Page 152 of Crossfire

Years of training flashed through my mind. A well-placed kick, a disarming move. Could I catch them off guard long enough to make a desperate run for it? But even as the thought took shape, I knew the bitter truth. These were no ordinary men; they were highly trained CIA operatives, armed to the teeth, poised to strike, and probably outmatching us in numbers. Even if Grayson’s brothers tried to help protect me—and by the sounds of their grunts, they were—it would only lead to more pain, more bloodshed. I couldn’t bear the thought of Grayson losing the only family he had left, not after the devastating loss of his parents.

Tears blurred my vision as I stepped forward on trembling legs, my voice breaking. “Please, don’t hurt them. I won’t fight, just let them live.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue, but I choked them out all the same. For Grayson’s sake. Without his brothers, the grief would destroy him.

Unless…Oh God, what if they already got Grayson, too? What if they punished him for trying to protect me? My stomach rolled in agony, but I couldn’t afford to break in half right now; I forced myself to shake that unimaginable thought. He had to be alive.

He had to be.

And when he came back to his family, they had to be here. Alive and well.

My heart splintered as I imagined Mom and Grams, their tear-streaked faces flashing before my eyes. What I wouldn’t give to wrap them in my arms one last time, to swear on everything holy that I was innocent, that this was all some terrible mistake. Would they remember me as a good and loving person or believe the CIA’s cruel lies?

Or worse, would I simply vanish without a trace, leaving them forever haunted by questions and fading hopes?

I swallowed a sob, forcing myself to focus. The CIA wanted me dead, and I would accept that fate willingly if it meant protecting Grayson and the people Grayson loved most.

With my fate sealed and my heart surrendering, I squeezed my eyelids shut. Time stilled in the space between my last breath and the bullet that would end it all. A moment suspended, atoms frozen—the same final instant Dad must have experienced before he pulled the trigger and hot lead shattered bone and stole his last thought. Whose face did he see when he’d closedhiseyes?

When I looked into the abyss, it was Grayson’s mesmerizing eyes that gazed back.

“I’m so sorry,” I breathed to his phantom image. “I love you.”

I wanted to beg him not to let this loss drag him back into the shadows he had fought so hard to escape. At least his brothers would survive. At least he wouldn’t be utterly alone.

I’m not sure how long I stood there, suspended on the bridge to my death. A millisecond? An hour? Until, finally, something assaulted my body. But it wasn’t a bullet; it was a pair of rough hands wrenching my arms behind my back.

“Got her,” a gruff voice barked.

My eyes flew open as he started shoving me forward.

“Wh-what are you doing?” I stuttered.

They’d come here to kill me, so why was he moving me toward the front door?

The smoke had dissipated enough that I could make out other shapes—men, dressed in all black, with rifles jammed against the skulls of Grayson’s brothers, who lay on the floor, stomachs down, hands laced behind their heads.

Hunter turned his head slightly, and his gaze found mine, his eyes locking with an intensity that sent fresh waves of dread coursing through me.

In an instant, his attention snapped to the men manhandling Luna. His features hardened, a dangerous shadow falling over his features.

“Wait!” I said, yanking my body. “Where are you taking me?”

“Shut the fuck up and move,” a callous snarl came as I was shoved again.

Tires screeched outside, a black van skidding to a halt beyond the open door, the side door sliding open.

They’reabductingme? Why? If they didn’t want any witnesses to my death, it was far too late for that.

Oh my god.

Grayson’s brothers are unwanted witnesses.

“Stop!” I dug in my heels. “If I go willingly, you’ll let them go, right? You’ll let them live?”

When the guy’s only response was another rough shove, I changed tactics in desperation. “You’re making a huge mistake! I’m not an arms dealer, and I don’t work with Vosch!”

To my surprise, the guy grinned, his expression almost mocking. “We know that, darlin’.”

His words sent a chill down my spine.What the hell is going on?

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