Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,44
can’t let them have you.”
“Where would I go? I don’t exactly blend in,” Kaitlyn murmured, her hands resting on his chest, her mind filtering through all the information.
“You can blend in, Kate. You just have to wear long clothing to cover what we’ve done to you. Don’t get in long conversations with people. Keep to yourself.”
“It won’t work, and you know it,” Kaitlyn said. “You’re shaking, and that’s why.” She covered his hands with her own. “There is no way out of this for me. I should just go, Lucas. It’s not worth you getting in trouble. It’s too big of a risk.”
“It’s my risk to take. You have to try. Please, Kate.”
She bit her lip, scanning her mind for options. “Do you have a plan?”
“Of course. But, Kate… I can’t know where you are. If I know, I will look for you. I can’t lead them to you. They’ll watch me, they’ll watch all of us once you escape.”
Escape. The word sounded so foreign to her. She reluctantly stepped away from his warm embrace and tugged off the clothes she wore. She could feel Lucas’s eyes on her as she dressed in the black pants and pulled the long sleeved black shirt over her head. “What about the GPS?”
“I’m going to fry it. They won’t be able to track you. As long as you stay out of the limelight.”
“Limelight?” Kaitlyn frowned.
Lucas smiled sadly. “Just don’t get caught.”
He pulled her close and kissed her deeply, as if he only had a moment left to live. It literally took her breath away.
“I still don’t know how you do that to me,” she said against his lips, stealing one more kiss.
He brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. “Whatever you feel is magnified by a thousand for me. God, I’m going to miss you.” His voice was hoarse.
Kaitlyn opened her mouth to argue such a thing was not statistically possible, but something overrode the reaction. She realized without having to be told that he was just being sweet. But was it her computer that recognized the sentiment, or the real Kate?
“Kate, I’m going to do something I should have done a long time ago. I hope you can forgive me for all I’ve taken from you.”
“Lucas don’t say that, none of this is your fault. You were just a pawn in Harrington’s game.”
“Shh.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “Turn around.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m giving you your past back. Memories of your old life.”
Kaitlyn’s breathing hitched and she paused in the act of turning to look at him seriously. “My real life? Human life?”
Lucas nodded. “I programmed it so that your memories won’t hit you for thirty minutes. That should give you more than enough time to get off the compound.”
“But how? I thought they were gone…”
He closed his eyes, pained. “Not gone, Kate. Saved to a hard drive and taken away from you.”
“They saved my memories?”
Opening his eyes, he said, “No. I did.”
Kaitlyn couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “Do they know?”
He shook his head.
“Why would you save them?”
“Because I cared about the girl you were before you came to us.” Before she could ask another question, Lucas went on. “I can’t take you through this time. I need an alibi once they realize you’ve escaped. It will give you more time. I’ll have to sound the alarm when Harrington sends me to pick you up, and I find the room empty.”
Pivoting on the balls of her feet, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for one last kiss. The thought of never tasting his lips on hers again made her feel hollow. “Thank you.” A small part of her was annoyed that he had her memories the whole time, but she pushed the thought aside. He was risking so much for her.
Once they broke away, Lucas looked at her sadly. She wondered if his heart was hurting as much as hers. “Let me implant the chip to override the commands. I wish I had known you then, Kaitlyn.”
Kaitlyn hesitated, and then slowly, she turned around. He pulled down her shirt and kissed her neck. There was an audible click and she felt a pinch as something was inserted into her mainframe.
“Okay, it’s done.”
She turned to face him, and he handed her an iPhone. Kaitlyn had never seen one before, but it would be easy enough to figure out.
“There are maps on here and access to information. The phone is not traceable.