Read Online Synthetic Dreams by Kim Knox - Free Book Online Page A

this in your plan?”
    “It’s moved it forward.” Paul eyed her and she couldn’t read his thoughts. He glanced back to the body. “He was close. Much closer than I thought.”
    His sudden movement towards the row of cupboards caught her by surprise. She tracked him across the room, not wanting to admire the sleek perfection of his body, the way the light licked his skin. He’d just shot a man, killed him, and she was enjoying an illicit stare. She wet her lips, nervous, disturbed, and tasted him on them.
    “What’s really going on here, Paul?”
    Her question spurred her into moving. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and pulled on the loose trousers. Standing, she found that her legs wobbled under her. Her hand gripped the wooden headboard and she refused to let the shock take her.
    Breath swelled in her chest until it hurt to hold it. Her emotions ricocheted. Much like the bullet inside Liam’s skull. She winced and bile rose, the sour burn of it filling her mouth. Her knuckles whitened against the wood and she willed herself to find focus on the quick pain, to fight off the sudden heat, the buzzing in her ears and the dark speckles threatening her vision. She was not going to faint.
    “Lie down.”
    “Trying to get me naked again?”
    Paul’s hand covered hers, warm, strong, and eased her fingers from the headboard. Her knees buckled and she flopped onto the bed. “Lie back. The dizziness will stop.” He straightened and Vyn wanted to follow him around the room, but turning her head only thickened the spinning.
    She let out a tight breath. Damn it, she wasn’t this weak. The heels of her hands dug into her eyes and she willed away the low buzzing. “Should I ask where you had that gun stashed?”
    A snort came from the bathroom. “Not where you think.”
    Vyn rolled onto her side. Over the edge of the bed, she stared into Liam’s fixed eyes. Her brain kicked in. She could buy them time. A short slice of it anyway. And she thought her brain had been quick and clear. “My bag. Give me it.” She forced herself to sit, grateful to not feel woozy. “Please?”
    Paul dropped his pack on the floor. “What for?”
    This was her area of expertise and it put strength in her spine. She pointed to various points in the room, the signs of modification obvious to her trained eye. “You have dampers. Sophisticated ones, so his handlers are aware that his transponder will become…irregular in here. I think we still have time. I can tweak his device, twist it to make it appear he’s still alive.”
    “How long to fix him?”
    “A few minutes?”
    He grabbed her bag from the bathroom and threw it to her feet. “Do it.”

    Vyn opened it and dumped the contents on the carpet. “I’ll also need a new pack. This—” she tossed the stinking, slime-covered bag away from her, “—is ruined.”
    She sorted through her array of gear, her gaze flicking up to Liam. She’d never worked on a corpse before and it was…unnerving. Her fingers curled into her palms, short nails digging into her flesh. If it bought them a few extra minutes, she had to overcome her squeamishness. She could practically hear Ossian’s voice in her head. Do you really want him to see you freaking out? Again?
    She didn’t.
    The gloved fingers that touched Liam’s cool hair weren’t hers. She dissociated herself, made the quick, practical turn of his head a job done by someone else. Not her. His scalp was still warm and a quick shiver ran up her arm.
    She refocused and pressed pads to his skin. The monitors blipped, locating the transponder. She pulled in a quick breath. They were lucky. It was still in one piece. She scanned, points of information flickering. It was cold. She pressed her lips together. Yes, that had been the probability, but she’d hoped there’d be some spark, something that made her next move unnecessary.
    Vyn winced and flipped on the low-level shocker. Liam kicked and jerked—they’d have to tie him