Page 33 of Crossover

“You don’t sound as shocked as I’d expect.” I mean, this—this was so much bigger than Daniel acting cagey; this was kidnapping, attempted murder, and treason.

“Yeah, well”—the sound of a laptop screen shutting preceded his next words—“after we last spoke, I decided to take a closerlook at the evidence against Ivy. Last time, I only checked for inconsistencies in the IT fingerprints. This time, I tried tracing the IP addresses.”

“And?” I prompted.

“Whoever did this knew their stuff. They bounced the signal through multiple countries, but they weren’t quite as good as?—”

“As you,” I finished his sentence.

He cleared his throat. “One of the IP addresses traced back to Daniel.”

Seth was the best hacker I’d ever worked with, but still.

“Seems pretty careless of him,” I mused.

“Not careless; like I said, it would take an exceptionally skilled hacker to find it, and even for me, it wasn’t a walk in the park.”

“Is it enough to prove his guilt?”

Ivy’s word against Daniel’s wouldn’t be sufficient, and neither would mine. He might have a way to explain away what happened in that building, especially with his connections.

“He could claim someone else had the skills to use his IP address,” Seth pointed out. “But it’s a start.”

I scrubbed my jaw. One IP address and a supposed confession to a wanted criminal weren’t enough to convince the CIA of Daniel’s guilt or Ivy’s innocence.

“Can you send me what you found?” I asked. “Without leaving a trace back to you?”

“I can, but…Grayson…”

I waited.

“If this is all true and Daniel knows you’re onto him…” Seth’s unfinished thought hung in the air. “What he did could put him behind bars for life. His reputation, his freedom…everything’s on the line.” He took a deep breath. “He won’t just be coming after that woman, Ivy, now. He’ll probably be coming for you, too.”

18

IVY

The door to the hotel room burst open, and a familiar set of eyes locked with mine. Hunter’s guards hadn’t returned me to Hunter’s house—all our homes were deemed unsafe at the moment, so they’d taken my mom and me to this hotel room, where they helped me treat my wounds. Which, thankfully, were not serious. I was grateful that my mom had finally calmed down and even more grateful she was in the shower right now so I could have a moment to confront him.

As Grayson and I faced each other, time seemed to freeze, and a whirlwind of emotions passed between us. My throat tightened, and my palms grew clammy, partly from the ordeal I’d just endured and partly from the relief that Grayson was okay after he’d chased Daniel. But there was something else—a growing unease stemming from Daniel’s accusation against Grayson.

It can’t be true.If it was, my heart wasnotgetting the memo, beating to the rhythm of his steps as he crossed the room in a few strides, his intense gaze never wavering from my face.

“You’re covered in blood,” I whispered.

“Not mine,” he murmured absently, eyes scanning me from head to toe.

“How badly are you hurt?” he asked, his tone both tender and urgent.

It depends…

Physically was one answer. Emotionally was to be determined. Daniel’s words echoed through my mind, a poison that threatened to shatter everything I held dear.

When he drew his palm to my cheek, all I could think was,His touch still feels warm and comforting. It can’t be the touch of my father’s killer. It just can’t.

“I’m fine,” I claimed. “Just a few minor burns and bruises.”

Grayson’s jaw clenched, anger and pain battling across his features.

---