Page 2 of Wicked Royals
“Logan was the same when he was born. Nearly a full head of hair. Chloe was completely bald,though.”
“Chloe?” Chuck’s brows dipped inconfusion.
“Mydaughter.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you and Elizabeth had anotherchild.”
Chuck’s lip curled again. “Chloe is five months old now. I suppose you missed the birth announcement while you were busy making all this trouble foryourself.”
Stephen’s stomach lurched, and he nervously licked his drylips.
“Shall we find a quieter place to discuss our business?” Chuck went on, tilting his head toward the edge of theroom.
“Yes. Ofcourse.”
The two men stepped through yet another arched door. The room beyond was small and cozy with a fireplace on one side and two black leather armchairs in the center. A polished table sat between the two chairs. Stephen’s hands began to feel clammy as he spied the paperwork strewn across it along with a silver tray covered in lines of whitepowder.
“Does Quinn know what you’re doing today?” Chuck asked, reclining in one of the chairs. A smirk played on the corners of hislips.
Stephen shook his head as he lowered the carrier to the floor beside his chair. “She has no idea. If she did, she’d never let it happen,” he said in a low voice. He swallowed hard and lowered his gaze for a brief second as guilt roiled in his guts. “What about your wife? Does she know what you intend todo?”
“Of course. There are no secrets in mymarriage.”
Stephen’s forehead wrinkled with surprise. “So you’ve told her about theOrder?”
Chuck let out a hollow laugh. “Okay, so there are afewsecrets,” he said, waving one hand. “No, I haven’t told her about the Order. I’m not an idiot. But she knows about this little deal ofours.”
“I suppose that makes sense. She’d have to know, wouldn’tshe?”
“Yes.” Chuck nodded and gathered up the papers. “Anyway, there are two copies of the contract. One for each of us,” he said. “Do you want to read it again to make sure you haven’t missedanything?”
Stephen looked down at Willow as she slumbered in the carrier. His chest felt tight, and there was a distinct thickness in his throat. “No,” he said. “I know what I’mdoing.”
“It’s not too late to back out,” Chuck said, raising one thickeyebrow.
“I can’t. There’s no other way.” Stephen swallowed hard. “If Quinn finds out what I’ve done to our family over these last few months, I’ll be ruined, and she will betoo.”
The other man shrugged nonchalantly. “Probably,yes.”
“I can’t do that to her. She has so manyambitions.”
Chuck leaned forward. “I’m aware,” he said with a slow nod. “Don’t worry, Stephen, you’re doing the right thing for your wife, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now. Quinn will achieve every single one of her goals, and she’ll owe it all to you and your sacrifice to thesociety.”
“I hopeso.”
Chuck smiled. “Mark my words. Twenty years from now, she’ll probably be the president.” He hesitated for a moment before handing over the paperwork. “Please read this again, for my sake. I need to know you’re definitely on-board.”
Stephen scanned the pages and nodded. “It all seems fine. You haven’t changed any of the details we discussed beforenow.”
“Of course not. Our families might be sworn enemies in the outside world, but here in the Order Hall, we’re brothers. I wouldn’t screw you over by sneaking in newterms.”
A ghost of a smile crossed Stephen’s face. “I’d hardly call us swornenemies.”
“You know what I mean. It’s the way everyone else perceives us, and they can’t know about all of this, can they?” He gestured around the room with one hand before pointing to an etching on the back wall. It was the Order’s Latin motto beneath a triangle with an eye insideit.
“That’s true.” Stephen put the contract down on the table and looked Chuck right in the eye. “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. As terrible as it sounds for me to say this, given the circumstances, your terms are verygenerous.”
“I know. You’ll still get to raise your daughter and be with her every step of the way through her childhood. You won’t need to worry about a single thing for a very long time. That’s a much better deal than most people in your situation could hope to get.” Chuck held up a black pen. “Now, are you ready tosign?”
