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

“Maybe. Maybe your past sins have led us here.” She hoped she didn’t give too much away. Not that there was anything he could do about it now, and by tomorrow morning he would have realized what they had taken.

“Are you telling me you’re an angel come to exact vengeance?” He chuckled, which turned into a cough. Then his bloodshot eyes turned to her body. “Although with that body you could be an angel or a devil.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned to another table of junk to sort through; mostly takeout wrappers.

“Have you ever made a mistake? Like hitting on men then stealing from them?”

It was her turn to chuckle. She didn’t bother answering his question but continued looking through his stuff.

“You’ve never done anything you regret?” His voice sounded scratchy and raw, but more sober than she liked.

Her hands stilled for a moment. “Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone’s mistakes kill.” She pushed aside her history at VisionTech. She never willingly hurt anyone.

She glanced back to find him still sitting on his kitchen floor watching her. He didn’t have a HUB on to call anyone and there was no other tech in his hand. He didn’t look too worried about being robbed. He was silent, but his eyes looked calculating. Even drugged he was probably still a genius. Anyone who could have created that virus had to be smart. Though, after his behavior lately, she wasn’t positive.

“What are you here for?” A small beeping emitted from the bedroom. After a second, his eyes widened. “You can’t be here for that. Do you know what you’ve done?”

She finally hit where he was sensitive. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“You’ve alerted them.”

Chapter 24

The clarity and fear in Echo’s voice made Ari’s chest tighten. “Who is them?”

He swallowed and blinked a couple of times as if trying to clear his head. “Hey, guys. Stop what you’re doing. Stop!”

The short beeps continued, all the more unnerving to Ari because they were not loud like an alarm, but quiet and regular like a countdown.

She stood in front of Echo, commanding his presence. “What are you talking about? Who are they?”

“Whoever paid me to create it. Stupid girl. Did you really think you could just copy it?” Echo’s features hardened, his eyes dark and angry.

“Or take your whole hard drive with us.”

“They would still come. One way or another.” Echo swore and frantically looked at the exits. “They have built-in security to alert them if I try to move or copy any of my research. They only let me keep it because they needed a recent update.”

Marco appeared in the doorway. “What’s he’s hollering about?”

“Stop what you guys are doing.” Ari avoided using first names after she referred to Joe. “There may be more security than we know in place. That beeping is freaking him out.”

“It’s already done.” Marco came out of the bedroom. “We’re just finishing checking the other drive.”

“You’re all freaking dead.” Echo rolled to his hands and knees, struggling to get up.

“Watch yourself, big guy. Don’t make me shoot you up again,” Ari warned.

“With what? Clayvox? Is that what you used on me? It might work for normal people, but I hit a double dose every night just to go to bed.” No matter what he said, Echo still wasn’t standing upright. He had a hand on a counter, one knee down on the floor, and breathing hard.

Marco started towards him, but Ari put a hand out. “Wait. I don’t think he wants to hurt us. He’s trying to warn us.”

“About what?” Joe appeared, wearing a small backpack.

“You got what you need?” Marco asked, his gaze still on Echo.

“Yes.”

“We need to go now,” Ari stepped back. “He said there was a trigger on that program. Alerting someone.”

“I disabled it,” Joe said.

“Then why do I still hear that incessant beeping?” Ari struggled to keep her voice calm.

Echo chuckled and it turned into a deep cough. “No. They know. Trust me. They are darker and bigger than I ever thought. I wanted to take VR to the next level, instead I gave them a weapon that kills through the wires.”

“Let’s go.” Marco tapped Ari’s arm and, with one last look at Echo, turned to leave.

“Is there another way out of the building?” Ari turned to Echo who now stood at the counter, sweat dripping down his temple.

He had some type of TAB in his hand and tossed it in his mouth. “No, sweetheart. The only way is through them.”

In horror, she watched him swallow another pill. She didn’t know what it would do, but Ari felt responsible. She started forward to help.

Then with a sudden grunt, he fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

“No.” Marco grabbed her hand. “I don’t know what he took, but we can’t save him.”

Echo’s breaths came out in ragged gasps and part of Ari wondered if anyone could save him. Would those who they alerted fix him up so he could work some more or just roll him out with the morning trash and find another hacker?

“I didn’t mean to push him over the edge.” She swallowed bile creeping up her throat and told herself Marco was right. Yet somehow, she felt like the catalyst to all this. Like she played a part, no matter how small, in this man’s death. Marco pulled her to the exit, the beeping a continued warning they were not out of danger. With one last look at this hacker she would never forget, she turned to follow her brother.

Once out of the apartment, Marco placed something in her hand. It was an electric gun, light and sleek. See didn’t have as much experience with guns, but she could manage. She also had the knife in her boot, but she hoped she wouldn’t get close enough to use it.

As the beeping noise faded behind the apartment door, the rush of a plane sounded overhead. She frantically looked at the two guys. “Is that what I think it