August Burning (Book 1): Outbreak Read Online Free Page B

laughter carried fast up the stepped marble, drawing
the attention of a park guard. The man strutted over in matching apparel, quite
clearly taking himself more seriously than anyone else did. As he attempted to
establish a stern façade, Troy snapped him a mock salute and cracked some jab
that drew the amusement of the women in tow.
    Adira approached Bennett, moving like a cat in the night, and
settled down beside him, clasping the back of his neck with her long fingers.
So she was back. She leaned back briefly, and Jaxton met her eyes, which were
penetrating and dark. They made him nervous.
    Troy strutted in front, looking utterly lost trying to maintain
his composure. He plopped down next to Jaxton and clasped him on the shoulder,
trying to meet his eyes. He failed, and just leaned back on the cold marble
with his eyes shut. “This feels nice.”
    Elvis attempted to strut next to the other female, following her
like a lost dog, though she seemed to ignore him. Jaxton had to suppress a
chuckle as he saw what the evening had done to his swagger. Elvis’s face was
puffy and flushed, narrow eyes fluttering with exhaustion, and his once
perfectly coifed hair was disheveled. He plopped down on the hard marble with
all the grace of a pregnant woman navigating a roller rink.
    Liam smiled and shook his head at Jaxton knowingly, and sat down
next to him with broad warmth that the entire group could feel. “Good to see
you’re back on your feet, you were looking a little fucked up in there.”
    “You’re tellin’ me,” Jaxton agreed.
    “This is Harley. Harley, this is Jaxton,” Liam said proudly, the
words spoken as if he were the group’s protective uncle. The new girl had hazel eyes that skittered deliciously.
There was a delightful energy in her mannerisms that seemed to draw the others
to her. Jaxton felt his heart beating a little bit faster as he strove to meet
her hazel eyes with his own grey ones. She barely gave him the pleasure. Elvis
noticed the ruffian Troy sleeping on the cold marble, and nodded in drunken
approval, leaning back to copy him with a groan. Harley smiled again, “Two
down.”
    Bennett
was already speaking softly to Adira, and Jaxton wanted to leave. He needed to
be sober.
    Liam
made some awfully corny attempt at comedy for the girl with hazel eyes, and she
couldn’t have loved it any more. Jaxton managed to grin, drawing his eyes back
to the horizon, divided as it was by a massive pillar of stone stretching into
the sky. He was content. In such company, he felt invincible. In the heat of
his own intoxicating thoughts he found himself hoping for a test that would
bond his little group of friends even tighter. They could do anything. They
would never be broken apart. He hoped madly for a challenge, something to test
them, together. And as his blood cooled, he was moved to instant mental silence
by the gentle swell of growing light that grew opposite their little band.
After that, the dawn came swift and strong.

Chapter Three
    11
hours before Outbreak. Washington, D.C
    Jaxton
was staring angrily at the figure getting smaller in front of him, a tight knit
group of corded back muscles shifting as he ran. Troy was not a bulky man, but
he was strong. As it stood, Troy had outpaced the whole group by a few hundred
feet, as he always did. Jaxton knew that was why he liked to run, because he
liked to win.
    The
sun shone fiercely for late May, generating a heat that already had them all
slick with sweat. Elvis huffed and puffed beside him, looking rather ridiculous
without his hair product and slick outfits. His hefty pompadour of hair bounced
atop his head as he ran, already lagging behind. Jaxton glanced to his other
side, at Bennett. He knew this game. Both men would allow Troy to outpace them,
knowing him to be a superior athlete. But as they silently heaved aside one
another, each knew they would not allow the other to beat him. It became a
competition of wills. Jaxton hated the game. And he knew