Read Online Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Free Book Online Page A

town. That boy gets so beside himself he can’t think straight.”
    Caleb snorted. “I didn’t know he ever thought straight.”
    Mark laughed at that. “True. All right, y’all, come on back and I’ll trace this for you.”
    They walked around the counter and through the curtains. Kody took a seat at the long, tall worktable that was strewn with various computer parts. When she reached for a motherboard, Mark grabbed her hand. “Make sure you ground yourself before you touch anything.” He stressed the last word.
    She frowned. “Ground myself? I’m not floating, am I?” From anyone else that would sound like a joke, but since Kody could actually fly …
    Mark placed her hand on the metal computer casing. “Static electricity is your worst enemy in computers, and when pumping gas.”
    Caleb and Nick exchanged an amused grin. Knowing Mark, this had to be good. After all, Mark was the only one Nick knew who could set fire to his jeep by simply answering his cell phone.
    “Pumping gas?” Nick asked.
    “Yeah, I once blew up my uncle’s motorcycle by accident and set fire to my favorite pair of jeans. ’Course it’d been even more wrong had I done it intentionally. Anyway, I slid off the vinyl seat and touched the nozzle without grounding myself. The spark ignited the fumes and that was all she wrote. You’d be amazed how many people a year blow themselves up. Believe it or not, I’m not the only one … Not exactly sure how that makes me feel, though. Glad I’m not the only one, but still…”
    Mark sat down at the bench and pulled the keyboard toward him. “Did you know there’s been over two hundred reported cases of people who ignited themselves and their cars because they didn’t ground themselves before touching the nozzle? It’s true. Most are women who started pumping, gas, that is, then got back in the car, and when they got back out to touch the nozzle, ka-boom. I have to say that I am not proud to be one of the very few men who have done it. Kind of embarrassing, but if I can keep one of you from learning my lesson, then it’s worth a little humiliation. I’m just glad Bubba wasn’t there to see it and mock me for it.”
    Nick laughed. “That’s what I love most about you, Mark.”
    “What?”
    “Your whole purpose in life seems to be to serve as a warning to others on what not to do.”
    Laughing with him, Mark started typing. “Sad, but true, kid. Sad, but true. Now let’s see what we can find.”
    They waited quietly while Mark worked.
    Nick’s phone started ringing. Without missing a single keystroke, Mark handed it to him. Now that was impressive. But then, Mark was the master of one hand speed typing. Something he’d perfected while keeping one hand buried in a potato chip bag while he worked or surfed.
    Pressing the answer button, Nick held his phone to his ear. “Hello?”
    “Are you dead?”
    Nick hesitated at the sound of Kyrian’s deeply accented voice. “No, but that tone sounds like my death might be imminent. Why?”
    “You know what time it is?”
    Nick glanced to the clock on the wall and cringed. It was after five. “Sorry, boss. I got distracted.”
    “Yeah, and you didn’t call your mother and she called me worried sick about you.”
    Nick scowled. “Why didn’t she call me ?”
    “She tried and you didn’t answer. Then she tried again and it rolled straight to voicemail. She now thinks you’re dead in a ditch.”
    Great. Detention and grounded. Just what he wanted. “I’ll give her a call.”
    “And…”
    “I should have called you and told you I’d be late to work. I’m really sorry, Kyrian. I am. I had something come up at school, and I’ve been working on it since I got out of detention. I just let time get away from me. It won’t happen again, boss, I promise.”
    “It’s fine, Nick. But only because this isn’t a habit with you. That’s why we got worried. You’re always so good about keeping in touch that when we lose you, it