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

Part 43

For some reason, Echo was sure that they'd be taken to Luke's house but instead, they were now in a very impressive, if somewhat cold, apartment. 

"Marco, what was all that?" Nadia asked. She was perched on a stool, holding a warm towel over her scraped up arm. 

"We don't know." Marco said, "At least not yet but don't worry- We'll take care of it." 

Echo was leaning against the counter in the kitchen, her arms crossed in front of her as she replayed the incident. 

"Do you want me to take a look at that?" Nadia asked, glancing at Marco's lip. 

"Don't worry..." He said, glancing over at Echo with a smile, "I can take punch, even if it was surprisingly good."

Echo didn't say anything, she just continued to stare at the floor blankly. 

"Remind me to warn Luke he should never make you mad." Marco said but Echo still didn't budge. 

"What about you, Echo? You feeling okay?" Nadia said, glancing over at her. "You hit the floor hard a couple of times."

Echo shook her head.

"I'm fine." She muttered.

"You don't look fine... Jesus Christ." Luke said, slamming the door behind him and moving towards them. Echo glanced up, watching him as he reached out for her hand where her knuckles were now swollen and bruised. "Look at your hand."

Echo flinched as he touched her, practically yanking her hand away and holding it against her. She was surprised by the pain, having almost forgot as she processed everything. 

"Hey..." Luke said, placing a hand to her chin and inspecting her face. "Are you okay?"

"I think." Echo said, her voice raspy and strange even to herself. She nodded and turned to Marco. 

"I'm sorry." She managed to say and he shook his head. 

"It's fine... I'm not made of glass." He said with a wink.

"I got here as fast as I could." Luke said, trying to get Echo to focus on him but she straightened herself up suddenly, moving away from him. 

"I should get some ice on this." She said, circling the counter and going towards the freezer. Everyone watched as she fumbled around in the kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets. 

"How are you?" Luke said, moving to Nadia. She smiled and stood up, only wincing a bit. 

"I'll be very sore in the morning but... I'll be fine." She said. "I'm a nurse, I'll go home and take something strong and call it a night. Echo..."

"I'm fine. Thank you." Echo said, finally finding a clean dish towel and going back to the freezer. "Jesus there's nothing in here."

She threw the towel on the floor before slamming the freezer door shut. 

Nadia and Marco exchanged glances as Luke stared at Echo, completely surprised. 

"How about I take you home?" Marco said, signalling to Nadia.

"Yes, sounds like a good idea." Nadia said with a nod. 

"Get some rest." Luke said, never taking his eyes off of Echo as she leaned with her head against the freezer door. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

When they were alone, Echo moved towards the sink, letting the cold water run over her hand silently. 

"Hey." Luke said, walking around to stand next to her.