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

Harini and Ari, you two can help Blur and work on some identities for when we make contact.”

“My pleasure.” Harini flashed Ari a smile. She knew how important this was for Ari.

“Let’s meet later tonight to go over first impressions and hopefully have a plan in place by next week. I’ll be point,” Patrick said.

“Of course,” Tricky mumbled as she kept her eyes on her plate.

“What was that?” Patrick lifted a brow.

Tricky huffed and lifted her gaze to meet his. “You’ve taken more chances on Ari than anyone else. It’s no surprise you’d take another risk by reaching out to her family.” She turned to Ari. “No offense, Ari. I like you on the team, but it’s the truth and it needs to be said.”

“We’re a team. She has a right to know her family is safe,” Patrick said calmly.

“We all took care of that ourselves,” Tricky said.

“Don’t be bitter because you don’t have a family,” Harini pointed out.

Tricky glared at her.

“We all have family,” Patrick emphasized. “This is our family, and we help each other. If you need or want to say something more, talk to me after, Tricky.”

“I said my piece.” Tricky dusted off the crumbs from her sandwich.

Ari didn’t blame her. Searching for her family would be work for everyone. And while Tricky may be abrupt or short, Ari always knew where she stood. She was almost like her old trainer, Niomi in that respect. Maybe that’s why Ari felt comfortable around her.

She turned to her teammates at the table. “Thank you guys for helping.”

“Anytime sweetheart,” Sketchy winked at her. If anyone else on the team did that and it would be creepy, but with Sketchy’s aged face, heavy brows, and tilted hat, it was cute.

“Thanks.” She smiled back.

“If we’re all going to go bat-shit crazy, we might as well do it together.” And that was Sketchy.

Ari never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.

Patrick’s smile tightened. “With that happy thought, let’s get to work.”

Chapter 4

Everyone worked hard the following days. Any tension that Tricky brought up over that lunch dissipated as they focused on their jobs. It was one of the first things Ari noticed when she arrived, how well everyone worked together.

Ari worried that she’d throw the dynamic off, but now looking back, she could see Patrick wouldn’t let her. He was a respected leader who provided a safe environment for the team.

It had been a long time since Ari truly felt safe. And she trusted Patrick and the team because they were like her: nowhere to go, no one to trust, and no one who knew what it was like to be them.

The days flew by as they searched for any word of Tessa, Marco, or her mother online. Sketchy repeatedly volunteered to go gaming in one of Tessa’s worlds, but no one trusted him not to get lost. So instead, they trolled gaming boards.

By the time of their meeting on Wednesday, they all had a lot of information and ideas. They met in Patrick’s office, a small room filled with a round table and a large board in the front. He stood in front of the screen. “I think the best place to start is Blur. How bad is the pressure on Ari’s family?”

Blur’s blond hair stood in a high wave, as though he hadn’t washed it all week. His beat-up shirt and old sneakers made him look young, like some fifteen-year-old kid, not an expert in security. “There are several parties watching for any sign of them. One mention of their name flags a host of lures online. There are people crawling all over Tessa’s games. She went underground a few months ago, no longer playing. She keeps the games running for residual income but otherwise hasn’t made any public appearances. It’s going to be extremely hard to reach them online.”

“Not what I hoped for, but not a surprise either.” Patrick turned to Ari. “What do you think?”

Ari straightened in her seat. Even though she’d been working on skins to use, she had also been thinking a lot about this. “I think our best bet is through Tessa’s dad. He is still a public figure and could be easy to contact. Tessa always stayed in contact with him despite their differences. Or even Reed’s mom may know something. She’s still living in my hometown. It won’t be easy, but we could possibly reach her through her job though.”

“Both of those people are being watched by some high-tech programs,” Blur said. “They will be notified if anyone new contacts them. Unless we have a clean person, and I mean squeaky clean, that isn’t a viable option.”

“Then we contact them and wait for their suspicions to die down.” Ari couldn’t just give up.

Blur’s frustration was evident in his voice. “This is the long game, Ari. Their interest won’t just die down.”

Before she could counter, Patrick held a finger up, his brows pulled together in a thoughtful expression. They all quieted. “Joe, I know you’ve spent most of your time with Tricky and Maxim, but what’s your input?”

“I agree with Blur,” he began, and Ari fell back in the sofa with a thud. He ignored her and continued. “There is no way to reach out electronically. The only way for contact is in person, with Tessa being the easiest target.”

In person? Ari straightened, her hope rebounding. “I can do it!”

“No,” Patrick said, almost at the same time. He didn’t even look at her. “It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s the only way. I can do it.” Her heart raced at the possibility of seeing Tessa or her home again.

Patrick searched the faces of the team. “There has to be another way.” Patrick always trusted Joe’s opinion, though. He may be quiet, but what he did have to say held a lot of weight.

Blur scratched at the weak start of a beard. “Now that you say it, Joe, it makes sense. They are focusing a great deal of their energy online. They’d never expect Ari