She then disappeared into the kitchen and appeared with a bottle of white wine and a couple of glasses. They were all still standing where she had left them, and she waved a hand toward the sofa. It occurred to him how much she had grown in confidence in the year since he’d last seen her. This time away had been good for her. Clearly, she’d needed it.
Unlike Kaitlin, who needed to get home where she belonged.
Josie and the detective sat down on the sofa, and he and Kaitlin took the two matching chairs. He sat back and sipped his drink. He was tired now that he’d stopped moving. For a minute there was silence, then he exhaled slowly. “Tell me about this threat.”
“I was walking home last night, just after midnight, and two guys jumped me.”
“Are you okay?” Stupid question. He probably should be asking if the poor sods had survived the encounter.
“Ha, ha,” muttered Kaitlin, obviously plucking the thought out of his head. “They’re alive and in custody.”
“Who are they and what did they want?”
“Just hired muscle. They didn’t know anything of interest. They were given my details and a number to call once they had me. I’ve tried it and it’s a dead end.”
“And you have no other clues? Nothing? Anyone you’ve really pissed off recently?”
“Such a funny guy. And no. Strangely, I’m nice to most people—” Josie snorted at that, and Kaitlin tossed her a dirty look.“You just bring out the worst in me.” Her brows drew together as if she’d thought of something.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Just beforehand, I had this funny feeling, as if someone was trying to get into my head. A pressure, but then it was gone.” That was interesting; Rose, another Kindred member, had once described something similar. “I just remembered Rose said she’d experienced the same thing before that attack at the party where—” Kaitlin waved a hand toward where Josie sat.
“Where my husband was shot,” she filled in for them.
The detective sat up straight at that, twisting so he could look at Josie. “What?” Clearly, he didn’t know much about Josie’s past.
She patted his knee. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you one day.”
“Anyway, I just remembered,” Kaitlin continued. “I’ll call and ask her about it.”
What did it mean? The agents who had attacked at that party had been from the future. They’d been telepaths, like the Kindred, though with much more sophisticated equipment. But they were dead. Kane had killed them when they had turned up in Uganda—no one could be allowed to discover their secret. Could this be the same agents but from an earlier visit?
That was the thing with time travel; the possibilities screwed with your head. But no way could Kaitlin stay alone here in London if there was any possibility of agents from the future reappearing. They’d been far more powerful than the Kindred. Or maybe they just understood their powers better. Either way, Kane had only managed to take them out last time because he’d had the element of surprise on his side.
If he couldn’t persuade Kaitlin to leave, then he would have to stay. She wouldn’t be happy about that, but hard luck. It was non-negotiable. They’d have to video-link to the meeting.
“You could ask Rose in person if you came to the meeting,” he suggested.
“I’m not—” Her words were cut off by the ring of a cell phone. She jumped up and grabbed the phone from the table, glanced at the screen, and swiped it. After listening for a moment, she glanced at them. “It’s Ethan.” She brought the phone back, placed it on the table, and switched it to conference.
Ethan was the leader of the Conclave, one of the most powerful clandestine organizations to ever exist. Unknown to the Kindred, the Conclave had been in control of their group for years before they had broken out. That was mainly due to the Conclave’s recruitment of Colonel Harry Winters, the man instrumental in bringing the Kindred into being, and the Kindred’s government controller at the time of their escape. Kane was aware the colonel was the one man Kaitlin hated evenmore than she hated him. She held him personally responsible for the death of her brother. The colonel was now working with them—otherwise he was pretty sure Kaitlin would have found a way to finish him off.
“Go ahead, Ethan, you’re on conference,” Kaitlin said.
“I was calling to check that you’re coming to the meeting.”
“I can’t make it.”
“Kaitlin.”
She was pacing the room, and now she stopped and turned to glare at the phone. If looks could kill… “I’m not ready, okay?”
“Well, I might have some information that will change your mind,” Ethan said. “We’ve found the missing files.”
She was silent for a moment. “Sam?”
“Yes, but also Josie’s. Christa is reviewing them now.” Christa was Jake’s wife, the colonel’s daughter. She was also a genetic scientist who had been unknowingly studying the Kindred for years. She had a brilliant mind, and if there was anything useful in the files, she would find it.
