Razor Jack’s had been her original plan and it was still the best choice. Her money was there and she might be able to buy protection from the Jack.
Killian’s warning about the corporation outbidding her echoed in her mind. Had spurning his aid been a huge mistake?
She couldn’t forget that he’d blamed her twenty-four hours ago. His kindness could have been a ploy to get her to trust him.
It was late and she was tired. Tired, overwhelmed, and way out of her depth. Her training hadn’t covered running from a major global power.
She looked back toward the house. Warm bed, good food, hot man. All that waited for her if she went back. But what would it cost her?
Fear, uncertainty, and a lifetime on the run waited for her on the road. Running would cost her friends, her job, and her home—everything. Except maybe her freedom if she stayed at least one step ahead. Stay in a gilded cage or risk it all for freedom?
Forward it was.
A block from Killian’s, she opened the bike up. The tension riding her eased and her laughter rang out into the night as she and the bike pivoted around curves and corners as though they were one. This was where she belonged.
Damn, this was one beautiful bike.So much power!
Dizzie held to the speed limit, although it nearly killed her to do so on a few wide-open stretches. She couldn’t afford the kind of attention the Excel at full force would bring.
She aimed for Razor Jack’s. The bar was located on the seedier side of town, a part of Seattle that had resisted change and gentrification, no matter how hard the corporations tried.
Toggling her optical display on, she cycled through the traffic screens. Her current location was quiet and there was no unusual activity between her and the bar. As she zoomed out, a cursor blinked in her field of vision.
What the hell?That had never happened before.
She flipped through the traffic screens again. The blinking cursor showed up on every single one.
Fuck! It had to be some kind of glitch.
Her stomach sank.
The only way to fix it or reboot it was back at headquarters. The one place she couldn’t go.
Maybe the Jack knew someone who could fix it. More money flowing out of her account. She sighed. Not something she could worry about right now.
The flashing white bar was distracting, but she was afraid to turn the system off. What if it never came back on?
The cursor moved in her periphery, leaving letters in its wake.
STOP. No RZ. TC waits.
Her breath caught.
What the double fuck?!
Completely freaked out, Dizzie swerved out her lane and nearly got squashed by a semi. She didn’t have the focus to flip him off when he blasted his horn. Her hands were trembling as she pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the bike. Shaking too hard to keep it stable, she flipped the kickstand down.
She fluttered her eyelids, like she had a piece of dust in her eye. That only made her eyes water. It didn’t get rid of the letters.
Her pulse thudded in her ears and her rapid breathing sounded loud in the confines of her helmet. She tugged it off and sucked in deep breaths of cool night air. The additional oxygen helped quell some of her panic and she could think clearly enough to decipher the warning: don’t go to Razor Jack’s because Tremaine Security was waiting.
Who had sent it? And how?
Someone had hacked her implant. It was the only answer that made sense.
Someone hadhackedher implant and was using the fucking thing to communicate with her.
“Who the hell are you?” Her words were quiet in the night.
