My Cyborg Savior (Crimson Romance) by Honoria Ravena

best. If he’s getting it for you, he’s doing it illegally. Can’t trust criminals.”
    She eyed him. “So I shouldn’t trust you?”
    He shrugged. “I’m not your average criminal. I went to prison more for what I am, not what I did. It’s a little different.”
    Except that she definitely shouldn’t trust him. He couldn’t hint at that, though. He had to make sure she felt she had nothing to fear.
    He nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll trust your judgment this time.”
    She smiled at him like it meant the world to her that he trusted her. Honestly, he didn’t. She didn’t know how dangerous the world was. She had no idea how much trouble she was in. Though he suspected her father kept her too sheltered. She led him around the house to the fence and stood before a small hole. She bit her lip and glanced at him.
    “I don’t know if you’ll fit. I barely do, and I’m quite a bit smaller than you. The fence is electrified so you can’t climb it and there are spikes on the top. If you would stay here, I’ll be — ”
    “No. End of discussion. Not happening. We’ll find a way.” He glanced around and spotted what he was searching for. The small grid that maintained this part of the fence. He walked over to it and accessed the computer that maintained it with his mind.
Oh, that was too easy
. He could only take it out for five minutes tops but he could almost jump this fence, so he wouldn’t be pressed for time.
    “Don’t go under the fence until I’m over it.”
    “But how — ”
    He shrugged off his jacket and threw it over the spikes at the top of the fence as he shut down the power. The slight humming stopped abruptly. He jumped, landing under the spikes, careful not to land on them.
    He crawled over the barbs. If he slipped, he’d kill himself. Luckily, he was barely human anymore. He was unlikely to lose his footing. The sharp tips pricked his hands, and blood spread across his jacket. He shut down the pain receptors in his brain as he crossed. Unfortunately, it was only a temporary reprieve. Eventually he wouldn’t be able to shut out the injury. Luckily, they should be healed by then. He landed on his feet on the other side, pulling his jacket with him.
    “Hurry and crawl under there. The electricity is off, but it won’t be for long. I’d rather you get over here before its back on. No matter how many times you’ve made it through without touching the barrier.” He shuddered at the thought. If she touched that fence, it would probably kill her. He reset the strength of the shock while he had control of the system. The reduced level would knock a person out now, but not kill them. It would only last until they updated things. He covered his tracks to make it appear like some sort of power failure had reset it. With the rough weather Larus was having this winter, they wouldn’t double check it.
    Jamila pushed her bag through the hole before her arms and head appeared under the barricade. A ringing in his ears told him the fence’s grid was rebooting. He grabbed her arms and tugged her out.
    She stumbled into him with a gasp. “You know, if the electricity came back on, I would have had a better shot climbing out myself and not getting shocked then to have you pull me out.”
    He rolled his eyes. “No, you wouldn’t have. Did you touch it at all when I pulled you out?”
    She glanced at the ground, and her jaw clenched. “No.”
    “That’s right. Now let’s get out of here before someone spots us. By the way, how are we going to get back to the ship? I have no desire to climb that again.”
    “Why, it seemed to go smoothly?”
    “This security system learns. Next time I hack it, we’ll have less time to get over. Besides, scaling that thing isn’t without its price.”
    “What do you mean?”
    They came to the mouth of the alley and he looked both ways, hoping no patrollers were roaming around. He flashed his palm at her absentmindedly as he observed the area for threats. There