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

Part 13

"You're not old enough to drink." Vera admonished.

"Says who?" Lena asked.

"The law." Vera replied.

"Pffff... well what the law doesn't know..." Lena began but her father cleared his throat, glaring at her. "I'm just kidding daddy."

"I know dear." He said with a smile.

It was the typical sort of morning in their home. Everyone teasing, some more than others. Vera trying to get everyone to settle down, Lena being as provocative as possible, Romy too caught up in her own world to care about anyone and usually, Maru would be bouncing around to trying to get every one's gossip. And Echo... Maru frowned. Echo would usually sit quietly as everyone else interacted.

She hoped that whoever Echo was meeting was actually a nice guy, although what type of nice guy makes you sneak out at 3 AM? Still, she hoped. She always wondered if Echo didn't get lonely locked away all day. Then she heard everyone laugh and so Maru joined in as if she had heard the joke. Today was going to be busy but she was sure that she would have Echo on her mind all day.

---

Echo paced around the room for what seemed like the hundredth time, glancing up at the clock on the wall and practically screaming in frustration.

She'd been in here for hours, hadn't seen a single person since they closed the door behind her and no matter how much she knocked or trying calling out, no one responded.  She'd spent at least the first half hour knocking, trying to get someone's attention. After that, she calmly told herself that it wouldn't help to get all worked up and loud and so she took to looking around. 

It was a nice enough room. Large, very well decorated and for the most part comfortable. They'd left her a pitcher with some water but what she could really use was some coffee. She was exhausted, finding that it was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. How in the world was she going to stay awake on the road?

There was a large four poster bed against the back wall. She'd been told to rest, even try to sleep if she could but as much as she tried, she couldn't. After all, who in her position would be able to sleep? She lay in the bed for an hour, staring up at the ceiling, counting invisible sheep and finding that her eyes were wide open. There was a small bathroom attached to the bedroom too, with another door at the end of it that she was sure led to the hall but that was locked from the outside. She was trapped. She was trapped in here until someone came by to talk to her.

Where was that man? Marco- yes, that was his name. He said he'd come in here to talk to her but she hadn't seen him since he took her keys. Echo sighed. 

What in the world had possessed her to trust in Luke? I mean, sure. There wasn't much of a choice but when he told her to trust him and she agreed, she knew she was sincerely agreeing. That was probably why she wasn't in a full blown panic. She trusted the man who had threatened her just the day before. She felt her head begin to tilt forward. She really was tired. So, she walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, splashing water on to her face and washing it thoroughly. Hopefully, that would help her stay awake. She would hate for Marco to find her sleeping and then decide to come back later. She needed to get back home. 

She wondered how Luke was. Had he seen the doctor yet? Was he lying in a bed somewhere absolutely delirious? Did his wounds get infected? That was what was driving her the most crazy. What if he died? Echo shook her head. NO, he couldn't die. She was being ridiculous. If only she had insisted on taking him to the emergency room. Who knew if these people knew how to properly care for him? 

OH GOD, get a grip of yourself. Of course he wasn't dead. He'd been moving around and talking normally just yesterday. Although, he did seem to take a turn for the worse this morning.  Echo stared at herself in the mirror, watching the water drip down her face. She knew she was obsessing over it, knew she should be more concerned over her own situation but she figured it must be the guilt. The guilt of knowing that she could have saved a man's life and she didn't.

Then, as she dried her face with a towel, she heard the room door click. She let the towel slip our of her hands and onto the floor as she ran out, wondering who she would find.

"Marco?" She asked, slowing her pace. Marco looked at the woman from that morning, thinking she looked a little like she'd been hit by a bus. Her hair was stringy and hastily tied back and she wore dark circles around her eyes from where she hadn't slept. She was a strange one, dressed very strangely and not the type of woman that Luke usually spent his time with. 

"Ms. Reid, how are you feeling?" He asked, closing the door behind him.

"I'm just a bit tired but... wait, how do you my last name?" She asked, confused.

"It's on your driver's license." He said and she blushed.

"Right." She said, allowing a laughing to escape her lips, surprising Marco with the pleasant sound. "For a second I thought you..."

"Investigated you? We did." He said, making her turn to him wide eyed. "Fourth of six kids. SIX. That's a big family but your parents can afford it, right?"

"Please, please don't hurt my family." She said, tensing up. He shook his head.

"We don't do anything without Mr. Farina telling us." Marco said. "But I need YOU to know that WE know what we know and if you ever repeat what you saw or what has happened, we'll know where to go."

Echo nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying.

"Now, have a seat, there are some things I want to go over with you." Marco said, signaling to the chaise nearby. Echo did as she was told. "How did you end up here?"

Echo took a deep breath, explaining how she'd found Luke and everything that came after. She was surprised at how easy it was to speak to this man, surprised at how at ease she felt. Usually, she mumbled and found it hard to find the words, something that most people wouldn't have expected from a writer. But today... she was as eloquent as she was on paper, like those characters in the books she loved. 

"So you were the one that bandaged him up? The doctor said that saved his life." Marco said, "otherwise he would have gotten an infection."

"So he's alright? What else did the doctor say?" Echo asked. Marco watched her for a second, she was concerned. She was genuinely concerned. Interesting.

"He'll be fine. His fever is coming down and in a few days he'll be almost good as new." Marco replied and she sighed. Relief.  "And you can go as soon as he's awake and has had a chance to speak with you. I think that..."

Marco stopped. She'd fallen asleep, she'd actually dozed off from one second to the next. A strange sight. She was sitting up with her hands still folded in her lap but her head was slouched forward and she was out cold. With a smile and silent chuckle, he stood. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he lifted her up and placed her on the bed, pulling the blanket over her as she settled onto the pillows.

He reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She looked so young and seemed extremely sheltered. He was impressed by her ability to handle everything so calmly.

Poor girl, it was bad luck she'd gotten mixed up in all this.