Page 121 of Crossfire

I didn’t wait; I went to the living room and paced.’Cause that really helps in life-or-death situations.

Suddenly, a firm hand was on my shoulder.

I twisted out of his grip easily, and he let me, staring at me with apology in his features.

“Ivy, I’m sorry. You have to admit, that’s a lot of evidence.”

“Yep. I get it. Don’t worry about it, Grayson. Thanks for not snapping my neck.” Sarcasm battled with anger. “But if you’ll excuse me, I’d rather take my chances alone than spend another second with you.”

“Ivy.”

I put my shoes and socks on, followed by my jacket. I had no idea where I’d go, and he’d probably hunt me down anyway, but whatever.

What else could I do? Wait around for him to change his mind again? ’Cause that’s what he did when he got those files—he’d changed his mind about my innocence and intended to kill me.

“They’ll send someone else for you,” he warned.

My damn body stilled.

“If you stay with me, you have a shot, but if you don’t…”

I turned around.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “They have all that evidence against me, and no one is going to believe my word over that kind of evidence.”

“I believe you.”

“Do you?” I asked. “Do you actually believe I’m a hundred percent innocent? Or are you just having enough doubts to not kill me yet?”

Grayson thinned his lips and came closer.

“I believe you,” he declared. “And I never should have doubted you.”

Stupid heart. Don’t you dare reach for him. He doesn’t deserve it.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” I said. “With that kind of evidence against me, no one else will believe me, so maybe I should just spend whatever time I have left with my mom and Grams.”

I started walking again until he said, “I thought you were a fighter.”

“Fighters know when to tap out.”

“Not if they have something up their sleeve.”

I spun around. “The hell is that supposed to mean?”

Grayson shoved his hands in his pockets, his bare torso seeming even leaner with the movement.

“You made a good point,” he said. “That someone might be setting you up.”

“Might be?” I snapped.

He cocked his head. “And they might be either using me against you or setting me up, too.”

Yeah, well, they weren’t equal, were they? Another hit on his murder list compared to, you know, my gravestone.

“I think I know someone who might be able to help sort this out.”

Hope took flight in my chest. I was good at a lot of things, but I didn’t know anyone with the skills to figure out where this fake evidence came from. Or how I could clear my name before it was too late.

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