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Celia will kill Greyson if she hasn’t already, and then Kitty can becousta bites the dust in another twenty years" He druainst the wall "I like it"

I bitsarcastic, but that was exactly ould happen if Lila didn’t help us Greyson would die, and this tiusta ahead of time, or if I’d done more to convince Greyson to stay safe, this would never have happened

I could take the coward’s way out and keep usta’s wrath

And as ht not have been cooperative all the tiusta had o back to the way they’d been before this whole ht now, not with Daxton’s life hanging in the balance

"Maybe we should do it," I said quietly "Greyson did nothing to deserve this"

Lila rolled her eyes "You can try to guiltto die for my mother’s dream"

"No," I said "You’d rather have Greyson die for yours"

Lila glared at h her hair, she sighed heavily "You’re both going to make me do this, aren’t you?"

"No, we’re not," said Knox "But I’ that you will for Greyson Once it’s over, I’ll do everything I can to help you get away froain"

She closed her eyes, and suddenly I felt like an intruder on a private conversation I glanced at the door, wishing Knox wasn’t leaning up against it so I could slip out, but he probably wouldn’t let ht," she said "I’ll do it--for Greyson, not for either of you"

I breathed a sigh of relief "Thank you," I said, and she gave e look

"Why do you care?"

"Because he’s my friend," I said "And I really don’t want to be prime minister"

"No one does except Daxton" She looked at Knox

"He doesn’t know you know, does he?"

Knox shook his head, and I frowned "He doesn’t know you knohat?" I said

To rinned viciously "You want to know the real reason why Daxton wanted me dead?"

"Because he tried to sleep with you and you didn’t want to?" I said, and that wiped the sht off her face

"How do you know about that?"

"He tried the sa on me Said you refused hierous smirk "Yeah, well, turns out that Daxton isn’t really Daxton after all"

She watched ht was an earth-shattering revelation, but I shrugged "Yeah, he’s a V I know that already"

Her mouth dropped open "Knox! You told her?"

"Of course not," he said, uncrossing his ar "How the hell did you find out?"

"I felt it on the back of his neck," I said "You know, too?"

"I felt it when he went after me," said Lila "I mean, my uncle was rotten, but he’d never do that, you know?

The next day, Knox toldto have me killed If you know, too, then how are you still alive?"

I shrugged "Because I stuck a syringe in his neck and tried to kill him"

"Ah, so you’re the reason he’s in a coma instead of a coffin"

I bristled "Does anyone else knoho he really is?

Celia? Greyson?"

"Just Augusta, as far as we can tell," said Knox

"Why not let theh faht now There’s no telling what she would do if she knew" Knox set his hand on the door "Co to do this, we need to do it quickly"

Lila slipped on a pair of shoes and snatched a leather jacket hanging fro to kill you when he wakes up"

"Then I guess I should make sure he never does," I said

Lila smirked "I like her," she said, and as she skipped out the door, Knox and I followed

Lila led the way back to Soh the alleyways, and once ere deep inside the dirt tunnel, I asked how she knew the route as well as Knox did

"Who do you think showed hirimaced and shrank back

I didn’t blame him

Once we returned to Knox’s roo me and Lila alone I was too nervous to sit down Instead, as Lila stretched across the sofa like she owned it, I stood in the corner, insignificant and afraid

I tried to reassure usta still needed me, but I didn’t know for sure Now that they had the real Lila, they could do whatever they wanted with her, and chances were good that I would be dead within hours if I stayed I couldn’t run away and let Celia kill Greyson, though, despite what it could cost ht as Benjy entered the roo to pay No usta did to me, I trusted Knox to watch his back Benjy was a VI in his own right With usta to threaten hi Lila lying down on the couch

"Yeah, it didn’t take long" I walked over to Benjy and tucked ive me a kiss, but before his lipsat Lila She grinned and waggled her fingers at hi a small smile "She’s not exactly what I expected"

"Can you leave now?" he said, and the hope in his voice nearly killed et Greyson back by using