The Last Outbreak (Book 1): Awakening Read Online Free PDF Page A

ourselves.”
     
    “Yeah right, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” said the man in the passenger’s seat. “You were just coming through the doors when Joe tossed that guy into the dumpster. You missed the entire thing.”
     
    Griffin again nodded. “True, but someone had to pick up the tab. You degenerates left the booth before I even had a chance to look up.”
     
    “You’re the new guy Griffin, and the new guy always—”
     
    “I’ve known the three of you for less than forty-eight hours, but I can already tell you’re all gonna be a pain in my ass… one question though. How did Joe manage to toss that guy into the dumpster on his own? He had to weigh at least two-hundred pounds.”
     
    “He had help,” said the man in the second row. “That dude came stumbling in through the front doors and right away grabbed at Joe’s face. When Joe turned and pushed him backward, out onto the walkway—that guy slammed his head on the concrete. He slammed it real good. We were all surprised when he got back up on his own.”
     
    “Then the manager came out?” Griffin said.
     
    “Yeah, I guess he’d been bugging some other people in the parking lot. He just kept coming, really drunk. He even tried to bite Joe’s face.”
     
    “What?” the man in the passenger seat asked.
     
    “Yeah, that’s when we came over. He just kept coming back after Joe. We’d push him away and he’d just get up and come back. He never said a word to us.”
     
    “So, you tossed the poor drunk bastard into the dumpster?”
     
    “Yep,” Joe said. “I grabbed his arms and he grabbed his legs. We shoved him inside and then watched him try to climb out. It was actually kind of sad. When he wakes up tomorrow—” Joe was cut short as he again started to cough.
     
    Shoving his right foot down on the brake and leaning out, Joe vomited out a mouthful of blood, the other men wincing as it blew back and covered the driver’s side of the SUV. Finally, careening into the opposite lane, the SUV slowly came to a stop.
     
    “Joe, get in the back,” Griffin said. “You’re done.”
     
    Joe nodded. “Yeah, whatever.”
     
    “I’ll drive,” Griffin said as he began moving toward the second row. “You get in the passenger seat and give me directions to the building. I don’t really care how you feel, we’re getting this done today. You can take a sick day tomorrow, once we’ve all gone our separate ways.”
     
    Joe pushed open the driver’s door before turning back to Griffin and the others. “Just don’t forget who put this thing together. It was my information that led us here. My contacts. My idea. No one else. You’re all here because of me.”
     
    “Joe, you need to—”
     
    “Don’t tell me what I need, I’m giving you more money than you’ll see in ten lifetimes. And for what, a few hours of doing what you’d do for free?” Now looking directly at Griffin, he continued, “You got it?”
     
    “Hey, I’m extremely grateful for you letting me in on this job. I just want to get us there in one piece. So let’s agree that it’s in everyone’s best interest for someone else to get behind the wheel.”
     
    “Eighteen million dollars,” Joe said. “Yes, I know how careful we need to be. I also know that I’m taking the biggest risk. When my brother-in-law finds out that its gone, he’ll be looking for me. Only me.”
     
    “I thought he and your sister split before the actual wedding?”
     
    “Why do you think we’re doing this? My sister is every bit as malicious as the rest of us, she just carries it better. This is her little payback for all his cheating. She’s the real reason this is happening. That poor bastard won’t even know what or who hit him until I’ve dug my toes into the sand—” With the others looking on, Joe was hit mid-sentence with another coughing fit and before they could react, he fell face-first onto the asphalt.
     
    Griffin and the man from the