Page 149 of Crossfire
I knew it was too soon, but I desperately scanned the video feeds, searching for any sign of Grayson’s return.
He just…had to make it back.
Ever since my father’s death, I had been fixated on my need to understand why he killed himself. Everyone tried to get me to move on, to accept that sometimes in life, you just didn’t get the answers, and you needed to find a way to move forward.
No one got through to me. Until Grayson.
When his father had been killed, he hadn’t wallowed in wanting to understand why it had happened. Instead, he took a stand. He took action and dedicated his life to helping other people to never have to live through that kind of hell.
Maybe that’s what I should have been doing this past year. Instead of obsessing over what role my last conversation had in Dad’s decision to end his life, maybe I should have been advocating for suicide awareness. I should’ve been taking action. Just like Grayson had.
I desperately wanted his car to appear on that security feed, ambling up the driveway, but the shot remained empty, flickering once, as if to remind me how quickly the image of your life could change.
64
GRAYSON
“Call it off!” I slammed my fist against the table.
Daniel rubbed his eyes. “It’s not my operation, Grayson. You know it doesn’t work like that.”
I leaned in, my face mere inches from Daniel’s. The air crackled with tension as I growled, “I have done everything you have ever asked of me. Every. Damn. Thing. And now, the one time I need you to do something for me, you’re telling me it’s impossible?”
“Even if I?—”
“She’s not alone, Daniel!” My voice rose, tinged with panic. “She’s with my brothers, my only family. If that team goes in there with guns blazing, I could lose everyone I care about in one fell swoop.”
Daniel froze for a long moment before nodding slowly. “I’ll try,” he agreed. “But I can’t make any promises.”
I was already moving, my feet carrying me toward the front door. I couldn’t wait for Daniel’s attempts. Every second counted. As I sprinted to my car, I heard Daniel’s warning behind me, like his words could brace me for what I might find when I arrived…
I gunned the engine, tires screeching against the pavement. I couldn’t be too late.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t lose her, and I needed to protect my brothers.
My foot slammed on the accelerator, and the engine roared in response. I clenched the steering wheel, my fingers digging into the leather until my knuckles bleached bone-white with desperation.
I’m coming,I silently pleaded.Just hold on.
65
GRAYSON
“What the hell?” I snapped, my heart racing as I called Hunter’s phone. Straight to voice mail, just like Ivy’s.
I hung to the right, the car fishtailing until it straightened in the two-lane road, the scent of burning rubber filling my nostrils. A red pickup truck appeared ahead, and I swerved into the oncoming lane to get around it, my pulse pounding in my ears like a deafening drumbeat.
The engine’s groan amplified as I shoved my foot harder down on the pedal, the speedometer inching toward seventy miles an hour, the vibrations of the car competing with my chaotic heartbeat. With one hand on the steering wheel, I pushed the green Call button on the next contact on my phone.
Jace.
Click. Straight to voice mail.
Concrete settled in my gut, a sinking feeling that threatened to drag me under. Ahead, a green light changed to yellow, but instead of slowing, I floored it, blazing through the intersection seconds after the light had already gone red, the honking of horns and screeching of tires echoing around me.
Luna. I tried her phone, but when it, too, went straight to voice mail, the dread in my gut exploded, sending shock waves of panic through my body.