Freaks in the City
Read Freaks in the City Online
Authors: Maree Anderson
Tags: #young adult, #ya, #cyborgs, #young adult paranormal, #paranormal romance series, #new zealand author, #paranormal ya, #teenage cyborg, #maree anderson, #ya with scifi elements
By
Maree Anderson
The sequel to the multi-award winning Freaks of
Greenfield High (optioned for TV by Cream Drama, Inc.)
True love isn’t a cake-walk when your girlfriend’s
a cyborg
.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Jay to take
her relationship with Tyler to the next level—especially when her
idea of “the next level” proves to be vastly different to Tyler’s.
Building a life together and adapting to each other’s quirks is
challenging enough without the secrets they’re keeping blowing up
in their faces. Their relationship is tearing Tyler’s family apart.
Worse, Tyler’s ex-girlfriend from hell shows up on their doorstep,
destitute and desperate for a place to stay until she sorts out the
latest hot mess she’s embroiled in.
Jay’s not exactly thrilled about Tyler’s ex
turning up out of the blue, but it’s better to keep your enemies
close, right? Sure enough, the ex has an agenda. But discovering
who is manipulating her behind the scenes isn’t easy, even for a
super-smart computer-savvy cyborg.
Then a vulnerable member of Tyler’s family is
threatened, forcing Jay to confront a ghost from her past who’ll
stop at nothing to destroy her. And this time, the weapon he’s
chosen to take Jay out really could be the death of her.
~~~
Copyright 2012 by Maree Anderson
Published by Maree Anderson at Smashwords
Cover Design by Rob Anderson
Formatting by Rob Anderson
This novel is a work of fiction. Any names,
characters, places and events portrayed in this novel are products
of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is
coincidental. All rights reserved; the right to reproduce this book
or any portion thereof in any form whatsoever in any country
whatsoever without the express permission of the author is
forbidden.
~~~
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment
only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
If you would like to share this book with another person, please
purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading
this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your
use only, then please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this
author.
~~~
To my fans:
Freaks in the City
would never have been
written if not for your support. If you hadn’t DMed and emailed me
to say how much you all loved Jay and Tyler in
Freaks of
Greenfield High
, and begged for a sequel, this story would
still be locked inside my head. You all rock. Thank you!
P.S. this story takes Jay and Tyler’s relationship to
the next level—enjoy!
M.A.
~~~
Other Books—Freaks of Greenfield
High
Other Books—The Crystal
Warrior
~~~
Mike Davidson slanted a quick gaze at his
wife, noting her tightly pursed lips and ominous frown before he
turned his attention to the road again. “Let’s not jump to
conclusions. Just because he’s staying over at Jaime’s doesn’t mean
he’s moved in with her.”
Marissa’s snort told him exactly what she
thought of that line of reasoning. “I knew he was hiding
something,” she said.
Mike winced at her acerbic tone. Now he was
even less convinced surprising Tyler and his mysterious girlfriend
with an unexpected visit was a great idea. But they hadn’t seen
their son in months, so Mike had given in to Marissa’s wishes—as he
always seemed to these days. And after driving all this way the
“surprise” had gone awry because Tyler hadn’t been home. They’d had
to beg his girlfriend’s address from one of his roommates.
Mike tightened his hands on the steering
wheel. Might be a good time for a father-son chat. Especially given
the situation he and Marissa now found themselves in. If it could
happen to them, it could happen to anyone.
He turned into Parkway and couldn’t help a
stab of envy. Jaime’s folks obviously had money. And as if to rub
salt into the wound, as he headed down the street the split unit
brownstones segued to even more envy-inducing singles. Sure would
explain Tyler’s evasiveness whenever they’d asked after Jaime. He
was probably embarrassed as heck over dating a trust fund baby.
Mike slowed his speed to a crawl and pointed
out Number 64 to Marissa. “That’s the one.”
Marissa twisted in her seat to peer back at
the house. “Nice.” She didn’t volunteer anything more as they
pulled into a parking space, but Mike knew from the way her gaze
had lingered that she was impressed.
She linked her arm in his as they strolled
up the street. Out front of Number 64 she paused on the sidewalk to
smooth her hair and tweak the hem of the smart top she wore over
her jeans. “Wonder what she’s like,” Mike heard her mutter.
“Knowing Tyler, she’ll be a sweet kid.”
Marissa gave him “You gotta be kidding me”
eyes and Mike threw her a wry grin. She had a point. Tyler’s first
serious girlfriend, Nessa, had been a disaster what with the lies
she’d spread about Tyler, and that shocking business over her
dealing drugs. Marissa had confessed to being relieved as all heck
when Nessa dumped Tyler for another boy she could lead around by
her too-short shorts. And as for Jay….
There’d been nothing remotely amusing about
Jay. Tyler had been a mess for months afterward. And although Mike
felt like the crappiest human being on the planet for even
thinking
this after everything Jay had sacrificed, it was
probably just as well she’d died. There’d been no possible way her
relationship with Tyler could have ended well.
“Here’s hoping the third girlfriend’s the
charm,” Marissa said, obviously thinking along the same lines.
They both pasted smiles on their faces as
they walked up the neat cobblestoned path to the front door. To the
left of the entrance alcove was a discreet security pad and
speaker. Mike buzzed and waited for a response.
A voice demanded, “Who is it, please?”
The hairs on the back of Mike’s neck
rose.
He sneaked a look at his wife. Marissa was
impatiently shifting her weight from foot to foot, grimacing, and
probably wishing she’d worn more comfortable shoes. He wondered
whether he should forewarn her, but before he could think of what
to say, or how to say it, Marissa leaned over and spoke into the
speaker. “Jaime? It’s Tyler’s mom and dad. Is he there?”
“One moment, please.”
Mike squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the
bridge of his nose, hoping he was wrong.
When the door opened and he heard Marissa’s
shocked hiss, he knew he hadn’t been mistaken. He slowly opened his
eyes to stare into the inhumanly blue gaze of Jay Smith, the girl
who’d turned their lives upside down, given Mike back his life and
his family, and stolen his son’s heart.
Jay Smith. Jaime Smythson. Obvious now he
thought about it. He should have known Jay hadn’t died in the
explosion. She was a cyborg, after all. And as Mike well knew,
cyborgs were very hard to kill.
~~~
Jay had warned Tyler of the high probability
his parents would take matters into their own hands if he continued
to be so evasive about “Jaime”. She could have claimed Tyler wasn’t
at home and made some excuse for not introducing herself to his
parents at this particular time. But such prevarications would have
only delayed the inevitable. Far better to get it over with fast
and quick to minimize the pain—just like the human analogy of
ripping off a Band-Aid.
“Well,” she said to her not-so-unexpected
visitors. “This is awkward.”
Marissa opened her mouth but any words she’d
been about to say appeared to be locked tight in her throat.
Michael puffed out a sharp breath that wasn’t quite a laugh. “You
can say that again,” he said.
Not so long ago, Jay might have stated that
she was indeed capable of repeating herself. Word for word. With
the exact same intonation and inflection, in fact. Now she knew
better than to take such statements literally. She stood aside and
said, “Would you like to come in?”
When Marissa hesitated, Jay followed up with
a gentle verbal nudge. “After driving all this way, it seems a
shame to turn around and leave.” She graciously pretended not to
notice when Michael made the decision for his wife by means of a
firm hand to the small of Marissa’s back.
She closed the door behind her guests and
ushered them through into the living room. The staccato taps of
Marissa’s boot-heels on the polished wooden floorboards sounded
angry—rather like Marissa’s expression now she’d gotten over the
initial shock of realizing that “Jaime” was in fact Jay.… And
realized that Tyler had effectively been lying by omission all this
time. Not a small lie, either. This was big.
Jay nibbled her lower lip—a gesture she’d
picked up from Tyler’s twin sister, Caro, that seemed to suit this
current situation admirably. She’d been foolish to merely age
herself two years to keep in step with Tyler’s natural human aging
process. It would have been prudent—safer—to have made more drastic
alterations to her appearance to ensure she could not be recognized
by his family. But all logic had been overshadowed by her need for
Tyler to instantly recognize her again.
He had that effect on her. He always
had—from the very first time she’d encountered him in his junior
year at Greenfield High.
“Please sit down.” She indicated the leather
couches and two matching recliners grouped in a pleasing
arrangement around an old mahogany coffee table. Jay had restored
the table herself, and then burnished its pitted and scarred wood
to a high sheen. She’d even go so far as to state she was proud of
it. At least she presumed the warm glow she felt whenever she
stroked a palm over its surface was pride.
Michael chose one of the couches. He
appeared relaxed—on the surface anyway. Marissa perched next to
him, hands clasped in her lap. Her gaze darted around the room,
lingering every now and then on furnishings or pieces of artwork.
Jay suspected Marissa’s interest was more an excuse not to look her
son’s girlfriend in the eye than any real interest in Jay’s taste
in interior design.
