Free Cravings (Fierce Hearts) by Lynn Crandall Page A

throat. Kennedy presented puzzling reactions. He needed to spend more time looking for connections between Phoenix Biosciences and The Nexus Group. He’d like to know the members of the group all by name and occupation rather than as a secretive organization of no-names. First off, he’d like to know who was running the group now that William Carter was dead.
    He rolled his shoulders and faced Kennedy. Her legs crossed, she swung one foot up and down, impatience sparking off her like static. “So maybe with your computer skills you could get our database up to date. I assume you either know how to do that or could ace it pretty quickly, with your procedural, photographic memory.”
    Her face brightened. “I could do that. Is this database on your network? You do have a network, right? One that is only accessible to the colony?”
    Asher slanted a smile. “Per se.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “We have a website that is private. We can communicate there, and we have files there. The database of all known were-cat colonies in the world and the genealogy of the lines of pures dating back centuries is in hard copy, I mean old, leather-bound books of actual paper. That moves around, but presently it’s being kept at my house—” He abandoned his sentence at a look of censor Casey sent him. “Well, we can talk more about it later.”
    Kennedy’s eyes narrowed. “Sure. Whenever you’re ready.”
    Asher didn’t miss the slight slump to her shoulders. Stuck between wanting to address her discomfort at waiting in limbo for her new life to take off and appreciating the need for caution, tension pulled his muscles taut.
    Casey stretched his arms above his head. “Anyone want to get back under the covers or shall we tackle the day?”
    Michelle laughed. “Tackle the day? That sounds ominous. What do you have in mind?” She glanced at the clock. “It’s only six o’clock, still early. But I want to stop by the Cats Alive new construction site, and then I’ll have to get to work.”
    Asher scrubbed his hair, centering down on his plans for the day. He had plans to get work done for the newspaper, and then he had
plans
. Plans that had nothing to do with work but were more important to him right now. To find out more about TNG’s activities. “I have a game to cover this afternoon. I’ll have to write and file the piece, too. I should just go home and get ready for work.”
    A quick glance at Kennedy told him her anxiety had been triggered. Her eyes were wide, and she was twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. He leaned in close and spoke softly. “Would you like me to take you to Lara’s apartment? I’m sure she’ll still be home.”
    “Actually, I hoped you would stay with me today.”
    Michelle smiled at Kennedy. “I’ll give you a quick tour of the new site for Cats Alive, and then we can spend the day at my job at Aegar Investigations. How does that sound?”
    Kennedy nodded, her eyes shining. “I would love to learn about your cat rescue and help out at your office.” She thanked Asher for his offer, then stood. “Okay if I grab a quick shower?”
    Michelle, already heading down the hall to the room she shared with Casey, tossed over her shoulder, “Yes, there’s plenty of time.”
    Asher’s adrenaline picked up momentum, and he grew impatient to get to work and learn more specifics about Phoenix Biosciences. “Guess I’ll take off and get out of your way.” He nodded in Casey’s direction, but the look on his face kept Asher in his seat. “What is it? You look like you have something on your mind.”
    Casey leaned forward in his chair. “I’m going to call a colony meeting. We can’t give Kennedy access to our database unless we have a consensus that it’s the right thing to do.” His voice was low, serious.
    Asher’s gaze picked up the signs of the world waking up. Birds and squirrels outside the window created a flurry of activity as they went from feeder to feeder to partake