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

“And those reasons?”

Ari didn’t reply at first. She watched the ripples on the lake as they curved alongside the rocky shore. She swallowed and continued, “I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a relationship, and I heard about your reputation with the first-years. I didn’t want to be another first-year. Not that way.” She couldn’t look at him. Her face burned.

He nodded and continued on the path. “You were right. If you weren’t mature enough to talk to me, it was probably better that you left.”

“Well,” Ari stumbled over her words as he surprised and offended her in the same breath.

Garrett stopped and turned to her. “What do you need?”

“I was hoping you could get me into an unsupervised virtual.”

He watched her, as if dissecting more than she said. “Is this about what happened in the game?”

Ari nodded.

“You freaked me out, Ari. After the game I went to complain about the glitch. Of course, they ignored my protest and gave me a discount for the next game, but they were worried about it for sure. I’m surprised they haven’t contacted you yet.”

“I signed into the game as Tessa’s stepmother.”

“Nice. I wonder if they contacted her?”

Ari remembered how angry Tessa’s father was when he came over. “I think so.”

“I’m surprised you’ve flown under the radar for so long, but most people don’t have a fear of virtuals.”

“Lucky me,” Ari said sarcastically. “So, can you help me?”

He looked her up and down, making her skin crawl. This was the part of him that Ari couldn’t trust, the part of him she didn’t like.

“We’ll need Reed. Instead of changing the time, he’ll have to find a way to get you off grid.”

“I’ll talk to him.” Ari shifted slightly.

Garrett noticed her hesitation. “You mean you haven’t told your boyfriend yet?” He guffawed at the idea. “Okay, I think watching this might be worth it.”

“Whatever.” Ari started to leave.

He caught Ari’s hand. He seemed to be trying to make her uncomfortable and squirm under his grip. Instead, annoyance and anger grew in the pit of her stomach. She was done playing the scared little first-year. She tugged hard and he let go. “When can we do this?”

“My part is pretty easy, letting you in. You need to make sure you cover your trail if you don’t want everyone to know. You won’t be able to keep this quiet for too long, not in your program.”

She ignored that last part. “I’ll let you know after I talk to Reed.” Ari walked away from the lake. A chill ran up her arms, and she wanted to leave.

“I’ll miss having you around,” Garrett said.

Ari paused for a moment, her back to him. In an alternate universe they could have been friends, but not in this one. Garrett pushed too many of her boundaries. She left, not bothering to answer.

Ari wrapped her hands around a peppermint hot chocolate as she sat across from Reed in his room. Marco had never come home the previous night. Reed convinced her that it wasn’t unusual for her brother to sleep in another room for the night. Ari shouldn’t be sidetracked with her brother. Instead she focused on telling Reed how she saw the code and about the recruiter on their date last week.

Reed’s countenance fell at the news. “Why didn’t you tell me this last Friday?”

“I didn’t tell anyone. I don’t think I was ready to believe it myself.”

He set down his drink and leaned back. “Wow ... you’re a warper. You’re sure?”

“Well, no, that’s why I want to go in one more time.”

“And you can’t use the VR lab because ...?”

“Because then the school will know I’m a warper, and who knows what will happen next.” Ari sighed in exasperation. They’d already gone over that before.

“I’m stupid, I guess. When you first asked about scheduling a VR on-site, I thought you wanted an unsupervised VR to be with me.”

The thought had never crossed her mind—even though it was common for most couples.

The next second Reed acted as if the words had never left his mouth. “I thought warpers were a myth. If they worked for the government we would have heard about it, just another specification in our schooling. Maybe that Dave guy was making it up.”

“Maybe, but something is going on with me, and I need to figure it out.” An uneasy feeling turned her stomach as she thought of her unusual abilities.

“I understand. Maybe we could ask someone?”

“Garrett once said he knew a warper that went missing. He’s ready to let me in. I need you to make sure the VR trip isn’t being watched.”

Reed sat up, and Ari realized it was the wrong thing to say.

“You already talked to Garrett?”

“He was there in the game with me when it happened at the Strip. I knew I needed him to get me in.”

“Still ...”

Guilt settled in. In retrospect, she should have talked to Reed first. Things were going so well between them. She wanted to figure this out before it messed things up between them. Guess it had anyway.

Reed turned to face the screen on his desk. “It will take a little bit of work to run an off-grid VR. They have built-in program alerts when we go off grid. It’s easier to change the time or date, but I might be able to work something out.”

“Thanks.” Awkwardness settled in between them. “Do you want to do anything tonight?”

“I’m working with Garrett. Marco hasn’t been around much, so I get the late shift tonight.”

Ari bit her tongue as she almost asked if he wanted her there. If he did, he would have asked her. Reed focused on his computer.

It hurt to leave things between them like this, but it didn’t seem like there was anything she could say. “I’ll see you around.”

“See ya.” Reed faced his screen. Ari walked down the hall in stunned silence. She hadn’t realized Reed would be that mad. Garrett had been right. That idea frightened Ari in