Page 106 of Lilly

He smiles slightly. "How did I end up with such a good son?"

I smile back. "You raised me."

"I give your mother the credit for how you turned out."

"But all those years she was gone, it was just you and me. You weren't a bad father, Dad. You weren't the greatest back then, but you tried. You did your best given what you were going through. And look how great Lilly turned out."

"You sure you want to be the one to tell her? I don't know how she's going to react."

"She's not a kid anymore. She'll understand."

He nods. "Then go ahead. I'll talk to her when you're done."

I glance back at the door, making sure it's closed. "About what happened earlier...Reed's father really hired that guy?"

"It was his assignment. Phillip told him to do it but we both know whose idea it was."

"Katherine's."

"She blackmailed Phillip to do it. She hates Rachel and wanted to get rid of her."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need to call William."

"Do it right now. I want to hear what he has to say."

"Garret, I don't want you involved in this."

"I already am involved in it and I...I need to know if I got myself in trouble by pretending to be a member. I'm kind of freaking out about that."

He doesn't reassure me they'll leave me alone, which freaks me out even more.

My dad calls William and puts him on speaker.

William skips the hello and says, "I heard we lost a freelancer. Is that why you're calling?"

"I'm afraid so. The man tried to kill Rachel."

"Pearce, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. When I heard it was a freelancer in California I immediately thought of you but was hoping it didn't actually involve you. Do you know who gave him the order?"

"Dean Ashford."

"That was his assignment?"

"Yes. I met with him this morning. He told me Phillip ordered him to do it. Katherine put Phillip up to it but he's just as guilty as her for following through on it."

"Dean told you all this?"

"Only the part about Phillip. He didn't mention Katherine's involvement. She'll deny having anything to do with it, but just the other day she admitted she was planning something so I'm certain this was her idea. I'll deal with her later. For now, we need to deal with Phillip."

"Do you have any evidence?"

"I don't need evidence. I know he did it. Dean confirmed it. That's all the proof you need."

"I'm sorry, Pearce, but it's not enough. The rules have changed. The past few years, we've had too many members making up stories about each other to the point that we can no longer rely on what people say. We need concrete evidence, like an order telling him to do it or a recording of Phillip ordering Dean to do it."

My dad drops his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're telling me Phillip won't be punished for this?"

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