The sobs came out between ragged breaths. Tears blurred her vision and she had to pull over on the side of the road. She never imagined this loss would wrack her body with such pain and sorrow. Aching pain tore through her as she realized there would be no more Reed for her. That love and light in her life had come to an end. Reed stood for safety, for home, and she didn’t know she could live without him.
But she had to. For his sake. If she really loved him, she’d let him be. It went against every instinct she had. While her gut told her to turn the stupid car around, she knew she couldn’t. His safety and peace meant more to her than her own selfish needs.
Time that she didn’t have sped by as her tears ran dry. Patrick was right. She needed to close this door and focus on the future. The team needed her. Tricky needed her.
The bottled water was warm, but she finished it off, wiped her face, and drove back onto the highway. These bastards that stole her life from her would live to regret it.
Before boarding her plane, Ari got a message off to Patrick at one of the many IP addresses they regularly checked. She had the long plane ride to reaffirm her decision. The past was the past and unless she did something, her future didn’t look all that better.
It took almost a day to get back to the cabin between the varied transportation. She messaged that she was back in town, and they said they’d send someone to pick her up. Restless, she started the path towards the house. The sun was falling but gave plenty of light to guide her path.
The roar of the vehicle sounded, and Ari stepped off the path, but remained visible. As it slowed to an idle in front of her, she was surprised by the driver. She thought one of the others would pick her up, maybe even Marco, but it was Patrick.
He turned off the Jeep and got out. Straightening her back, she steadied her nerves, though she had no clue why she was nervous. She didn’t plan on pursuing a relationship with Patrick. It wasn’t fair to anyone. Ari planned to work, nothing more.
“How did the trip go?”
“Smooth. No glitches with the documents and fingerprints you gave me.”
“Good. You find what you need?”
Ari swallowed, her throat tightening. “He was there with his mother.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t bring them both back.”
She had wanted to, had walked into that apartment with those exact intentions. “They were better off where they were. He is safe and has a good life there.”
His face softened. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you?” Ari couldn’t help the bitterness that crept up.
He kept his distance but watched her carefully. “I am. This life takes a lot from us. It isn’t fair.”
“No, but what is?” She swung her bag over her shoulder not wanting to talk about it. She buried those emotions and wasn’t going to dig them up in front of Patrick. “I’m here, one hundred percent, and ready to work.”
He watched her for a minute, like trying to decipher her intentions. “I wanted to let you know what you missed while you were gone.” His serious tone put her on edge.
“What?”
“While you were gone, Maxim used the virus to infect the Vice President of China, who also happens to be a diplomat and their country’s representative on the Board of VLEX.”
Ari dropped her bag in shock, but Patrick continued talking.
“It wasn’t inside of VLEX but in a Realm inside of China. And the real kicker is: guess who replaced the Vice President?”
“No, they wouldn’t?” Ari shook her head.
“Maxim is now on the Board.” Patrick ran a hand through his hair. “While we’ve been chasing emails and praying for a crumb of information about Maxim, he’s been murdering dignitaries and putting himself in control of the world’s political stage.”
“Why would they put him on?” Ari knew there were only ten seats on the Board, mostly assigned to government officials.
“We need to figure that out, along with a host of other things.”
“I meant what I said. I’m ready to work.”
“Good, then let’s go.” He turned back to the Jeep.
Once buckled in, they began the journey back. Patrick kept his eyes on the road. “I do have some good news.”
“I’m ready for some good news.”
“Tricky’s awake.”
Ari straightened. “Really? For good?”
“She still sleeps about 12 hours a day, but she’s back to demanding her computer and goes to meetings when she can.”
Ari exhaled with relief, happy at the good news. “That’s great news.”
“Her brother is constantly torn between giving her what she wants and trying to keep her offline for as long as possible.”
Ari was familiar with that struggle with her own brother after his VR coma. “Has she said much about how it happened?”
“Yes. Maxim.” His jaw tightened for a moment. “Maxim is at the center of this web, but we need to figure out his game plan before others get hurt. He has a weapon that could hurt millions and now sits in a position of power he stole.”
“Maxim needs to die, and for once I wish I could do it.” Ari wasn’t usually the violent type, but Maxim had dealt with everything from weapons to the sex trade, and everything in between.
“I agree, but it’s not going to be easy. They figured out a way to hurt people online. To infect people’s brain. And as much as I’d love to use this tech against them, I’m also terrified of what that means.” He glanced her way, and back to the road. “Virtuals will never be safe again.”
“They never were.” Ari thought back to the last time she saw her father, and the news she’d have to give her mother and brother when she returned.
They drove in silence the rest of the way. Ari found comfort
