It's three in the morning when Grayson finally makes it back to his loft. Running past every contact he has and checking any lead he could think of only left him empty handed. A third victim, this time in the immediate vicinity of Riley and Milo, has brought extra pressure. The killer's closing in, and he's taken matters into his own hands. He has now proven he doesn't need Grayson to do his dirty work for him, and Gray hates to admit it's got him a bit shaken up. 

After parking his jet black Ford pickup in the usual hiding spot he rushes through the rain to the entrance. Once inside he notices the lights coming from upstairs straight off. While stealthily making his way up the steps he takes out his gun, keeping it pointed at the ground. Soundlessly he opens the door and steps into the hallway. He can hear noises coming from the kitchen, someone is definitely here. 

Gradually he reaches the corner, pushing his back to the wall as he raises his gun. But when he peers around the bend to identify his intruder, what he sees leaves him momentarily breathless. He lowers his gun, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. Standing on her toes, attempting to reach for the top shelf of one of the dark ebony cabinets, wearing one of his shirts, is Riley. 

Gray swallows as he pushes back his thick sleek hair, attempting to compose himself. 'I thought I told you not to come back here.' 

Responding with a startled jump and a quick turn, she pulls down the shirt over her legs as she looks at him. As she does he notices the wound on her leg. 'Are you okay?' 

She looks down, seemingly having forgotten about it for a moment. 'Oh, yeah... I just eh... do you have a band-aid? I can't find anything in this kitchen.' 

As he puts away the gun he bends down and reaches into a lower cabinet, taking out a first-aid kit. He taps on the counter, signaling her to sit. Being only 5.1 feet tall, her short stature gives her some trouble, but she manages to pull herself up. 

As Gray begins to carefully bandage her wound, Riley feels the need to explain herself. 'I'm sorry for coming back here. It's just... this is the only safe place I could think of.' 

He pauses to look at her for a moment, seeming empathetic rather than his usual indifference. 'It's okay.' As he continues he glances at her a second time, grinning. 'Did you raid my closet?' 

'I got caught in the rain, didn't have a dry change of clothes. I hope you don't mind...' 

He grins a second time as he shakes his head. 'No, it looks good on you.' 

The sudden compliment makes Riley feel a bit flustered, and even more nervous. The unusual closeness between them is stunning her. Once he's done treating her wound, he pulls himself away, walking to the living room. He then notices the open bottle on the coffee table. 'I see you found my scotch.' 

On her bare feet she walks past him and settles on the couch, reaching for the bottle. 'Yeah, I eh... needed a drink. In fact, I need another one.' 

As she takes a sip he joins her, studying her carefully. 'Did something happen? I mean, other than... everything that's happening. I thought your boyfriend was going to take you home.' 

She catches the underlying sarcastic tone in his voice as he says boyfriend. 'Aaron is... not... not who I thought he was. We're not what we used to be.' 

Gray appears confused by her statement, so she decides to elaborate, suddenly wanting to tell him everything. 'Those threats I was getting... Aaron send them.' 

'Wait, he's the killer?' 

'No, at least, he swears he isn't. He did admit to dealing drugs, however. He and Milo were selling Glow, he knew what the murder weapon was all along. And he wanted to stop me from investigating it.' As she downs some more of the scotch Gray carefully considers the new development. 

'Do you believe him?' He asks. 

'I don't know. I do know he was with me when Noah was killed, so technically he has an alibi. But then again, he could have just as easily hired another hitman, like you were employed.' 

'If he did, it wasn't someone I know. I've checked with every crook in the city, no one knows anything about your foe.' 

Riley pulls her legs up, leaning her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her head on her hand. 'Every time I think I'm getting close to the truth, things just get more complicated... I don't even know what I'm doing anymore.' She shares. 

'You're trying to do the right thing. You're trying to get justice for your sister. Just remember, you didn't start this. Someone is coming after you, you're just trying to fight back.' Gray argues. 

'But I'm losing. You should have seen Sofia tonight... she's heartbroken. And it's my fault... whoever's doing this, he's after me. And instead Sofia got hurt, and Noah...' 

In a rare moment of sensitivity Gray reaches out and touches her arm. 'You need to stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have prevented this.' 

At the sight of his caring eyes, wanting to comfort her, Riley can't help but warm up to him more and more. Was his face this close to her already, or is he only now getting closer? She can't tell anymore. She finds herself leaning in, without even realizing it. Like magnetism. 

But then the phone in her purse suddenly begins to ring, nearly giving them both a heart attack. As Riley pulls away to grab it, Gray blinks a few times, reentering reality. The uneasy feeling he'd been experiencing tonight, while desperately trying to find a new lead, now makes sense. He's not just trying to protect Milo anymore, he wants to protect Riley too. 

'Sofia? What's wrong? Slow down...' He sees Riley's face change as her eyes widen. 'What? How is that even...? Where are you? ...I'm on my way.'

∾

At nearly four AM, the Neon Wolf is packed. Every lonely soul fleeing from the Christmas celebrations ended up here. As Riley and Gray attempt to squeeze through the crowd, she's still surprised he came with her. With this many people around he's putting himself at risk, but he doesn't seem worried. 

Alice is standing by the bar, a mojito in one hand, cigarette in the other. Though she's still wearing her dress from the Christmas party, she let her hair down. 

'Riley!' After spotting her in the crowd Alice makes her way over, taken aback by Riley's appearance. 'Are you okay?' she enquires as she looks at the bandage around Riley's leg. 

Out of Gray's shirt and back in the still damp dress combined with the loose hanging sweater and the coat she just walked through the rain in, she looks like a soggy mess. 'I'm alright. Where's Sofia?' 

'She was just over there with Bryn.' As Alice points in the direction of the back of the room they spot Bryn walking over. 

'Hey, I thought you were going to stay with Milo tonight.' Riley remarks. 

'I am, he's over there. He needed a little medicated comfort.' Bryn's line of sight leads them to a couch where Milo is leaned back in a marijuana haze. Even from a distance the distraught look in his eyes is evident. No matter how far he drifts into oblivion, he can't make himself forget. 

'Bryn, where's Sofia?' 

'I don't know. She was here earlier but I went to the restroom and when I came back she was gone.' 

Feeling her worry increase Riley leaves Bryn and Alice behind as she dashes further towards the back of the room, scanning her surroundings. When the office in the back turns up empty too she reaches for her phone. As she impatiently waits for Sofia to pick up Gray and Alice reach the office. 

'Riley, what's going on? Is Sofia in trouble?' Alice's eyes reflect the concern Riley herself feels. When she hears Sofia's voicemail start she pockets her phone. 'She might be. We need to find her.' 

'Let's check the little girl's room.' Alice suggests. 

'I'll check out front.' Gray states. 

As they split up, Riley and Alice force their way through the increasingly drunken crowd. Alice is ruthless, barging through the mass like a force of nature. For a relatively small girl, she's incredibly strong. Riley realizes this strength must be brought on by the idea of Sofia being in danger. Sofia has told Riley about her friendship with Alice before, they've known each other a long time. 

When they reach the dark blue and magenta colored door baring the Venus symbol Alice bursts in so rapidly she almost knocks over a girl trying to enter. Sofia's motionless body, lying on the floor in the far corner is the first thing they see. Alice drops down next to her, lifting Sofia's head as she strokes the hair out of her face. 'Sofia? Sofia, wake up.' 

Riley quickly reaches for Sofia's wrist, trying to focus as she feels for a pulse. 'She's alive.' 

Resting Sofia's head in her lap, Alice looks at her unresponsive face with pain in her eyes. 'Stay with me, Sof.' 

Then, in a moment of sneaking suspicion, Alice carefully peels open Sofia's eyelid. Her suspicion is right, Sofia's eyes are bright green. 

'It's Glow.' Alice declares as she looks up at Riley. 

'But she's still alive, it must be the same dose as it was with me. So she'll wake up... eventually.' Riley decides. 

'Did someone drug her? Like they did with you?' Alice proposes. 

Riley considers, playing out different scenarios in her head. 'I can't imagine she'd take it willingly.' 

'Like she hasn't been through enough already... We have to get her out of here.'

∾

It took Gray little to no effort to carry Sofia to Alice's car. Riley had never seen Sofia look so tiny and fragile before. Gray and Riley followed Alice back to Sofia's dorm in his pickup. 

Having brought Sofia to her bed, Gray meets Riley out in the hallway. 'Thank you for your help.' Seeming distant again, Gray simply nods. 

Alice emerges from the bedroom. 'Hey guys, about what I told you about the Glow before. About who's dealing it at the Wolf...' 

'I already know, Aaron told me he's selling it.' Riley interrupts to tell her. 

'But Aaron and Milo aren't the ones bringing it out onto the streets.' Alice interjects. 'There's another dealer, higher up, he's supplying them. I don't know much about him, except that his name is Trip.' 

Gray scoffs in response. 'Of course it is...' 

'You know him?' Riley asks. 

'Yeah, and I know where to find him.' 

Riley nods, looking back at Alice. 'You stay with Sofia, in case she wakes up. I'm just going to walk Gray out, okay?'

Outside, in front of the dorm, Gray walks a straight line to his pickup, ready to leave. 'Hang on a second.' Riley stops him. 'I just... about tonight...' 

He interrupts her quickly. 'Just forget about it, alright?' 

Irritated by his returned indifference and cold-shoulder approach, Riley grabs the car door as he swings it open. 'I remember you. From before. That day at the beach, when I was just a kid. You talked about not knowing what to do with your life.'

'Yeah well, I definitely didn't have this in mind back then.' Gray jokes dismally.

'I'm just trying to understand what happened to that guy. You were so sweet, a little lost but... hopeful.'

'That guy turned into a cold blooded killer.' He'll barely look at Riley as he says it.

'Don't do that.'

'Do what, Riley?' He seems increasingly agitated.

'Try to scare people off. You keep doing that.'

'What, you remember spending one moment with me eight years ago and now you think you know me?'

'Then enlighten me!' Inadvertently, she raises her voice, but determinately holds her ground. 

'You want to know the whole story? Fine.' He takes a deep breath, like he's mentally preparing himself. 

'Once upon a time an eighteen year old Grayson Chandler, freshly disowned by his family and thrown out into the street with nothing but the clothes on his back, ran to New York to start a new life. He started off pick-pocketing and robbing apartments and houses just to get by. Eventually, he came into contact with the local gang, which he convinced to let him deal drugs for them. Worked for them for a while, climbing the criminal career ladder until one night there was a drug bust in the neighborhood he was dealing in. Coincidentally, one of his gang buddies had just given him a gun that very same day. See, the gang knew the police were on to them, and they were protecting themselves. So as he was escaping the raid that night he was spotted by a cop who came after him.' 

He pauses for a minute, hesitating, not sure if he should continue. Finally he does, and as the pain of the memory washes over his face he drops the condescending tone. 

'I shot him... first life I ever took.' 

As he says it, his body declines against the side of the car as he stares at the ground. 

'It was also how I found out I happened to be a good shot. Not long after I decided I needed a career change. I had a falling out with my gang buddies, cut ties and became a professional hitman. I was good, word spread, and more and more jobs came. And that's how I ended up here, talking to you.' 

His words have slowed down, his voice turning softer. Having shared more of himself in the last five minutes than he ever has before, he suddenly feels despair. 

Riley can see it, feel it. 'I'm sorry your parents did this to you. It was wrong, they were wrong.'

'Not much I can do about it now.'

'But you are doing something.' She reaches out and grabs his hand, which he has wrapped around the car door, squeezing it as if trying to physically reassure him. 'Helping me is doing something. Just because you got lost doesn't mean there's no coming back from it.' 

He lets her in, for just a few seconds, then pulls away. 'Don't do that. Don't become that person who thinks she can save me. You don't want to go down that road. Focus on saving yourself.' 

With that he gets in the car and drives away. As Riley watches him go she sighs deeply, closing her eyes for a moment. 

She can feel the storm from earlier tonight return with a soft drizzle. She finds herself increasingly start to care for him. Is he right? Does she secretly hope to save him? She wants nothing more than to only look for the good in him, and ignore the bad. But even if he's helping her now. There's no changing the past. He's still a murderer. She can't continue to let herself be pulled in like this.