Kelley Armstrong - Otherworld Chills

“ You are a viable heir.”

“Not to the board. No more than Sean was for the Nasts. To them, we are boys playing at men. We are soft.”

“You are not —”

“To them, I am. I’m an idealist. A reformer. That makes me soft. Likewise, Sean may be a shrewder businessman, but he’s not Kristof. There’s none of his father’s ruthlessness in him. And a Cabal is not the most progressive of institutions. Sean came out because he wanted to start his leadership in honesty. Instead, it is seen as weakness—not only because he is gay, but because he was honest.”

“It doesn’t matter. Sean has shown he can lead. He might not have won over as many employees as he hoped, but Thomas and Kristof would both be proud.”

“Then you agree Sean has been successful and, with the right support and resources, he could have a powerful Cabal.”

“Yes, of cour—” Benicio stopped. “Where is this leading, Lucas?”

“I’ve proposed that Sean and I form a joint Cabal, as co-CEOs. I would propose that you invest in it. You would offer a work-share program to select employees, as a loan of resources, under fair terms. Sean and I would continue to build our Cabal, and when you do retire, your employees who wish to join our Cabal could do so. My goal by that point is to offer a viable alternative.”

Lucas lowered his voice. “But yes, Papá, I realize what I am asking—that you surrender the dream of seeing your legacy remain intact. I understand that might not be acceptable. It’s not what you wanted. What you dreamed of. I’m sorry for that.”

Benicio took a deep breath and said, “I presume you’ve spoken to Sean, worked out the preliminary details.” Before Lucas could answer, Benicio’s lips twisted in a wan smile. “No, that’s a silly question. You wouldn’t come to me if you three hadn’t spent the day hammering through it. All right, tell me what you have in mind.”

Benicio didn’t agree that night. We knew he wouldn’t. He needed time to think and consider and accept that his dream wasn’t to be, that there was no plausible way of passing on his legacy wholesale to Lucas. The best he could do was, like anyone in power, pass on what he could and see the core of what he’d accomplished continue.

Lucas and I stayed up into the night planning and talking, and there was an excitement in both of us that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Finally, as we grew sleepy, curled up on the love seat, I said, “I told you about Savannah and Adam’s offer, but otherwise we haven’t had much time to discuss that or anything else about …” I laid my hand on my stomach.

Lucas’s arm tightened around me. “That takes precedence, Paige. Whenever you want to talk, I’m ready.”

“Is now okay?”

He tugged me closer. “Now is perfect.”

“Have you had enough time to think about what you’d like us to do?”

“I have.”

“And …?”

“The fact that you’re raising this subject suggests you’ve done the same, and as I’ve said, I believe your voice carries more weight. I’d like to hear your thoughts first.”

“I’d rather hear yours first.”

“Because you fear I’ll tailor my answer to fit yours?” He took out his pen and notepad. Then, twisting so I couldn’t see, he wrote on it.

“There,” he said after a minute. “You tell me your thoughts, and then I’ll show you mine. First, let me say that I still do not lean heavily in any direction. I have a preference, but if yours is different, I will change mine.”

“You mean we’ll discuss changing it. That’s what I want. A discussion. I want to be sure we’re agreed, insomuch as we can be.”

He kissed my forehead. “I suspect that won’t be a problem. It never is. Now …”

I took a deep breath. “I’d like to keep the baby. I’m open to giving it to Savannah and Adam if you’d prefer that, but I would like to continue the pregnancy, not because I have any issues with ending it. I just feel that, in this situation, I would regret it. However, if you would rather—”

He pressed his notebook into my hand. On a blank page, he’d written,

1) continue

2) S & A

3) end

“I made a list,” he said.

I choked on a laugh even as my eyes filled. “You did.”

He wiped away a falling tear. “It’s the right list, I believe.”

“It is. Sorry.” I blinked back tears. “Hormones. I seem to be crying a lot lately.”

“And you never need to apologize for it. With or without the excuse.” He leaned in and kissed me. “So, it seems we’re having a baby?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “A baby and a new Cabal. It should be an adventure.” I smiled. “I like adventures. Well, I like them so long as they’re with you.”

“They always will be.”

Kelley Armstrongis the internationally bestselling author of the thirteen-book Women of the Otherworld series, the Nadia Stafford crime novels and her new series set in the fictional town of Cainsville, Illinois, which so far includes the novels Omens , Visions , Deceptions and Betrayals . She is also the author of the hit e-serialised crime novel City of the Lost , three bestselling young adult trilogies and the stand-alone YA suspense thriller The Masked Truth . Her Otherworld characters have also inspired the hit TV series Bitten . She lives in rural Ontario.

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Published by Orbit

ISBN: 978-0-748-12982-9

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by K.L.A. Fricke

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

“Chaotic” from Dates from Hell by Kim Harrison and Lynsay Sands and Kelley Armstrong and Lori Handeland

Copyright © 2006 by Kelley Armstrong Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers

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