The Fall (Book 4): Genesis Game by Joshua Guess Read Free Book Online Page B

must have been brutal.”
    “Not really,” Mason said. “The others kept watch while I went through and made sure there were blockages along every major roadway and avenue I could find. Not all of them, but enough to drive most of the traffic in the direction I wanted, which was away from here.”
    Kell gaped at Mason openly. The casual way he said it made guarding an enormous tract of land seem trivial. What the hell did they teach these guys in SEAL training?
    “Are you a wizard?” Kell asked in a mock-dumb voice.
    Mason laughed. “Nah, I just have a lot of practice and smart people helping me out. So what do you think? You want me with you?”
     
     
     
    Mason was in the middle of explaining the many alterations being made to the van when a sound like a cross between a great jungle cat and an angry bull filled the busy courtyard. Mason's voice dwindled to silence while pointing out the advantages of armor over efficiency, and both he and Kell found themselves staring at the small mobile home situated just to the left of the main house.
    The door stood open. Framed in it was Jess, six feet tall and wild-eyed at the sight of Mason. Just behind her was Josh, whose face contained nothing of the bright fury his wife expressed. His expression was one of unadulterated shock, which Kell granted made sense. The last time he had seen Mason, the man was facing off against a pack of zombies as a means of choosing his own manner of death. Injuries Mason had taken before that point were so severe everyone involved assumed they would be fatal.
    A reasonable assumption given that at the time only a handful of people on earth knew what Chimera was and how much it accelerated the healing process. A deep part of Kell's brain couldn't help being amused at the idea that in a world where the dead rising was a daily concern, someone should still be caught off guard that a friend somehow survived when it seemed impossible.
    “Well, shit,” Mason muttered just loud enough for Kell to hear. “I knew I forgot to do something.”
    Jess strode across the courtyard, every hard-earned muscle flowing beneath dark skin tense. Though she didn't run or so much as glance at the other people staring at her, they parted like a biblical sea around her.
    Of the things Kell knew about Mason, the first and most obvious was the utter competence at the core of who he was. A more shallow examination would assume that SEAL training had created it, but Kell thought it was the other way around. Mason had excelled in his career because the foundation was already there, a deep part of him. He had faced unbelievable odds and beaten them, had more practical experience with self-defense and killing than any five people Kell knew.
    So when Jess landed her first punch squarely on the point of Mason's cheekbone, Kell knew it was because he'd let her. Jess could fight like a pissed-off wolverine, but she hadn't exactly caught Mason by surprise.
    Kell stepped back from the fracas, worried he'd take an accidental shot to his injured bits. Being a few yards away gave him a beautiful view of the fight.
    For all the obvious fury, Jess had perfect control. The blows she landed had real force, enough to make Mason bring up his forearms to block the face shots. She was wearing her usual working gear; a tank top tight over her chest and loose at the waist so that it flared with every fluid twist of her hips. She punched with the methodical efficiency of a martial artist, every shot backed by the rotation of her body.
    The sudden rush of heat in Kell's body was unexpected. Logical Kell wondered why his long-dormant libido, essentially in a coma since the loss of his wife, had decided that watching a beautiful and muscular woman beat the shit out of someone was just what it needed. It wasn't the shine of sweat over her skin; he had worked with her enough that the sight was old hat.
    Thirty seconds was all it took for her to make the point. After landing half a dozen meaty body