Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,54

impulse.

Evan.

Her eyes met his, and she forced her face to stay blank.

“Cassidy?” His voice was incredulous. He abruptly let go of the woman and stepped forward.

Cassidy. Not only had the IFICS taken her old life, they had given her a new name.

“Excuse me?” Kaitlyn pulled her hat down lower.

He was silent for a long time, his girlfriend shifting uncomfortably behind him, and Kaitlyn in front, standing still, her heart hammering.

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head, his face pale. “You look like someone I once knew.”

Kaitlyn covertly scanned Evan and was surprised to see he had a wedding band on his left hand. She glanced over at the blonde—she wore a matching band. Kaitlyn gritted her teeth; he hadn’t wasted any time moving on. She kept her face expressionless.

“It’s uncanny, really. The resemblance.” Evan’s face looked pained. “It’s like seeing a ghost.”

The blonde woman came up and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “Sorry, sweetie,” she said. Addressing Kaitlyn, she added, “He lost someone once. Any girl with dark hair and your build always stops him in his tracks.”

“It’s okay.” Kaitlyn was proud when her own voice didn’t waver. “I saw a movie once where they said everyone has a twin.”

“We should go, babe,” the blonde murmured to Evan.

Evan’s eyes were glued to Kaitlyn’s face. It was making her uncomfortable.

“Your friend’s name was Cassidy?” Kaitlyn asked the question before she lost her nerve. “What happened to her, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“She was murdered. A long time ago.”

A long time ago? Kaitlyn opened her mouth to ask “how long?” but Evan spoke again, turning to his wife. “The resemblance really is uncanny, isn’t it, Rachel?”

The woman nodded in agreement, her sapphire gaze regarding Kaitlyn seriously. “Yes. It is eerie. Come on, babe. Let’s leave this poor girl alone. We’re sorry to bother you.”

Kaitlyn nodded but didn’t say anything more as the woman took hold of Evan’s arm and pulled him past her. She could smell his cologne as he passed, his eyes catching hers one last time. Kaitlyn breathed deeply; the scent was so familiar. She continued down the sidewalk, her hands still shaking from the encounter.

How could he have replaced her so quickly? He was married?

Something wasn’t right. Quess had said Evan was twenty-one, and it had bothered Kaitlyn at the time, but she wasn’t sure why. If she was only seventeen, had her parents let her date a twenty-one year old? A cursory scan of state laws told her that was illegal.

She was murdered. A long time ago.

How long?

Kaitlyn waited until Evan and the blonde had turned a corner and were out of sight, then she took off at a steady run. Lucas had warned her she was faster than humans, and she needed to be careful not to draw attention to herself. A six mile per hour pace seemed adequate. She ran through the streets and came to a stop before the first store she found. The store had bars on the windows. She had obviously ventured into the bad side of town.

Taking a deep breath, Kaitlyn walked through the door and grabbed a soda and some beef jerky. After she paid the cashier, she asked, “What is today?”

“Monday. All day it’s been Monday.”

Kate shook her head. “I mean the date and year.”

The older woman looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Are you being fresh with me, child?”

“No. I was in an accident and sometimes I forget things.”

“Oh, you poor thing. Amnesia?”

Kate scanned the definition and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Amnesia.”

“It’s the twenty-eighth of September, 2014.”

Kate wobbled on her feet, but managed to compose herself before the cashier noticed her panic. The mechanism that overrode her balance set in place, whirled, and she felt better.

Twenty-fourteen.

“Thank you.” Kaitlyn turned towards the door, her thoughts clouded.

“Honey.” The cashier pushed the bag over the counter, her dark eyes concerned. “You forgot your bag.”

Kaitlyn thanked her, grabbed the bag, and nearly ran from the building. She stopped on the sidewalk, the hot sun beating down on her. Her world had tilted.

Three years had passed since her accident. Not several months, like she had thought. Where did that time go?

Kaitlyn needed answers, and there was only one person who could give them to her.

Lucas.

Her mind was racing. How could this be? She was so distracted she didn’t notice the group of guys up ahead. She heard someone whistle and her head snapped up, and she stopped in her tracks.

“My my, what’s a girl like you doing on this side of town? Slumming?”

Slumming? She didn’t