Page 95 of Crossover

Hunter’s lips pursed. “As a lawyer, I want to tell you it’s smart to get your legal ducks in a row, but as your brother”—he paused—“it makes me uneasy that you’re preparing for the worst.”

“I’m notpreparing.” Not exactly. “But I know Daniel. He won’t go down without a fight, and I need to know she’ll be okay, no matter what happens.” After all, as much as I wanted to believe Daniel would be arrested for his crimes, I couldn’t shake the feeling that when it came time, only one of us—him or me—would walk away. Being a billionaire, it was the responsible thing to do to get my affairs in order. Just in case.

To his credit, Hunter didn’t lecture me. Instead, he pulled open a small drawer from his wooden desk, placed the papers in question in front of me, along with a pen.

“She’ll get everything?” I double-checked, scanning the document.

“Even that godforsaken stack of baseball cards you call a collection,” Hunter quipped, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

“And her grandmother?”

“All medical bills have been paid and will continue to do so, moving forward.”

I picked up the pen, wanting to believe everything was going to work out, that these papers would never be necessary.

But I signed them, just in case.

Because I couldn’t shake this sinking feeling…

“So, when this whole mess is finally over,” Jace started, his attention fixed on me with a mixture of curiosity and concern, “and you’re free to move on with your life…are you going to stop holding back and let yourself be with Ivy?”

I didn’t even have time to answer him before steps in the hallway disclosed a person just outside the door. And when I stepped out there, it was the last person I expected to see right now. A person who I thought was on my side—based on everything Ivy had told me—but looking at the shock, disgust, and horror etched across her face, I could see now, her feelings for me had boundaries.

“After everything you’ve done in the past, you’re still romantically involved with my daughter?”

52

GRAYSON

“You want me to leave her.” The realization hit me like a physical blow, a rock dropping in my gut.

The bitter fall winds whipped around us as Ivy’s mother and I stood by the lake behind Hunter’s house, where we’d come to talk alone after she’d overheard the tail end of my conversation with my brothers. Just my luck she’d taken a wrong turn after using the restroom. Hunter’s staff had been sent home, and security was too busy manning outside threats to stop her from ambling near Hunter’s office.

Ivy’s mother gazed out at the lake, her face filled with a mixture of sorrow and resolve. “She and I talked about forgiveness,” she began. “I knew you two cared for each other before, but I just assumed…” She trailed off, her worried eyes meeting mine. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to protect her. I do. But…” She paused, the wind tousling her hair. “Once she found out about the role you had in her father’s death, I never imagined she’d want a future with you.”

I nodded, hiding the gut-wrenching pain behind a stoic facade. “I understand.”

Conflicting emotions rippled across her face like a skipping stone in water. Guilt, appreciation, then pity.

“I’m sorry, but you’re not healthy for her. You’re a CIA operative. An assassin. And despite your unwitting role, you killed Ivy’s father.”

My throat constricted, making it difficult to swallow. It seemed every time I turned around, there was a new obstacle preventing me and Ivy from having our happily ever after. I thought the biggest obstacle was both of us coming to terms with my role in her father’s death.

But now, evidently, my love for Ivy risked taking her other parent away from her, too.

And that was a price tag I could not make Ivy pay; I would not become a wedge between her and her mother.

“I understand,” I repeated, shoving my fists into my pockets. I kept my face neutral, disguising the pain exploding through my heart. “Would it change your mind if I retired my role as a CIA operative for good?”

Ivy’s mother regarded me.

“No,” she finally answered, “it wouldn’t.”

My gut sank, even though I had expected as much. In the fleeting moments when I’d dared to imagine a life with Ivy, our future never included dangerous, top-secret missions spanning the globe. Instead, my visions were filled with the simple joys of being with her—bringing her favorite coffee from the shop she adored each morning, walking together to her work, sharing dinners with my brothers, and spending nights tangled in each other’s arms. In truth, I was finally prepared to let go of the hatred that had taken root in my heart during the dark hours following my father’s murder. The endless pursuit of vengeance against those who preyed on the innocent and destroyed lives without regard for human life had been surpassed by a far more powerful desire—to love Ivy with every fiber of my being.

But that life of hers…it had to include her mother.

I clenched my fists, going through a Rolodex of responses. That Ivy was a grown woman and could make her own decisions. That if Ivy found out her mother had a role in ending our relationship, she’d come to resent her.

---