Hard Wired Trilogy by DeAnna Pearce (smart books to read .TXT) 📕

It shook her out of her melancholy. No use in worrying about tomorrow. “Just lost in my thoughts. I’m good.”

“Come by my office tonight if you could. I’d like to discuss something with you.” He walked off with dishes in hand.

A heavy feeling sank to the bottom of her stomach. What would he want to talk about? Was Marco right? Did Patrick still hold feelings for her? He couldn’t really think she’d be ready for a relationship so soon after leaving Reed back there.

She sipped her water and pushed away the thoughts. Getting stuck in her head didn’t help things. Instead, she turned her attention to Sketchy and Sue.

Sketchy scratched his head and then put his cap back on top. “After my buddy messed with my translator, he snuck it back in my bag. So, while I was trying to sell my old car, they thought I meant my wife. If I had known when they asked how much my wife cost, I would have never said, cheap, cheap. I would have said, free, free.”

Sue whacked him on the arm, while the table roared in laughter. Sketchy acted like he had been mortally wounded. Ari couldn’t help but join in.

“You should have seen Marco as a boy,” Ari’s mother said as she came back in from the kitchen. “Every time I turned around, he was in trouble again. If I didn’t get a call from the teacher every week, I had to make sure he attended classes.”

“I can see that.” Tricky gave Marco a sly smile.

“You should have seen the day everyone was supposed to have a special lecture from the government, via VR. Marco switched out the programs—” Ari couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up from the memory.

“Hey, they didn’t have a good naming system for their files,” Marco protested.

Ari held up a hand to quiet him. “He switched out the programs, but the audio still kept with the original government program. While the kids hear the yearly announcement from our government leaders, they got the visual of a sexual education virtual. I was in the library, the only kid not plugged in, so I heard the continued snickering from all the way down the hall. It took the teachers a good ten minutes to realize their lecture wasn’t that funny.”

Another round of laughter filled the room.

Marco stood to clear his plate. “I’m innocent until proved guilty.”

“You are never innocent,” Ari said with a smile.

“Well it was good for the kids. If the President isn’t good birth control, I don’t know what is,” Marco said.

Laughter erupted out of Ari at the memory of their President with his curly black hair and oversized nose. Laugher that made her belly ache, and she savored every second of it.

Chapter 29

Dinner went longer than usual with jokes and stories that rang into the night. Catching glimpses of who her teammates were before they came here, only endeared them to Ari more. Everyone came from vast backgrounds and carried different experiences and assets. Ari would bet money that Joe was a full blown ninja in his previous life.

She mulled over these warm thoughts until she found herself at Patrick’s door. Anxiety crept around the edges of her mind, and she scolded herself for being a coward and hit the buzzer on the keypad.

The door slid open, and he spoke from another room. “Come on in. I’ll be there in a moment.”

She walked into the front office with the familiar desk littered with HUBS, screens, and other tools. She didn’t want to pry, but she couldn’t help but see the partially packed bag on the chair.

He walked in, hair damp from a recent shower, and dressed in jeans and shirt. “Sorry about the mess.” He moved the bag and offered her the chair.

“You going somewhere?” She motioned to the bag.

“Yes.” He continued holding the back of the chair for her. “I’m leaving tonight to reach out to our most promising hardware guy for help. I can’t risk plugging anyone in until we know we are safe.”

“Of course.” Ari took the seat.

He patted her shoulder once, friendly and brief. Then Patrick moved behind the desk and shuffled some of the hardware out of the way. “You probably wonder why I called you in here.”

“I do.”

He glanced away for a moment and took a deep breath. “I know in the past things have been awkward with us. Especially with how we first met. Pretending to be romantically involved, even if not with our true identities, started us out on an interesting foot. In retrospect, I don’t think it was one of my wisest recruitment methods.”

“Oh.” She supposed he was right, but it shouldn’t have mattered. She had Reed, or she used to have Reed.

“Anyway, that is behind us. While I do care for you, I think we need to focus on the next step with the team.”

“Okay? Not to be rude, but why are you telling me this.” Again, she added mentally as it felt as if they had covered this already.

“Because you’re still avoiding me. Flinching when I barely touch you.” He looked at the shoulder he recently tapped.

“Sorry.” She didn’t think she was so obvious.

“No need to apologize. I also catch you looking at me sometimes, with that contemplative gaze. The same one I’m sure you’ve caught me doing. There may be something there, but neither of us can afford to be distracted by that right now. For us to work closely together, we need to have everything clear between us. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She let a shaky breath go. He was right, but talking about it created an uneasiness in her, like admitting there was something there. Something she wasn’t ready to do. “I agree. Let’s focus on work.”

“Good.” He grabbed a tablet off the tablet. “I should be gone for two days, three tops, but I realized after your disappearance that if anything should happen to me, I should be prepared.”

“Is it that dangerous? Shouldn’t you take