Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon Read Free Book Online Page A

chat threads on wikis and imageboards were devoted to WoW discussions; he’d deliberately chosen the name /ALLIANCE/ for the site because he knew people would recognize the reference and rally to it. Pretty much every hacker he knew spent hours every day enmeshed in the ongoing battle between the Alliance and their evil counterparts, the Horde. Every hacker but one, Peter realized with consternation, judging by her reaction. “I’m a Night Elf,” he finished lamely.
    “Interesting,” Rain said, looking bored. “You brought the money, right?”
    “Yeah, it’s here.” He glanced around before pulling out his wallet. The few people there didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them. He quickly handed her the cash, and she tucked it in the front pouch of her sweatshirt. “Brought you this, too,” he said, handing her a flash drive. “In case you didn’t have an extra one.”
    “Thanks.” She tucked it in the same pouch, then abruptly turned and started walking away.
    “I’m not some huge WoW geek,” he explained, falling in step beside her. “It just seemed to fit.”
    “Uh-huh,” she said. “So what’s AMRF?”
    “I’m not sure. But I hacked into their database tonight, and a half hour later a bunch of guys broke into my house.”
    That stopped her. She turned and examined him curiously. “Were they dressed like security guards?”
    “Nope. All in black, like commandos or something.”
    “Oh.” She abruptly lost interest. “Anything else?”
    “Yeah, I’ve got a link. They’re working on something called Project Persephone. If you want, I can text it to you.”
    “I don’t have a phone,” she said.
    “Seriously?” Peter was flabbergasted. He didn’t know anyone their age who didn’t have a cell phone.
    “I prefer email.”
    “Okay. Well, I’ll email it to you, then.”
    “Whatever,” Rain said.
    They were standing in front of the station now, facing the parking lot. Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that she was trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible, and he suddenly got nervous. How could he be sure she wouldn’t screw him over, just take the cash and go? Suddenly, he felt like an idiot for giving it all up front.
    “You’re really going to do this for me, right?” he asked.
    Rain’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
    “Well, five hundred dollars is a lot of money, and I don’t even know you.”
    “If I say I’m going to do something, I do it,” she said. “That’s all you need to know.”
    She started walking away.
    “Hey, wait. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean … can I give you a ride somewhere?” Peter called after her.
    Rain didn’t answer; she just kept going without looking back.
    Peter watched until she turned the corner and disappeared. He walked back to his Prius feeling annoyed. There were other /ALLIANCE/ members he could have gotten to do this—probably for free, too. He’d gotten too swept up in the moment, and should have stopped to reconsider the minute she asked for money. Now he just had to hope that she came through and didn’t cheat him.
    He didn’t know why she’d gotten him so flustered, either. He had a girlfriend, and Amanda was arguably even better looking. Peter glanced at his watch—he’d have to hurry to get home before Bob and Priscilla. He shoved the strange girl out of his mind and broke into a jog as he headed back toward his car.

CHAPTER FOUR
    N oa closed the door behind her and fell back against it with a sigh. She was in a dumpy hotel room ten blocks from Back Bay Station. It was a total dive, but it was cheap, they took cash, and didn’t ask for ID. At the moment, that was all she needed. And considering what she’d been through over the past several hours, it looked as good as a penthouse suite.
    Still, she had to admit it was pretty grim. The bedspread was mottled with stains, there were bars over the windows, and the chair’s wicker seat was unraveling. Noa was almost afraid to see the state of the bathroom. But for