Chapter 1
London
Kaitlin stood alone in the heaving mass of people. They formed a little circle of space around her, not touching her.
Maybe she was giving out keep-away vibes—it wouldn’t be the first time.
The countdown blasted out in time with the chimes of Big Ben. As the clock struck midnight, there was a moment of silence, then a huge cheer roared through the crowd.
At the same time, the sky lit up with fireworks, shooting stars of crimson and gold, vast explosions of light. Flares of violet and green fired across the sky, reflected in the dark waters of the Thames. It was beautiful, but the sight sent a ripple of foreboding shivering down her spine.
All around her, people were hugging and kissing under the colored sky, jumping to the music pounding out, in a frenzy of alcohol-induced excitement. Everyone loved New Year’s Day. Time for a new start. Anything could happen.
Except this year could be a little different.
Because this year, she had good reason to believe that the earth—and just about everyone on it—was going to explode in a big goddamn bang.
Of course, there was always the possibility that she was wrong.
After all, the intel hadn’t been particularly reliable—Melody Lyons, a government agent from two thousand years in the future, had given an extremely brief warning of impending disaster and then promptly vanished without even a puff of smoke. Taking Kaitlin’s friend Quinn with her.
Back to the future, presumably.
That had been over eighteen months ago, and neither of them had been seen since.
Kaitlin allowed the thoughts of the crowd to pass through her mind, trying to absorb a little of their excitement, but all she could think was that soon they might all be dead.
She’d grown up believing that she existed to make the world a better place.
A world with no more lies—that was what her brother Sam had always said.
A world where a person’s guilt or innocence could be determined with just a brief glimpse into their minds.
Except now, there might not be a world at all. And part of her couldn’t help but wonder if that would be for the best. She’d seen into the thoughts of so many people. And the more she saw, the more she came to believe that humanity was tragically flawed.
Maybe beyond redemption.
A whistle sounded close to her ear. “How about a kiss for the new year, babe?”
Babe? She turned around slowly. The man was shorter than her—but then most people were, even without her four-inch heels.
She stood five-foot-eleven in her stockinged feet.
She peered down into his face; he was cute, so she took a quick peek into his mind.
There was nothing of interest, and she curled her mouth into a smile and gave him a cold-eyed stare.
“How about a kick in the balls, asshole.”
“Whoa,” he muttered, backing away. “Just being friendly.”
She sighed. The truth was, she wasn’t fit company tonight. Hell, most people would say she wasn’t fit company any night. Normally, she stayed away from crowds, but something had driven her out this evening.
Now, she turned away from the celebration and headed in the direction of home. She’d done what she came to do—seen in the new year.
She took a shortcut between two buildings, but as she stepped away from the streetlights and into the dark, a sharp stab of pain shot through her skull.
She paused, slamming down the walls in her brain, and the pain faded as quickly as it had come, leaving something hovering at the edge of her mind, trying to push into her thoughts.
Something strange and yet familiar. Then it too was gone.
As her head cleared, she heard footsteps behind her. Two men. She delved briefly into their minds. They’d been paid to pick her up. She tried to find who had paid them, but they’d seen no one. She’d worry about that later.
Right now, she had these two to deal with.
Just what she needed to lift her dour mood.
She kept walking until they were deep in the shadows, then she turned.
They were big, their heads shaven, tattoos crawling up their necks.
They thought their luck was in. She stood, her hands hanging loosely at her side, her mind clear.
As the first came toward her, she whirled around, kicking out.
Her booted foot connected with his chest, and he went down hard.
His friend was already rushing forward, and she allowed him to get up close before she punched out with her closed fist, catching him in the solar plexus.
As he bent over, she gripped her hands together and rammed them into his face, feeling the crunch of bones.
His mind was a confused mix of disbelief and fury.
She spun, kicked him in the side of his head, and the thoughts blanked out in an instant.
The first man was up on his feet, shaking his head, looking from her to his friend and wondering what had happened. She gave him an encouraging smile and made herself look non-threatening. Hey, she was a girl, so she’d never be considered a threat by some guys. Especially the stupid ones.
Head down, he came for her fast. She let him get close, grabbed his ears, and used his own momentum to ram him headfirst into the wall behind her. He crumpled to the ground and his mind switched off.
She crouched down and felt for the pulse in his neck. It was steady. He was alive. Unfortunately, she’d seen inside his head and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Standing up, Kaitlin wiped her hands down the side of her jeans.
Ugh. She studied the two men for a second.
They were both out cold. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she texted her contact at the Metropolitan Police.
Then she moved away, but waited, watching from the shadows in case they regained consciousness before the police arrived to collect them.
She wanted another look inside their heads, but that could wait until tomorrow.
As the police car pulled up, she slipped away and headed for home.