Page 114 of Lilly

"When are you leaving?"

She doesn't even question my going. After almost being killed, I thought she'd want me to stay here with her, but instead she tells me to help William. She's more worried about him than herself. But I'm more worried about her.

"I can't leave you here," I say.

"I'll be fine. I'll stay with Garret again."

"I can't agree to that until I know they aren't sending someone else to finish the job."

"You think Dean would try this again?"

"No. Not after the talk we had. But Phillip might, depending on his loyalty to Katherine. I'll have a word with him before I go. And if I'm not confident he'll leave you alone, I won't be going to New York. William will just have to find someone else. I need to take care of this now. It can't wait."

"I'll go talk to Lilly. See how she's doing."

I go in my office and shut the door and call Phillip. His phone goes to voicemail so I leave a message. "Answer your damn phone or I'll show up at your door." I hang up, and less than a minute later I get a call from Phillip.

"I didn't do it," he says, trying to sound casual but I hear a hint of fear in his voice. He's always been afraid of me, not just because he knows what I've done, but because I'm so much larger than him. He's a very small man. One punch to his throat and I could kill him.

"You didn't do it yourself but you made the assignment."

I hit record, so I have proof of this conversation in case I need it.

"It was Katherine's idea. Not mine."

I chuckle. "You're awfully quick to shove her under the bus."

And by doing so, he's answered my earlier question. His fear of me is greater than his loyalty to Katherine.

"I'm sick and tired of her bossing me around," he says. "Let her tell Caroline. I don't care anymore." He inhales sharply, realizing his mistake. "I'm not saying there was anything going on. I just—"

"So now I have blackmail to use against you as well."

"Pearce, no. I made it up. It's not true."

"It's true, but I already knew about it. Katherine snuck out of our room a few times when we were staying with you. I followed her and saw her with you."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"Because by then, I really didn't care. We had no marriage left. We were both seeing other people. But I'm sure Caroline would feel differently."

"Don't tell her. Please don't tell her."

"Your marital issues are the least of my concerns. I called you today to get your assurance that you will never again go after Rachel. As you know, I have a deal with the organization, and anyone who breaks that deal will be punished. In fact, the members were kind enough to allow me to decide the punishment should something like this ever happen."

"That's not true. They wouldn't do that."

"Look it up. It's in the contract I signed when I gave over the company." I wait for him to challenge the statement but he doesn't so I continue. "I'm giving you a pass this time, Phillip, but if you try this again, all bets are off. I will make sure you are given the harshest punishment possible. Something slow. Painful. Drawn out. One you might never recover from."

"You're sick, you know that?"

"I am my father's son. And as I recall, you always admired my father. Now do we have a deal?"

"Yes. I'll leave her alone."

"Not just you, but anyone who works for you, including freelancers or candidates for membership. You will not allow harm to come to her in any way, from anyone. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

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