Run, Girl (If You Can)

 "I have more than fulfilled my responsibilities to this company," Aaron said stiffly. "Our productivity and stock prices have risen more than thirty percent since I became the vice president. We're in the process of expanding to three different countries. I don't need a business marriage to make these sorts of contributions."

Alistair looked like he wanted to protest but couldn't come up with a valid argument. His son had done more than he did for the company in the past four years and he knew it. But he was a traditional man stuck in the mindset of a dying world.

He had cared so much about carrying on his bloodline that he had destroyed an innocent woman (mostly innocent anyway, she had still gotten involved with a married man but that wasn't worth dying over).

He had also killed his own grandchild and abandoned one son while forcing another to become his mindless clone. It made Aaron sick. This man deserved everything that was coming for him.

"If that's all you have to say to me, I'll see myself out," he said crisply, turning to go.

His father knew his control was slipping. Aaron could feel the ice storm brewing from behind the door he just closed but there was nothing Alistair could do about it.

Back in his office, he leaned back in his desk chair in exhaustion. He hated dealing with his father. Thankfully that wouldn't be a problem much longer.

Aaron's desk phone rang again. "Aaron Hale," he said dully.

"Dear me, baby brother, you sound awful," Gray purred in his silky voice.

"How did you get my office number?"

He didn't exactly answer the question. "You weren't answering your cell phone and I wanted to chat."

"About what? I have work to do and I assume you do too."

"I'm actually on my morning coffee run. The line is quite long and I wanted to see how my favorite niece and nephew are doing."

"They're your only niece and nephew," Aaron pointed out. "And they're doing fine. I sound awful because they kept me up half the night."

"And my sister-in-law?"

"She's tired too."

"I heard that Lacy Knighton has been stalking your building. She's been thrown out what, fourteen times now?" Gray asked, sounded as if the answer couldn't possibly matter to him.

This guy had ears everywhere. He was grateful that Gray wasn't his enemy in this life. He would be a formidable opponent.

"Something like that. Your sources are accurate as ever. Did you call just to talk about this?"

"I was merely curious if you had a plan to get rid of her yet. I notice you still haven't acted regarding those shares. And after all I did to help you too. Tsk tsk."

Aaron's voice was hard when he replied. "It's still a work in progress. She hasn't exactly done anything illegal recently that I can prove."

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that's true. She's a ticking time bomb. Wouldn't it be convenient for you if she just happened to disappear?" Gray mused.

He snorted. "I wish."

If he could get away with it, he would stick her in a box and ship her to Siberia. But he couldn't do that morally. Keeley would hate it.

"Give your wife my best. We should get together again soon."

The phone clicked in his ear and he set it back in its dock. He really didn't understand his half-brother. He had bothered to track down Aaron's office number for a conversation that lasted less than five minutes.

===

Gray knew what he had to do. Aaron sounded stressed. According to him, Keeley was stressed too. And those tiny wrinkly babies he had only met once were in danger.

They were the only family he had left. He couldn't let Lacy Knighton hurt them. She had to die. The question was how. He didn't exactly have ties to the underworld despite being a hacker.

There had to be some way he could hire someone to take her out on his brother's behalf. He had gone soft. There was no way he would be able to do it himself but Gray couldn't fault him for that.

He was happy that Aaron had someone who loved him and was able to live in the light. Gray would kill the annoying woman himself if he didn't know that his brother would never let a murderer near his children, even a good intentioned one. He had to make it look like an accident.

People died in car accidents all the time but he didn't want there to be any other casualties. It couldn't exactly be on an empty back street either because that would be too suspicious.

There had to be a way to orchestrate a fatal accident in the middle of town that didn't affect anybody else. He had heard stories about how two cars could get into a wreck and one driver would hardly have a scratch while the other was dead.

Lacy didn't even necessarily have to die, per se. Becoming a vegetable or a paraplegic unable to move about on her own would work just as well. As long as she couldn't come after Aaron's family anymore.

It might take a while to look into his options. He hoped she didn't manage to figure out the truth in the meantime. Aaron was paranoid; there was a good chance he wouldn't even let his wife leave the house until this was all settled.

But it needed to be done. Gray might have done it even if he didn't care about his brother simply because the woman annoyed him. She called him shortly after he got off the phone with Aaron, squealing about how her time had come because he had broken up with his fiancée.

Even if Aaron wasn't secretly married to the love of his life there was no way he would ever accept Lacy. She seriously didn't know how to take a hint.

Was being tossed out of his building by security fourteen times really not enough to tell her he didn't want her within a mile of him? What kind of fantasyland was she living in?

"Your days are numbered, Lacy Knighton," he said aloud with a wicked grin after hanging up the phone.