The Serophim Breach (The Serophim Breach Series) Read Online Free Page A

sobbing and unable to cry out. He could barely move, and all around him he saw smears of his own blood. A snarl rose up from the driveway behind him, and he looked to see his attacker regain his footing. Miles had expected some huge, hulking PCP addict. Instead, he saw a middle-aged man with thick gray hair, wearing what had probably been a white lab coat. It was now covered in dirt, and a large dark spot spread across the crotch of his pants. Shoving away his confusion, Miles continued his panicked scramble toward the door. The attacker bared his teeth and jabbered at Miles as he advanced. A small detached part of Miles’s brain saw that the attacker was missing most of his right ear and wondered if that meant he wasn’t the madman’s first victim.
    Miles jerked his head at the sound of another gurgling cry. Behind them on the driveway, the tweaker he had so quickly forgotten was struggling to follow. He too was shouting incoherently, working his jaw from side to side as he clambered across the pavement, swiping at Miles’s feet. He couldn’t form any coherent thoughts through the pain; the last of his strength drained out of him as he realized that he would not make it to Trent’s door.
    The last thing he saw clearly was the attacker lunge forward, mouth gaping. The force of his assault slammed Miles’s head into the pavement again. His vision shrank to the size of pinholes. As the day darkened around him, he felt his skin tearing away, the pain reaching him slowly, as if from a great distance. He was conscious much longer than he wanted to be.

Two
    Honolulu, Hawaii—October 17
     
    Kai could taste the familiar tinge of frustration in the back of his throat as he pulled the second large suitcase out of the truck bed. His father stood on the curb, checking his tickets, and Brandon leaned against the driver’s side door, staring into space. The airport in Honolulu was an aggravating place to visit for any local, and Kai was doing his best to ignore the tourist chatter that flooded in from all sides. He caught the scent of plumeria for a moment as a young couple walked by, decked out in leis, heading for the huge red bus that belched smoky fumes into the air.
    “You could help out, dumbass,” Kai grumbled at Brandon.
    His younger brother moved slowly, bringing his fists to his eyes and grinding them into the sockets as if he were a two-year-old waking from a nap. Kai dropped the bags at his father’s feet, and the older man started, then smiled at his son, embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and peered at the screen, saying, “Mike called. Can you pick up the feed on your way home?”
    Kai pushed his hair out of his eyes, nodding. “Sure, Pop.”
    His father looked around vacantly, patting all his pockets starting at his chest. Kai grinned.
    “Dad, don’t worry about it. We got it under control.”
    He reached out for his father’s hand and shook it, squeezing as hard as he could. He could feel the older man return the pressure, and they both grimaced at each other. Then his father yanked him into a bear hug. For a moment, he felt like he had when he was small, and his father had been a giant.
    “See you Sunday,” Kai said.
    Over his father’s shoulder, he saw Brandon look up, bleary-eyed. He blinked a few times, eyes starting to clear. He pushed away from the truck and stuck his arms out to hug his father.
    “See you in a week, Gary,” he said, smiling quietly. The two men exchanged a stiff embrace, and then Brandon shuffled away, heading back to the passenger side door. Kai watched his brother go, his brows knitted together. Next to him, his father said quietly, “Why do you think he’s doing that? Is he upset with me?”
    Something was clearly wrong with Brandon. It had only been a few months since they had picked him up at this same airport, college diploma in hand, and he had been brimming with enthusiasm. He had talked nonstop the whole way back home, telling