Free Cats in Heat by Asha King Page A

could follow.
    He stood there for a moment, running his hand back through his hair, staring after her.
    That...could’ve gone better.
    He could leave. That would be an easy solution. But if Lincoln was near? Or someone he employed? If they caught him near the house, it would be too easy to find Addie. Until he found out who she saw and whether or not his enemies were in town, he couldn’t risk it.
    For now, he’d wait. And hopefully Addie would talk soon.

 
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    Adelaide stripped off her sweaty clothes and paused half-naked by the door, debating a shower. She needed it, she felt grungy, but then for all she knew, Erik was hanging outside her door and she still wanted to avoid him.
    She was angry. And hurt. In fact, the intensity of how upset she was startled her. She’d felt things she was certain he’d felt, experienced dreams through his eyes, and her heart ached at the mere thought of him. Every fiber of her being trusted him—at least every fiber but those in her brain , which objected to the fact he’d been keeping things from her, cryptically talking around her questions. And to bring up her grandmother?
    Hell, no . 
    For a few minutes she chewed on the possibility of heading to the shower and risking running into him. The way she felt, it would lead to more yelling and she wasn’t certain she wanted to get into it with him.
    Instead, she turned to face her room once more. Shower later. For now, she needed information if she wanted a chance in hell of being on even ground with him. His words wouldn’t leave her head and she knew, one way or the other, this somehow went back to her grandmother.
    First she shook her hair out of its ponytail and then wound it up in a bun, then hunted down fresh clothes. A ragged T-shirt and oversized track pants were tucked in the very bottom of one of the drawers, and she slipped them on.
    Next she went for the closet where a trap door sat in the ceiling with a cord hanging down. She couldn’t reach it on her own and had to drag out a step ladder tucked behind some boxes. She stood on the rickety old thing and tugged at the cord.
    The door creaked open and a short ladder slid down. Darkness awaited her above.
    A flashlight would’ve been handy but she’d left it in the kitchen and didn’t want to leave her room and deal with him at the moment. But she vaguely remembered a light switch up there from years ago when she’d peeked around the house after inheriting it. She just hoped it still worked.
    Addie climbed up the dusty ladder, the light from the closet the only thing helping her see. The attic was musty, air stale and smelling funny. She paused with her head poking through the ceiling and glanced around until her eyes settled on a chain above—that had to connect to one of the lights. She pulled herself up the rest of the way and climbed onto grimy, dusty floorboards, then onto her feet.
    A shiver crawled up her spine as she stood in the dark attic, then she reached up and pulled on the chain. A single light turned on over her head, a faint yellow glow falling over the space.
    There wasn’t much to the attic; it was barely taller than her and was mostly empty space with boxes gathered in the corners. Much of it was her grandmother’s things, at least according to her mother. So much had been thrown out but her mom couldn’t part with everything. Anything of Granmama’s that had already been in the attic would still be there.
    And here’s hoping some of it is helpful.
    Addie moved carefully across the floor, dust slippery beneath her feet. She figured Erik could hear her moving around but resolved not to think on it. If he had any sense, he’d leave her the hell alone for the time being.
    Her eyes moved to the switch on the far wall, wires running from it and up the boards that the walls consisted of. She moved there, flicked the switch, and two bulbs turned on toward the back of the attic.
    Well, she had light. Now she just had to use it to