Chapter 10 - Progress

Trey watched Cat leave and felt a tug at his heart. He would've followed her and demanded to go with her, but he could tell she wanted to be alone.

They needed to buy a laptop to get a message to his team, but he would do that when Cat got back. He'd also insist that she had to go with him.

Trey was watching her out the window and saw her slamming her fist on the steering wheel. That actually made him smile a little. He knew she was probably mad at herself and not him.

He could tell she enjoyed it when he stroked her hair. With each touch, he was trying to get closer and closer to her. Trey also knew she was as affected by him as he was by her. He just had to make her admit it.

Trey watched out the window as she took off from the parking lot. He didn't worry that she wasn't coming back. She had left her backpack with all her things in it, and he knew she wanted to put Leo behind bars even more than he did.

As her car went out of sight, he thought about putting his clothes on but changed his mind remembering how she was staring at him when she came out of the bathroom a little while ago. He knew he was fit and easy on the eyes. Some women tried to throw themselves at him, but he ignored their advances.

Trey and Atlas weren't into one-night stands or casual sex. They'd been waiting for their mate. The feelings Cat caused inside him were something he had never felt before. He knew it was more than just the mate bond.

He didn't know all the details of what her uncle did, but he could tell that Leo was the cause of her pain. He was going to make sure he was the one to rid her of that pain forever.

Cat deserved to be happy and see that she doesn't have to live in the past anymore. He couldn't wait to see a genuine smile on her face. She had given him a couple of small smiles, but they never reached her eyes. As Trey was thinking about things he wanted to do to make her smile, he heard a car outside.

He looked out the window and saw Cat carrying numerous shopping bags and a fast-food bag. He shook his head as he watched her make her way to the door. What was it about women wanting to get everything in one trip and not asking for help?

When Cat got to the door, he watched her kick it with her foot so he would open it. He had been laughing, so he straightened his face before letting her in.

"What did you do, buy out the place?" He asked while Cat brushed past him to put everything on the bed.

"Nope, just making sure we have everything we need for a few days. These are for you." She handed Trey a couple of bags with clothes in them. He started going through them and couldn't believe she had gotten everything the right size.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do this."

"Well, we need clothes and supplies. As I said, I've been preparing for this for some time. I always knew Leo would come after me. I just didn't know when and I wasn't expecting to have anyone with me when he did." Trey watched as she started putting things away.

"I hope you like cheeseburgers and fries. I was too hungry to look for anything else." Cat purposely made herself busy. She didn't miss that Trey still had not put any clothes on. She was trying really hard not to look at him and start drooling.

"That's fine. I'm famished. It seems like you've been doing everything since we left the hospital, and I've just been along for the ride." He smiled at her as he talked and saw her glance toward him before looking away.

"I'm used to taking care of things myself. I decided this morning it was probably better to stay with you so I would know the status of Leo. If I'm on my own, I won't know if he's been locked up or if he's close to finding me. I may not be pleasant company, and you may regret this assignment." Trey saw something cross her face that he couldn't read. "I'm not keeping you from your family or girlfriend, am I? I can be on my own if you would rather go home and not be a babysitter."

"No, that's another reason I volunteered for this assignment. I'm not close to my family, and I have no girlfriend. I'm a loner like you. Working undercover tends to make you that way. So, I guess we can be loners together for the time being." He smiled at her while he ate his food. As Cat sat down and started eating, he saw relief wash over her face making his heart do flip-flops.

Cat didn't know why she was glad when he said he didn't have a girlfriend, but she was. They finished eating in silence at the small table.

"What are we going to do while we're here? I assume you don't want to just hang out in the hotel watching TV. Do you have any way to contact anyone from your team?" Cat needed something to do other than just stare at him in his underwear. Trey smiled at her, and she blushed, wondering if he had somehow read her thoughts.

"I have an email set up so they can give me updates, and I can send them any from this end. We need to get a laptop. Although now that we're all over the news, we need to be careful going out. Are you up for another quick trip to the store?" Trey watched her curiously. He wasn't worried about them being on the news. That was just his excuse.

"Sure, any certain type you want?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm coming with you this time because we need to stick together. If you hadn't run out of here earlier, I would've gone with you, and we could have gotten the laptop then. I'm here to protect you, and it's hard for me to do that if I'm not with you." Cat rolled her eyes at him while shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay, have it your way."

Trey smiled as he grabbed some clothes from one of the bags, quickly getting dressed. Atlas was doing a little happy dance in his head. His next mission was to convince her to let him hold her hand while they were in the store. Trey drove, and as Cat was about to jump out of the car, he stopped her.

"I think it might be better if we act like we're a couple while we're in here. That way, we can be inconspicuous." He saw the look of confusion come over her face.

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly, thinking she wouldn't like whatever he was about to say.

"I think we should hold hands and pretend that we're together like I'm your boyfriend. I think it will attract the least amount of attention if anyone recognizes us from the news." Trey was nervous that she would flat-out refuse. He could tell she was considering what he said and saw her glance down at his hands.

Cat looked back up at him with her big pale blue eyes. Trey watched as she quickly licked her lips before she spoke. He got distracted and started wondering what it would feel like to kiss those lips.

"Okay, but I don't know how to be part of a couple, so if I mess up, don't blame me." He relaxed and tried to get his thoughts back in order.

"Just follow my lead, and we'll be fine." He smiled reassuringly at her as they got out of the car.

Trey took her hand and pulled her to his side when they started walking into the store. He felt her instantly freeze up, so he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Just relax. We're pretending." Cat's heart was hammering in her chest. Her hand felt so small in Trey's, but it felt good. The connection and warmth made her want to hold his hand tighter, but she stopped herself. When Trey squeezed her hand and started rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, she gasped and automatically squeezed his hand back.

Trey tried to keep a straight face even though he felt like doing backflips through the store. He saw several men looking at Cat and openly glared at them while Atlas growled in his head. He knew she was a beauty, and men were bound to notice, but she was his beauty. When they got to the electronics section, the clerk was openly gawking at Cat, so Trey let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly to him.

Cat almost passed out when Trey put his arm around her. The hand holding was one thing, but him holding her like this may be too much.

"It's okay; just breathe." He whispered in her ear. "Which one do you think would be best, sweetheart?"

Cat quickly pointed to a laptop, and Trey motioned to the salesman. He could tell she was still uncomfortable, but she seemed to relax and began leaning into him. He didn't think Cat even noticed she was doing it because she would have stopped if she did.

He couldn't help thinking about how well they fit together. When the salesman got over to them, Trey glared at him so he would stop staring at Cat.

"We'll take this one, please." Trey said icily to let the guy know he wasn't happy. The salesman saw Trey's face and quickly got the laptop while not making eye contact with either of them.

As they left the store, Trey stopped in front of a full-length mirror. He put his arm around Cat again while nodding toward the mirror.

"See how good we look together? Very natural, like beauty and the beast." He saw a look of sadness wash over her face making him feel bad.

"Except in this scenario, you're beauty, and I'm the beast." He heard her say under her breath. Trey was so shocked by her reaction he didn't know what to say. Cat put her head down as they walked outside.

"Now, that wasn't too bad for your first experience of being part of a couple, was it?" Trey looked at her with a smile.

"We were pretending, so I don't think it counts. I'm surprised I didn't freak out while we were in there. I'm sorry, I don't know how to act normal." She was speaking very softly with her head down.

"You did fine. I don't think you noticed, but I put my arm around you because the salesman couldn't take his eyes off you. I wanted to make it clear you were with me." She looked up at him in disbelief.

"He probably couldn't believe how ridiculous I looked."

"Are you seriously that oblivious to how beautiful you are? You're a knockout, and any man would be lucky to be with you." He saw the doubt and pain go across her face as she looked away.

"Let's get back to the hotel to see if there are any updates." Cat felt like crying at what Trey said. No man could ever be with her. She was too broken.

"Okay."

They drove back to the hotel in silence. Trey tried to think of something to say to make her feel better, but he was at a loss for words. He was scared he would say the wrong thing, and instead of making her trust him, it would make her run away. Although, if she did run, he and Atlas would find her.

When they stopped in front of their room, he could tell that Cat hadn't noticed they were back, so he lightly touched her shoulder.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"Stop apologizing for everything. Look, I know you have a complicated past, and I'm not going to press you to tell me about it, but as a detective, I've seen some of the worst of the worst. When you feel comfortable, you can talk to me about what happened. I'll just listen and give you support. In my experience working with victims, they can usually begin to have closure once they talk about the cause of their nightmares. I know you have probably never told anyone everything that was done to you. We may be together for a while, and I'm here anytime you want to talk about it." Trey was speaking softly while she was looking down at her hands. When she did look up at him, he was stunned to see tears in her eyes.

"You're right. I've never told anyone everything. I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk about what Leo or the others did to me. Promise me you'll keep trying to get me to open up." Cat continued looking into his eyes, pleading with him. He felt like his heart was going to burst at her words.

Not only did she say she trusted him, but she also asked him to keep trying to get her to open up. He knew at that point he was right; she had feelings for him too. Trey didn't miss that she said what Leo and the others did to her. He kept his face calm, wondering what others there were.

"I promise. I promise something else, too. When you open up to me, you'll feel better." He looked into her eyes while the rest of the world faded away as they sat in the car. He wanted to hold on to that moment, so he took a chance.

"Can I touch your hand?" He saw her take a deep breath and her eyes widened while still holding his gaze. She surprised him when she nodded.

Trey reached down and took her hand, holding it between both of his. He felt the electricity run through him, and based on the gasp he heard from her, it seemed she felt it too. He gently rubbed her cool hand, warming it up with his.

He saw something flash in her eyes that told him she was enjoying it as much as he was. He then took her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. When he looked at her, she looked like she had stopped breathing. He loved that he caused such a strong reaction in her.

"Breathe, Cat." She gently slipped her hand out of his and got out of the car.

Cat stood next to the car gulping in air like she had been underwater. Her whole body was hot, and she thought she would explode when he kissed her hand. She caught Trey grinning and blushed as she realized his effect on her was obvious. She ignored him as they walked to their room.