Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,65

jealousy and nodded. “It could have been. I didn’t like the way she was laughing and smiling at you.”

Lucas stopped in his tracks. “Listen, Kate. Emotions are not easy to deal with for anyone, and I think it might be more amplified with you. There is not a woman alive that will ever be a threat to you. You are all I want. Understand?”

“I’m trying to. It’s just so confusing, Lucas.”

He kissed her softly, and a sense of calm washed over her. For a moment, it was only them in the room, embracing beneath the dingy lights.

Lucas broke the kiss with a cocky grin. “Let’s see if I have a chance at winning against you. I’m telling you, I was captain of the team. Well co-captain.”

Lucas explained how the game worked. When it was Kaitlyn’s first turn, she walked up to the lane and pulled back her arm, then expertly rolled the ball down the lane. She jumped up, grinning when it cracked loudly against the pins, sending them all flying. Strike.

Six turns later, she hit her sixth strike in a row. People were starting to notice.

“Kate.” Lucas sidled up to her, shaking his head in amusement. “I know this idea will sound foreign to you, but you’ve got to miss some of the pins on your next turn.”

“Why? This game is so easy.”

“Blend in, remember?”

Kate looked around. People were watching her. “I can do that.”

Lucas smiled. “I’ll be back. I’m going to get a drink.”

“Okay.” Kate sat down on the hard plastic chair to wait for Lucas to return. She wondered if she was ever going to get anything right.

She felt a man approaching before she saw him, and WARNING flashed. He was six foot, one-ninety-five with dark hair; she couldn’t make out his eye color in the dim light, but they were pale. Her body tensed, and she stood up, ready to spring into action.

“Well, hey there, pretty thing. You sure are putting on quite a show for the rest of us.” He came to a stop only inches away.

Kaitlyn’s alarms were off the charts. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, balancing on the balls of her toes in case she needed to act. But a small part of her remembered the earlier interaction with the blonde girl flashing Caution, and for the first time, she was uncertain. Was this guy a real threat?

“What do you want?” she asked calmly and wished Lucas would hurry up.

“I’m looking at it.” His hand came forward as if he were going to touch her, and without considering whether she was doing the right thing, Kaitlyn grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. He hit the hardwood floor hard on his back, and a long, low moan escaping him.

Lucas rushed up, his eyes wide as he leaned down to help the guy, who, winded, was struggling to get to his feet.

“What the hell happened?” Lucas asked, glaring at the man.

“He tried to touch me,” Kate said, her voice flat. Now that she’d laid him out flat, her indicators had switched to not a threat.

“That’s it?” Lucas groaned.

“Your girlfriend is a freak, man. I just wanted to say hello, that’s all, and then she went all ninja on my ass.” He rubbed the back of his head.

“I thought he was a threat,” Kate mumbled.

“She doesn’t like to be touched.”

“No kidding.”

“You need to leave.” Lucas tilted his head towards the door.

“You’re lucky I don’t call the cops on her for assault.” The guy stalked off, his ego probably hurt more than his body.

Lucas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re not ready, Kate. We need to get out of here. Now.”

Panic coursed through her veins. She grabbed his arms. “Don’t say that! I can get ready. I promise. Please don’t make me go back.” Her eyes glistened by the neon lights.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said gently. “As you are right now, you pose a danger to the population. We’ll bring in help. Specialists. You need to relearn the rules of society.”

“I can’t go back there.” Kaitlyn lowered her eyes. “I just can’t. Not to live.”

“Aw, Kate.” Lucas put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “I would never make you move back there. You can still stay with me, but we can’t have any more of these outings until we get some help.”

“You promise I can stay with you?”

“I promise. But Kate, this is serious. If you do something bad, you could get