Kitty Kat

By Anne Kane

Kat hasn't always been a stray -- but times are tough, and when she lost her job, her no good boyfriend dumped her. Now she's living in a deserted basement and scrounging for food behind the restaurants in the better section of town, while attending business school during the day.

Jake feeds scraps of his dinner to the fluffy little con-artist from time to time as he walks his beat. He can't get the sassy stray off his mind. He feels a strange affinity for the feisty little kitty, so he decides to trap her and tame her. What he doesn't realize is, she's a shifter, and she's conned his heart right out of his chest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Jul 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9780476301528

Anne Kane

Anne Kane lives in the beautiful Okanagan Valley with a bouncy little rescue dog whose breed defies description, an OCD Aussie Shepherd, a cantankerous Himalayan cat, and too many fish to count. She spent many years trying to fit in and act normal, but finally gave up the effort. She started writing romance in 2008, and her fate was sealed when she won a publishing contract with Red Sage Publishing and just a month later Changeling Press accepted her first submission. Since then she has published more than thirty stories in a variety of sub-genres, all with a happily ever after. She has two handsome sons and six adorable grandchildren and enjoys spending time with them whenever she can. Her hobbies, when she’s not playing with the characters in her head, include kayaking, hiking, swimming, playing guitar, singing and of course, reading.

Book preview

Chapter One

Jake hunkered down behind the glassless window, setting the cup of steaming take-out coffee down beside him. Stakeouts were nothing new, but this one was different. The suspect wasn’t human; wasn’t a suspect really. It was hard to believe that a hard-nosed, cynical Irish beat cop would go to all this trouble to capture one scruffy, ill-tempered scrap of a kitty cat.

He took a sip of the coffee, cursing under his breath when it burned his tongue. When he’d decided to go ahead with this scheme, he’d rigged a live animal trap from descriptions in a book he’d found in one of the old library buildings. Libraries were one of the first things to go when society broke down, but the books were still there, covered in dust and spider webs.

Bait was easy -- he’d been tossing scraps to the little feline for over six months now and he knew her preferences. Funny little thing, she preferred her meat cooked. Chicken, fried like they used to do it in those fast food places you saw on history shows, would draw her into the cage, and once the trap door shut, he’d have her. A soft thud alerted him and he stilled, his eyes narrowing as he searched the shadows of the deserted warehouse.

The little stray leapt into view from the top of a pile of dusty cartons. Her fur stuck up in unkempt clumps, affirming his decision to capture her for her own good. Once he got her home, he could look after her properly and put a little meat on her scrawny frame. Her attention flicked to the lump of chicken in the trap but she took her time, scouting the area first. Tail lashing back and forth, ears pricked forward on high alert, she stalked the perimeter of the warehouse space.

Jake suppressed a chuckle even as he respected the tiny creature’s security precautions. Life had become much tougher after the collapse of the World Economic Council, and this was one of the roughest parts of the city. She might be small, but his soon-to-be little pet was a survivor.

Satisfied there was no imminent danger, the little cat padded toward the makeshift trap, her head tilted quizzically to the side. Probably wondering what this new contraption in her territory was and why it was there. Her nose twitched as she inched forward, stalking the chicken as if it were a mouse.

Jake held his breath as she entered the trap, her attention centered on the food. It seemed like forever before her entire body was inside the cage and the gate slammed down, ensnaring her just as she took the first dainty bite of the prize. Tiny as she was, the feline exploded into a snarling, spitting bundle of pissed-off fur, and Jake chuckled at the display of temper. He guessed she’d weigh less than ten pounds dripping wet, yet she acted as though she thought she were a full-sized tigress.

He unfolded himself from the chair and took another sip of his coffee. Now that she was secured, he wasn’t in any hurry to face the little wildcat. Sauntering over to the trap, he stared down at his prize.

* * *

The motorcycle skidded to a halt outside a block of government-sponsored employee housing, and Katrina glared through the bars of her prison at the broad uniform-clad back of the man who’d strapped the trap to the cargo platform on the battered twenty-first century Harley. One of the beat cops, better known these days as Enforcers, he’d been bringing her tasty tidbits and leaving them in the warehouse for months now. She’d thought he was a nice guy, a friend even. In hindsight, it had been a nefarious scheme to allay her natural cynicism and capture her. When she got out of this damn box, she’d make him pay.

Kat refused to acknowledge the tiny frisson of fear creeping up her spine. What would a muscle-bound street cop want with an underfed, scruffy brown alley cat? Whatever it was, he’d find out she was one tough little kitty.

The Enforcer snapped the kickstand down and killed the engine. In the sudden quiet, he turned and looked at her. Kat arched her back and hissed, glaring at him in what she hoped was an intimidating manner. To her disgust, the man cooed some silly nonsense