Fractured Innocence (#2 IFICS) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  Epilogue

  Also by Julia Crane

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Fractured Innocence

  Julia Crane

  Copyright 2013 by Julia Crane

  Ebook edition

  All rights reserved.

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any

  reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited. No

  part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior

  written permission of the author.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events; to real people, living

  or dead; or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and

  authenticity. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the

  author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life

  counterparts is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Valknut Press

  “Fractured Innocence” edited by Claire Teter

  Cover art by Eden Crane Design

  To my street team! You have no idea how much your support means to me.

  CHAPTER 1

  Kaitlyn unwrapped the towel from around her head and dropped it into the hamper. Her dark hair tumbled down her shoulders.

  Lucas gazed at her from the doorway. She loved the way he watched her so intently. It made her feel special. Wanted. Loved.

  There’d been a time in the not so distant past when she was lonely and ached for any human connection. She’d been terrified of showing even a hint of emotion, knowing she would be reduced to even more of a robot and less of a person if she did. Fear had caused her to hide away what little human elements were left of her, tightly guarding herself by placing a protective wall around her.

  Thankfully, those days were behind her. For the most part anyway. In the back of her mind, there was always the knowledge that IFICS still held all of the cards.

  She paused. It still surprised her how easily slang terms slid into her mind since the latest upgrades. Held all the cards. At least that phrase somewhat made sense, if one knew what poker was. Many phrases or sayings offended her sense of logic.

  Kaitlyn crossed the room and opened the dresser. She stepped into her underwear and then into her black pants, pulling them over her hips. She clasped her bra and pulled the long-sleeved black shirt over her head. Sighing, she tugged at the sleeves to make sure all of her robotics were hidden from the human eye. On the compound, she could walk around freely and not have to hide what she was, but today they were leaving the compound.

  She felt oddly exposed in the long-sleeved T-shirt. She had to move carefully so the sleeves didn’t ride up her arms and reveal what was underneath—the parts of her body that made her not quite human.

  Kaitlyn caught a glimpse of Lucas in the mirror and processed the creases in his forehead as concern. “It’s going to be fine, Lucas.”

  “I know.” He mumbled, raking his hand through his dark hair, making it even more tousled than usual. It was a nervous habit of his that she loved so much. “I’m just worried. This is your first real time mission. I’m a little distressed, that’s all. So many things could go wrong.”

  Kaitlyn turned and met his gaze. Just the way she was taught. “Dr. Chambers told me I need to take your fears seriously, but you more than anyone know I can take care of myself. You helped program me, remember? There really is nothing to worry about.”

  “I guess.” Lucas hesitated and then continued. “I know it doesn’t make any sense, but a big part of me wishes I was going with you instead of Erik. There I said it.” He gave her a half smile, and his cheeks flushed.

  Kaitlyn inspected Lucas as he crossed the room. Her eyes roamed his bare broad shoulders and rippling stomach. The plaid pajama bottoms clung to his muscular thighs. Reluctantly, she tore her gaze away from his body and forced herself to look back towards his troubled face.

  His clear blue eyes had never left her face. He came to a stop mere inches from her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. She wished she knew how to put his mind at ease. She could tell by his elevated heart rate he was upset.

  “Erik is a capable partner. You really don’t need to worry. If anything happened to me, he would complete the mission.”

  Lucas’s body tensed, and he took a physical step backwards. He looked as though she had punched him in the stomach. Not good.

  He swallowed. “Jesus, Kaitlyn, I’m not worried about the mission. I’m concerned about you. It would kill me if anything happened to you.”

  She tilted her head and looked at him puzzled. “You would not die, Lucas. Your heart would continue to beat.”

  Lucas slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him. His eyes bore into hers, making her feel weak in the knees. “It would feel like I died.”

  She laced her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his. Often her mind did not understand the human emotions, but her body did. Every fiber of her being wanted to be close to him. Comfort him. “I guess I’ll just have to be extra careful.”

  He lowered his head, while Kaitlyn tilted her face upward. His lips pressed warmly against hers. She loved the way she felt in Lucas’s presence. He made her feel alive—human. Her hand dropped to his chest to feel his familiar heartbeat. Her sensors could tell her his beats per minute, but deep down she knew the elevated rate was because of her nearness. It was exhilarating to know she had such control of his body. She was astonished by the power a simple touch had; it was completely fascinating.

  A stroke of her hand made him shiver and her own desire spiraled wildly. Where Lucas was concerned her emotions ran freely. It was the rest of the world she had trouble with.

  His hand slid from her waist to her ribcage, drifting slowly upward until his hand cupped her breast. Kaitlyn sighed. Less than an hour ago, they had been entangled in each other’s arms. Her body still tingled from the feel of his bare flesh on hers.

  “We could crawl back in bed,” he whispered.

  Reluctantly, she pulled away. “I can’t be late, Lucas.”

  He touched her cheek gently, and a sad smile crossed his face. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

  “I’ll be back soon. It really shouldn’t take very long.” Her mind had already switched to the mission at hand. An image of the target, Vance Dasvoik, flashed in her mind with a bull's-eye on his head. Thirty-four years old, wavy dark hair streaked with gray, olive skin, cleft chin and unusual honey colored eyes. He looked normal, but he was by all accounts a very dangerous man. One that she would take pleasure in destroying.

  “Not soon enough.” Lucas ran his hand over his face. “But, you’re right. We need to get to Harrington’s office.
He’ll be pissed if we’re late. I gotta throw on some clothes.”

  “I’ll be downstairs.” Kate grabbed her bag off the floor and trotted down the steps.

  She wasn’t looking forward to the changes she had to undergo this morning. Her teal-colored, robotic parts would be replaced with skin-colored pieces. She had argued with Harrington about it, but he insisted she needed to be able to blend in. In case anything went wrong.

  Kaitlyn wanted Dasvoik to see exactly what was coming for him. To see the fear in his eyes when he saw a half human raining hell down on him.

  Professor Adams had argued that she was showing vanity, and that was not the way she was programmed, which quickly shut down her own arguments. The last thing she wanted was more changes to her programming.

  In the end, Harrington agreed to leave the parts on her back visible, as long as she never exposed herself in public.

  Over the last several months, IFICS had accepted the glitches in her programming and was willing to work around them. No matter how robotic they made her, there was a human element that had to be dealt with. To say it was a learning process was an understatement.

  She started out staying with Lucas in his apartment off the compound, but she kept bringing too much attention to herself. Accidental eavesdropping on their neighbors revealed they thought she was some sort of freak, despite her attempts to emulate human behavior.

  She wasn’t ready to be in the real world. As much as it pained her to admit it, Harrington had been right about her forever being stuck between the world of humans and computers.

  Kaitlyn pulled on her boots and took a final glance around their small home. Domino, their cat, rubbed her head against her leg, purring. Kaitlyn leaned down to scratch behind the cat’s ears. She would miss the stone cottage and the cat. But mainly she would miss waking up with Lucas by her side.

  After several months of cognitive behavioral therapy, Kaitlyn was finally allowed to live with Lucas. Of course, there had been a catch. They had to reside on the compound. Thankfully, as part of the compromise, they had their own house that was separated from the main buildings. No cameras and white walls that had marked her first few months as a laboratory experiment, before anyone realized that she was still human on the inside.

  Another plus was their home was not too far away from where her good friend, Quess, lived with her grandparents, and there’d be no neighbors to gossip about how strange she was.

  Harrington insisted he needed her nearby in case anyone tried to breach the compound. Even though she knew he had top of the line security and highly trained guards. Lucas explained to her that Harrington had been appealing to the ego they knew lingered from her human body.

  Kaitlyn’s appreciation for Harrington’s brilliant mind increased tenfold. That man had a grasp of human nature that she would never possess.

  As leery as she was about living on the compound in the beginning, it had quickly grown on her. She had the best of both worlds now.

  Where was Quess? She should have already been there to say goodbye.

  As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

  Kaitlyn tugged the door open. Quess beamed up at her. Her copper curls peaked out from the green knit hat on her head. Her usually pale face was red from the cold.

  “It’s freezing out there. Let me in!” Quess laughed.

  Right. Kaitlyn still forgot little things like that. She stepped aside and Quess crossed into the room until she was in front of the heater and held her hands over the vent.

  “Are you excited?” Quess asked, her eyes dancing.

  Kaitlyn returned the smile. Besides Lucas, Quess was the only other person Kaitlyn felt she could be herself around. She leaned in and whispered, “Probably too excited. Don’t tell your grandfather.”

  Quess gave her a look. “As if I would tell him anything. You know better than that.”

  That was true. She really did trust Quess. She’d kept her secret—the fact that she still had human feelings—for a long time.

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “I really don’t know. In theory, it should be a quick mission. But Erik says nothing ever goes as planned.”

  “Erik is hot.” Quess bit her lip and giggled.

  “Is he?” Kaitlyn asked. She’d never thought of him that way before. Quess was always going on about boys.

  “You’re blind if you don’t see that.” Quess walked over to lean against the couch. “But I know you only have eyes for Lucas.”

  “That’s true.” Kaitlyn smiled.

  Lucas came down the stairs. He was dressed in jeans and a dark sweater. His hair was disheveled as usual. “Did I hear my name? What are you girls talking about?” He looked at Quess and back at Kaitlyn.

  “Erik’s hotness.” Quess grinned.

  Lucas frowned. “Quess, you’re like what, fourteen? I think he’s a bit old for you.”

  “Fifteen now, I didn’t say I wanted to date him. I just said he was hot. Cause he totally is.”

  Kaitlyn liked having Quess around, but today she was eager to get to work. “We need to get going.”

  “Geesh, just kick me out why don’t you,” Quess said.

  “You were supposed to be here earlier.” Kaitlyn reminded her.

  “I know. I slept in. It’s hard to get out of bed in this cold weather.”

  She wasn’t sure what getting out of bed had to do with the weather, but she seldom knew what Quess was talking about. The girl was like an enigmatic puzzle that Kaitlyn was always trying to solve.

  Quess crossed the room and threw her arms around Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn froze, and then patted the girl on the back as Quess squeezed her tightly. This was not normal. Kaitlyn pulled back and looked down and was surprised to see tears in Quess’s eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Kaitlyn asked, alarmed.

  Quess wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “Nothing. Don’t mind me. I’m just going to miss you. That’s all. I know you’ll be fine.”

  “I will be fine. You and Lucas are worrying over nothing.” Quess’s tears were making her uncomfortable.

  Kaitlyn pulled back and looked at Lucas as he shrugged into his jacket.

  “If we leave now we’ll still be a few minutes early as long as we walk at a 5.5 mph pace. It’s only twelve point thirty-three seconds from the cottage.”

  Quess snorted, and Kaitlyn turned to see if she was all right.

  Waving them away, Quess said, “Hurry up and get out of here. I’ll lock up and feed Domino while you’re gone.”

  “I should be home in time.” Lucas wrapped a scarf around his neck.

  Quess shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “Are you ready?” Kaitlyn asked, meeting Lucas’s eyes.

  “Let’s get it over with. The sooner you go, the quicker you’ll get back to me.” He grabbed a hat and pulled it over his ears before opening the door for Kaitlyn. She brushed past him, and he inhaled her clean scent.

  She stopped and turned. “Bye, Quess.”

  The girl lifted her hand in farewell, then picked up Domino in her arms before dropping into a chair.

  Thirty-seven degrees outside. Kaitlyn’s processor kicked in and regulated her body temperature. With haste, they made their way across the sprawling compound. A light sheen of frost coated the grass. The trees were mostly bare and the sky dreary and overcast. Lucas shivered beside her.

  “I hate the cold.” He mumbled, rubbing his hands together.

  Kaitlyn grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers through his. Her body heat radiated from her to him. He squeezed her hand.

  “I think I envy that gift the most.”

  Kaitlyn tilted her head. “Gift?”

  “Upgrade, gift, ability, whatever you want to call it. I’d love to never have to worry about being too hot or too cold.”

  It was hard for Kaitlyn not to think of herself as a freak. So when Lucas said things like ‘gift’ it threw her off. “It’s normal to me so I don’t know any different. I can’t even remember what i
t felt like to be hot or cold.” Kaitlyn saw the main building up ahead. She couldn’t wait to get started. Finally, she would be able to use her gifts.

  They stepped into the large reception area with charcoal-colored carpeting, light gray walls and black leather chairs placed around the room. The secretary sat behind a large onyx desk, appearing aloof, in her navy pantsuit, under the soft lighting.

  Kaitlyn strode past the woman without so much as a wave. Lucas hurried behind her mumbling sorry to the woman. What he had to be sorry about, she had no idea. Maybe he knocked something over. No, she would have heard it.

  “Kate, you should have stopped at the reception desk.”

  “We have an appointment. It’s an unnecessary waste of time.”

  Lucas sighed. “The secretary should buzz Harrington and let him know we are here.”

  She looked at him blankly. “He knows what time we’ll be here. This is not a surprise visit.”

  “Okay.” He held up his hands in mock surrender. “You’re probably right.”

  Kaitlyn pushed through the door to his office. Harrington looked up from behind a large mahogany desk. His dark hair was as perfectly styled as his handmade suit. His sharp blue-grey eyes, ruggedly handsome face and broad shoulders gave him a further imposing look. Harrington raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. As usual, he commanded the room by his appearance alone.

  Sometimes Kaitlyn wondered what was the driving force behind Harrington’s focused intensity. She had grown to know and care about him over the past several months, but she still didn’t understand him.

  “We’re a few minutes early,” Lucas explained.

  “I see that. Well since you’re here, have a seat and we’ll wait for Erik.”

  Kaitlyn sat down and stared straight ahead. She filtered through the noises: steady tick of the clock, the whirl of the electronics, the rustle of papers as Harrington continued to read the file in front of him, and Lucas’s steady breathing.

  A few minutes later, she heard Erik talk to the secretary outside, before he came through the door. He took a seat on the other side of Kaitlyn. She didn’t look up or acknowledge him.

  Harrington stood up and hit a button on his keyboard. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large computer screen appeared behind him. “Now that we have everyone, I want you to look over these photos. This is what you are going to find. You got a glimpse in the target folder.”