Page 27 of Chalk Outline

I fish the knife out of my pocket and search for something sharp in the cabinet. This is the only thing I own, the only memory of Mom, and now it’s tainted forever. There may not be a way back from where I’m going, but at least I won’t die at the circus.

I grab a pair of scissors from the tumbler on the second shelf and begin to carve my initials into the handle.

Thatwasher home, but she played a game because that’s what Romina does to protect her granddaughter. Winona was in a safe house and was supposed to return that day when I showed up at her doorstep. I was there for two hours before Romina sent me to one of her training sites thousands of miles away. For five years, I trained with a Shaolin master, a contract killerspecializing in knives and weapons, and a former Navy SEAL with impeccable combat skills.

I don’t need pity.

I’ve built a life for myself.

I’ve learned from a young age that there’s always a choice to make, a line to cross, and a trap to fall into, whether we like it or not—whether it’s wrong or right. Moral ambiguity is just part of life in a broken world, and it’s likely what makes it so thrilling when the stakes are high.

We’re doing everything we can to survive or protect the ones we love most. Every scar on my body shows how far I would go to protect Winona, no matter the price it costs me.

I traveled across the world because I had to.

I would beher shield—the oneI never had.

The van approaches an abandoned airfield up north, where Romina keeps a private plane and a professional team to supervise the flight ahead.

“Don’t you think she will recognize you with the mask?” Braxton unplugs his things and packs them into his bags.

“I hope not.” Until she’s ready to face me.

“I don’t think so,” he shakes his head.

Mitch quickly comments, “I think she will,” before his eyes meet Braxton’s.

My eyes dance between the two, and a grin nearly rises, but I stop it in time.

“I bet she wouldn’t.”

“I’m a hopeless romantic, let me have my moment.Sheesh. Your eyes are everywhere with your computers, and yet you’re so fucking blind.“ Mitch is at a breaking point and will soon reach the end.

“What has gotten into you?” Braxton looks at him, confused as fuck.

“Nothing.” He storms out of the van. “Everyone’s here,” Mitch informs me as we hop out of the van as well. “Need help with the lady?” He goes to grab her legs, and my eyes flash murder.

“Touch my wife, and I’ll end your life.”

“Catchy.” He raises his tatted hands in the air, completely surrendering because he knows I’m not playing games when her life is on the line.

I curve my hands under her legs and back, lifting her to my chest while she’s still unconscious.

The faded paint on Braxton’s face is half-smeared as he drags the back of his hand over his red mouth, utterly unaware of the mess he has made. His dyed green hair is matted to the paint on his forehead while Mitch glances at him with a wicked smirk.

“You two know the drill.” I wink at them, my back facing the flight team.

They nod in unison and head inside the plane.

Plans change, and we must drift with the tides if we don’t want to sink.

Chapter five

Reeve Hardy

Iris — Goo Goo Dolls

Her fiery-orange waves sway gently and bounce against the freaky moth tattoo on the right side of her neck. I carry Winona through the buzzing forest, carefully navigating between thorny bushes and climbing the hill to her new home.