Run, Girl (If You Can)

Keeley was freaking out when she found out Lacy knew where they lived. She didn't know whether or not Graydon Meyer had a reason to lie about that.  He did seem to genuinely be interested in Aaron's friendship.

What she didn't understand was why. What exactly was it about her husband that caught his attention?

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" she asked after Aaron told her.

He nodded grimly. "He actually sounded worried but I don't know how good an actor he is. You can't miss your graduation so we're going to have to trust him just this once. He said, and I quote, 'I care about what happens to you and your family' when I asked him why he was offering to help."

Keeley bit her lip. If Graydon was telling the truth…what made him change his mind from one life to the next? He used to hate Aaron and want him destroyed.

Her theory that Aaron must have done something new in this life that made him think differently might not be so off base. Graydon knew what Aaron was up to trying to get rid of Alistair Hale. He may have thought of the two of them as comrades with the same enemy.

That wouldn't explain why he was so interested in Aaron in the first place though. People don't look into other people for no reason.

From her limited interactions with the man, she got the feeling that he really liked Aaron and wanted to meet him. If he liked him he probably would be sincere about helping protect his wife and children from a psychopath out to get them.

"I get the strangest feeling he actually does care about you in some capacity," Keeley admitted. "He talked about you like you were an old friend that day in the café."

Aaron frowned. "But I've never met him before. I don't even know what the connection between him and my father is."

It all boiled down to that, didn't it? He had told her that 'Graydon Meyer' was an alias and his belief that the man's original identity was the missing piece in all of this. Whoever he really was had to have some sort of tie to the Hales.

She brushed that aside. They would figure it out eventually. Aiden was looking into it and Aaron trusted his computer skills.

"I think for now we should take advantage of the fact that he's helping us. I want to be able to focus on celebrating this weekend. We can worry about the newest development with Lacy Knighton afterwards, okay?"

Obviously this was easier said than done. That woman was evil to the core and had a personal vendetta against Keeley. If she found out that they were married, they would be in deep trouble. Especially since Graydon said she knew that Keeley was pregnant.

One simple sighting of Keeley in Aaron's apartment building and the truth would be out. Lacy would know that she was pregnant with his child.

Keeley was about five months along. Things were stable for the time being but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Lacy had been absolutely ruthless upon finding out about the first pregnancy.

The only foolproof safe thing would be to stay inside the apartment until it was time to give birth but she couldn't realistically get away with that. She still had doctor's appointments to go to. And she would lose her mind being locked up for the next four months.

Aaron eyed her shrewdly. "You don't look like you're going to be able to put off worrying until later. You're worrying right now."

He knew her too well.

"Of course I'm worrying right now; I might get back on that psychopath's radar!" she yelled, her voice breaking from the stress.

This was exactly why she didn't want to get involved with him again! His world was terrifying and there was no guarantee he would be able to keep her safe. All of the kindness and doting in the world couldn't make up for the fact that she hated living in fear.

Blaming him for it wouldn't do any good though. Aaron already knew this as well as she did. Bringing it up would only cause further tension.

She took a deep breath. Keeley and Aaron vs the problem, not Keeley vs Aaron. Just like her dad had said. She had married him again so they were in this mess together. As a team.

"I won't let that happen," he said soothingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Worst case scenario, she does find out but what can she do? This apartment is safe. I can even put her on a 'no entry' list so she'll get kicked out of the building the moment she arrives."

Would that really help? If she found out, she would surely tell Alistair Hale and that would be a whole other slew of problems to contend with. It would mess up Aaron's takeover plans and Keeley would be in twice the amount of danger.

She couldn't forget that the two of them collaborated together to kill her first child and make sure she could never have another. Did Lacy still have blackmail material on that doctor? Could he somehow infiltrate the hospital when it was time for her to give birth and hurt her babies?

"What about that doctor? She still has him in her pocket, doesn't she?" Keeley asked in a panic.

Aaron shook his head. "I've been watching that situation for a while. They haven't had any contact that Aiden can find. Even if she does, we'll just go somewhere outside his sphere of influence. You can give birth in New Jersey if all else fails."

She still wasn't entirely convinced. It seemed like he had a reasonable back up plan for every concern she raised but her scars ran deep. The fear from her first life hadn't totally left her even after so much had changed.

All Keeley wanted was to be able to live her life in peace with her little family. She didn't want to have to hide away forever. Aaron had a plan to get rid of his father but what about Lacy? He didn't have anything solid on her! She would always be a thorn in their sides.

Honestly, why hadn't she given up already? Aaron hadn't given her the time of day in this entire lifetime. She must be completely insane. You can't reason with an insane person.