Free Break of the Six (The Preston Six Book 4) by Matt Ryan Page B

the floor. Another young girl’s carcass lay nearby. Several more women of various ages were scattered around the room, without clothes, without dignity, and without a breath left in their battered and bloodied bodies.
    There were a few more horrendous things within sight, but he refused to allow them to enter his conscious mind. Joey stumbled back from the doorway. His feet shifted in shock and he fell to his back on the white flooring. The fat man saw an opportunity and lunged for him.
    Paralyzed from what he’d seen, Joey only had time to brace himself for the impact of the large man’s body. Then he heard a thump. The man squealed out one last breath before collapsing on top of Joey’s legs, a knife stuck into the side of his head.
    He pushed the body off and scurried backward on his hands and heels. Sufficiently far away from the room and the fat man, he stopped. Still sitting on his butt, he pulled his knees up and buried his face into them.
    Poly’s hand rubbed his back.
    The doorbell dinged. “What the hell?”
    Joey didn’t need to look up to recognize Lucas’s voice.
    “What was in the room?” Poly asked gently.
    New fear washed over him and he sprung to his feet and ran to the door. He glimpsed the woman’s dead foot and slammed the door closed. None of his friends needed to see what was in there. He no longer felt bad about shooting Nate. Now, he just wanted to shock his body back to life so he could kill him again. These nasty men needed to suffer for what they’d done. Joey paced in front of the door, feeling as if he might explode with anger.
    Was this the new world? This was worse than any Ryjack or Vanar invasion. This was in his own backyard, a few towns over from Preston. This shouldn’t be possible. Where were the cops? He thought of the Preston cop robbing them and it stung to think of a new reality on earth. Was man destined to become monsters? How could he let Poly live in such a world?
    “I think I can get the pump going.” Julie walked next to the counter, averting her eyes from the two bodies on the ground.
    “What’s up with that room?” Lucas asked, watching Joey pace back and forth.
    “Don’t ever ask me that again,” Joey bit out, rougher than he wanted, but he was filled with such anger, anything he said would be rough.
    Poly winced at his tone and they all averted their attention elsewhere. Good, he didn’t want them seeing him, he didn’t want to see himself. He wanted to jump into a body and mind that hadn’t seen the things he’d seen, or done the things he’d done; anything to wash away the memories. What a cruel thing memory was, keeping the worst in high definition.
    Julie got the pump going and they filled the car up. Poly and Joey took the back seat, while Julie drove and Lucas sat front passenger. Joey hadn’t said a word since his explosion at Lucas. Only a few words had been shared between any of them.
    “You two should get some sleep so you can take over in the morning,” Julie said.
    Poly touched his hand and he jerked it back. Quickly realizing his mistake, he reached for her hand and took it in his. It felt good to have her touch. He realized he hadn’t thanked her yet. “Thank you for saving me back there.”
    “I couldn’t let that disgusting man touch you.”
    Joey sighed and thought about the place they were going. It was heavily populated. If the outskirts and back roads hid these kinds of horrors, what would a big city entail? He only hoped they could get to Samantha before she found herself stuffed in the back storage room of a gas station. “Can we go faster?”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    SAMANTHA SKIPPED PAST THE OFFICES on her floor. She didn’t care about what the others thought anymore. Nothing mattered at the moment, because she had Zach. The kiss they’d shared, the feeling of his body against hers, lifted her thoughts above the hate.
    She bounced to her desk and plopped on her black leather chair. Pushing her feet against the