Read The Keys to Jericho for Free Online Page A

me.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Liberty’s hand moving up and down on Rio’s leg and I pause. No. She’d better not be doing what I think she’s doing.
    Struggling to swallow my food before it makes a reappearance, I take a long drink before leaning forward to loudly whisper, “Could you not jack off my best friend in front of me? I’m trying to eat.”
    She nearly spills her pop as she quickly puts it down, protesting, “I-I’m not!” Liberty pulls away from Rio, actually appearing embarrassed. She mutters, “I was rubbing his leg. That’s all.” She glances at Dash for sympathy, which she probably gets.
    “Jared,” Rio growls as his blue eyes flash brighter. I can’t help but roll mine at him.
    I pick up my burger in a huff and try to gag the rest of it down. The table is thankfully quiet as we eat, but it only lasts a few minutes before Dash has to open his mouth. Vaguely, I hear Liberty saying something about a beach. If it doesn’t involve her drowning at one, I couldn’t care less.
    I’m content enough to eat in silence, and be left out of the conversation, until Dash asks, “Why don’t you stay at my dad’s beach house with Rio, Jared, and me for the Fourth of July weekend?”
    My burger topples out of my hand and I yell, “Dash, shut up!”
    Rio bellows, “Jared!”
    “No! That’s our fishing trip and our time. No girls allowed!”
    Rio argues, “We’re not 12 and it’s not a treehouse! None of us had a woman we wanted to bring with us before!”
    Liberty meekly says, “That’s okay. Thanks anyway, Dash.”
    Dash continues to plead his fucking case, “No, it’s cool. Really. You don’t have to fish. We also have bonfires, watch movies, play beach volleyball with the neighbors, and just relax. You can always hang out on the beach or whatever.”
    Tearing his blazing eyes away from me, Rio strokes her back and says, “Dash is right. You should come. We each have a room there. It’s not like I have to bunk with anyone .” He swiftly glares at me, and I shake my head as I turn to stare at the fish again.
    As I take a swig of my beer while looking out the window on the other side of the room, I hear Dash dragging his bottle across the wooden table and he says, “Yeah, just keep it down when you two are getting it on.”
    I slam my bottle down, facing the three most irritating people here. “Oh, hell no. You can fuck her elsewhere, Duquesne. Like Baltimore.”
    He roars, “Jared! Outside . Now .”
    I glance over at the bar and see two guys wearing matching, dark blue T-shirts with white lettering, who are taking in our show. I frown at them and they quickly look away, speculating about our drama, I’m sure.
    Liberty leans over to say something to Rio, but without taking his cold stare off me, he shakes his head and whispers something in her ear. She then jumps up to allow him out of the booth. I grab a handful of my French fries and shove them into my mouth before I stand.
    Dash sighs and pushes his plate away, shaking his head at the table. When Rio stands he snarls, “Go.”
    As soon as we barrel through the front doors, Rio shunts past me and looks over his shoulder, nodding ahead for me to follow him. He leads me to the end of the building and around the corner, where there aren’t people standing around. Satisfied where we are, he spins around and is in my face.
    “What the fuck is wrong with you, Beckett? It’s like you have a screw loose or a short circuit!”
    Doubtful, I take a step back and scoff, “What? Am I a fucking robot?”
    He bleakly laughs. “No. A damn robot has more feelings than you do! Why are you so mean to Liberty?”
    Now, I have to laugh. “ Mean to her? I tried not talking to her so I didn’t have to be mean to her!”
    “What the hell? What did she ever do to you? You barely even know her!”
    “You call me a robot? You’re a goddamn puppet! She pulls your strings and you dance!”
    He steps closer and I cross my arms,