Freak of Nature

Chapter Twenty-Four

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. However, 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. Sliding in the front seat, she 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 then left, and walked the two blocks until she was directly behind Lucas’s house a street over. She should wait till nightfall, but she wanted answers now. 

Harrington’s security team wasn’t that large. More than likely there was only one guard watching the house and he would never see her enter. 

She walked through the yard and hopped the short chain linked fence. As she suspected, there was no one in the backyard. She hurried up the back steps, and knocked on the door. 

The door swung open, and Lucas stood, staring at her, his mouth agape. He was only wearing plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else. The sight of his bare skin almost made her forget what she was there for. 

“Kate?” He pulled her into the dim interior and slammed the door. “What are you … how did you … what are you doing here? There’s a guard out front.”

“That’s why I came in the back door.” She looked away from his chest and met his eyes. “Why Lucas? Why all the lies?”

“Come in here and sit down. What’s happened?”

He led her into an open living room. Dark curtains were drawn and the lights were out. A worn leather couch faced a brick fireplace, and a large red rug covered the hardwood floor beneath a coffee table. The walls were lined with bookshelves. A brushed metal lamp sat on a dark, wooden end table. Her mind was going through the stores where they were purchased, but she ignored it. She didn’t care where Lucas shopped. She wanted different answers. 

“Sit down.” Lucas motioned to the couch.

A black cat with a white patch of fur around its left eye strolled slowly into the room and sat down, flicking her tail as she stared suspiciously at Kate. She wondered if it could tell she wasn’t fully human.

“How old am I, Lucas, and … you have a cat?”

He settled in a recliner next to the couch and dropped his head. “You’re twenty, and yes, I have a cat. I guess you could say she came with the house.”