Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,30

to be so hard to give you away. You are my life’s work. I’ve dreamed of creating you since I was a little boy.” Her sensors informed her that his expression was sincere, as if he indeed was making a great sacrifice. If that was true, then why did he have to give her away?

Not a threat.

Her body relaxed.

She said nothing. She only answered him if he asked a question, which he rarely did.

Harrington’s blue-grey eyes stared into her own. “It has to be done. You are the future of mankind. It still pisses me off I’m going to have to hand you over to someone else. It’s like giving away my first born.”

She had no idea what that meant. The thought of leaving what had become her home sent her reeling. She shouldn’t have cared where they put her, but leaving one owner for another was frightening. Not to mention never seeing Lucas or Quess again. Her body revved up, and then cooled down just as quickly. No one was the wiser.

Just then, Lucas returned through the double doors. His blue eyes searched her face as if looking for something. His shoulders slumped, and his eyes appeared weary. “Dr. Harrington, hello,” Lucas said, shifting his attention to where it belonged.

Harrington crossed the room to meet him. He threw his arm around Lucas’s shoulder. “My dear boy, we did it.” The old man’s face broke into a huge grin, and Harrington stared at Kaitlyn, full of pride. Standing side by side, the two men looked as if they could be related.

“Fill me in on her upgrades,” Harrington said to Lucas as they walked out the door without another word to Kaitlyn or Professor Adams.

She could hear them talking until they made it down the hallway and out the exit door. Lucas did not mention their conversation from the night before to Dr. Harrington. At least, not yet. He had promised he would keep it to himself.

She hoped he was a man of his word. Something in her told her he could be trusted. Much like Quess and her pinky promise.

Chapter Fourteen

Lucas sat at his desk, tapping his foot. He was the only one left in the lab; everyone else had gone home. There was a reason for that, beyond his usual overworked, overachieving ways: He was dying to see Kaitlyn—alone.

He wanted to make sure, to see for himself that the upgrade worked, even though the confirmation would tear him apart.

What he needed was a legitimate excuse to go back to her room. He looked around the office and grabbed a folder off the desk. It would have to do. He’d make something up if he was stopped, not that they would, the guards usually left him alone. With Harrington back, however, he’d rather play it safe.

He hurried out the door and down the long hallway.

He was anxious to see Kaitlyn, but there was a twinge of fear in his chest. He didn’t know if he could handle the probability of a completely blank stare. Seeing her look at him like that would be like a bullet through his heart. Self-inflicted. Would she remember what had happened between them last night? The coding should not have erased the memory, but she could be confused by it, or just write it off as insignificant. He wasn’t sure how her brain would access the information.

She hadn’t acknowledged him all day, not that she’d really had the opportunity. If she was still in there she would have found a way to let him know. A glance, anything, but she had been robotic all day.

As he turned down the J-shaped hallway that led into the dormitories, his step faltered. A janitor stood in the middle of the walkway, pushing a broom. The older gentleman glanced up and acknowledged Lucas with a tip of his hat.

“Evening,” Lucas responded, sidestepping around the man and clutching his folder. Nothing more was said, and Lucas left the janitor behind, the sound of the steady swish of the broom fading the further he walked. When he finally stood in front of her door, he closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

Before he had a chance to knock, her voice filtered through the door. “Come in, Lucas.”

Of course she knew he was coming. She most likely knew before he made it down the second hallway. It was one of the things she was programmed to do. She could detect motion and potential threats. Her mind filtered sounds at an