Page 93 of Crossover

My eyes widened, silently asking,What did you do?

His gaze remained unwavering, his expression conveying,You know what I did.

False. I didn’t know if that guy still had a heartbeat.

But look at those knuckles—they were swelling like a beast. He already had a left bicep with the bullet wound, and now, his right fist looked like raw steak.

Great.

I raced down an aisle, grabbing a pack of Ziploc baggies and a small bag of ice, hastily paying for them at the counter.

On the way back to the vehicle, I assembled a makeshift ice pack for his fist.

“I’m driving,” I announced. “And you’re icing your hand.”

“I’m fine to?—”

“I’m driving.” I snatched the keys from him, replacing them with the baggie of ice.

Once we drove off, I finally asked what could only be described as the strangest question a girl could ask her boyfriend.

“Please tell me you left him alive?”

My chest clenched, terrified of the answer.

“Unfortunately.”

Relief was immediately replaced with irritation, along with my teeth grinding.

“That was reckless,” I accused.

Grayson said nothing.

“From what I can imagine, you’ve spent your entire career having to be extremely careful. Controlled. Waiting for the optimal time to strike and all that.” The engine groaned louder as I risked a glance over at him. “So, why, when we’re trying to not attract attention, would you take the risk of beating up that worthless guy?”

Grayson’s eyes hardened. “No one disrespects you and walks away unscathed.”

51

GRAYSON

The scotch in my hand did little to calm my frayed nerves as I muttered, “He should be here by now.”

“I told you, the place is surrounded,” Hunter assured.

“We thought we were secure last time,” I reminded him.

The four of us Lockwoods stood in Hunter’s office, each nursing a drink as if this were a casual gathering instead of a pivotal moment that would change everything.

Time was officially slipping through our fingers. Hunter got the confirmation, listening to a police scanner; the body in the woods had been found, which meant Daniel was undoubtedly now aware his minion was dead. At this point, our fate rested on whether Barry had managed to secure the evidence against Daniel.

“We’ve been over this; this is the safest place to be right now,” Jace echoed.

I knew that rationally; being out in the open was too dangerous, but after what Ivy just went through with that scumbag kidnapper look-alike, what if bringing her here, where she’d been taken against her will, gave her another panic attack? What had I been thinking, bringing her here?

She’d seemed fine when she arrived, but what if she was hiding it?

“Barry won’t be too much longer,” Hunter assured, glancing at his watch.