Chapter 399
Chapter 399:
It took him longer than it should have to collect himself. “I don’t have any feelings for Alma,” he said, aiming for casual.
He immediately turned to Tripp. “Let’s go p>
Kristine watched him look away and noticed, with quiet satisfaction, the slight tension in his jaw.
An hour later, Asher dropped Kristine at the house and returned to his hotel room alone.
Once inside, he removed his trousers and found what he already knew was there — the bandages on his legs soaked through with fresh blood.
Years ago, a devastating car crash had destroyed his legs, but they had never been permanently paralyzed. Grueling rehabilitation had slowly, painstakingly rebuilt some of what had been lost. He had concealed his recovery carefully, maintaining the appearance of being wheelchair-bound so his brothers would not see him as a threat. Even Tripp didn’t know the full truth.
𝗥𝘦𝗮𝗱 𝗼n aոу 𝗱е𝘷𝗶𝘤𝗲 o𝗻
But when he had watched Kristine go into the water, everything else had ceased to matter. He had gone in after her without a second thought — and in doing so had torn open the progress of years. The doctor had been explicit: complete rest, no movement, or he risked losing the ability to walk again entirely.
He had ignored every word of it and come to Raskor anyway, because the thought of leaving her alone in a foreign country was simply not something he could accept.
He found himself thinking of the moment at dinner when she had intervened to spare him from drinking, smoothly redirecting Leo’s attention without a word of explanation. She hadn’t known about his legs. She had simply paid attention to him, and acted. He turned the thought over slowly, wondering what it meant.
Asher looked down at the blood seeping through the bandages and waited for the pain to dull. He was smiling.
His phone rang.
It was a call from Leo’s personal assistant.
“Mr. Edwards, my employer has decided to move forward with you. However, this arrangement needs to remain confidential. Would you be able to come to Rose Manor in three days to finalize the paperwork p>
Rose Manor was Leo’s private residence — precisely the discreet setting the deal called for.
“I’ll be there,” Asher said.
After the call, he opened Kristine’s profile and began typing. The message grew long before he noticed the time — well past midnight. He deleted everything, sat looking at her name for a moment, and then quietly changed her contact name to Lucky Star.
Across the city, Devin sat in his parked car on the street outside the restaurant.
He had followed Goodwin here, but what he hadn’t anticipated was seeing Asher and Kristine standing together outside. He stared at the spot where they had been long after they had gone.
He hadn’t been mistaken. That woman was Kristine.
He turned the facts over in his mind, trying to make sense of it — and then Goodwin’s presence sparked a theory.