Cipher by Aileen Erin Read Free Book Online Page A

glanced down.
    Oh no. My tattoo. The drink had washed off just enough of the makeup to see a faint glow under it. He had the same tattoo.
    “We should talk in private,” he said. The squeaky voice was gone and so were the jerky movements.
    Yeah. Absolutely not until I had more information. I yanked my hand from his. “Maybe another time.”
    He nodded. “You know where to find me,” he said in a deep voice just loud enough for me to hear over the music. His eyes were calculating, taking me in, and I wondered how I could’ve ever mistaken him for a crack head.
    I swallowed. He wasn’t asking questions like the last guy. I just had to play it cool. I searched the room for Mona. She was still with the giant dude. I downed my drink in one go. My nerves were shot, and that was a dangerous thing. The lights flickered softly once. No one seemed to notice, but it was time to make my exit. “Gotta catch up with my friend. I’ll see you around.”
    “Yeah, baby.” His tweaker voice was back.
    Wow. That was some act he had going.
    My hands shook as I put the empty glass on a small table. Everything in me screamed to run. Fast.
    But if I ran, he might chase me. Pretend nothing’s wrong . Then I’d casually book it out of Marx’s at the first chance.
    I made my way to Mona. “Hey.”
    “Hey, girl.” She was leaning on the ‘nerdy’ giant, and he was grinning like a fool. The girl was on her A-game.
    “How’s it going?”
    “Good. Oliver here was telling me about working at the Trials. He’s a Black Helix.”
    My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. What was with tonight? And what was a Black Helix doing at a gaming club in the Void? “Cool.” I tried to give him a good smile, but Mona elbowed me.
    Fucking scary , she mouthed to me. Great. I was trying to be friendly and smile, and she told me I was doing it wrong. Girl was asking for a butt kicking.
    “Cipher doesn’t get out much,” Mona said to Oliver.
    “Cipher. That’s an unusual name.”
    “It’s her hacker handle.”
    “Mona!” The name was common enough that it was safe to use—a lot of people used some variation of it because of me—but I didn’t go around telling people what I did.
    “Really?” he said. He crossed his thick arms, making the muscles bulge out. “That’s interesting.”
    He had the whole intimidation thing down well. “Not really.” That was too high pitched. The light above me flickered. This wasn’t good. I needed to chill out fast. “Hey, I’m going to get another drink. You want?”
    “I’m good,” Mona said.
    “All right. I’m going to hit the games, but I’m ready whenever you are.”
    “Cool.”
    “Nice meeting you, Oliver.”
    He stuck out his hand, and I saw the glowing bird tattoo.
    You gotta be fucking kidding me.
    The lights flickered again as I stared.
    I stepped back, shoving my hand in my back pocket. “Spilled my last drink. Sticky. See ya’ round.” I focused on taking evenly paced steps as I went back to the bar and ordered another French Seventy-Five. The alcohol would hopefully help soothe my nerves and avoid any blowouts.
    I couldn’t leave without Mona. Not until I knew she was with someone safe.
    There were way too many bird tattoos going around tonight. Was it all a coincidence? Or was it a sign that I should’ve left like I’d planned?
    Mona laughed, and I heard it even over all the noise.
    I sighed. It’d be a damned miracle if I got out of this place without drawing attention to myself.

Chapter Four
    KNIGHT
    The ride to Arizona from Colorado wasn’t bad. I made good time, but checking in took longer than I’d hoped. For a second, I thought Lady Eva hadn’t put in the forged paperwork, but everything worked out fine. I got my orders to report at twelve hundred to the arena. Oliver and I had pulled demonstration duties.
    I accepted the assignment with a nod, and logged everything into my calendar. I could’ve ended up with a worse assignment. Talking little kids into trying out