Page 94 of Crossover

“What if Barry doesn’t have the evidence you need?” Jace asked.

“Then, I’ll take her out of the country.”

“Forever?”

“I don’t want it to come to that.”

Life on the run was a shitty existence. I had witnessed firsthand some of the targets I’d taken down, living that kind of lifestyle. Running from location to location, often staying off the beaten path in hellholes. Having no contact with their family or friends and having no career. Your entire existence boiled down to one thing—evading death. Running from it while it chased you like the Grim Reaper himself.

I didn’t want that for Ivy. We’d had a taste of it, and she deserved better than being on the run forever.

She deserved better than me.

I stared down at the ice cubes, dying a slow death in the alcohol.

“How did you do it?” I eyed Hunter. “How did you…” I wanted to ask him how he let Luna choose him when he thought she’d be better off without him, but it teetered too close to the secret that my other brothers didn’t know about, so I settled with, “Let yourself love Luna?”

Hunter took a long pull of his amber liquid, thinking carefully of his response.

“Still struggling with redemption?” Hunter mused.

I considered his question, realizing there were a couple angles to my feelings.

“I know I’ve always tried to do what I thought was right,” I said, my voice thick with the burden of my past. “But my actionshave caused Ivy a lot of pain.” I paused, running a hand through my hair as I searched for the right words. “Somehow, despite everything I’ve put her through, she seems to have found a way to forgive me. And that’s…that’s incredible. But I can’t help wondering if it’s really what’s best for her.”

My chest constricted as I voiced the fear that had been gnawing at me. “What if, by accepting her love, I’m just being selfish? I’ve made so many mistakes already, and the thought of causing her more pain…it’s unbearable.”

I shut my eyes before they could betray me with the tears burning in the back of them. “I love her more than anything. But maybe…maybe the most loving thing I can do is to let her go. To give her a chance at a life without all the baggage and hurt I bring with me.”

My voice cracked as I finally met their gaze, desperate for guidance. “I just don’t know what to do. How can I be sure that staying with her is the right thing?”

Jace looked out at the expanse of Hunter’s estate. “Would you do anything for her?”

“Anything,” I said without hesitation.

It was like my world had completely blacked out and narrowed the scope of what mattered to a singular point of light. And that light was Ivy.

If Ivy asked me to disappear from her life, I would, but even then, I’d never truly be gone. I would become her silent guardian, watching over her from the shadows, protecting her without her knowing. If she asked me to kill for her, I would become her weapon. I would strike down anyone who dared to harm her, painting the world crimson in her name.

For Ivy, I would transform myself into anything she needed. A confidant, a protector, a lover, or a monster. I would give her all of me, body and soul, the light and the darkness intertwined.

She held my heart in her hands and, with it, the power to command my very existence. I would surrender myself to her completely, withholding nothing. The darkest recesses of my mind, the most twisted corners of my soul—all would be laid bare before her.

And I would spend the rest of my days devoted to her, in whatever capacity she desired. Forever and always, I would be hers, until the very end of time.

“That doesn’t sound selfish to me,” Jace countered.

I clenched my teeth. “Then, why does itfeelselfish?”

“Because when we love someone as much as you love Ivy, nothing measures up to what they deserve. There is no human on the planet that could ever be good enough for them, so you have to ask yourself one question: is there anyone who could ever love her more than you do?”

I was by no means an expert on love. But, “No,” I whispered, unable to fathom anyone loving Ivy as intensely, as all-consumingly, as I did. No one else would dedicate every waking moment to making her life better, safer, and happier.

I would give her everything.

Speaking of which…

“Did you draw up those papers?” I asked.

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