Run, Girl (If You Can)

The moment they stepped foot back in their apartment, the cats swarmed them in excitement, rubbing rather forcefully against their legs. Keeley stopped pushing the double stroller and scooped up the purring Molly.

"Hey pretty girl, did you miss me?" she cooed.

She glanced over and noticed Aaron had done the same to Dinah. He was such a softy underneath all that ice.

Now that she didn't have to worry about Lacy stalking them…it was good to be home. She could go out and do whatever she wanted!

She was definitely going to take the twins to Central Park later in the week. Maybe to the library to pick out some more children's books as well. The world was at her fingertips without that threat hanging over her head.

As soon as they were unpacked, Aaron began making phone calls. He needed to finalize things for the takeover and set up a time to meet up with all of his dummy shareholders. He also wanted to know what Aiden had discovered about Lacy's murder.

Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Police databases were easy for someone like him to hack but there really wasn't enough to go off of. She had been found in the Bronx by Aiden's sister Sophie without any identification on her with her left carotid artery cut. She bled out.

The autopsy revealed it was most likely done using a small blade by someone with experience using knives. The toxicology report showed nothing unusual but that might have been because she was given something that you had to specifically be looking for.

That was it. The police were still looking into her phone records and gathering information about her life so they could question people and find out who had last seen her alive.

"They'll probably come looking for me," he told his wife grimly. "Everyone who knew her knows about her single-minded obsession with me. We were out of town so they can't pin this on me but I still don't want to talk to the police."

Keeley kissed his cheek, feeling sympathetic to his plight. Aaron really didn't want to be involved in this.

"It'll be alright. The doorman can back you up on how you never even interacted with her and always had her tossed out. You'll be fine."

"But what if they ask me if I had any idea who did this?"

"You don't know for sure so it's not really a lie…besides, what are you worried about? You're a fantastic liar!"

Aaron was disgruntled. "…not the kind of compliment I'm looking for, sweetheart."

She shrugged. "Well it's true. You got me to believe you hated me when you're actually an overly devoted sap. If you can do that, you can answer a few questions without mentioning Gray."

"Thanks, Keeley," he said dryly. "You're so supportive."

"Can't fault me for giving you a hard time now and then," she said with a wink.

The fact that she could even joke around about this showed how much she had healed from the scars of the past already. It was nice knowing that she was successfully putting the past behind her.

===

Keeley wanted to make sure she looked nice when she met the other shareholders. Everyone was going to dinner at an upscale Mexican restaurant. Aaron wanted to show her what 'proper tacos' were like. She had to laugh remembering his aversion to normal ones.

She wore a sleeveless light purple blouse with dark wash skinny jeans and a pair of gold sandals. Her DNA necklace and hoop earrings matched her shoes.

The twins were dressed much more casually than she was. They both wore Yankees onesies with shorts over top that Robert had bought them. Only the matching blue headband Violet wore with a flower on it showed that she was a girl.

Aaron had on a simple light green shirt and slacks but somehow still managed to look quite formal. The Hales were a good looking bunch.

She had to admit she was nervous though. What if these people didn't like her? What if they thought she wasn't good enough for Aaron just like high society always had?

At least Jennica and Cameron would be there. If nothing else, Keeley could talk to them comfortably.

When they made it to the restaurant Jennica attacked her with a hug. "Girl, I haven't seen you in weeks! How are you? You look great!"

"So do you," she said with a smile.

Her friend had recently gotten a haircut with layers that flattered her face. Plus her coral pink dress complimented her skin tone.

"So you're the infamous Keeley Hall, huh?" an appraising feminine voice asked.

"That would be the infamous Keeley Hale," Aaron corrected, coming up beside her. "Keeley, this is my friend Alice. Alice, this is my wife."

The elegant woman's eyes widened. "You married her and nobody found out?! Hang on…I see baby carriers. Since when did you have kids?"

"A little over three months ago."

Alice shook her head in disbelief. "You really are too sneaky. I cannot believe you managed to get married and have two children without anybody finding out."

"I knew," Cameron contributed, raising his hand.

She rolled her eyes. "Well that makes sense. Everybody knows you're Aaron's right hand man."

Jennica chuckled. "I think he and Aiden duke it out regularly for that spot."

"Who's Aiden?"

"Another one of my people. Come on, let's go sit down. We can wait for Roger and Kyle at the table," Aaron said gruffly as he carried Kaleb's car seat.

Once seated, Alice leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand, clearly intrigued. Keeley felt like a specimen under a microscope. What was with this woman? She was part of high society…did she disapprove like everyone else had in her first life?

She had never really interacted with the woman despite being in the same circle because they weren't in the same shopping groups. Alice tended to stick with her mother-in-law's group and some other women Keeley wasn't well acquainted with.

She felt very self-conscious under such intense scrutiny and shrunk back slightly.

"Alice, you're scaring her," Aaron said with a sigh.

The woman smiled. "Terribly sorry about that. I'm just amazed this ice block actually fell in love with someone. I've been rather curious what kind of person you are for a long time now."