Read The Keys to Jericho for Free Online

glance at Rio, giving him a brief but unmistakably irritated glare, before forcing myself to look at Liberty. Her blonde hair is taco-shell yellow, slightly darker than Dash’s color, and her eyes are blue, just like everyone else’s at this table, except mine. However, unlike Rio’s or Dash’s, her blue eyes remind me of a choking jellyfish.
    “What are you doing here?” I demand.
    “I invited her,” Rio snaps, boring his eyes into me. Perching my elbows on the table, I shake my head and look away.
    As our waitress cautiously returns, we all give her our orders. Not really interested in eating anymore, I sit back and start picking at the corner of the label on my beer.
    When she walks away, Rio sharply repeats, “ I invited her.”
    I continue giving my bottle all of my attention, but spare effort to curtly respond, “Because you had no choice.”
    I know she is shaking her head. I can tell because I hear her large, silver hoop earrings metallically swishing along with her ponytail. “River asked me to come.” River . Besides the prehistoric fossil that was just at our table, Liberty refuses to call him Rio. On the other hand, if she did, I think it would also piss me off just because it’s coming from her .
    “Jare,” Rio says calmly, yet making it all the more menacing.
    I reluctantly look up from the bottle to the bitch across from me and fume, “Can’t you let him have a night to himself?”
    Liberty opens her mouth to spew something, but she’s cut off by Rio, the coolness he previously displayed seconds ago slips as he answers, “I asked her to be here. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
    My frustrated gaze slides to him. His lips are pursed and his eyes are intense, but don’t really give anything away, which is normal for him. “Why? You need a chaperone, Duquesne?”
    Dash hits my hand with his fork, causing pain to reverberate across my knuckles. Skating my hands off the table, I swiftly give him a dirty look, only for him to respond with one of his own. As much as I’m used to Rio keeping his cool, I’m also not used to Dash being anything but cheerful.
    This is an odd turn of events. I’m usually the unstable one and ironically, I’m the only one here making any sense.
    Retreating from Dash’s condemning scowl, I glance around the room at the décor, anything to avoid looking at Dash, across the table into the eyes of the beast, or at the beast’s prey next to her. I feel Rio’s harsh glare, but if I return the look, he’ll see in my eyes just how much I don’t care.
    After a few hushed minutes, Dash starts yacking again, and I have to drown out the casual banter between Liberty and him because it makes me physically ill. Rio remarks here and there, but doesn’t say as much as Frick and Frack do. I count down the seconds until I can eat my dinner and get the fuck out of here.
    My stomach twists and I reach for my beer to douse the feeling, although, it’ll take more than beer to eradicate this nausea. Then again, it could very well make me barf, which I welcome anything that would either get rid of this feeling, or Liberty.
    “Jericho does.” Dash elbows me and I unwillingly look from the giant swordfish hanging on the wall to Calder’s expectant face.
    “What?”
    Liberty clears her throat and says, “I was just asking if any of you like to go to the beach?”
    I revert my attention to the dead fish on the wall, but attempt to be somewhat cordial for Duquesne’s sake. “Why?”
    “Just curious.”
    I shrug as I study the swordfish, wanting to catch one like that someday. Hell, I’d go for catching a bluegill if it meant I could be anywhere but here. “I grew up not far from the beach, so it’s kind of passé.”
    Rio bitingly says, “Shut up, Jare. You love the water. Don’t be pissy.”
    Mercifully, our food is brought to the table and I instantly start on my sandwich, gawking at it as if it’s giving me a lap dance, just to avoid looking in front of