Page 179 of Chalk Outline
“By the way, we didn’t introduce ourselves—”
“I already know you’re Mitch. He said your name at the party.” I point at Braxton, who breaks into a smile.
“Ah, you sold me out, fucker,” he mutters, pressing his hand to his chest.
Reeve was right.
I do like them already.
“We can’t waste more time.” I’m ready to dash downstairs to the basement to grab weapons and ammo, but I stop midway when Braxton’s voice trails behind me.
“I deactivated the bombs for now.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got the nerd with us.” Mitch offers me a gentle look full of hope and encouragement. “Let’s rescue our princess.”
I nod and rush downstairs.
I’ll be damned if I let them hurt my husband without a fight. This is where it ends. No one hurts what is mine. Not a damn soul. Reeve deserves better than to be sacrificed.
I shove a magazine into my gun and point it at the exit as I hear footsteps down the stairs.
Mitch shows up at the entrance. “Don’t shoot. I come in peace.”
“Come in then.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are you confident you can do this?” he hesitantly questions. “We can wait until you feel better.”
“And let them hurt him? Absolutely not.” I’m sure my glance comes off murderous because he immediately averts his gaze to the wall.
“Forget I said anything,” he grabs a rifle from the wall, “once we enter the prison. We become part of the game.”
“I memorized the layout inside from Grandma’s blueprints. The only problem is the hundreds of doors inside.”
“They’re tricky,” Mitch adds.
“It’s like an escape room without the mystery, but with more violence.”
“The mystery is how the hell you get out of there.”
“We’ll figure it out once Reeve is okay.”
We both fall silent and keep organizing our weapons. Mitch tells me he’s from New York, and Braxton is from Chicago. They’re both thirty-one and have worked for my grandma for six years as part of the rescue squad.
They bonded over the last four years and stayed glued to each other even when Reeve had to recover after Third Eye beat him.
It still makes my heart ache for not being there for him, but I’m grateful he had them to watch over him.
I rush upstairs, change into my tactical uniform, put on a vest, and run downstairs to clip the radio to my belt.
Braxton takes the second radio.
“If you let anything happen to Reeve, I will rip your hearts out and sacrifice you.” I declare, stopping them both in their tracks.
They lock eyes and exchange a knowing glance.
Mitch raises his hands in the air. “Shoot me with a tranquilizer arrow.”
