Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,35

me? Maybe work for the government and oversee the project?”

Lucas sighed and ran his hand through her hair. “If only it were that easy. But I’m not ready to give up. I’m going to hound Harrington to make sure he insists that we have some oversight of the project. It should be easy enough to convince him that it’s needed in order to proceed with stage two.”

“More cyborgs?”

“Eventually. It took us a long time to find you, and I don’t think it will be any easier to find a new subject. We’ve been searching all this time with no luck. Not many people offer to donate their body to science within the age requirements and fitness abilities.”

“I’m…” Kaitlyn scanned her memory banks, trying to come up with the correct word to fit the situation. “Grateful for the time we were able to have together.”

Lucas cupped her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her gently. The kiss quickly intensified. When he kissed her, everything else faded away. All she was aware of was his scent, his lips on hers, and how warm his hands felt on her body.

Abruptly, her sensors picked up on another presence. Apparently, he couldn’t block out everything.

Kaitlyn’s eyes flew open, and she pulled away, jumping up. “Someone is coming.”

Lucas looked around and didn’t see or hear anything, but he knew better than to question her. He stood up, brushing off his slacks. “We should head back.”

“I wish we could stay here forever. Away from everyone.”

“Me too,” he said softly. He stepped closer and kissed her one last time.

As they were walking back, one of the guards came into view. “There you are. We lost you on the cameras after a while and became concerned. Everything okay?”

Lucas nodded. “We’re fine. We were just taking a walk and testing out Katilyn’s new upgrades. We must have been in a blind spot.”

“There are a couple of those, unfortunately. Perhaps we should have a guard patrolling those areas more often,” the guard said, more to himself than to them.

“Not a bad idea.” Lucas tried for ambivalence, but his voice sounded strained to Kaitlyn.

With a quick nod, the guard walked in the opposite direction.

“So much for that hiding spot,” Kaitlyn said sadly.

“We’ll just have to find another.”

Kaitlyn was suddenly flooded with sadness. Even if it is only for one more day…

Chapter Sixteen

Mr. Harrington strolled into the laboratory on a wave of expensive-smelling cologne. “Who’s up for paintball?” he boomed, breaking the silence so abruptly that Professor Adams jumped at his desk. “I need to stretch my legs, and we should try out the new equipment.”

Kaitlyn bit the inside of her lip and looked down at her sneakers to keep from smiling. She loved the rare chances she had to roam in the woods, and playing a true sport instead of staged tests. This only happened when the highly competitive Harrington was around.

“I’m game,” Lucas said from behind his desk. He snuck a peak at Kate and their eyes met across the room.

“How about you, Adams?” Harrington asked with a smile.

The professor chuckled, holding up both hands. “I think I’ll pass this time. My old body can’t keep up with you youngsters. Last time we played, I had bruises for a week. I’m sure Quess would be interested.”

“Call her. Some of the guards are going to join us as well.” Harrington turned to Kaitlyn, sizing her up. “They like a challenge.”

Adams picked up the phone to call his granddaughter as Lucas asked, “Teams or individual?”

“Individual,” Harrington answered with a wolfish smile.

Lucas groaned. Kaitlyn always won when they played individual.

“Let’s get suited up.” Harrington rubbed his hands together in front of his face. “Kaitlyn, no body gear for you.”

She nodded. They would have the camouflage to help them, and her pale skin would be like a beacon in the sunlight, giving them somewhat of an edge. Theoretically, she thought with an inward grin, her hard drive already computing the odds.

Half an hour later, the players gathered in the foyer, and they made their way outside and deep into the property. It was a crisp fall day and the sun shone brightly through the bare tree limbs above them as they came to a stop in the area they used for paintball.

After defining the boundaries, Dr. Harrington laid out some basic ground rules.

“Okay, it’s a free-for-all. Everybody against everybody. If you’re hit and out, move to this area.” He pointed at a spot on the map. “Once there’s only one person left,