Crossfire (Cross Duet #1)

62. GRAYSON

62

GRAYSON

“The hell?” Daniel’s brows angled as he leaned in closer, as if proximity would somehow change the damning words.

This meeting was supposed to be about taking down Vosch, not this.

I was grateful the safe house was only ten minutes away from Hunter’s rather than in the city. Even though Ivy was in the protective sanctuary of my brother’s estate, I didn’t like being further away from her than I needed to be.

Seth and Daniel sat at a worn kitchen table, blanketed in battle scars, while I paced the room. The overhead light flickered momentarily—as if the very infrastructure was stressed by what was happening here.

“You gave top-secret CIA intelligence to civilians?” Daniel snarled.

A cold knot formed in my stomach. Shit.

“Only as a last resort.”

“A last…” Daniel’s jaw tightened—the look alone hitting me like a physical blow. “Do you know the ramifications of doing that?”

“The ramifications of not proving her innocence would mean her death,” I reasoned.

“I thought I didn’t have to tell you this, but allow me to enlighten you on the consequences of leaking classified intelligence. Especially for a high-stakes mission like Vosch.”

Each word from Daniel was laced with a poison of condescension, twisting my gut with guilt.

Vosch.

I’ve been so preoccupied with Ivy I hadn’t considered that angle. He was all over this evidence.

But I couldn’t think about that right now; someone had to protect Ivy, and I was the only one here willing to do it, so I straightened my spine, meeting Daniel’s leer head-on.

“Let’s start with the legal consequences,” he said. “Any individual who leaks classified information can face charges under the Espionage Act. And I sent you this evidence.” Daniel stabbed the paper with his finger. “So, my neck is on the line here, too.”

“I’ll take the fall,” I said. “I’ll tell them you had nothing to do with this.”

“Well, that’s great, Grayson. But beyond the legal consequences, my reputation will still take a bullet, and my career might, too.”

“Daniel…”

He cut me off with a sharp wave of his hand. “And then there’s the national security threat. Exposing sensitive intelligence operations, the political fallout—need I go on?” His voice rose with each point, the vein in his temple throbbing.

“What else was I supposed to do?” I demanded, clenching my hands once more.

“Come to me.” His words were simple, but the betrayal in them was anything but.

“I did,” I reminded him. “More than once. You didn’t believe me.”

“So, you put this girl in front of your country,” Daniel accused.

I clenched my jaw. “I’ve dedicated my life to protecting this country. I’ve risked my life multiple times. I’ve done everything for this country.”

“Until now.” Daniel’s voice was cold, final.

I dragged a hand over my face, the stubble scratching against my palm as I tried to rein in my spiraling emotions. “Look, I never intended to get you into any trouble or put this organization or country in jeopardy. But what would you have done? If the CIA targeted your wife and you knew she was innocent, would you have just sat back and let her get killed?”

Daniel studied me for several seconds, his shoulders softening slightly.

“We need to get her removed as a target,” I pressed. “Now. Tonight.”

Later, we could work on who had done this, but the most urgent priority was protecting Ivy’s life.

“How can we be sure the person who sent you this analysis is correct?” Seth trailed his finger along the paper.

Skepticism met me in the narrowing of his eyes, making my limbs buzz with a mixture of anger and worry.

“It’s correct. Now, who do we call?”

“This isn’t possible.” Daniel’s voice dropped to a low murmur, tinged not with argument, but with disbelief. He rubbed a hand over his mouth.

“The CIA doesn’t make mistakes like this.” Seth snatched the piece of paper out of Daniel’s hand, scrutinizing it with an intense scowl.

“Well, they did.” I jabbed a finger toward the document. “It’s all right there.”

And they needed to understand that it was true. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t do everything in their power to save Ivy’s life, and if I had any hope of having the entire force of the CIA stand down, I needed both of them to help me.

Seth dropped the paper onto the table. “All due respect, I trust the CIA more than whoever your buddy is. We need them to process this.” He sat back, folding his hands on his lap.

His casual demeanor, as if discussing the weather instead of a life-or-death situation, stoked the flames of my anger. How would he feel if someone he cared about was in the crosshairs?

“He’s not my buddy,” I said. “He’s an ex-CIA himself, and he has a team of highly skilled people who know how to analyze digital evidence.”

Daniel massaged his right temple, clenching his eyes shut.

“The CIA won’t rely on a private investigator’s work.” Seth’s voice was soft, but his words were as sharp as blades.

“They’ll want to validate,” I agreed. “But in the meantime, they need to call off the termination.” I turned to Daniel again. “I’m happy to make the call myself. Just tell me who.”

“Again, all due respect, I think we should review protocol first,” Seth pushed, trying to keep his tone soft despite the hard truth that he was probably trying to protect his possible promotion.

“We don’t have time for that! We can get into all of that later,” I said, my patience snapping. “Right now, Ivy has a target on her back. That’s the priority.”

“But what if you’re wrong, and the CIA calls it off while they investigate, and meanwhile, she kills a shopping mall full of?—”

“I’m not wrong.” I slammed my fist on the table, the pain shooting up my arm, a welcome distraction from the fear clawing at my throat. “Daniel, an innocent civilian is in danger. We dedicate our lives to protecting innocent civilians, and I need your help.”

“He’s right.” Daniel waved his hand toward me. “We can’t sit back and let an innocent civilian get killed, especially when the implications are bigger than her. If evidence was manufactured and the CIA didn’t catch it, that’s an enormous threat to the country. To national security. The implications…” He shook his head. “Doctored evidence could be sent to the United States, who might then unknowingly serve as some foreign entity’s hit man. You could have a country eliminate a rival country’s leader with absolutely no blood on their hands.”

I swallowed.

“This evidence has to get investigated thoroughly,” Daniel decided.

“In the meantime”—I stepped closer—“who do we contact to stop the assassination?”

Daniel rubbed his eyebrow and gently shook his head. The regret pooling in his features sent adrenaline rocketing through my limbs.

“I’m sorry, Grayson. I wish I would’ve seen this sooner.”

The tone of his voice sent my heart plummeting into my gut. A wave of icy dread washed over me, and I stumbled back, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

“No!” The word tore from my throat, raw and broken. “You promised me forty-eight hours.”

My voice cracked, desperation clawing at my insides. Anger flared, hot and sudden, only to be doused by a wave of bone-chilling panic.

“I was called for a status update.”

The room spun around me, reality blurring at the edges. Each heartbeat thundered in my ears, and my legs threatened to give out as the full weight of Daniel’s words crushed down on me.

“When I told them it hadn’t been done yet…” Daniel’s voice trailed off.

I shook my head, unwilling to accept what he was about to say. Tears burned as I silently pleaded with him not to shatter my world.

“They assigned someone else to take care of her, Grayson.”

His words were a bullet, one that pierced through my chest, sending me crashing to my knees.

“No!” Please, God, no! My entire body shook with the force of my grief, and I felt like I was being ripped apart from the inside out, my heart shredding into a million pieces.

“Why?” was all I managed to whisper.

Daniel stared at me with pity, as if he didn’t want to have to spell it out for me.

“You told them I was hesitating,” I whispered, the sharp blade of betrayal slicing through me.

“I assured them you’d handle it. But they…” Daniel paused. “They dispatched another operative. Maybe an entire team.”

It took every ounce of strength to fight the shock and remain conscious.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded.

“I was ordered not to.” His voice was flat, matter-of-fact. Evidently, the years we’d spent together—our shared history of him taking me under his wing and saving me when I was a lost, dark teenager—would come in second place to an order.

It was unfair to feel deceived by him. After all, he was doing his job, loyal to the organization that I’d promised to be. And yet he’d sold me down the river; he put a target on the back of the woman I loved and said nothing to warn me it was coming.

“You knew this when you sent me that evidence,” I realized. “You sensed my hesitation when you called.”

Daniel’s lips thinned. “I was hoping you’d come to your senses.”

“Why did you tell me to come here, then?”

Daniel’s eyes deepened with apology.

And that made my stomach fucking sink.

“They wanted an opportunity with the target away from you.”

They wanted to separate me and Ivy? It suddenly felt like a drum was beating against my skull.

With bile rising in my throat, I choked out, “Are you telling me…”

My heart became a goddamned racehorse, threatening to make the room go black.

Daniel’s features were loaded with sorrow, his silence becoming a cavernous space between us.

“It’s happening…as we speak.”

Around me, the world didn’t just shatter; it disintegrated, like a mirror struck by a bullet—each fragment a reflection of my worst nightmare realized.

That meant they were at Hunter’s mansion right now. Where my brothers, Luna, and Ivy would all be the crosshairs of bullets or whatever horror they had planned.

They must have followed us there or been tracking my phone. I should have known this! I should have seen this coming! I thought I had time, but…

I was too late.

Ivy was going to die, and it was all my fault.

And now, my brothers might die right alongside her.