“What are you going to eat?” Justine peered to where the menu appeared 3D in mid-air.
With my elbow propped on the table, I rested my head under my fist to read the menu. “There are so many choices. I can’t decide.”
“Pick the expensive one,” Brooke said. “Expensive meals always taste better.”
Tamara pushed her finger through the 3D image. “I don’t know. I think I’ll have the Jupiter salad.”
“Salad?” Justine’s pitch rose. Her voice boomed clearly over the loud music. “Are you crazy? Have soup with it, then. You can order anything you want, and you want salad? Let me decide for you.”
Justine scrolled through the menu by swiping across the air. “Let’s get the seafood dish. It’s called The Galaxy Special. And let’s order some appetizers.” She touched the screen to order.
“Order what you want,” I said.
My mind wandered back to Sniper. When Brooke and Tamara had left my room, I went back to my TAB. I’d had a gut feeling Sniper would message me, and I was right. Though I’d told myself a thousand times not to reply, I had gone against my better judgment.
Was that even a word?
For some inexplicable reason, I felt terrible. I hadn’t meant to sound rude. It was a simple question. No harm in that. Except conversing with a stranger outside of ISAN would get me kicked out if I got caught. Would Russ find out? I needed to end it. He was probably already suspicious since I had brought it up. Damn. Why had I opened my big fat mouth?
I had messaged back.
I hated lying, but for some stupid reason, I wanted to be nice to the stranger. God, I hoped Sniper didn’t turn out to be a crazy person who would ruin my life.
“Ava.”
Brooke’s voice hummed in my ear. My body swayed, making me snap out of my thoughts.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Brooke lifted her hand off my shoulder when I caught her eyes.
Had I zoned out that long? As I picked up my fork, the sensation of being watched prickled my neck.
“You don’t like your food?” Tamara blinked, her brown eyes reflected by the shooting stars soaring from wall to wall behind her.
“No, it’s fine. I ...” I considered telling them about Sniper, but I decided against it. Besides, what could I tell them? “I’ll be right back.”
My team stared at me as if I had grown a third eye. I gave them a pointed look and went to the bar, even though I wasn’t old enough.
Sliding on the stool, I cautiously glanced around, trying not to be obvious. When I spotted the bodyguards, I flashed my phony smile and wiggled my fingers, then reached over as if to ask the bartender a question. One of them came closer but didn’t make eye contact.
“Psst.”
I pivoted behind me to see who the bartender was signaling. When I couldn’t see anyone, I faced the bartender, who stared straight back at me.
I pointed to my chest and mouthed, “Me?”
“Would you like something to drink?” The bartender’s eyes drifted toward the bodyguards, then back to me.
“Uh ... no thanks.”
“Yes, you do.” He placed a napkin in front of me.
His assertiveness caused me to flinch.
“No, thank you. I ... I’m fine.” I slid off the stool.
He slipped the napkin closer, and this time I saw something written on it. I looked up before I could read it, sure he had given me the wrong napkin, but he was gone.
Meet me by the back exit door.
Don’t tell anyone.
-Sniper
My breath caught in my throat as I read it again, and then once more.
My heart hammered against my chest. Sniper? I hadn’t let him know where I was going, had I? Oh hell, who was I kidding? I wanted him to be a hot guy. And I had mentioned Shooting Stars in one of my messages. I had told Mitch to set the dinner there. Sniper had even asked me if I had plans to go out. I surveyed the area once more and then headed back to my team.
Brooke drew her eyebrows together. “What are you doing? Just because you’ll be eighteen soon doesn’t mean you can drink. You know ISAN rules.”
Justine reached over to my plate with her fork. “Are you going to eat? ’Cause if you’re not, I can finish it for you.”
Brooke lightly slapped Justine’s hand. “Hey. Ava needs to eat, too. Let her at least nibble on it.”
I only heard half of what they said, and I might have taken several bites of lobster. “I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be back, okay?”
I couldn’t help the curiosity. I needed to find Sniper or I would regret I’d left without meeting him. Curiosity was a bitch.
“Sure. But hurry up or your food will be gone.” Justine eyed my plate again and pitched her fork into one of my shrimps.
I scanned the back area to find the exit door. In one corner of the room, people danced as the strobe lights flashed, making them seem robotic. Thank God, the lights localized only to the dance floor. Once I’d located the exit sign, I knew where I had to go, and then went back to my team.
I cleared my throat. “Can you do me a favor and distract the bodyguards? You know, like flirt with them? Or see if you can get them to dance with you?”
“Are you serious?” Brooke raised her voice, matching the volume of the music. “What are you up to?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just do me this favor and I’ll owe you one.”
“I have to flirt with them?” Tamara’s lips twisted into a frown. “They’re not good-looking. You’re going to owe me big time.”
Justine flung her hair back and puckered her lips. “I think the one on the left is cute.”
“Hurry up. Make it fast. Please—”
Tamara’s voice faded when Justine tugged her out of her seat.
As my team headed to the bodyguards, I wove through tables and crowds. Curiosity overtook my good sense. I knew going alone was a stupid idea, but I couldn’t waste any more time, and I certainly wasn’t going to let my team in on my secret. Although having Helix in me would have been better.
Then a thought occurred. What if ISAN found out and decided to terminate Sniper? I would have his blood on my hands.
Stop over thinking. Get in and get out. Tell Sniper to stop messaging you.
I took a deep breath and headed down the long dimly lit hallway. The cool breeze caressed me gently, causing more goosebumps to rise. I zeroed in on the door that sat ajar, ignoring the others.
About midway to the open door, someone grabbed me from behind and pulled me aside. My heart dropped. Fear shot through me as an earthy scent and hint of citrus whiffed through my nostrils.
“It’s me, Sniper.” His hot breath tickled my ear.
A scream died in my mouth and my galloping heart eased. Sniper was no doubt a guy. His whisper was low and deep, but then again, Roxy had that kind of voice, too.
One of his hands wrapped around my waist, locking my arms straight down. The other hand covered my mouth and one of his legs tangled with mine. I should’ve brought Brooke with me.
It’s too late. That’s what you get for being reckless. Now, find a way out.
Sniper used a move I’d learned in training. That confused me. How would he know? What if it was a test? What if Mitch or Russ or, even worse, one of the bodyguards who reported to Mr. Novak had captured me?
“Shhh ... it’s me. Don’t say a word. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to let go. Nod if you’ll do what I say.”
I nodded. At that point, I would agree to anything for him to loosen his grip. It would be the only chance I’d get. If I had been injected with Helix, I would’ve been able to take him down. My punishment for being too curious.
As soon as he let go, I flung my head back, but he had stopped the momentum with his hand before my head smacked his face. Worse, he had the audacity to laugh at me. Anger flared inside me. What was so funny? Shocked I had been outsmarted, it took me a second to gather my thoughts. As I tensed to bolt out of there, he whisked me around.
/>
“It’s me. Don’t you recognize me?”
I stumbled away from him as icy chills skidded down my back from his words.
His eyes burst with life, and my heart did as well just at his expression. A heated thrill flushed through my core. A sense of familiarity, like déjà vu, slapped me alert. With all the perfect curves and angles of his face, down his arms, to his lean ripped body, he was a vision I had not expected.
He sported black pants and a black T-shirt, framing his muscular chest. As his warm amber eyes surveyed me, a lock of light brown hair fell across his forehead. His voice—all of him—gave me pleasurable tingles I didn’t want. Or did I?
Sniper watched me soak in his hotness. His eyes bored into me so hard, I was sure he could see right through my soul. He waited for me to answer, but I couldn’t.
Don’t you recognize me?
His question stunned me into silence.
“Are you Sniper? The same person who’s been messaging me?” I asked after I got my mouth moving again.
I spotted the same type of ISAN gun in his holder, the type of weapon supposedly non-existent to the world except for elite networks like ISAN.
“Yes.” Though his tone dipped softer, a bit somber, his facial muscles hardened. “You’re looking well. Are they good to you?”
Something inside me went weak. I felt his torment, though I had no clue why he would feel that way. Did he know me? He couldn’t.
“Sure, my parents are good to me.” My face flushed as the lie parted from my lips. “Why would you ask me that?”
When he took a couple of steps toward me, arms extended, I scurried backward until I bumped into the wall. I glanced around for a way out or anything to use as a weapon. The room was empty. I tightened my fists, the next best thing to defend myself with.
“How do you know me?” I asked.
“I told you. You and I have a history.”
I glared at him and kicked the wall with the back of my heel in frustration. “I don’t believe you. I don’t have any guy friends. Not that you need to know that.”
He grinned, too happily. “Memories can be erased, but you can never forget emotions.”
Why did his words sound so familiar? As I dug into my thoughts, I only felt lost and confused.
I shook my head.
“Maybe you’ll remember this.”
It happened so fast I couldn’t have stopped him. He swooped in and pressed his lips to mine, so soft, tender, and so enduring. Sparks burst in my mind and I kissed him back. I didn’t know I knew how. It seemed so natural, like I had done it many times, but I was certain I had never kissed a guy before. Maybe I was just an awesome natural born kisser.
A part of me wanted to keep kissing him. Shoot, I wanted to suck face with him hard and make up for not getting to be a normal teenager. When I snapped out of it, I pushed him away and slapped him. His hand went to his cheek.
“Don’t ever talk to me again. You don’t understand. I’ll get in trouble.” I pivoted on my heel to leave when two people entered.
Shit.
“They’re coming. We’d better go,” a tall, dark-skinned female said. She held out a Taser, ready to use it.
She wore leather pants and a vest, appeared intimidating, not someone to mess with. Her outfit reminded me of what I had worn when I visited Mr. Thorpe. The guy who had entered with her was muscular like Sniper, sharp and fit. Just like the girl, he also held a Taser. They were stone-faced when they saw me. They gave me a once over and that was it.
“Does she remember?” the guy asked Sniper.
Sniper turned his back to me without a word.
“You’ve lost her,” the girl said. “It’s over. We’re not doing this again. It’s too much of a risk and you know it.”
The sound of approaching footsteps and a door slamming drew my attention.
“We need to go—now.” The guy ruffled his hair and paced to the door to peek out.
Sniper stared at me, then grabbed my arm. “Ava, let’s go.”
My chest tightened and my blood ran cold. He knows my name? “I’m not going anywhere with you. You have the wrong person. I don’t know who you are.” I yanked my arm, but his firm grip would not relent. Fine. You had your chance. I curled my lips impishly. “I’m in here.”
The three of them glared daggers at me.
“We have to go.” The guy forced a part of the crude wall that shouldn’t have opened.
The wall thumped on the ground. Treacherous wind slapped my body and pushed me back with a force like a punch. They had cut out a section and entered through there, large enough for two bodies to fit through.
“Let her go. You’re not the only one who lost her.”
The girl’s sympathetic tone had me puzzled, and the ache in Sniper’s eyes made me stop resisting. Did I know him? If I did, how could I have forgotten?
“I can make her remember. I have to. I can’t ... I won’t ...”
His tormented voice, like he’d lost a loved one, squeezed my heart so tight, I wasn’t sure I was breathing. His voice triggered a memory long forgotten, and a hazy vision formed in my head. Like floating endlessly through a fog and unable to find my way out, I couldn’t grasp it.
He dropped my arm when a bullet whizzed by us. He must have been hit, or he wouldn’t have let me go. More lights shot from both sides, keeping me momentarily stagnant.
I gasped when Sniper’s friend jumped through the open wall. I thought he had dropped eighty floors to his death but was relieved when he sprang into a topless glider, a small version of a sub-glider.
Sniper gestured the girl to go next with a jerk of his head and dropped to a knee and returned fire. The girl flipped back to avoid a laser and jumped right off like a graceful gymnast. He could’ve used his gun, but he used the Taser instead. He wasn’t shooting to kill.
One of the bodyguards dropped to the floor.
Sniper’s anguished gaze extended across the room to me, calculating. I had managed to move out of reach during the commotion. He heaved a quick sigh of disappointment and shot his Taser in rapid succession.
“I’m not giving up. This isn’t over,” he said.
“No. They’ll kill you.” I winced as another bullet whizzed by. Though the guards wouldn’t shoot me, accidents could happen.
Sniper ducked and cocked an eyebrow, as if to say, the hell they won’t. Doing a backward somersault like a professional diver, he dropped through the opening. As he disappeared, he bellowed my name.
Something twisted painfully inside my core at his gut-wrenching cry. Then an old memory flickered. I saw myself running down the ISAN hall, and then I was somewhere else in the ISAN compound with my hands held up while guards surrounded me. But like before, I couldn’t hold onto it.
Terror and regret filled me, but I didn’t know why. Perhaps it triggered a memory I buried deep within? Impossible. Running, yes, but I’d never had guards point their guns at me before. Perhaps my vision was merely a long-forgotten dream?
Sirens wailed. No doubt the council guards chased after them. If they were ISAN gilders, there would be no warning.
I had to admit the way Sniper moved was pretty impressive. My eyes lowered to where he had stood a second earlier. A few drops of blood gleamed on the floor. I sprinted to the chunk missing in the wall to see where they had gone but pulled up short.
An arm wrapped around my waist and wrenched me back. The strong wind continued to steal my air and envelop me with a forceful grip. As the bodyguard carried me away, the walls spun around me. Even with my eyes closed, I saw Sniper’s intense stare. His words would haunt me. My mind opened to more questions, and my world had turned upside down.
What have I done?
I was in a whole lot of trouble with ISAN.
“What the hell happened?” Russ paced the length of his desk.
Taken aback by his tone and his stone-cold gaze, I turned away. I had never seen him so furious. The veins on his neck throbbed, and his fists rounded to t
ight balls.
“I ... I ...” What could I tell him?
I had fabricated a story when my team had asked me the same question on the ride home. That was the lie I would stick with, even to Russ, for his own protection.
Russ towered over me. With his hands on the armrest of my chair, he shoved his face into mine. “You need to tell me the truth. I’m the only one who can help you. In a few minutes, Lydia and Mitch will be walking through that door.”
I kept my mouth shut. That seemed to aggravate him further.
With a frustrated sigh, he went back to his desk. “Last chance. Do you know what will happen if they catch you in a lie?”
“I won’t be lying,” I said with a straight face.
“They have been interrogating your team. Your story had better be the same.”
My body went rigid as Mitch and Lydia strode in. When they took a seat next to Russ, I met their gazes—hard and steadfast.
“Want to tell us what happened?”
Mitch’s glacier gaze alone could intimidate anyone, but not me.
I sat tall, rolled back my shoulders, and tried to keep my cool. “I wanted to get a glass of water.”
“Why didn’t you ask the waitress?” Lydia used her handheld TAB to record my words.
“I was thirsty and the waitress took forever.”
Lydia shifted in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable with my answer. “What happened next?”
“I went to the bar. The bartender handed me a napkin. There was a note written on it to meet in the back.”
Mitch narrowed his eyes. “Why did you go?”
I shrugged and idly tangled a strand of my hair with my finger. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have been curious, too. I thought a good-looking guy wanted to ask me out.”
Lydia crossed her long legs, slightly rocking the chair. “One of the bodyguards told me there were three of them, two males and one female. Have you been contacting them? Or have they contacted you?”
I folded my hands in my lap. “I have no friends outside of this compound. I was in juvenile detention as long as I can remember prior to ISAN. I especially don’t have any guy friends.”