by Julia Crane
They took cover, waiting until he emptied the magazine. He dropped the gun and pulled out a pistol. His face was set in a grimace from the pain, but his eyes were wild. She almost thought he was enjoying himself. Dragging his leg, he tried to put more distance between them.
“Cover me,” Kaitlyn hissed to Ace.
He nodded.
Kaitlyn glided forward, she didn’t even try to take cover, and stopped when close enough for her to talk to Dasvoik. “You’re a hard man to find.”
“Nature of the game, my love,” came the response. He took a shot and Kaitlyn moved with inhuman speed the bullet didn’t even come close.
“You enjoy inflicting pain don’t you?” Kaitlyn asked disgusted, her gun trained on his head.
An evil grin spread across his face. “Very much so. I’m going to have fun breaking you. You’re much too confident, not my type I’m afraid, but I think I could make and exception for someone as lovely as you.”
Kaitlyn strode closer, took aim, and shot his knee cap. He cried out in pain, chest heaving.
With effort he raised his hand. Before he could fire at her, Kate shot the gun out of his hand. He looked down as if surprised the gun was no longer there.
Kaitlyn strode closer, took aim, and shot at his kneecap. He cried out in pain, chest heaving.
“That wasn’t very lawful.” Dasvoik spit out through clenched teeth. Even though he was helpless he still managed to look smug.
Kaitlyn realized he thought she was the police and smiled. She didn’t have to abide by any stringent laws.
A bullet tore into the ground nearby. She heard a few shots go off from the direction where she’d left Ace and bodies drop to the ground.
“Go ahead arrest me,” Dasvoik said. “I’ve got the best lawyers money can buy. I’ll never spend a night in jail.”
“You won’t be needing a lawyer,” she replied. “You’ve taken too many innocent lives to ever have a chance at redemption. Where did the last shipment go?” Kaitlyn took another step forward.
“Are you mad?” Dasvoik groaned, his face growing paler by the moment, his eyes darted towards his gun which was just out of reach..
“If you tell me, I might spare your life.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” With a primal scream he lunged for the gun. Kaitlyn was faster. She darted forward and kicked the gun away.
“Where are they?” Kaitlyn asked calmly. “You’re loosing blood at an alarming rate. I would speak quickly.”
“You’re a lunatic. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
With apparent indifference she shot at his other knee, Dasvoik’s scream echoed loudly in the woods.
She studied Dasvoik, for the first time she saw fear in his eyes. The sight brought her a great deal of pleasure. After what he’d done to Aaliyah he deserved to be afraid. Quietly, she waited for his terror to subside.
“What the hell are you?” Dasvoik shouted his face was contoured in agony.
With a slight tilt of her head she said, “I’m Kaitlyn and you are my target.”
He became hysterical. “Christ, you really are crazy.” Dasvoik tried to push himself backwards, but between the bullet in his thigh and knees he didn’t make it very far. The movement only caused him more pain.
“And you really are a sick bastard. You have ruined so many lives.” Kaitlyn said coldly.
In a blur, she holstered her pistol and flipped open her knife slowly coming closer. The knife felt soothing in her hands, the metal blade glittered in the moonlight.
She took her time walking behind him, sat back on her heels, jerked his head back with his hair and pressed the cool steel against his bare skin. A quiet reminder of his own morality. She could feel the heat of his body, smell his scent. His pulse raced and the smell of fear tinged the air.
Dasvoik froze. She pressed the knife a little harder, a trickle of blood slid down his throat.
“Tell me what you did with the captives,” she said, her mouth mere inches from his ear and barely louder than a whisper.
“Go to hell!” Dasvoik yanked a hidden knife free and drove it backwards.
Kaitlyn leapt back, instinctively sinking the knife into his throat. At the same time Dasvoik’s head partially exploded. Blood and gore flew over her.
Ace ran from the trees his rifle panning the area.
Kaitlyn pushed the body off her and stood up. “I told you I had him!”
Ace smirked. “Don’t mention it.”
“I didn’t see the knife.” She acknowledged. “So thank you.”
“I’m sure you would have managed, but I promised Erik, so I wasn’t about to take a chance.”
Kaitlyn looked down at Dasvoik. She couldn’t believe he was dead. Now they might never find Aaliyah’s brother. “Do you think there are any left?”
Ace glanced around. “If there are, I’m pretty sure they scrambled once Dasvoik went down. Jesus, it’s like a war zone up here. How they hell is this going to be cleaned up?”
“Harrington’s working with the local authorities. Dasvoik has been a thorn in their sides for sometime.” Lucas came over the radio she could hear the strain in his voice. “A helicopter is coming in to evacuate the four of you.”
“Alpha 4 status?” Kaitlyn asked, wiping her face off with her sleeve.
“He’s stable and will be fine. We’ll make sure you see him soon,.” Lucas said. “Move to LZ1 for pickup.”
She and Ace immediately began to head in the direction indicated.
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell us the location of the cargo,” Kaitlyn said.
“About that.” Lucas sounded pleased. “I was able to work a little magic while you guys were climbing the cliff. The sequence was the name of the cargo ship. There were some discrepancies, which is why it didn’t show up right away. Too many fives, and the letter I was actually a one. The UN has been notified and is working with the authorities to find the victims. The ones that can be accounted for will be rounded up as quickly as possible. The paper trail is thin, but there is hope for Aaliyah’s brother.”
“You’re a genius,” Kaitlyn said, eyes on her foot placement, as they descended down the rugged terrain.
Lucas was quiet. She heard the sound of him typing and assumed he was working out the details of the site’s clean up.
Ace cleared his throat, drawing her glance.
“Kaitlyn, I want to apologize for being an jackass,” he said. “It would be a honor to work with you anytime. I don’t care if there isn’t something quite right about you.”
Kaitlyn hesitated and then held out her fist, careful to emulate the movement the way Erik had with Ace at the house in Maine.
Ace bumped her knuckles with his own.
Kaitlyn grinned. She’d saved innocent people, killed a madman and now, knew what it meant to be part of a team.
She’d come a long way since waking up in an IFICS lab months before.
Epilogue
Kaitlyn stood back and watched as the little boy slowly exited the plane with Harrington by his side.
Aaliyah and her parents rushed forward and threw their arms around him.
Everyone was sobbing. Happy tears.
Because of the age of the boy, he was not sold off like some of the others into unmentionable trades. A shopkeeper had bought the boy and put him to work cleaning the floors and other menial tasks. From what they were able to find out about the old woman, she had treated him kindly. Apparently she had lost her own son to influenza when he was young and never gotten over the loss.
Quess said someone must have been watching over the boy, an unseen force, such as a guardian angel. Kaitlyn didn’t know if she believed that, but she did have to admit luck had been on his side. And she was happy for that.
Aaliyah had a long road ahead of her. She’d agreed to stay on the compound and finish her schooling. They were hopeful that with more time with Dr. Chambers she would someday be able to lead a normal life. Whatever normal was
. Quess had a new friend and Kaitlyn spent time with Aaliyah when she could. She felt a bond to the girl.
Lucas draped his arm over her shoulder. “We did good.”
“Yes, we did.” Kaitlyn smiled back at him.
Erik strode up without so much as a limp.
“How’s the leg?” Lucas asked.
“Good as new. Nanotechnology’s insane. Those little microscopic robots were able to repair all the tissue damage,” he paused. “If I’m lucky, maybe one day I’ll have enhancements like Kaitlyn.”
Kaitlyn looked skeptical, but Lucas shrugged. “You never know...”
Erik lowered his voice. “Any word on who compromised the mission?”
Lucas ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “Still trying to figure it out.”
The glass door opened and everyone filed inside. Lucas dropped his arm.
Aaliyah smiled shyly at Kaitlyn and dropped her eyes.
Kaitlyn eased forward and dropped to her knee in front of the young boy. She looked him in the eye. When he didn’t look away she knew he would be okay. The truly damaged ones had trouble with eye contact. Several of the girls that’d been rescued were virtually catatonic.
The fact that human trafficking was still alive and well in today’s world was absurd to her. According to her internal computer, the sale of human beings was the third largest illicit trade following drugs and weapons, but was growing faster than both of these. An estimated fifty percent of the victims were children and eighty percent were women.
How many more men like Dasvoik are out there? It made her proud to know she was in a position to help people like Aaliyah and Darrius. Reborn as half robot, she had a purpose that was incredible, one she wouldn’t have had, if she’d never met people like Lukas and Mr. Harrington.
“I’m glad you made it home,” Kaitlyn said to the little boy.
He looked at her for a moment and then a brilliant smile lit his face. He threw his arms around Kaitlyn and squeezed. She squeezed him back and looked up at Harrington, who smiled in return. Anything she had been through to get to this point was well worth the journey. Helping others was what she was made for.
Kaitlyn stood up, and they all followed the family to the waiting cars.
Once the door was shut, Harrington handed Kaitlyn an envelope containing her next mission. She felt a familiar tingle run down her spine.
What would be waiting for them next?
Also by Julia Crane
Coexist, Book 1 in Keegan’s Chronicles
Conflicted, Book 2 in Keegan’s Chronicles
Consumed, Book 3 in Keegan’s Chronicles
Anna, spin-off from Keegan’s Chronicles
Lauren, spin-off from Keegan’s Chronicles
Rourk, Keegan’s Chronicles novella
Mesmerized, co-written with Talia Jager
Dark Promise, co-written with Talia Jager
Broken Promise, co-written with Talia Jager
Eternal Youth, co-written with Heather Marie Adkins
About the Author
Julia Crane is the author of the YA paranormal fiction novels: Keegan’s Chronicles,
Mesmerized, Between Words series, and Eternal Youth. Julia was greatly encouraged by her mother to read and use her imagination, and she’s believed in magical creatures since the day her
grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Julia has traveled far and wide to all the places her
grandmother told her about, gaining inspiration from her journeys to places like Nepal,
Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Italy, France and many more. And who knows? Maybe the magical
creatures she writes about are people she met along the way.
Julia has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Find Julia online at juliacraneauthor.com
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Acknowledgments
A special thanks to my family for giving me the freedom to write.
I would also like to thank Amy, Kendal and Lizzy for taking the time to make this novel presentable.
Eden Crane for the amazing cover.
My Crazy for Crane street team.
My assistant, Allison Potter, who holds everything together.
My husband for his technical and tactical knowledge.
My fans for all your support which means more then you will ever know.
And the Bloggers who help spread the word—without you, I wouldn’t have made it
this far. Thank you!!!
