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

Part 15

"I'm going to kill you." Maru said as Echo lay still on her bed. "Do you realize how worried I was all day? You didn't answer my texts, you didn't call and you left me to dodge questions about where you were."

Echo took a deep breath. She'd gotten in late last night, after dinner and her entire family was sitting in the family, watching as she went down the hall. Of course they hadn't stopped nagging her.

"Where have you been?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Did you forget what cell phones were for?"

"Don't you think of anyone but yourself?"

"I'm sorry, I was in a very messy situation and I just wanted to get back as soon as possible." Echo replied, still finding it hard to believe it hadn't all been a dream. Maru frowned, watching her sisters stare at the ceiling blankly. What in the world had happened?

"So tell me about the guy." Maru said, laying down next to Echo on the bed, and allowing her anger to subside.

"Do I have to?" She asked.

"You promised." Maru replied.

"He's bossy." Echo said the first thing that came to mind. 

"Bossy?" Maru asked. "Like he tries to tell you what to do."

"Like he likes things done his own way." Echo replied, "... and yes, he does sort of try to tell you what to do."

"What does he look like?" Maru asked, trying to form a picture of the type of guy Echo was into.

"Tall." Echo said.

"Like in comparison to us or actually tall?" She asked and Echo laughed.

"He's taller than Ben." Echo said, "And has very, very broad shoulders. Like if he does a lot of manual labor."

"Oh god, what does he do for a living?" Maru asked, picturing some of the men she'd seen on the construction sites in the city. Maru was boy crazy, always had been.

"He runs a business." Echo said simply.

"What about his hair and eyes?" Maru asked dreamily.

"Dark and dark. Very dark... like pitch black." Echo replied, closing her eyes and picturing him.

"He's handsome, isn't he?" Maru said, turning over and leaning on her arm. She saw the faint smile on her face... Echo was already infatuated with the man.

"Too handsome." Echo answered. "But more than anything, there's something about him. Like the way his face comes together... the way he stares and smiles... he has this scar..."

"Scar?" Maru asked, surprised.

"On his left cheek, it's quite long and stands out. It makes him look... dangerous." Echo said.

"God, Echo... I'm shaking. He sounds like a dream." Maru said, noticing the way Echo seemed to suddenly get sad. "So what happened?"

"We kissed." Echo said, closing her eyes and putting her fingers on her lips. Maru sat up excitedly. She couldn't picture Echo kissing anyone. "he surprised me. I never expected kissing to be quite like that."

"You're first kiss." Maru said with a grin, "took you long enough. And then???"

"And then I left." Echo replied.

"What do you mean you left? Nothing else?" Maru asked.

"No and there won't be anything else. I'm never seeing him again." Echo said, sitting up.