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

where to hide it, and not to get too much to draw attention to themselves.

Fatigue hung heavy on Ari’s shoulders and she vaguely remembered Patrick taking her drink. As the plane landed, the noise of the other passengers startled Ari awake. With a jolt, she sat up. She had fallen asleep on Patrick’s shoulders. Heat flooded her cheeks as she rubbed the sleep from her face.

“Sorry,” she mumbled into her lap.

“Don’t be. I fell asleep too.” He placed a hand on her forearm and waited for her to look at him.

Her arm tingled at his touch as warm emotions rushed her. She slowly met his eyes, trying to mask how much his touch affected her. Looking into his gaze made it all the more difficult.

“You can’t be embarrassed or guilty every time we touch, especially in this leg of our journey.”

“You’re right. Sorry.” She started to gather her bags, wishing a gigantic hole would swallow her. Her experience with guys was limited and she didn’t need to be like some schoolgirl every time someone touched her. For some reason when Patrick touched her it was different, like it meant something.

“No need to apologize. I just want us to be comfortable with each other. Think of it like a VR. We’re playing a role to blend in. Just like with VisionTech, except this job is for you.” He smiled, his hand still on her arm. People exited the plane around them.

“I can do it.” Ari just needed to push away her stray thoughts and concentrate on the job. Anyone would react to holding hands, it didn’t mean anything.

“I know you can. Come on, sweetie.” He emphasized the nickname with a quick squeeze of her hand, then stood with their bags. “We don’t want to be late.”

Standing, she patted his shoulder remembering his words. This was a role and she needed to play it well. Exiting the plane, she remained at his side and made small talk about the flight and their vacation plans. Nothing concrete, but enough for anyone nearby to take them for a young couple traveling to meet family.

Nearby screens flashed news and security warnings as they walked through the large airport. She recognized one of the news programs and it hit her. She was home. Well, actually thousands of miles north of her home, but she was in the Americas, her home country.

Then a warning flashed across the screen in big text. “Protect yourselves, by reporting suspicious behaviors. Report enemies on the state.” A sinking feeling in her stomach told her she was now one of the enemies of the state.

“Can I help you?” A large guard moved in front of her, his bodycam obviously set in the center of his uniform.

“No, we’re okay.” She couldn’t help but pull back, knowing the software would scan her features to match to the database.

“Yeah, just heading off to meet the family.” Patrick was fast on his feet and pull her into a side hug. “In-laws, huh?”

She followed his lead and turned her head into his chest. Without a clear view of the cam, she should be safer. But she knew it only took a moment to change that.

The guard’s massive presence continued to loom over them for seconds that felt like minutes. “Be on your way,” he said with a dismissive tone and turned off in another direction.

Ari exhaled a sigh of relief.

Patrick held her for another second against his chest before letting go. “We better go.”

As they left the airport, the sun shone high in the sky. It took a moment for Ari to remember what day it was, Wednesday. They took a car to Ryope Industries, where Tessa’s dad worked. Stepping out of the car, Ari strained to see the top of the building. Built with some type of reflective metal, a rainbow of colors danced on the metal depending on the angle of the sun.

“We have time to get a bite before your interview.” Patrick pointed to a small cafe nearby.

“Sounds great, I’d love to freshen up,” Ari said.

They had both packed light, one bag each that sat under the table. She had a new outfit and enough toiletries to wipe away the smell and feeling of spending too much time on a plane.

While she cleaned up, Patrick ordered coffee and food. Ari redid her makeup and hair. She skipped some of the prosthetic makeup pads as they were more visible up close. Yes, they would have cameras around town, but she could get away with big sunglasses to hide her face shape. She kept the contacts in, just in case. If any police asked questions, the contacts protected against retinal scans. Feeling like a new person since the flight, she joined Patrick at a table with coffee and pastries. Ari’s favorite. They sat in the shadow of the Ryope Industries building, going over their plan.

“You think Tessa’s there?” Patrick asked. “I know she went underground, but that doesn’t mean she still isn’t there.”

“Maybe. She was never very close with her father, though.”

“If she’s not there, do you think he’ll remember you?”

Ari struggled not to spit out her drink of coffee and she laughed. It was so loud people began to look. She reined in her response; maybe it was the jetlag. “Yeah,” she finally answered him. “I think I caused enough trouble in his daughter’s life, he’ll remember me. He may not be happy about me showing up, though. Especially if I have to break through security.”

“We’ve traveled too far to worry about happy.” Patrick sipped his dark coffee.

“True.”

“I’m just not sure how going to an appointment for a grunt-level intern position is going to turn into meeting the CEO of the company?” Ari asked, the nerves of this assignment started creeping in, turning into a knot in her stomach.

Joe had set Ari up with an interview with their marketing team. While Ari hoped to find Tessa or her father, Patrick planned on hacking their system nearby. If they could hack the employee logins, they would