I never told my sister-in-law that I was a Colonel in Army Intelligence!

“Where’s Lily?” I asked.

Sarah didn’t even look at me. “Outside.”

My stomach tightened. “Outside where?”

“Patio,” she said dismissively. “She was coughing. I didn’t want Tyler to get sick. He has tryouts tomorrow.”

The cold I felt then wasn’t from the weather.

I crossed the house quickly and reached the sliding door to the patio. It was locked, the security bar wedged tight. Curtains drawn.

I yanked them open.

Lily was curled up in the far corner of the stone patio, shivering in her thin cotton pajamas. Her cheeks were flushed and blotchy, her body shaking uncontrollably. Her hair stuck damply to her forehead.

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