Off the Grid Read Online Free PDF Page B

hell? If he was going to join the team they should know why he was doing it.
    “I can imagine. I’m a professional hockey player. I played for Carolina. This morning I found out my parents had totally fucked up all my money. Like, all of it. I gave control over it to them and they spent it and way more. Then two guys broke into my house and one pulled a gun on me. I, um, defended myself.” Ethan didn’t want to say more than that, though he was sure if they saw the news they’d find out about it, so what the hell. “I killed him with a hockey stick to the temple.”
    Ciana gasped.
    “Yeah,” he went on. “So I pretty much needed to leave. Didn’t say goodbye, didn’t leave a note, just fucking left.” He looked at Ciana. “Sorry, I tend to swear a lot. Occupational hazard.”
    “You’re not bothering me,” she answered. “When one of my projects isn’t going right I swear like a sailor on shore leave.” She shifted her weight and tilted her head. “Okay, yeah, that’s why you look familiar. Sorry to tell you, but the story is out. When you didn’t show up for practice someone—a teammate, I think—went by your house and saw you were gone.”
    Reg. Oh, fuck. He was the only guy with a key. It hadn’t really dawned on him until then that his teammates or friends might think he’d been murdered, especially once they saw the dead guy.
    “Are you all right?” Ciana asked, placing a small hand on his arm.
    “Yeah. It’s just kinda overwhelming. I feel bad for leaving my team in the lurch. I was their leading scorer and an assistant captain.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Tell me the rest. I might as well know what’s going on.” At first, he hadn’t wanted to know, but now Ethan felt a compulsion to know what the media were reporting.
    She looked unsure, but said, “They said there was a man found dead, but the rest of the house didn’t appear to be touched. There was no indication of what happened, or where you’d gone if I recall. The police are investigating to see if foul play was involved.” Ciana winced.
    Ethan swallowed thickly, staring down at the floor. Then he forced himself to look up again. He couldn’t stop the situation now; go back to how his life had been.
    As if she realized his mood had plummeted even more with the news, Ciana said, “Oh, if you join us I have the perfect thing for you.” She bounced up to the balls of her feet, her expression brightening. “I’m developing a whole bunch of different pods that you guys can slide along the floor to distract people while you all move in. My newest gives off this horrible scent of sulfur, which scares the hell out of people, especially once it starts ticking.”
    “Ticking?”
    “That part is harmless.” The smile plastered on Ciana’s face scared Ethan a little and he wondered if anyone around here was actually sane. “It doesn’t cause an explosion, but ticking  tends to panic people, which buys you time.”
    “If you say so…”
    Maline hadn’t said a word, instead just observed their conversation, and now he glanced at her, only to see the same benign expression that had been on her face most of the time since he’d met her. What would it take to really get her off her game?
    Ciana spoke again, crossing her arms and looking him up and down, which would’ve been flattering except it was clear her assessment was clinical in nature, as he no heat in her gaze. “I wonder if I could make you a stick, maybe articulated so you could actually have a blade on it. I know the operatives sometimes have trouble getting the pod to slide as far as they want it to, depending on the surface under it. Dirt or other rough floors are a bitch. Your stick could fold up when you weren’t using it, and when you needed it you could use it to shoot the pod, like a…” She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “That shot where you wind way up,” she demonstrated and now Ethan couldn’t quite contain his smile,