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

mostly, reflex like when someone looks just like your best friend and you can’t help but do a double-take.

As she turned, the familiar-looking guy with a strong jaw and light brown hair scattered with gold turned slightly to glance in a nearby window. This was no doppelganger. It was Reed.

Chapter 13

Heart speeding, reality ticked by like it always does, and Ari just stared. Reed’s hazel eyes scanned the store window as if he was looking for someone. For an instant, Ari wanted to strip her electronic skin and stand in front of him as herself. A woman on the street stole Reed’s attention, and his lips pulled up in a smile. God, Ari had missed that smile.

“I think I found something.” Tricky remained at the table, not aware of the significance of Ari’s silence.

“One second.” Ari walked out the storefront towards Reed. He had been in her thoughts every day since she lost him. What was he doing here? Why would VisionTech have him in VLEX?

Mere feet from Reed, she stopped. Was it a trap? VisionTech could have put him inside to get her. A trap she was tempted to walk into, damn the consequences. Biting her lower lip, she remembered her responsibilities and glanced at Tricky who looked focused and angry.

Ari struggled for a minute between finding out more about Reed and her responsibility to the team. He glanced up at her, as if feeling the weight of her gaze, and smiled. And for a moment she bought it, his soft lips drawing her in. Yet, something was off. There was no pull at the corner of his mouth that would make his smile a bit crooked. As he turned back to his conversation with the other woman, Ari noticed his stance looked off too, more relaxed. Reed would never be this relaxed in VLEX.

She blinked, focusing her vision to the code that surrounded her but couldn’t find much out. This was the skin he entered with. This person wearing Reed’s skin wasn’t a warper, but that was just like everyone else who come in. This was a skin, maybe with only the eyes changed or the whole package. Either way it wasn’t Reed. Or was it?

Ari. The pained words from Tricky pushed through Ari’s thoughts, a trick only warpers could do. Ari spun around and hurried back inside to find Tricky with her head in her hands.

Ari rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”

Tricky voice came out in a pained, almost horse, whisper. “They are in my mind.” She looked up, her eyes bloodshot. “Get help.”

Again, focusing on the code, Ari couldn’t figure out what code was attacking Tricky. Something was keeping her friend trapped here in this program while it attacked her.

As she was trying to break the invisible chains on Tricky, the foreign code started towards Ari. A blinding pain started in her forehead. As a warper she could manipulate the code, change it as quick as a painter with a swipe of the brush. As she tried to delete the code that entered her mind, the pain increased. If Tricky couldn’t fight this, Ari didn’t know what she could do.

“Get. Help.” Tricky bit out the world, and Ari knew she meant Blur.

Ari pulled out of the program while she still could. Back in reality, spots danced in front of her vision. “Help Tricky!” she shouted as she yanked out her own cable.

“What’s going on?” Patrick rushed to Tricky’s side.

“Pull her out.” Ari almost fell out of her chair, and she fought the pain in her head to get to Tricky. “Pull out the cable!”

With a quick twist of hand, he pulled it out. He began to say something, but Ari could no longer understand him. All of a sudden, Marco was holding her as her legs turned to mush and the world spun dark around her.

Ari must have passed out, because when she woke she found herself lying on the ground. Her head was in Marco’s lap and Patrick stood over her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. She felt alright, just a headache that often accompanied use of her abilities.

“What happened?” The words came out gravely and she wished for a cup of water.

“You passed out.” Marco’s brow rumpled with worry, an unusual look for him.

“I’m in the real. I’m back.” Accidentally speaking her mantra out loud, she wasn’t sure if those were questions or statements. Sitting up, her headache increased, but nothing unbearable.

“You’re in the real. What happened in there? Tricky is still out.” With gentle hands, Patrick helped her up and moved her to a nearby chair.

Sue, the best medic they had, and Blur, stood over Tricky. An IV was placed in her arm, giving her nutrients that helped that the stress warping placed on the brain.

“She was searching for Maxim and said she found something. Then I got distracted…” She didn’t know if she wanted to mention Reed right now. Not with Tricky still unconscious.

“Distracted.” The way Patrick said it, Ari knew he wasn’t going to forget.

“Tricky called out to me and by the time I made it to her she was frozen. There was a code of some sort attacking her, keeping her inside VLEX.”

“What did she say exactly?”

Ari bit her lip, remembering the fear in her words. “They are in my mind.”

Blur snapped his head towards her words, his eyes wide with panic. “What the hell did they do to my sister?”

“I don’t know…”

He stepped towards Ari. “You saw the code, you said? What was it?”

“I’m not sure. Why the hell did I not notice this sooner?” Ari wondered if Reed was there on purpose to distract her. Trying to figure this out didn’t help her headache, but how could she complain of a headache when at least she woke up. Trick’s gorgeous white-blonde hair hung down to the side of the chair, while Sue continued to check her over.

Patrick turned to Sue. “Is it a classic VR coma?”

“Her vitals are stable, but no. It’s different. In a