Page 105 of The Grandest Game

“Roy G. Biv.” Gigi felt like her body was a drum set, and her heart was a drummer going to town on it. “Start with red, then orange!”

How much time do we have left?

Enough to stretch the yarn between the pushpins. Enough for the light from the ceiling to cast a veritable spiderweb of shadows down onto the tile floor.

At the center of that web was a lone tile.

Knox placed his palm flat on the tile and pushed. The floor beneath them gave way—another trapdoor, which led to another staircase, which led out the back of the house and onto the rocky shore.

It was already light out, but the sun wasn’t visible on the horizon—not yet. They had time—minutes, maybe, or seconds, buttime.

Knox tore off over the rocks, toward the dock, Brady on his heels. Gigi ran, forcing herself to keep up with them, pushing as hard as she could, as fast as she could, across rocky terrain—

And then her toe caught on something.

And then Gigi fell.

Chapter 77

GIGI

Pain.Gigi was vaguely aware of the world around her trying to go black, but she was more aware of the fact that her team hadn’t made it to the dock yet.Shehadn’t. Gigi scrambled to her feet—or she tried to, anyway, but then she wobbled and went down again.

Suddenly, Knox was kneeling beside her. “You okay, Happy?”

Knox.Gigi looked for Brady, but she didn’t see him. She blinked. “It was just a little boulder. It’s just a little head wound. I’m fine!”

Fuzzy Knox—he was only a little bit fuzzy—did not seem to believe her. He slipped an arm under hers, and the next thing Gigi knew, Knox was carrying her and walking slowly toward the dock.

Knox. Not Brady.Brady hadn’t come back for her. Gigi thought about Savannah telling her that no one in this competition was her friend, that no one could be trusted.

Knox had said the exact same thing.

And that was when Gigi belatedly realized:Slowly?Knox waswalkingslowlytoward the dock. Toward the other teams. Toward Avery, Jameson, Xander, and Nash, who stood at the edge of the dock in a line.

Slowly.Gigi looked back to the eastern horizon and saw the sun.Dawn.Her throat tightened.We didn’t make it.They’d been so close.

If she’d been faster with the puzzle box…

If she hadn’t fallen…

If she was smarter and coordinated andbetter, if she was more like Savannah—

If,if,if. “I’m sorry,” she told Knox.

Don’t be.That was what Brady had said to her the last time she’d apologized for being herself. For being too much.My brain likesA Lot.

“Yeah, Happy,” Knox said, stepping past the game makers and onto the dock. “Me, too.”

Gigi saw Brady then. He was holding the longsword. She’d forgotten about the sword.

“Brady,” Gigi said, remembering what was at stake for him, berating herself for being selfish enough to wonder why he’d run for the dock instead of coming back forher. “Your mom. I promise—”

“It’s okay,” Brady told her quietly. “My mama’s fine.”

Gigi went very still in Knox’s arms. “Fine?” Gigi couldn’t make that make sense. “She doesn’t have cancer?”

He lied to us? Brady lied.