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

Part 33

"What's the news?" Luke asked as he walked back into the warehouse. This time he found the same man as before, looking a little bit more like a normal person.

It was strange what could happen to your body when you put so much filth in it. Luke was a man who prided himself on his physical health. He worked out every day, even on Sundays, and had never been interested in that kind of poison. Even his drinking was pretty limited... his vanity was a weakness. It had been quite the blow to him when he got those scars and even to this day, he could not look in the mirror without wondering how anyone could see him when he stood out so prominently.

It wasn't just his physical shape or his close shave, Luke paid attention to every detail. He had his clothes carefully tailored to him, preferred to invest in higher qualities and didn't like to be seen with a single hair out of place. And when he did get messier than he would have liked, he always had a back up plan and an extra shirt.

That was Luke and that was why it was almost strange to Marco that he should be so involved with a woman who had been anything but put together when they met her. A woman who dressed as sloppy as Echo Reid was inclined to was not the type of woman that Luke admired. He must have seen something in her that impressed him enough to let that slide.

What Marco knew was based on things Luke had told him and things he'd noticed from watching her. Echo was smart, very sensitive, and very gentle- she was a quick thinker and very practical in many ways. But what really stood out about her was the way she reacted to Luke. She never lost her cool and caused a scene, she accepted his flaws easily and instead worked around them, and she never seemed afraid of him, only perplexed. She was also brave enough to tell him how annoyed she was by him at the drop of the hat, like she didn't think it was brave at all, she just wasn't afraid of the big bad mob boss.

This was good for Luke who was the most spoiled man that Marco knew. It was a good thing for him to have to exercise some patience, to hear the word NO and not always get his way. Somehow when it came to Echo, Luke just didn't have to try as hard. He was naturally inclined to be forgiving and generous.

Two very different people- one who usually was very passive and one who was usually very demanding suddenly found that the other brought out the complete opposite in them... AND IT WORKED.

"He's doing better. Says he's ready to talk." Marco replied as Luke pulled up a chair and took a seat across from him.

"Mr. White?" Luke said, looking at the man in front of him. He was clean now, his face washed and although his clothes were ragged, they were in better shape than the last time he'd been here. Perry white glanced at Luke, his eyes bloodshot, but otherwise coherent. Then, he looked back down at the bowl of soup he was having.

There were things you should know about Luke. Yes, it was true that he was not a naturally forgiving man and when he exacted punishment on those he thought deserved it, he was not merciful. BUT- Luke was also not a man to bring unnecessary pain, at least not in his own eyes. He did not hurt for pleasure.

"How are you feeling?" Luke asked, "Are you full? Can we get you anything else?"

"Thank you." Perry said as he ate. "Maybe I can have some more bread?"

Luke lifted his hand and snapped his fingers and a boy nearby immediately ran off to get more.

"Mr. White, I need you to know that no one here wants to hurt you. I'm glad to see how much better you look and I hope soon you'll be well enough to leave and do better things with your life." Luke said, "But I also need you to be completely honest with us. We're going to ask some questions and if you can do that, if you can answer honestly, then we should have no problems letting you walk out."