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

a guy that could have been my grandpa if he was still alive. Seriously. Sick.”

“Yeah.” Ari needed to leave, to find some fresh air and think. She didn’t want to tell Reed anything until she knew for herself what was going on.

“Pete will give me a good deal on the book, if you still want it.” Reed watched her, his brow tightening in concern.

Ari pasted on a smile. She never really did have a poker face. “Thanks, but I’m okay. I enjoyed looking at them though.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Okay. Up for dessert?”

“Sure.” She slipped her hand into his.

“Great.” Reed turned and led her towards the door. With her free hand, Ari tucked the card in her back pocket.

Chapter Twenty

Another long week passed. A week full of sleepless nights. A week full of Ari telling herself lies, trying to convince herself that contacting Dave was a mistake. That if she kept everything to herself, nothing would change.

Saturday, Ari woke early to a dark and cloudy sky. Tessa snored softly, her rumpled purple hair strewn all over her pillow made her look like she’d had a wild night—even though Ari knew it was spent in front of her computer screen.

Ari headed out the door, hoping for an early start on studying. She grabbed a coffee from the vending machine and headed to the student VR lab on the sixth floor. She swiped her bracelet and the large metallic door slid open for her.

She checked in with the groggy aide who assigned a room for her to work in. “Call me if you need anything.” He took another drink of his coffee.

“I got it.” Sometimes Ari struggled hooking herself in, but she managed to do it by herself. It felt too intimate, too close for a stranger.

Ari walked down the maroon and silver corridor, with large screens mounted on the walls flashing various announcements. “Tutoring help offered Saturday afternoons 12-5” one screen displayed. The screen flipped images then, “Career day January 18th.” Ari paused at the monitor. She tapped on it and swiped her bracelet to send herself a reminder.

Her thoughts drifted back to the recruiter from VisionTech, Dave. Could she trust him? She didn’t know. Ari wasn’t sure if she was really a warper, but she could see the code. She wasn’t sure what happened in the game with Garrett, but she needed to figure it out. Dave’s promises about her mother lingered with her all morning.

For the first time in her life she wanted to go back in the VR. She wanted to see if she really was what Dave had said, a warper. She remembered his warning though and had second thoughts as she waited outside her assigned door. Her student card hung precariously over the scanner. Should she chance it? She didn’t quite believe Dave. If he really was a recruiter, his only goal would be for her to sign a contract. There had to be other companies to work with. Maybe even working with the government wouldn’t be that bad. The card shook in her hand, and her gut turned with unease.

Unsure of who to trust or what to do, she turned and left the lab. The student aide at the desk had nodded off next to a cup of coffee. Ari left her dorm and zipped up her jacket as the freezing wind cut against her face. She headed towards Reed’s dorm thinking he might be able to sneak her into a virtual that wasn’t being watched, but then remembered Reed handled security. He didn’t have the keys for an offline VR. But Garrett did.

The pit of her stomach sank, and her pace slowed as she realized she had to ask Garrett for a favor, to face a conversation she had been avoiding for weeks. She walked into the tech center. The same place she had visited on the first day of school with the same trepidation rising but for different reasons.

Ari spun the ring on her finger, the one that Garrett had given her. Tessa had told her the real cost of the ring that turned into an earpiece along with other cool tricks. Ari couldn’t afford another one of her own. Practicality won out. Besides, she didn’t blame Garrett for what happened between them, not really. He was who he was. It was Ari who wasn’t ready for that type of physical relationship with someone she’d just met.

With wide eyes, Garrett couldn’t hide his surprise when Ari entered the room. Self-consciously Ari tugged at her messy ponytail. But she found solace in his wrinkly shirt and messy hair. His hair jet black looked a little shorter.

A condescending smile curled on his lips. “To what do I owe this great pleasure? Your HUB broke or something?”

“You got a haircut.” Ari regretted the remark as soon as it left her lips.

“Huh? So that’s how we’re going to do this?” He played with a pen in his fingers. “Yes, I did get a haircut. How nice of you to notice.” His tone was much sharper than his words.

“Can we talk? In private?”

He arched an eyebrow and turned back into that mischievous, cute little boy again. “Sure, let’s go for a walk.” He typed something into the computer and then hollered to the back. “Keyton, I’m going on break. Listen for the door.”

He shoved something in his pocket and walked around the tall silver counter. After you, he motioned, and Ari led the way through the door. Ari headed towards the lake, hoping the shore would be empty this early. Garrett maintained a forced distance but kept up with Ari. She bit the inside of her lip trying to figure out a way to begin.

Once the lake was in sight, Garrett stopped walking. “So is this all about my grooming habits?”

“I’m sorry,” Ari blurted out.

Garrett’s face froze with no emotion, and then he continued on the path around the lake without a word.

Ari kept up next to him. “I had my reasons to leave, but I shouldn’t have