Tour Date
May 4-7, 2021
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
In the virtual utopia of the Simulation, everyone will live peacefully and without fear or needs—at least that’s how they’re selling it. But the government plans to use this program to take control of the entire human race. Elisha Dewitt has just been given her first mission to help prevent this, and she’s ready to prove she can go incognito just as well as any other master thief.
Breaking and entering? No sweat. She’s done worse. Stealing a cassette tape from the museum vaults will be easy—in, out, done—until he shows up…and everything gets way more complicated. Garrett Alexander just has that effect.
Nothing is as it seems, and a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse begins with Garrett, her rival and match in every way. Not knowing who she can trust, Elisha decides it’s up to her to rescue everyone—even Garrett—before the world as she knows it comes to a brutal end.
On alert for evidence that Garrett beat me here—or is planning to swoop in and ambush me—I inch across the room, my pulse roaring in my ears, to the last row of shelves where time capsule 78 sits, its plastic wrap perfectly stretched over the corners and intact. It appears I’m first to arrive and a warm rush floods my veins. Biting back a smile, I carefully slide the cardboard box off the shelf before setting it on the floor. I crouch and unwrap the plastic before opening the box’s flaps. Having been trained to respect the property it is my duty to steal, my gloved fingers carefully pick through the objects inside. I quickly set aside artifacts—a silver and white wig, a banana-shaped harmonica, a packet of fan letters—until I find what I’m looking for. The tape. A little thrill shoots through me as I pick up the black plastic rectangle labeled “Interview with Jackie Kennedy December 17, 1964” in loopy handwriting on a white sticker. I slip the cassette into the pocket on my garter and I’m about to close the box when an envelope bearing a pencil sketch of a woman catches my eye. Something about her expression—the wistfulness in her eyes, the sadness that is evident despite her small smile—draws me in, like a bittersweet reminder of who I am, and I want to savor it.
Take it. The voice is wind.
Ding ding. Outside the glass room, the elevator doors slide open.
My stomach twists and I squint into the hallway, waiting for someone—Garrett? Tyson? Security?—to emerge, my heart hammering. Seconds tick by and the muscles in my legs twitch, urging me to run, but I hold steady. All is silent. The doors close and, satisfied I’m still alone but on high alert, I hardly notice as I tuck the sketch into the pocket with the tape. I check my watch: 9:12. Right on time.
I close the time capsule, rewrap it in plastic, and slide it back onto the shelf before retracing my steps. After the automatically locking doors close behind me, I cross the research room, ticking off my next moves as I go, each one calculated—scrambrella up, take the elevator down to the lobby, tuck scrambrella into purse, walk out the front door.
At least that’s my plan.
But, like my instincts promised, nothing ever goes according to plan.
When the elevator doors open, Garrett, still disguised as Professor Humbolton, is lounging casually against the back wall, his arms folded across his chest.
The air freezes in my lungs and for a moment I’m paralyzed.
“Willa.” He smiles. “Going down?”
Forcing myself to breathe, I will my limbs to move into the elevator and thrust my chin skyward like I could care less about his presence. “Not without a fight.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie never knew she was a writer. Her childhood obsessions centered on old movies, costumes, fashion, playing dress up, and books. Lots of books. On her quest to play make believe for a living she decided she wanted to be a fashion designer and after satisfying her practical parents by graduating from UCLA with a BA in Communication Studies she went on to pursue her design dreams with a Professional Designation in Fashion Design from FIDM. She spent five years helping to design romantic dresses that were sold everywhere from Anthropologie to Nordstrom before the economic downturn led to a career shift and that practical degree came in handy. Now in charge of the ecommerce business for In Bloom Lingerie, she was asked to start the company blog. Not knowing what to say about lingerie but needing to use bridal keywords, she decided to start a fictional serial about how a girl named Olivia Bloom, who worked for In Bloom Lingerie, became engaged. And that is when Katie fell in love with storytelling and the path to make believe became clear. She has not looked back since. Katie lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
