attracted to her, too, obviously. Someone who will take her as a soul mate and love her.” He fixed his pointed stare on Will.
Will closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off a tension headache. “So what’s the bottom line?” There had to be a way around this. There always was. He just had to let Ryan have his say. Ryan was like his old man in that way, giving the worst-case scenario first so when he presented you with the alternative, no matter how unappealing, it looked a lot better than the original idea.
Ryan couldn’t be saying what he thought he was saying.
“The bottom line, Will?”
Will nodded. “Spit it out and cut the bullshit.”
Ryan took his time arranging his long legs. “Either you fuck her, or Aidan kills her.”
Aidan leapt to his feet. “What?”
Nonplussed, Ryan turned his gaze to Aidan. “You heard me. Either Will takes her cherry and takes her as a soul mate, or you must kill her. I say you because I know there’s no way Will would wield the sword. There’s no other way to get rid of the wraith.” Ryan casually sipped his merlot.
Nope, this was definitely worse than Will thought. His face reddened with anger. “You can’t do that. You can’t let that happen! You have the power to fix this.”
“No, you have the power to fix this. I can kill her. You can save her.”
“I can’t sleep with her! I don’t love her!” Even as Will said it, his body betrayed him. The thought of loving her fiercely battled with the pain in his soul and his years of dedication to Abby.
His dedication to dying to be with her. Or, at the very least, to no longer be in pain without her.
Ryan arched an eyebrow. “Really? Why not? I thought you were rather fond of Kal.”
Will wouldn’t give Ryan the satisfaction. “I barely know her,” Will growled through clenched teeth.
“Ah, Will, but you do. You not only know her, you love her.”
* * * *
Aidan’s jaw dropped. “Oh, shit!” he whispered, awestruck. “You’re a fucking miserable bastard, Ryan. You know that?”
Will was too angry for bullshit and turned on his cousin. “What is your problem? You know I won’t let her die, she’s an innocent. This is my problem, not yours.”
Aidan, still stunned, slowly shook his head. “Dude, he planned this. You’re not getting it.” He looked at Will. “You’re really not getting it. Do the math.”
Confusion slowly displaced Will’s anger. “What?”
“Will, do the fucking math. What’s Kal’s birthday?”
Horror replaced confusion in his expression. “She was born about nine months after—”
Aidan nodded. “Dude, she’s Abby.”
Ryan’s smile broadened, but for once he said nothing. He took another sip of his merlot.
Will’s eyes flashed blue, then black. He let out an enraged scream and lunged at Ryan. Aidan barely managed to catch him and pull him back. Apparently unconcerned, Ryan never moved and continued nursing his merlot.
“I have to admit,” Ryan said, “it was rather inspired. Father said he’d never been so proud of me. It marked the moment he decided it was time to turn the reins over to me once and for all, put me totally in charge of The Firm.”
Aidan maintained his iron grip on Will. “You fucking bastard!” Will sobbed. “You brought her back? After everything that happened, you brought her back?”
“I would think you’d be happy—”
Will screamed again, lunged, and finally fell to the floor, sobbing, with Aidan holding him. “How could you do that? You fucking bastard!”
“Yes, you keep calling me that. Still doesn’t bother me. It’s my job, you know.” He leaned forward, fixing his cold, hard eyes on Will. “It’s your job, too, Will. We need you back. You’re the strongest.”
Aidan eventually felt it safe to release Will but stayed close, watching his cousin’s despair, numb inside, his own conflicted feelings swirling. “That’s low, Ryan,” Aidan said. “Even for you.”
Ryan’s green
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