Free Hardwired by Trisha Leaver

to figure out a way to communicate my plan to Carly. No way was I leaving here her with a bunch of axe-wielding strangers, no matter how at ease she appeared to be with them.
    Chris tapped out the countdown on my leg, and my entire body sprang into action the moment I felt the final beat. I lunged forward and yanked Carly backward, tucking her into my side as I took off running. Chris was beside me, glancing back every few strides to see if they were gaining on us.
    Carly twisted in my arms, arguing with me to let her go. I lost my footing and would’ve stumbled to the ground had something … no, someone not reached out to steady me. His sharp intake of breath, followed by a deep rumble of laughter, had me slowly lifting my head, my gaze moving from his tattered jeans to the red plaid shirt sticking out from under his jacket to the black gloved hands still holding me upright.
    Chris stopped a few feet ahead of me and spun around, his eyes flaming with fury. I fell backward to the ground with Carly still in my grasp, my thoughts scattering as I did my best to make sense of what I was seeing. Who I was seeing. “Nick?”
    I watched numbly as he gently placed Carly aside and knelt down in front of me, then stripped off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t even mutter a coherent thought.
    The five people we’d been running from came barreling though the trees, skidding to a stop when they saw Nick. They fanned out, circling around us, preventing our escape.
    â€œYou all right, buddy?” Nick asked as he worked my fingers into his gloves. “You know who I am, right?”
    I nodded, both in answer to his question and in disbelief. Nick was my brother’s best friend. When Tyler was alive, he’d spent more time at our house than me most days. He still did. Mom liked having him around, said it kept her connected to Tyler.
    â€œI know who you are. You’re Nick Meehan. Tyler’s best friend,” I finally said.
    â€œWell that’s a start,” he laughed. “You had me worried there for a minute.”
    With his jacket now off, I could see that he had a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. Two with guns, three with axes, and one with a radio , I adjusted my mental notes.
    Nick sat down next to me and dug through his backpack. He pulled out a first-aid kit and tossed it in Chris’s direction, motioning to the gash on his head. “I’d clean that out if I were you. It looks pretty deep.”
    Chris stayed silent, his hands frozen on the still-unopened first-aid kit.
    â€œHe with you?” Nick asked as he opened the kit himself and started tending to the gash on Chris’s head.
    â€œYep,” was all I could manage to get out.
    â€œHe have a name?” Nick asked.
    â€œChris,” I replied.
    â€œI’m Nick Meehan,” he said when I failed to introduce him. “I’m his brother’s best friend.”
    â€œFantastic,” Chris mumbled under his breath. “And you’re here, why?”
    â€œBecause I promised his brother I’d look out for him. And that’s what I’m doing.”
    â€œUmm … you’re about a month late,” Chris said as he pushed Nick’s hands away and smacked a fresh wad of gauze to his head himself. “You should’ve convinced him to run the day before his seventeenth birthday, before they ever got a chance to test him.”
    â€œProbably, and I would’ve been here sooner, but coordinating with this bunch”—Nick paused, his hand circling to the guys settling to the ground around us—“takes some serious time.”
    The man who’d leveled his rifle in my direction stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “Joe Thompson. It’s nice to finally meet you, Lucas.”
    I stared at his hand but made no move to take it. I didn’t know this guy for shit, and our brief introduction earlier