For five years he’d had an excuse for not surfing the network. That excuse was gone. A golden opportunity was staring him in the face and he was terrified.

  What if something went wrong? What if he’d forgotten how to do this? What if he got brain burn like Hope?

  He loved his sister, but the thought of losing himself in the system was more terrifying than the thought of losing her.

  What if he got stuck in the network?

  “Is that what you’re worried about?”

  Ash turned his head slowly because it still throbbed like a son of a bitch. Had he said that out loud?

  Ash nodded, even though the movement made him queasy.

  Taryn’s hand brushed his forehead, shifting hair away from his skin. Then she trailed her fingers down his face until she cupped his chin, her fingers resting on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into the comfort of her touch.

  “You’ll be fine,” she said.

  Ash wanted to believe her. He really did.

  “Tell me how I can help. I’ve never done this before.” She stepped back and gestured to the chair.

  “It’s pretty straightforward,” Ash said, struggling to sound confident. “That pin slips into the port.”

  She grimaced.

  “I know, but it’s not as bad as it seems.” If only he could make himself believe that.

  “Do you need me to help push your head onto the spike?”

  The gruesome image startled a laugh out of him. “No, I can do it. It’s easy—just slip tab A into slot B.”

  Holy shit. He’d never considered how sexual the whole damn thing was until just now. When he couldn’t do anything about it.

  “I’ve never done it with a head wound.” Ash changed the subject, before he needed to adjust his pants.

  “Not even when you first got it?”

  Instead of nodding, he twisted his body so he could see her. “I wasn’t allowed to port in until it was fully healed. I didn’t know what I was missing, so there was no rush.”

  Now he knew what he was missing, so the anticipation was almost worse than the actual experience.

  “I don’t think I can watch,” Taryn said and turned away.

  He reached up with his right hand and felt for the spike. As his fingers slid over the thin metal spear, another thought occurred. “Hey, you got anything to sterilize this?”

  Taryn turned around, her face pale.

  “You mean . . .” She paused and her hands fluttered, a move he never expected from the usually calm and collected Jack. “You mean, that thing?”

  She’d cut him open without blinking, but this bothered her?

  “The thing that goes in my brain? Yeah. I don’t know where it’s been.”

  “Uh, yeah.” She paled further and sprinted across the room. Sounds of retching echoed back to him from the bathroom.

  She returned not long after, holding a spray bottle out to him.

  “This is the best I have here. Let me know if you want me to get something from the main bar.”

  “That’s fine. I trust you.”

  She blinked several times, her eyes wide like an owl’s.

  “Oh. Okay.”

  When she didn’t say anything else, he added, “Would you spray it down for me?”

  “Um, sure.”

  Ash leaned forward, causing little ripples of pain to flow through him. This was such a bad idea.

  Taryn moved closer. Her shoulder brushed his.

  He gave into the urge to lean into her.

  She turned her head and smiled. Just for a second. Then her expression turned serious and she focused on her task. Behind him, he heard the release of the spray and caught the flutter of a cloth as she wiped the spike down. “Done. What’s it feel like when you’re in there? Are you in there? What do you call it?”

  He thought for a moment. How to explain the network to someone who’d never experienced it? “I think it’s different for everyone,” he finally said. “For me, it’s like you’re racing in the fastest car. Speed and strategy and competitiveness.”

  Ash dropped his voice. “Hope used to say it was like swimming through the stars.”

  Taryn gasped. “That’s so beautiful.”

  “The data flows look like bits of light. The more data, the bigger they are.” He hesitated. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with loss. “I always wonder if she’s lost in there, swimming among the stars.”

  “Oh, Ash. I’m so sorry.” She wiped away a tear, then leaned closer and peered at his neck. She swallowed hard but didn’t back away this time. “Are you sure you can do this? It looks like it will hurt.”

  “I don’t have a choice.” He already knew it would hurt. The constant throbbing in his neck was evidence of that.

  She blew out a breath. “How can I help?”

  “You’ve done everything you can. Now it’s my turn. I’ll contact Caspar and hopefully I’ll be able to lead him into a Tremaine trap.”

  “You want me to leave you here alone?” She sounded horrified.

  “Is the room secure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then there’s really nothing you can do here.” Ash hoped he was good enough to beat Caspar. He wasn’t sure if he could. He plugged his phone into the system to activate Caspar’s code and prayed he had the skill and the stamina to best him.

  Chapter 51

  “Put me to work, Dani.” Taryn entered the bar area, needing a distraction. Otherwise, she’d worry about what was happening downstairs.

  Leaving Ash alone in the hacker room had been hard. Harder even than cutting his neck open. It was good he hadn’t been able to see her while she worked. Her hands had been shaking the entire time and she’d worried constantly about cutting too deep. What if she’d hit a nerve and done permanent damage?

  Now he was preparing to shove a metal spike into a socket in his neck that hadn’t been used in years. What if the technology had changed? What if she’d screwed up?

  Dani stopped unloading glasses and studied her. “You okay?”

  “Fine. I promise. I just really need a distraction right now.”

  “Well, I’m not going to turn down free help,” she said, winking at Taryn, “so why don’t you finish unloading this. Then, there’s a bunch of liquor and wine that needs to be restocked. It was a busy weekend.”

  Taryn grinned and felt a little bit lighter. Watching Dani take charge, watching her bloom, always made her happy. Unofficially, the other woman managed the bar and was the Jack’s second-in-command. Maybe it was time to make that official. What would she even call her—the Jill?

  She laughed out loud.

  “If putting glasses on the shelves makes you that happy, maybe you should do it every day.”

  “Maybe I will,” Taryn sassed back.

  She missed this. The banter, the time with her friend. “We need to do this more often.”

  “Prep the bar?” Dani asked.

  “No, hang out. I’ve forgotten how much fun we have.”

  “Me, too.” Dani smiled. “I know it’s hard when we’re busy⁠—”

  “But that shouldn’t be an excuse. Don’t get me wrong. I love the bar. Love being a business owner, but I don’t want to spend my whole life working. There’s got to be more to it than that.”

  “Count me in,” Dani said.

  She could do this, Taryn thought. No, she would do this. She could have a life. All work and no play made for a very sad Jack. Hadn’t she taken over with the intent of changing how business was done here? Maybe she wouldn’t have Ash in her life, but she could have a fulfilling life if she wanted to.

  Taryn had just opened the first box of booze when her phone dinged, notifying her she had a message. She pulled it out of her pocket.

  SOS

  Shit. That was Ash’s number—she’d made sure he could reach her before she’d left him. Something must have gone wrong.

  “Dani, I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go check on Ash.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “I don’t know. He just sent an SOS.”

  “Go.” Dani shooed her away. “I can finish this up.”

  “Thank you!”

  Taryn felt bad abandoning her friend when she’d begged for a distraction, but what if she’d screwed up and Ash was hurt? She raced down the hall, for once not worrying about security for the hidden room. Even if one of the women saw, they still couldn’t access it without the code.

  She pounded down the steps. The hacking room was eerily quiet when Taryn stepped through the door.

  “Ash?”

  “Here.” His reply was muffled.

  Taryn entered the chair room, nervous about what she would find.

  The lights were low. A big screen had dropped down over one wall.

  Huh. She hadn’t even known that was there.

  Ash sat in the chair where she’d left him, still hooked into the chair.

  The thought made her queasy. It would be hypocritical to rage against human–machine interfaces when she had one as well. But if she had to screw her arm on every day, that would make her sick too.

  And that was just her arm. This was his brain!

  The images—squiggle? symbols?—that were projected onto the screen meant nothing to Taryn. They weren’t even really images, just impressions. Is that what Ash saw? It didn’t look like speed or stars to her.

  He cursed.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Fuck, just a little bit more.” His voice was tense, like he was in pain.

  That made absolutely no sense. Was this his battle with Caspar? She’d expected something more . . . battle-y.

  Could she talk to him when he was like this? “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes,” he ground out. “But I can’t focus on this and you at the same time.”

  “Why send me a panicked text if you don’t need me?” Taryn snapped. She hated not knowing what was happening. As she spoke, she watched him work.

  His head was practically immobile. She assumed the pin that inserted into his neck caused that. His fingers twitched on the arms of the chair.

  If she didn’t know that he’d voluntarily put himself in the chair, she’d think he was being tortured.

  “Are you having a seizure?” Had she screwed up when she’d opened the port? He’d said he was in the middle of the fight. If he passed out in the middle of it, the fight was over.

  “No,” he ground out. “I’m used to keyboards. It’s been five fucking years since I’ve had this much brain interface. I’m out of practice. And I’m losing.”

  Oh shit.

  He had to beat Caspar. It was the only way he and Hope could truly escape and live free. If anything happened to him . . .

  Her heart twisted at the thought.

  It would be hard enough living without him when he left town. Living without him because he was dead or brain burned? That wasn’t a world she wanted to live in.

  Taryn circled the chair and studied the cables and plugs.

  She didn’t know when it had been purchased, but she knew it had been top of the line when it was new. Like the Jack before her, the hacker Jack had enjoyed the best things in life. He would have purchased the best chair he could, which would probably mean the most advanced at the time.

  “What the hell are you doing back there? Why are you circling me like a shark?”

  “I’m looking for something.”

  “Look for it where I can’t see you. I can sense you moving and it’s distracting as hell.”

  Distracting him was bad, but Taryn was irrationally glad that her presence disturbed him. He disturbed the hell out of her. “I’ll do my best,” she said.

  Taryn crouched down and took a closer look at the base of the chair. “Gotcha.”

  The panel was dusty and the printing was tiny, but she found the symbol she was looking for—the one that indicated peripherals could be attached. Ash had told her that he was used to a keyboard these days. So, she’d get him a keyboard.

  She bounced to her feet and faced Ash. “I think I can help. I’ll be right back.” She raced out of the room without waiting for his reply. She knew what she needed and where to get it.

  How long would it take Ash to do whatever it was he was doing? Hacking sounded like magic to her. How else could you insert yourself into a computer?

  Shaking off those thoughts, Taryn sprinted down the corridor to her office. She grabbed the keyboard off her desk, hoping that it would be able to pair with the chair. Taryn tucked it under her arm and yanked her office door open.

  Dani waited the other side, about to knock. “We have a problem.”

  “Can you handle it?” Taryn begged.

  “It’s better if you do. Giselle’s pimp is in the bar.”

  “Not again!” Why now? Taryn had no time for his shit. “Who’s minding the bar?”

  “Neecy arrived right after you left. She was hanging out when he walked in, so I asked her to watch the bar while I got you. She’s got the guys with her.” Dani glared at her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “I was taking care of Ash.”

  Dani looked at the keyboard in Taryn’s hand then back at her, a million questions in her gaze. “Well, I hope you’ve solved that problem, because we’ve got a bigger one out there.”

  Fuckfuckfuck.

  Taryn focused on the bigger problem. “I need to drop this off, then I’ll be back. Ten minutes, tops.”

  “What is wrong with you? The bar is getting full and a man you told not to come back has come back. The fucking office supplies can wait!”

  “You don’t understand, Dani. This is more important than it looks. I’ve got to get back to Ash.”

  “You say you care about these girls, but you’re putting a keyboard ahead of rescuing one? Screw you, Taryn. Go play secretary or whatever the fuck you’re doing. I’ll figure it out.”

  Whoa. Dani rarely lost her temper.

  She grabbed Dani’s arm. “I’m sorry. All the shit is hitting the fan at once.”

  “There’s a big old pile of it out front. If you want to keep Giselle and the bar, you better get out there.” Dani turned and walked away.

  “Hold on, Ash,” Taryn whispered under her breath. “I’ll take care of Hope if it goes wrong for you.”

  Keyboard in her left hand, she followed Dani down the hallway.

  A week without some kind of crisis. Was that too much to ask?

  Chapter 52

  Taryn walked through the door to the bar and into the middle of a brawl.

  Someone took a swing before she was halfway through.

  She grabbed the door with her free hand and shoved it into his face. With the power of her cyberarm behind it, she knocked him out cold.

  Taryn looked down as she stepped over him. One of the pimp’s buddies.

  Sonofabitch. The whole place was chaos.

  Jed and a few other old timers sat at a high table at the edge of the action. He saw her and raised his glass in a salute.

  Taryn would’ve smiled if she hadn’t needed to duck.

  Another fist flew at her.

  This time she raised her left forearm deflect the blow.

  Tiny keys scattered all over the floor as the keyboard caught the punch.

  Fuck!

  Taryn dropped the keyboard frame. She’d find another for Ash later.

  Right now, she had to end this motherfucking brawl in her goddamn bar.

  Broken keyboard guy came at Taryn again. This time she was ready for him.

  A right cross shattered his jaw. A knee to the balls dropped him to the floor.

  He curled into a fetal position, easy to step over as she advanced toward the bar.

  Another black-clad figure charged her.

  She sidestepped and he rammed into a table.

  Idiot.

  Taryn dodged, punched, and kicked her way to the center of the brawl.

  Like the eye of a hurricane, nothing was happening there. The pimp stood in the middle, Giselle’s beautiful dark hair wrapped around his hand.

  He watched the chaos around him, a smirk on his face.

  “Let her go.”

  He turned a quarter way around to look at Taryn. The movement put Giselle’s head at a sharp angle and she cried out in pain.

  The sound amped up Taryn’s rage, but she couldn’t let concern for Giselle distract her. All her attention had to be on the monster hurting the girl. “Let her go,” she repeated, her voice soft and cold.

  “No. She’s mine,” he said with a sneer.

  His words took Taryn back to a time and place she thought she’d escaped. The previous Jack had done the same to her. Claimed her like a piece of property.

  She’d broken free. Now she helped others. It was that sense of rightness, of purpose that shook her free of the memories.

  “Wrong answer. She’s mine.” Taryn imbued the word with all her feelings—rage, protectiveness, love. The pimp would never understand the difference in their world views. Giselle was Taryn’s to protect, not to own and abuse.

  Taryn reached for the hand he’d speared through Giselle’s hair.

  The fine motor controls of her arm had been the best she could afford at the time. Since then, she got them upgraded regularly for occasions just like this. She grabbed his hand and exerted pressure.

  Controlled pressure, carefully calibrated to squeeze until his fingers opened. He hissed in pain.

  “Can you get free?” she asked Giselle.

  The tiniest of nods.

  Taryn could tell she was afraid of getting hurt, but the fighting spirit Giselle had shown from the beginning was still there.

  Giselle tilted her head and tried to free her hair without moving her body.

  Nothing happened.

  “I need you to hurry up, honey.” Taryn could hold him for a while, but she hated having her back exposed like this.

  “You’re going to pa⁠—”

  She exerted more pressure on his knuckles and the pimp’s threat cut off.

  His grip loosened some more and Giselle freed herself. She scrambled backward like a crab to get out of his reach.

  Taryn continued to hold his hand while she pondered what to do with him. He kept turning up. She couldn’t allow that any longer.

 

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