Chapter 431
Chapter 431:
Every piece of the plan was clear in her mind by the time she picked up her phone and called him.
It rang for a long time.
“Colton,” she said, keeping her voice soft and measured when he answered. “I’ve run into a small situation. I need your help p>
“What is it?” His voice was flat, distant.
“I need the best antique restoration expert you can find. Someone at the top of their field. Can you arrange it p>
𝖲h𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝘆𝘰u𝗋 f𝘢vо𝘳i𝘵𝗲𝗌 𝖿𝗿𝗼𝗆
A brief pause. “I’ll have it done p>
Elyse felt a rush of excitement she carefully suppressed. “Then I p>
“Bobby will contact you with the details,” he said, and the conversation was already over in his voice.
She swallowed the sting of it and kept her tone warm. “Of course. Thank you, Colton. You’re always so helpful.” She hesitated, then made her decision. “By the way — I think I saw Kristine here tonight p>
After saying those words, Elyse gripped her phone and waited.
No response came. When she finally looked at the screen, she realized he had ended the call at some point without a word. She stared at it for a moment, a faint crease forming between her brows, then turned her gaze to the darkening sky outside the window.
Several days passed.
After that night, Kristine’s life settled back into its quiet, confined rhythm. Too afraid of being traced to risk going out, she stayed inside the hotel, barely leaving her room. Davin handled everything she needed and made certain she lacked nothing.
Before, she had chosen to stay in of her own accord, and it had felt comfortable. Now that she had no real choice, the same four walls felt like something else entirely.
Fortunately, Alma hadn’t gone home. She stopped by often enough that the solitude never became unbearable.
“Still fussing over my watch?” Alma asked as she walked in one afternoon and found Kristine turning it over absently in her hands.
Kristine blinked back to the present. “Not really,” she said. “Just thinking p>
She had already worked out the solution to the 0.1-second deviation. The problem was that the hotel had neither the tools nor the parts she needed to actually carry out the repair.
Alma’s eyes lit up immediately. She grabbed Kristine’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “The hotel doesn’t have what you need, but the shops will. Come on — let’s go get them p>
Kristine glanced over at Davin, stationed silently by the door, and shook her head.
She had been careless before, assuming that being overseas would keep Colton from finding her. She had been wrong. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
Alma looked at her with open disapproval. “Are you really planning to keep hiding like this indefinitely p>
“Of course not,” Kristine said.
“Then how long p>
Kristine was quiet for a moment. “Until Colton stops looking p>
“And when do you expect that to be p>