Maybe because Kane loved her. Even if she didn’t love him. Anyway, that was unlikely to last if she stole his time machine.
After walking for a good fifteen minutes, she stopped. Glancing behind her, she couldn’t see Rose or Dave. She slipped the reflector device from her head and placed it in her bag. Then she closed her eyes for a moment, reaching out with her mind and finding nothing unexpected. She could hear the myriad thoughts of all the passing people.
Someone crashed into her, and she nearly went over, but when she opened her eyes, it was just a harried man in a suit trying to walk and read his cell at the same time.
He flashed her an irritated glance as though it was her fault, though she supposed she had been standing in the middle of a busy street with her eyes closed.
She shook herself, then headed off in the direction of her apartment. It was a thirty-minute walk; she could have taken the tube, but she needed to use up some energy. And for once, the sun was shining, though the temperature was close to freezing. She hunched her shoulders and walked on.
Maybe she’d get lucky, and they’d find her quickly and she could go somewhere warm. Like...Uganda perhaps.
She couldn’t believe she was even thinking that. Bloody Kane—infiltrating her thoughts. Kissing her...though she had kissed him back.
Anyway, there were other things in Uganda besides Kane. Like his time machine, for instance. Though maybe she shouldn’t be thinking about the time machine when there might be powerfultelepaths about. That was maybe just wishful thinking. So far, she hadn’t caught a flicker of anything interesting.
She got to the apartment, loitered inside for a few minutes, but couldn’t settle and set off again. There was a coffee shop across the road, and she got herself a coffee and took a window seat, putting herself on display for anyone to see.
Come and get me!
Except it looked like nobody wanted her.
After that, she spent another couple of hours wandering aimlessly. She was bored. She wanted something to happen. Anything. She was cold and hungry.
She grabbed a sandwich from a takeout place and ate it on the move, then decided to head over to the police station. This time, she did take the tube. Her feet were starting to ache, and it was a long walk. She caught a glimpse of Rose and Dave getting into a carriage a few down from her, but neither of them acknowledged her presence.
At the station, she asked for Steve. She had no clue if he was on duty, or if he was, whether he would even be here. But she felt she had to do something. And it turned out he was.
He gave her a hug and then stepped away. “I didn’t think you’d be home yet.”
“We had things to do here.”
“Is Josie with you?”
“Not right now, but she is back in London. Why don’t you give her a call?”
He smiled. “I might do that. Is she at the apartment?”
“No, we’re staying in a hotel at the moment.”
His eyes narrowed at that. “For any particular reason?”
She gave a casual shrug. “It’s tied to the things we came back to do. But if you want to know any more, you’ll have to talk to Josie. I’m pretty sure she wants to talk to you.”
“She does?” He sounded happy at that.
“Oh, yeah, big time.” There, she’d done her good deed for the day. She’d never considered herself a matchmaker but hey, anyone could learn new tricks.
“What about your other friend—Kane? Did he return to London with you?”
“No. He’s gone...somewhere else.”
“You don’t sound too happy about that.”
“I’m fucking delirious.”
He chuckled and she gave what she hoped was a sarcastic smile. “What about those two guys I took down on New Year’s Eve? What happened to them?”
“Out on bail. Though I doubt it will go to trial.”
