Page 180 of Chalk Outline

“I like that idea,” Braxton winks at us.

“See. Is it so hard for you to say something romantic like that?” Mitch starts his nonsense again, and Braxton storms outside, huffing. “He’s so moody all the time.”

“But he likes you, I can tell,” I say, making sure Reeve’s knife is in my pocket.

“Right…?” A candid smile crosses his face.

“Can Braxton handle a gun?” I know he’s the one who stays in the van, according to Reeve’s stories.

Mitch lifts his shoulder and shrugs. “I taught him on the way over. He’s a smart cookie. He’ll figure it out.”

“Are you joking?” I arch my brows.

“I am,” he nods with a wicked smirk. “He is well-trained. My man can handle himself.”

“So now he’s your man?”

“Yeah. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

I laugh at his logic. “Let’s go.”

“Shit,” Braxton comes rushing back inside, slamming the door behind him. “That fucker just shot my drone.”

Of course he did.

“I have an idea,” I say, motioning for them to follow me into the basement.

I do my fridge trick, and we step into the tunnel passage. Mitch grins, cutting a quick glance at Braxton, whose features soften when their eyes meet. Braxton lights the way, using the flashlight on his phone. We hurry to the end and climb up the rusty grab handles.

I yank the handle of the bulkhead door and push it open.

We climb out one by one. I look around and immediately recognize the thick tree trunks a few feet ahead.That’s where they took him.

“Follow me,” Braxton urges, running past us deeper into the dark forest. We follow behind him, passing countless ghostly-looking trees, and he stops when he sees a canopy of trees lined up perfectly beside a tree with yellow leaves.

His eyes narrow.

He crouches to clear a pile of dry leaves from the ground, revealing another secret door like the one we came from.

Mitch offers a hand, and they open it together, letting me go in first.

I carefully step down the ladder into a green, neon-lit room. The walls have a metallic glow. A sign on the wall to my right asks:Are you ready to play? It’s easy to enter but hard to come out. Put your life on the line, and you’ll find out.

Finally.

“Let the games begin,” Mitch says playfully with an amused little smirk, and Braxton sighs as he moves past us.

“Hold that thought,” he says, and Mitch and I snap our heads to the left, where Braxton points. “The games have four colors. Green means you have to become a team player and play with a group of people.” He reads the sign on the wall. “Move to the next gate to find the rest.”

We exchange glances, feeling the tension rise as we approach the gate.

“Just before we walk in, please remember that these people are filled with unleashed rage and psychotic tendencies.”

Braxton and I turn around to give Mitch a look while Mona hisses around Braxton’s neck.

“Okay, Mona, you don’t need to give me attitude.”

This massive underground prison is completely isolated. Security gates block everyone from moving freely through the prison, and on top of that, there are games.