Read Online Brothers of Chaos (The Unstoppable Titans Book 1) by Jerry Hart - Free Book Online Page B

little old me?”
    She looked
back at him now, a crooked smile on her face. “You saved my life tonight. I’ll
never forget you again.”
    She reached
her hand out to him. He grinned as he took it into his own. They stayed that
way for a long time.
    *   *   *
    Owen stood,
watching Trident River rush by. He was only a few miles from the condo.
Although it was night, the river was still beautiful; the moon was shining off
of the water’s surface. The sound of it was tremendous. It almost made him
forget Chris still hadn’t shown up. Owen checked his watch. It was 2:33 a.m. He
couldn’t believe the day he’d had. First, they’d tracked the vampires to the
Trails, and then followed one to a night club, and then to Stephanie’s house.
That was several days of monster hunting in just a few hours.
    He sat down
on the concrete slope just inches from the water. He wasn’t afraid of falling
in, but he was careful anyway. He and Chris used to come to this river a lot
when they’d first met. It was their little hangout when they needed to get away
from everything. Owen crawled closer to the rushing water, staring at his
reflection. It seemed more distorted than it should have been, as if there was
a small black object under the water directly where his face reflected back at
him.
    “Here I am,”
a voice said from behind, “making it my life’s work to fight the evils of this
world, and yet, I’m contributing to teenage alcoholism.”
    Owen spun
around, almost falling into the river. Chris was standing behind him, holding a
six-pack of beer. Owen crawled back up the concrete wall and grabbed the beer;
he and Chris sat down and both opened a can. It had been a while since Owen had
alcohol. It tasted fantastic. Alyssa always complained about the taste of beer,
but he couldn’t see why. She had to have her wine coolers.
    “Where did
you get this?” Owen asked, holding up his can. “It’s after hours.”
    “Stopped off
at a friend’s house and liberated it from him.” Chris winked.
    Owen laughed
and nodded.
    “What’s so
important?” Chris asked, hypnotized by the water. “You’re not thinking about
leaving us and starting a new life, are you?”
    Owen knew
that was a joke. Since he had never finished high school, he had no diploma. He
didn’t even have a real driver’s license. Nevertheless, he was pretty happy
with his life as it was.
    “I don’t
know what I was thinking when I said it—I guess I was afraid you’d be
disappointed in me—but I wasn’t entirely truthful when I said Eric was dealt
with properly.”
    “You didn’t
bury the leftovers?”
    “There were
no leftovers. I didn’t kill him—he escaped.”
    Chris said
nothing. He didn’t even look at Owen. He continued to be hypnotized by the
river. He was quiet for so long, Owen started to worry. Then, Chris finally
said, “I know.”
    “ Bullcrap !”
    “Really, I
know. I can feel him.”
    “Yeah,
that’s not weird at all.” Owen smiled, nudging Chris’s shoulder.
    “Watch your
mouth.” Chris nudged back.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    They were
both laughing now. Then Chris became serious again.
    “Stephanie
can feel him, too.”
    “How do you
know that?”
    Chris didn’t
answer right away, instead taking a swig of his beer. He looked like he was
thinking really hard. That river had him transfixed.
    “I went to
see her before coming here,” he finally said.
    “How is
she?”
    “She’s
scared, but she’s holding up. She’s a lot tougher and smarter than most girls I
know.”
    He took a
longer swig.
    “You’re into
her, aren’t you?” Owen suddenly asked.
    “You just now
figured that out?”
    “That’s why
you acted the way you did at her house?” Owen asked, remembering the shivering
Chris had done when he saw Stephanie with Eric.
    “We actually
went to high school together. She just barely remembered me. I had the biggest
crush on her. Still do.”
    “Are you
going to tell her how you feel?”
    Chris took
his final sip,