Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,56
the handheld device, Kaitlyn reached for the phone. She noticed the symbol at the top informing her that the battery was getting low.
She hesitated for only a moment before she tapped the button and spoke as clearly as she could. “Lucas Andrews address. Northern Virginia.”
Kaitlyn actually smiled. A robot talking to a robot.
A list of potential addresses scrolled across the phone, and Kaitlyn was impressed. She narrowed it down to three locations, and turned off the phone to conserve the battery.
She didn’t notice the scenery or the passengers this time. Her sole focus was finding out what had happened to her lost time. She knew going back was dangerous. They would be looking for her. They might even be watching Lucas, but she had to chance it. She had to know.
She dozed off, and for the first time since she could recall, she didn’t dream about Evan.
As the train pulled into the station, she grabbed her bag and wondered about the significance of this change. Maybe seeing him in person and knowing he had accepted her death and moved on had allowed her to close that part of her subconscious. She still couldn’t get over the fact that he was married, or that her real name was Cassidy. But the most mind-boggling was the time that had passed. Where had that time gone?
It was cool as she made her way out into the early morning. She didn’t notice it of course, but her internal thermometer flashed fifty-seven degrees. The station bustled with commuters coming and going, and she stopped to watch for a moment. So many people going about their day, living their normal lives. She saw a man wearing a suit carrying a briefcase. He looked like he was talking to himself, but she noticed he was speaking into an bluetooth earpiece. A long line at the coffee cart. A woman pulled her sweater tighter in the brisk air. They had no idea a freak, a deadly super soldier, walked amongst them.
Switching on the phone, she browsed the map function. It took Kaitlyn almost an hour to reach the first potential address by foot. There was an older model Cadillac in the driveway, so unless Lucas lived with someone, she had a feeling this would be a bust. Although, with the way things were going, even that wouldn’t surprise her at this point.
She rang the doorbell, and an older man answered.
Smiling brightly, Kaitlyn asked, “Excuse me, is Lucas home?”
The man stared at her for a long moment before answering. “Nope. Lucas is at his friends house. What do you want with him?”
Her mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. Finally, she just went with the truth. “It was a shot in the dark. My ex-boyfriend’s name is Lucas Andrews. I looked him up, and this was one of the addresses.”
The man tsked. “Damn computers can tell you anything nowadays. Sorry, wrong house, I’m afraid. I think my Lucas is a bit too young for you. Good luck on your search.” He shut the door.
Following her instincts, Kaitlyn skipped the second name on the list and made her way to the third, even though it was further away. Something in the back of her mind told her it was the location she was searching for. When she checked the map, it gave her the distances when walking and for when traveling by car. She decided to grab a cab like they always did in the movies. After standing on the street for ten minutes, she realized the chances of catching a cab on a side street in the suburbs were not very good, so navigated to the main highway.
The first time a yellow cab rode by, she stuck out her hand, but it drove past her. She had no idea what she was doing wrong.
About ten minutes later, another came down the highway, and pulled over. She slid in the front seat and showed the driver the address on her phone. The car pulled out and neither spoke on the drive, which was fine by her. She wasn’t feeling chatty.
“Please drive past the house without stopping.”
The driver raised an eyebrow, but kept driving.
Kaitlyn recognized Lucas’s Jeep in the driveway. She stared up at the small brick house. Hopefully, he didn’t have a secret wife she wasn’t aware of.
“Can you drop me off two blocks ahead?”
The driver drove ahead without a word. She noticed a black SUV parked across the street from Lucas’s.
Walking casually she turned right and