Page 78 of Seduction
Finally, her face lit up. “I know. I’m very happy for you.”
“And listen”—I leaned toward her to make sure she was looking me in the eye—“I’m a man. Therefore, I can say with certainty that we don’t think that way—at least a mature guy doesn’t. We don’t give a fuck about who you were before we met you. We only care about who you are now.”
She messed up her hair, which was something she did when she became anxious. “Ash, I’m glad you’re okay. I’m going to leave in the morning. Thanks for the good advice. Also, I’m open to hearing your suggestions for a good therapist, and finally, I don’t think you know.”
I grimaced, confused. “Know what?”
“It’s out there.”
“What’s out there?”
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “What happened in Randolph’s room before he died?”
I glared at her, refusing to say a word.
“It’s in the news. Jasper’s done a pretty good job of casting doubt and getting ahead of it, but the accusation is still out there. Lots of people believe that you and Bryn killed Randolph.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. I’d promised never to speak about it without Bryn’s permission. And I was going to keep that promise.
“Thanks for letting me know,” I said.
She nodded softly. “If you killed him, then good for you. He was a roach, a hard-to-kill parasite,” she said, baring her teeth and curling her fingers as if she were choking his neck. Then her expression softened. “But anyway. Do you want to fuck or not?”
My expression was incredulous as I shook my head. “Hasn’t anything I said resonated with you?”
She waggled her eyebrows. “I just remember how fat your dick was—pure fun. I figured since you’re on a break, why not?”
“I’m not on a break.”
“You better let her know that. She’s hot, sexy. I’m sure some guy is trying to fuck her as we’re speaking.” She slapped herself on the chest. “Hell, I want to fuck her.”
I felt for my keys in my pocket as I stood. “We’re not fucking, Gina.” There was no need to mention that sex was never good between us.
She flopped a hand dismissively. “Whatever. I’m going to bed. I’m flying back to Colorado in the morning.” She walked seductively to the wall that separated the living room from the hallway. Gina grabbed on to the plaster and arched her back while sticking out her chest. “Maybe I’ll see you later tonight.”
Then she was out of sight.
I shook my head. I wasn’t going to sleep in the same house with her. I was accustomed to her tricks. She would slip into the bed with me in the middle of the night. I wouldn’t be asleep, but she would do whatever she could to get me to stick it into her. It was odd because she’d informed me on several occasions that she never felt a thing when a man stuck his dick in. Spencer was the only exception to that, not me.
The knowledge that she preferred him over me used to make me insane and send me on a downward spiral of doing whatever it took to steal her attention from him. Shit, that felt as if it all had occurred a lifetime ago. She and Spencer could race off into the sunset and live happily ever after in hell if they wanted. The decision was theirs. I loved and craved Penina Ross. The night’s interaction with Gina only confirmed it further.
* * *
I walked to the hospital,needing the warm night air and exercise to help me get to sleep. I was going on thirty-six hours without it. My hands were jittery, and my mind was filled with thoughts that would interfere with me effectively using a scalpel. I needed to sleep for at least four hours.
When I made it to the front of the medical complex, I stopped to behold my brand-new purchase. Fuck, I couldn’t believe I had done it. What was more surprising was that Jasper hadn’t traced the purchase to me. I’d used the alias Pete Sykes to buy it. Jasper had set up the account when our father was alive. Spencer, Bryn, and I were able to draw uncapped funds from it at will without our father finding out what we were doing with the money. Jasper was the one who hid our purchases. Up until his last breath, it never sank into Randolph’s head that his oldest son was his greatest invention and fiercest adversary. It was as if defying our father gave Jasper a hard-on.
I stuffed my hands deeper into my pants pockets and leaned my head back to get a look at the top of the structure. Maybe I wanted Jasper to find me. I missed him like a son did his father.
Five and a half years ago, after his wife’s tell-all on our family was released, I started playing with the idea of changing everything about myself—new name, identity, personality. Everything about me would be different. First, I dyed my hair darker. Then I shredded my driver’s license and passport. Next, I drained all the cash out of Asher Christmas’s bank account and converted it to cryptocurrency. Then one morning, after a short sleep, I woke up and said my name was Jake Sparrow. I knew a guy named Grey Lansing, who had been a rich drifter, but nowadays he spent most his time in San Francisco. Grey was able to get me full-on identification as Jake Sparrow, which included a driver’s license, a birth certificate, social security cards, and school records. Grey warned me that I had to know my limitations, though. If I was going to put Asher Christmas to rest, then I would have to make sure I didn’t end up in a situation where I was being taken downtown by the cops and fingerprinted. That was the only scenario in which he couldn’t make Asher and Jake match. Staying out of legal trouble was easy. I was too smart to get arrested for anything—not that I would get away with murder, but crime was never my thing, which was why I was insulted that Gina would question whether I would murder Randolph. I hadn’t, but someone had. And I knew who it was.
“Good night, Dr. Sparrow,” someone said.
I brought my gaze down. It was a nurse. “Good night Lane,” I replied.
The cordialities between us put a smile on my face. It was the hospital that had ultimately saved me—getting to know nurses and doctors. You had to have a fucking heart of gold to do what we did, period. I’d bought the business because I knew the power of what it did for people. It was an easy decision for Jake Sparrow. As far as Asher Christmas, I had put him in a box and stored him away. He would never have considered buying a hospital, and he wouldn’t have said good night to Lane. I’d learned to cut Asher a break, though. He came off as an entitled prick, but he wasn’t. He had no fucking self-love. But one look at Gina, and Asher sprang back to life. Like Rip Van Winkle waking up after a long sleep, finding out the world was different—that was happening to the part of me that was Asher Christmas. I was still thinking about that when I headed inside.
* * *
