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"My son?" Dean's eyes pop open. "What do you mean? You said it would be me, not him."

"I've changed the rules." Phillip returns to the table and casually sits down. "We won't kill him. After all, he's just a boy. But we will harm him."

"How?" Dean races over to Phillip. "What will you do?"

"You'll have to wait and find out. Or you could do the assignment and your boy will not be harmed."

Dean looks down, yanking fistfuls of his thick gray hair. Then he looks at Phillip and takes a deep breath. "Okay, fine. If that's my only option, then...yes. I'll do it."

Phillip smiles at him. "Excellent. Have a seat and we'll go over the final details."

I can't stop the grin on my face. I feel giddy, awash with excitement. It's such a brilliant plan. And when it's over, Rachel will be dead. Dean will be a member and so will Reed. And my sweet naive Lilly will marry her prince, the boy she loves, not knowing what he's become. If she finds out, will she still love him? I don't really care. The only thing that matters is that she'll be part of it. And as her mother, so will I.

Chapter Eighteen

Lilly

I wake to the feel of little hands and feet crawling all over me.

"Aunt Lilly!" Miles giggles as he hugs me.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask, laughing.

"Daddy says it's time to get up." Ethan jumps on my bed.

I yawn. "Tell your dad I want to sleep longer."

"You up yet?" Garret asks, standing at my door. He has a big grin on his face. He thinks it's hilarious when his kids wake me up.

"How could I not be after your kids attacked me?" I grab hold of both of them and kiss their cheeks. They squirm away and slide off the bed and run over to Garret.

"We're hungry," Ethan says, holding onto Garret's leg and looking up at him.

Miles does the same. He always copies his brother.

"We're eating in a few minutes," he tells them, then looks at me. "Mom's got breakfast ready. You coming?"

"What time is it?"

"After nine. We're going to eat and then we're heading home. You want to come with us? You could stay with us for a few days."

"Some other time." I sit up in bed. "Reed's driving up here today."

"You ask Dad about that?" Garret's expression becomes serious, almost concerned.

"No, but why would Dad care? Reed and I probably won't even leave the house."

"Still, you better tell him before Reed drives up here."

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Miles says, pulling on Garret's shorts.

"Go to the kitchen," he tells him. "Tell Grandma you're ready to eat."

Ethan and Miles take off down the hall.

"Why don't you just come stay with us for a few days?" Garret asks. "You'll be back in school soon and we won't see you as much."

"I would, but I really want to see Reed. I've barely seen him all summer thanks to Dad."

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