Murphy's Law (Roads Less Traveled Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

Explorer and his own Jeep with whatever supplies they could find from the neighboring houses. He’d been about to give up when he reached the third house, finally surrendering to the possibility that he may have been overreacting or simply paranoid. He ended up standing in the kitchen of that last house for a long time, watching through the window as his friends carried canned goods from the house across the street to the Jeep.
    “Hell with this, I’m bein’ crazy.”
    He remembered walking to the bathroom to take a piss and splash water on his face. As he relieved himself, he cast his eyes casually around the room, no longer looking for something he’d finally decided wasn’t there. That’s when he saw it. His eyes had caught a glimpse of something orange in the trash can beside the toilet. He frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head this way and that trying to figure out what he was seeing. There was a handful of crumpled toilet paper on top of whatever it was. He hurried and zipped his jeans, never taking his eyes off the thing in the trash can, then bent over and moved the wad of toilet paper aside.
    “I’ll be damned…” He stood there for a long time staring at the prescription bottle before finally picking it up.
    Cipro. Damn her. She found medicine, and she hid it. She’s the reason we had to go to Gibson. She’s the reason Ben was killed.
    Jake shook himself from his reminiscing, rubbed his face again, then lay there staring at the stars, forcing his mind to go totally blank. He’d been doing that a lot lately. It was the only way he could get these poisonous thoughts out of his head. At least temporarily. He just hoped no one else had noticed the change in him yet. Most of the time he was obsessed with killing Kyra. The rest of the time he was obsessed with Ben’s death. He kept this all to himself, certain that if he told anyone about these things, they’d lose trust in him. Maybe even make him leave the group. He doubted that though, since his grandma was one of them. In the end, he couldn’t take the chance. He would just bide his time, hope they found the cons and Kyra, then pray Kasey and the others wouldn’t try to stop him from doing what he had to do.
     
    * * *
     
    I waited until Jake settled back down and drifted off to sleep before moving to another location. The rock I’d been sitting on was making my ass numb, and the thick brush just below me was severely hindering my ability to keep a vigilant watch. I moved halfway around the camp to a more level spot with a more wide-open view of the hillside below us. It was damn cold, and my skin was chilled even through the many layers I was wearing. Cross-legged on the cold ground, my rifle resting next to me, my gloved hands shoved into the pockets of my Carhartt coat, I glanced around the wooded area.
    It was quiet, except for normal nighttime noises. The air smelled crisp and clean, another good sign we were alone. The sky was clear and full of stars, the half-moon shining brightly. If it’d been just a little bit warmer, it would’ve been the perfect night for camping. Satisfied that all was as it should be, I began thinking about Jake. Actually, I wasn’t so much thinking as I was worrying. Sure I’d noticed a change in him. We had all changed, in one way or another. Others more obviously than some. Ben’s death still weighed heavily on him, this I knew, because I felt the same way.
    “Hey,” Zack whispered.
    I jumped and twisted so quickly that something pulled in my lower back. I winced, pulled my hand from my pocket and rubbed it a bit, then growled in his direction. He gave me a shy smile and sat down, slipped his hand underneath my coat, and took over rubbing the sore and strained muscle. I sighed and shoved my hand back in my pocket.
    “It’s my turn for watch, babe.”
    I grunted an acknowledgement and stared ahead, watching a raccoon hobble in its awkward gait across the path halfway down the hill. Zack leaned