Free Heavenfall: Genviants Book 1 by TG Franklin

had worked so hard to keep them together. Whole. But it didn't.
    "Are you in?" Dex asked.
    It took her a second to realize he'd directed the question to her and not Jonah. The mini drive sat on the table. She stood, picked it up, and held it loose in her fist. "Yeah, I'm in. But why you? Why can't David lead the gang, or one of the other Dragons who, you know, stuck around?"
    "It won't be me. Can't be me, because I'll be with Jonah. It'll be whoever Jonah picks." He started toward the door, stopped, and turned to face them. "No matter what else I've done, or what you think of me, I have always been a Dragon. Will always be a Dragon."
    Not the answer she expected. And maybe it was true. A rush of cool air hit her face as Dex opened the door and waited for her to walk out. She squinted against the morning sun. "And a gentleman."
    "No, I just don't want to be the first one out the door in case some of the Dragons are lying in wait."

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Dex needn't have worried about being jumped. A few of the guys had stayed in the park and tossed a football between them, but most of the Dragons stood in the old gas station parking lot across Broadway where they had a good view of the finish line. Besides, the Dragons trusted Jonah and had too much respect for his authority to interfere. The gang was curious, though, and didn't try to hide the elbow poking and nodding in the trio's direction. Jonah ignored it as they walked toward the crowd. Dark patches, oil or transmission fluid stains, blotted the pavement. Darker in front of the two bays, now missing their doors.
    The roar and rumble of the bikes echoed through the ridges, vibrated in her blood. Fumes from the exhaust mixed with the lingering odor of gas and rotting tires. The riders raced from the top of Black Oak Ridge south to the intersection of Broadway and Essary Road. The guys who hadn't earned the right to race stayed south of the duck pond and revved their way through the obstacle course.
    David, Michael, and John leaned against their bikes, away from the crowd, and Jonah walked straight toward them. "You guys not racing?"
    Michael took a drag off his cigarette. "Nope. You told us to make it a spectacle. Therefore, squids. Plus, they need the road time."
    " Damn it, Mike. Those guys earned their bars. Quit calling them squids."
    Michael shrugged. Took another draw off the cigarette. John and David grinned. They considered anyone who wasn't, well them, squids.
    Jonah tucked his hands in his pockets. "Okay. Never mind about the races. We've got a job for you guys."
    "We?" David asked.
    "Yeah, we. Me and Dex."
    "You can forget that shit. I'm not putting my ass on the line for Hadrian's boy."
    "What about me?" Mary asked. "Would you put it on the line for me?"
    David smiled, and his eyes softened. "Always, princess."
    She cringed at the hated nickname. "Then hear them out. Please," she added. "Dex isn't Hadrian's boy any more. Stran confirmed it."
    "Don't mean he's welcome here." Michael dropped the cigarette, crushed it under the sole of his boot. "The only reason he's still standing is because we don't want to mess up the shirt."
    "No." Dex let the word drag out. "The reason is that you don't want to embarrass yourselves in front of the squids."
    Good Lord. Did Dex have to antagonize everyone?
    "But," Dex continued, "Aside from me, you guys are the best."
    "Damn straight." Michael interrupted. "With or without you in the mix."
    "And I need the best."
    "Understand this, pretty boy, we don't need you." Michael's arms twitched, and his fingers curled into a fist.
    Mary stepped between the men before somebody decided to plant a fist in Dex's pretty face. "Fine." She turned to Dex. "After I upload the virus at Sensations , getting out of the building won't be a problem, and I can baton out of the area on the back of any bike. We can use a couple of the squids. If Hadrian's security forces take a few of them down, it's no big loss." Three, two, one .
    Michael grabbed the