Hard Wired Trilogy DeAnna Pearce (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📖

countered the effects that warping took on a body. Not that it kept them safe. With warping, many a mind was still lost. Ari thought of Sketchy in particular, a thirty-something warper that they lived with. She would take anything that would help increase her chances.

“Here, let me help you up.” Patrick helped with a hand under her elbow.

She tried to ignore his proximity and the fluttering in her stomach. At first, she thought the chemistry between them was because he was attractive. With his smooth skin, strong jaw, and chocolate eyes, no one would disagree he was good-looking. Even though they hadn’t pursued a relationship, guilt gnawed at her. Guilt from the fact they kissed in a virtual reality program when they both pretended to be someone else. Guilt that she left her boyfriend, Reed, on an island in the middle of the Pacific.

No. It didn’t matter. They were friends, that was all.

“I’m okay.” She waved him off. “Thank you for the drink. I’m going to go outside for a bit, I think.”

“Okay. I should probably go check on Tricky.”

“Good luck with that,” Ari said, meaning it.

Tricky had worked on this since well before Ari joined the team, and she didn’t take disappointment well.

Ari just needed a few minutes to unwind and let Tricky cool down before she dealt with that mess. Leaving the VR room, she passed through the gym. Usually she’d get in a run or hit on the workout dummy for a while. Exercise helped keep a warper’s mind fresh when they used their ability in the virtual. It was just one of a few tools they used to fight the effects of warping. But today, the empty gym felt too confined. Crossing the gym floor that took up the majority of the basement, she headed up the stairs to the main level. When Patrick first brought her to this home, she was blown away by the size and scope of this so-called cabin.

Patrick’s cabin was actually a large mountain home outside of a small town in the Northern Americas, more north than anything Ari knew existed. It had two stories on top with a myriad of bedrooms, a large kitchen and dining room, and enough tech to make Ari’s old grade school look bad. Not that that was difficult given where she came from.

Yet living in the mountains gave her a sense of security and freedom she never had before. Setting her mug down on the entry table, she zipped up her jacket. She rubbed her arms, grabbed her drink, and headed out.

“Another walk?” Sketchy whittled on the porch. The small piece of wood looked like a donkey head morphing into the Hindu symbol for love. As he focused on his work, his cap was pulled low with his peppered colored hair sticking out. The faded tattoo on his hand peeked out of his glove.

“Yeah.” Ari sipped the warm drink. “Just need to stretch my legs.”

“Stretch, stretch, stretch. Just like a rubber band.” He continued talking but in Russian, where Ari assumed he was from.

She smiled, but he didn’t bother looking up. “Have a good day.” Part of her hated calling him Sketchy, which everyone did except his wife. Sue called him love but said she didn’t mind the nickname.

Names and identities could be worth a lot. And even though Sketchy’s mind was missing a few beats, it didn’t mean those he cared about were in the clear. Nicknames were safer.

Stepping down the path, she breathed in the chilly mountain air. The tightness in her mind loosened as she continued over the muddy ground. The winter snow recently faded, making way for all the green and left a damp wet path for Ari to follow. Turning to the right, she took a narrow path up and waved at the security cam along the way. Patrick or Joe would be notified that it was alerted and double check the movement. Still climbing, her legs ached from their previous inactivity as she found her usual spot.

Her endurance had improved since she arrived, even though the quarter mile hike left her breathing hard. But standing next to the thick grouping of pine trees and looking down the valley below… it was so worth it.

Chapter 3

A small village, from where they got most of their supplies, nestled amid the vast mountain range. Thick trees surrounded Ari, providing security, but from her point of view, she saw freedom. This beautiful town was a mirage of normalcy which she knew would be always out of her grasp.

Watching the town, she realized she didn’t want a fresh start here with Patrick and his team. While she was grateful for all that they did for her, letting her use her ability when and how she wanted, she didn’t want to start fresh. She wanted to save the life she used to have. The problem was last time it almost killed her.

As a small child, Ari had always enjoyed listening as her mother read stories of daring adventures, magical creatures, and picturesque worlds. While Ari’s father would just tell Ari to turn on the electronic narration feature, her mother would always turn it off and read to her daughter. Her mother’s voice would change between characters, turning gruff during the dark parts, and flowing over the happy ever-afters.

Looking down at the valley below, Ari could hear her mother’s voice flowing over these gorgeous hills, down around the idyllic lake, and curl into these petite houses whose flower beds had just begun to grow. There would be a hard-working father, a loving mother, and two or three children in this story. There may be magical monsters, or not, but each day they would cuddle in front of a live fire and listen to their mother tell stories. This daydream of Ari’s had carried her through many a hard time these past weeks.

For when the fairytale ended, she’d be left with the realization she was in a foreign country surrounded by people she barely knew