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

“It’s not safe.”

He set down his water and turned to her. “I’m not going to reveal others’ secrets but let me tell you how much work it was to acquire them on the team.”

“Really? I though Tricky and Blur just showed up one day.”

He chuckled. “That’s how they like to tell it. But it took hours to convince them it was safe. Then thousands of cryptos to make sure their past remained in the past. Don’t let the others intimidate you. They all had quite a ride ending up here.”

“What about you?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized just how personal the request was. He did already know everything there was about her though.

“Me, huh?” He smiled, which took her off guard, like her question meant more than she intended.

“I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just I don’t know much about you, and you know everything about me.”

“Not everything. I have no clue what your favorite ice cream is.”

“This isn’t about me.” She took a drink. “It’s cookie dough, by the way.”

“Good to know.” He nodded his approval, then paused if weighing his words. “Alright. What do you want to know?”

“Do you have any siblings, parents?”

“No siblings. Yes, I have both parents. They figured about my ability at a young age and hid it as well as they could. My background was in security and information systems. I knew I had to learn as much as possible to protect myself. As soon as I was of age, I left. I connected with others, Harini was the first one I met. The others have joined in the last three years.”

“Do you ever see your parents?” Ari couldn’t imagine never seeing her family again.

“We stay in touch. They have their lives and I have mine. But they know I’m safe, and that’s more than they could give me at home.” A soberness drew his face down.

“That must have been hard.”

He rubbed a hand over his face and shed any trace of emotion. “It is what it is. Your path hasn’t been a walk in the park.”

“No one had it easy.”

“It’s easier together.” His gaze traveled to her sandwich. “You going to finish that? We probably should head out.”

Taking another bite, she smiled at him.

Soon they packed up and continued into the small town of Sonuvik. On the edge of town, they dumped the bike in a storage locker and continued the rest of the way on foot. They got into town just as the sun began setting.

Daylight didn’t last long this far north. It was a drastic change from her hometown and even the island. Sonuvik was a quaint village that appeared to care more for character and history than tech. Upon closer inspection, they just hid it better. Instead of a tacky electronic sign, this lounge had a wood carved sign—an almost antique look in this modern era. People crowded the streets as they drew closer to the airport.

Like the rest of this town, the airport mixed time periods with real beauty. The building looked like some type of cottage out of a fairy tale with white paint, wood shingle roof, and flowers everywhere. As they entered the airport, the floral décor continued, bringing a sweet scent to the air.

The back portion of the building consisted of a large window to the planes outside. Huge, dark silver planes sat among the gorgeous gardens in the back. Ari stopped in place, as a large plane just lifted vertically in the sky before shooting across the horizon. She watched in awe, anticipation crawling up her spine.

When she finally pulled her attention away from the planes, she realized Patrick continued towards the ticket counter. He turned, waiting for her. As she closed the gap between them, he reached for her hand.

“Sorry. I got distracted.” A tingle traveled up her arm at his touch and she stared at his hand, on the verge of saying something. But his soft touch interrupted her train of thought.

“We need to be careful. A couple traveling together will blend in better. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Reed, but we need people to assume we’re together.” He motioned to his hand.

“You’re right.” She continued next to him, telling herself she overreacted.

As they checked in, a shiver had her zipping up jacket. She didn’t welcome the uncomfortable feeling of getting trapped with strangers in a big metal can. She ignored her nervous fear. Getting on the plane here would be easy compared to getting off back in her home country. A country that wanted her trapped behind bars and doing their bidding. Yes, she told her nerves, this was just the start.

Chapter 6

As the plane took off, an exhilaration gripped her. Watching the plane tear through the clouds felt surreal. She spent the first hour just staring through the window.

Twenty hours and three planes later, she sipped on a carbonated beverage to fight off the nausea coiling in her stomach as they entered her home country of the Americas. Flying was shorter than driving but left a bigger electronic trail. Evidently a direct two-hour flight would be too dangerous. Ari finally learned the meaning of the word jet-lagged.

“Last flight.” Patrick patted her leg in reassurance.

She moaned. “Thank God.”

“You could be on a boat again, and it’d take even longer.”

“True.” Ari hated to complain since this whole trip was for her. Even the cost of this trip wasn’t anything she could ever imagine. Joe oversaw the team’s finance. He said everything he did was technically legal. Ari assumed his version of legal and the law’s version may differ. As a warper, he could listen in on a lot of conversations and back room deals. Joe didn’t believe insider trading was an issue, since the laws varied greatly from country to country.

Since Ari benefited from his endeavors, she didn’t complain. Given the cost for their abilities, she didn’t blame him either. Money was never an issue for Patrick’s team, the only challenge was