protest." He said.

"The women's march?" Echo asked.

"Yes, that one." He responded.

"Ah, yes. You did yell, why?" She asked.

"I was in a meeting that day and someone pointed out to me how very loud and colorful your sister was." He said.

"She is, isn't she? It's one of the wonderful things about her." Echo said, "Does that bother you?"

"Not at all. I actually think all your sisters are quite nice." He replied and she nodded.

"They're better than nice, they're amazing women." She said.

"Right." He agreed.

"So you yelled at me because of one of my sisters?" Echo asked.

"No, I lost my temper because I saw you standing in the crowd." He said.

"What was wrong with that?" She asked. "Why did that bother you? I'm assuming it did because you say it made you lose your temper."

He took a deep breath.

"Because, There's a lot of things that come along with me being me. My image and how people see me are very important parts of my job." He said. "I can't change that even if I wanted too."

"I understand that." Echo said, in fact she really did. She had thought it over and over and over again since he first said it in the SUV. It made sense but that didn't give him a right to yell at her.

"I know you're a smart woman and you do." he said, "But I shouldn't have yelled at you, I should have talked to you calmly. There are things, Echo, that are a bit out of control even for me."

"That's the truth for everyone." She said.

"Yes. Echo, I don't have to tell you how complicated my work is, I couldn't if I wanted to. There are things you can't know and things you have to accept even if they don't seem fair." Luke said.

"Yeah, I know." She said.

"I'm sorry." He said, making her turn to him. He was facing down but she could tell he was genuine.

"There will always be rules, some you won't like but there's no room for negotiation on them. It comes with the territory." He said.

"It's part of the deal for being your girl." She said. "You kept telling me that what your girl does reflects on you."

"Yeah." He said.

"Seems unfair." She said softly.

"I know. You can go if you want, I'll understand." He said. Echo nodded and stood. Luke stared for a second, she was really going to leave. "But I'd like it if you stayed."