BK 2 - Chapter 29 - Updates
The first few days after, the marking was rough on Kitty. She spent most of the time in bed with either Aiden or Cat by her side. They brought her soup or hot tea, which helped a little. Kitty felt like she had the flu, only a hundred times worse. Everything hurt no matter what she did. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and she was constantly nauseated. Aiden explained that her body was adjusting to the werelion venom.
On the morning of day four, when she woke up expecting to be in excruciating pain again, she tentatively opened her eyes. Kitty noticed her head wasn't hurting, and when she slowly turned over in the bed, her body wasn't aching either. She sat up and saw she was alone. She decided to surprise everyone by getting out of bed and going downstairs.
She dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before brushing her hair. As she made her way to the kitchen, Kitty felt like a new person. Cat, Aiden, and Trey were all sitting at the table eating breakfast when they looked up at her in surprise.
"Are you feeling better?" Aiden got up and went over to her, not wanting to touch her if she was still having pain.
"Yes, I feel better than ever, but I can tell there's something different. I can't explain it, though." Aiden smiled and hugged her tightly. He hadn't touched her much the last several days because even the slightest contact caused her a lot of pain.
"Sit down and let me make you some breakfast. You'll need a lot of energy in preparation for your lioness." Cat went to the stove and began making Kitty's favorite french toast and sausage.
"Thanks, Cat." As she sat down, Trey stood up, looking at Aiden.
"I'm going to go make a few calls on something. I'll be back in a few minutes." Aiden nodded at him. Kitty looked between the two men, who seemed to be hiding something, and she wondered what was going on.
Trey went up to his and Cat's bedroom to make his call. He'd been working with his former team on finding Kitty's birth parents. Aiden wanted to give her their contact information as a surprise birthday present. It had proven more difficult than Trey anticipated.
From what they could find, Kitty's adoptive parents had gone through the black market. They likely had no idea the adoption agency they'd used wasn't legit. Trey called Ellie, who'd helped him when they were looking for Cat's family.
"Hey, Trey," Ellie said into the phone. She knew why he was calling and was glad she had some good news for him this time.
"Hi, Ellie. Do you have anything on Kitty's parents?" Trey sat down on the side of the bed after closing the door.
"Yes and no. I have some news on her birth mother but nothing on her father. I learned that her birth mother was a fifteen-year-old kid living on the street. When she put Kitty up for adoption, she requested an open adoption. However, as soon as she handed her over, the fake agency changed the birth certificate to seem as though no one knew who the mother was. That's why it says Jane Doe. Her mother's name is Sandie Byrne. I'm still trying to locate her whereabouts, so hopefully, she can tell me who the father is."
"That's great news but also sad. Kitty is hoping her birth parents will want to meet her. Hearing that Sandie wanted an open adoption, I think she may get her wish. Let me know if you find her. Thanks." Trey disconnected the call and mindlinked Aiden and Cat to give them the good news. At least it was a step in the right direction.
Trey thought about what Saira and Atlas had done the day before to Leo. He didn't like using his lion to inflict justice, but in that case, he needed to eliminate the reason for most of Cat's pain. The only remaining low-hanging fruit was Caleb.
He was thinking of a way to give him the same werelion justice that Leo got. He still had nightmares of how he found Cat beaten, broken, and bleeding on Caleb's bed. That wasn't an image he liked to dwell on.
Trey had to be careful with Caleb. He couldn't make him disappear as Leo did, or someone may suspect that the same person was involved. He called one of the guards at the prison where Caleb was to see if there were any updates. He was trying to bait Caleb into attempting an escape. It had to be done from the inside, so it looked as though Caleb got out on his own.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Jordan, it's Trey. Any movement on the prisoner?"
"Nothing solid, but he's been sniffing around at the bait we've been leaving. I think, eventually, he'll bite. He's not too happy with the in-house treatment from the other inmates. Let's just say he's been getting some of what he dished out." Trey was thankful to the inmates in this case. They believe in making pedophiles pay.
"Thanks, Jordan. Let me know when he starts to move on it." He hung up the phone. He hadn't said anything to Cat about his plan with Caleb. She'd been okay with Leo, but he didn't know what she would think about giving Caleb the same treatment. Trey would tell her once he had something solid, and then she could decide if she wanted to be involved.
They'd found someone to test Cat's blood for anything supernatural besides werelion. They expected the results within the next week or two. Probably after their wedding. Cat didn't believe it would show anything; Trey didn't know what to think.
He walked downstairs and saw Kitty and Aiden going outside. Cat was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher with a smile. His heart stopped every time he saw her smile like that. She had come so far from the terrified, independent fighter he first met. She was wearing white shorts and a pale blue t-shirt with her usual bare feet. He had never seen a more beautiful sight than his mate. He walked over to her, not able to stay away.
Cat turned around when she felt Trey behind her. He didn't give her time to say anything as he placed his mouth on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her hands in his hair. When he pulled away, they were both breathless.
"What was that for?" She asked, still holding on to him.
"That's because I love you."
"I love you too."
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Ricky slammed his phone down on his desk after he hung up with Otto. They'd just come clean about what happened with Ronaldo and admitted they had no leads on the girl. Ricky's trial was ready to start within the next week after his lawyers had burnt through as many injunctions as possible to postpone.
He didn't care about stopping her from the trial because it was apparent she had no plans to come forward. All he needed to do was convince one juror that the card was tampered with, and he would be exonerated. Ricky was now wanting revenge on the little bitch. How was such a young woman getting over on all his men?
If his trial wasn't starting in a matter of days, he would go to Sacramento and find her. As of right now, Otto and Tito were there twiddling their thumbs, hoping to cross paths with her again. Ricky picked up one of the vases in his office and threw it against the wall.
Once he calmed down, he started to think. If the girl's boyfriend had a brother that was a detective, that meant he worked for one of the precincts in Sacramento. Ricky picked up his phone and made a call.
"Paolo, find me what station in Sacramento Detective Trey Galloway works for. Do it now while I'm on the phone."
"Will do, boss." Ricky heard clicking on the other line as he waited. Paolo didn't take long to find what he was looking for.
"He works in the downtown division in sex trafficking. His sergeant is Roger Brooks." Paolo gave Ricky the address before hanging up. Ricky called Otto back. This would be the twin's last chance to redeem themselves.
"Otto, I have the location of Trey Galloways station. Hang out close by and see if you can follow him to where he's staying. Maybe he'll lead you to the girl and the boyfriend. At this point, I don't care how many people you have to kill to get to her. I want everyone that gets in the way dead." Ricky hung up before Otto could say anything. He would send the next round of men to take out the twins if they didn't get her soon.
