When they returned to the Hales' apartment building, Gray wanted to chat with Aaron. Keeley rebuffed him.

"It's after eight; the babies should be asleep, and I don't want to risk waking them. I'll tell Aaron you said hi."

He frowned. "When can I visit again?"

She doubted Aaron wanted him to visit at all, but couldn't say that. Why was thinking on her feet so difficult?

"Why don't we plan a dinner? Kaleb and Violet are well-behaved for infants; we've taken them out before. I always enjoy not having to cook."

It was the best excuse to keep him out of her house. He seemed to accept it.

"I'll call Aaron to work out the schedule, considering how busy he is," Gray said, exiting the car to open the door for Alice.

The insincere chivalry grated on Keeley's nerves. So this is how he charms women, she thought. Pitiful.

"Sounds good. Thanks again!" she said brightly, heading toward the elevator.

Alice stared at where Gray's car had been. Keeley needed to address this before it went further.

"He's charming, but he's not a good person. Don't get involved."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "That's a nice way to talk about someone who just helped you. You say he's not good, yet you're making dinner plans?"

This was hard to explain. The Hales had to carefully navigate their relationship with Gray; he could be vicious.

But to Alice, this looked like simple ingratitude. Keeley couldn't let her believe Gray was a good rebound!

"It's complicated," she said meekly. "Ask Aaron; he doesn't trust him. Honestly, he probably won't be happy we ran into his half-brother."

"Misplaced jealousy?" Alice asked, unconvinced.

"Not at all. Aaron knows what his father is like. He spots insincere people a mile away. You'll see upstairs."

As the elevator doors opened, Aaron rushed to his wife.

"I saw the news and worried you'd be mobbed. I'm glad you're home safe."

Keeley craned her neck. "We were mobbed. We wouldn't have escaped without Gray."

He stiffened at the mention of his half-brother. A chill filled the room, making Keeley's words more believable to Alice.

"What did he want?" he asked flatly.

"He wanted to come over, but I deflected him. He'll call about dinner, I'm sorry."

Aaron sighed. "You did your best. I knew we'd see him eventually, but not this soon."

"What's your problem with him?" Alice asked cautiously.

He kept his arms around his wife. "It's not what you think. Graydon Meyer is dangerous. I don't like him taking an interest in my family."

Alice could dismiss Keeley's opinion, but not Aaron's, given their longer acquaintance. He generally had sound judgment, even if he did crazy things sometimes. After all, he'd accomplished his goal much faster than she anticipated when she became a dummy shareholder.

Even the youngest Fortune 500 CEOs were usually in their thirties. At twenty-five, Aaron was a legend. This is why Keeley had been swarmed once people learned she was his wife.

Alice trusted her friend, but wanted more explanation. "Why? What makes him so dangerous?"

Keeley and Aaron exchanged a glance. She'd think they were petty if they only mentioned his acquisition of shares. Gray was a spider in a web of informants, but that wasn't the worst of it.

He hid his darkness well, but it was there. He had no qualms about destroying or killing to get what he wanted. They'd learned that over two lifetimes of dealing with him.

Aaron surprised her by telling the truth. "I strongly suspect he was involved in Lacy's death, even if he didn't kill her himself."

(He believed Gray did kill her, but it was better to soften the accusation.)

Alice's jaw dropped. "What? Why?!"

"Long story short, he used her to get information on me, then decided he was on my side. He claimed she was annoying and helped deflect her a few times. Eventually, she figured it out and stalked this building.

"I think he killed her because he called me to ask if I wished she'd disappear shortly before we went to Rochester. She died while we were gone. It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"

"That's a lot of speculation."

People were blind; they only saw what they wanted. Aaron couldn't explain that he knew Gray had no qualms about eliminating people because of a past life. The reference to NovelFire.net was removed as it was irrelevant to the text cleanup.