BK 3 - Chapter 23 - Betrayed
*"Mom, Chika is back. Is Saira?"* Melanie asked.
*"Yes, she's talking to me too. The only problem is we're still blindfolded. I don't want to shift only to have them waiting with tranquilizers. Let's wait until we know we have a chance to get away. When they take us from the plane, we should be outside so we can attack."* Cat answered. Saira wanted to shift and start tearing people apart right away, but they had to use their heads.
*"Okay. At the first opportunity, we shift. I'd like to take a few of these pricks out before we leave. We'll play it by ear,"* Chika and Saira growled their agreement through the mindlink.
"We're finally here, ladies. I can't say I enjoyed your company because you've been rather unpleasant. So I bid you farewell and hope I never encounter you again." Angelo said with a chuckle. Melanie was pulled up from her seat and pushed forward. When she stumbled, the man behind her grabbed her arm hard.
"This would be a lot easier if I could see asshole." She said, snatching her arm away from whoever was holding it.
"Oh, I forgot. You need to have the blindfolds off when you go down the steps in order to see your surprise." Melanie's blindfold was removed, and she blinked so her eyes could focus. She looked around at the men who were standing around them. She and her mom locked eyes. Melanie focused on Angelo, who was looking at her with a smirk. He was tall with black wavy hair and light brown eyes.
"I'm glad I finally got to see you. That way, I'll know I have the right person when I kill you later." She spit on him, earning her a slap. She didn't feel anything now Chika was back, with anger coursing through her veins.
"Bitch I can't wait until Raul gets his hands on you." Angelo shoved her toward the open door. Melanie noticed they were on what looked like a personal runway as she descended the steps. No other planes were around, only fields and several men waiting beside a few cars. She didn't see anyone she recognized, so she didn't know what the big surprise was.
Cat and Melanie were pushed to one of the cars, and the back window rolled down. Melanie felt sick as she looked at the person staring at her with a smirk.
"Well, hello, Mel. It's nice to see you again." Brandon said as he and Ava sipped what looked like champagne.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were helping us," Melanie asked with fake despair. She had never fully trusted him, even after what Wesley told them. Brandon laughed as he opened the door.
"I was helping Wesley, but when Raul asked us to assist him, we jumped ship. He paid us a lot of money. Although you didn't give me as much information as I'd hoped. We followed you to the house you stayed in but didn't know when you would be alone. That information came from him." Brandon pointed to someone behind them. Melanie and Cat turned around and saw someone they both recognized.
"Sorry, ladies, but the money they offered was too good." The man that spoke was coming down the steps of the plane. He'd been with them the entire time. It was Thomas. He was Caitlin's brother.
"How did you know where we were?" Melanie asked angrily. She'd always thought he was a decent man. He was a few years older than Caitlin but had never found his mate. Thomas tilted his head to the side when he got close, looking as though he felt sorry for her. She could see it was all a charade.
"Caitlin told me where she and Theo were going. I kept in contact with her asking if I could help. She texted me regularly, letting me know what you were doing. She's too stupid to realize I was only milking her for information. I've known Raul for a long time and knew he was looking for your family. This was my opportunity for a big payday." He looked between the two women and shrugged.
"We always treated you like family. How could you betray us like this?" Cat asked with hurt in her voice. She saw a brief look of regret in his eyes, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone.
"You were only nice to me because of Caitlin. You never cared about me. I did this because it's my turn to live like a king." Thomas was almost yelling. Cat and Melanie exchanged a quick look, thinking the same thing; it was now or never. They noticed everyone was standing around watching the interaction. Most looked relaxed and amused. It could be their only chance to get away.
"I'm sorry you feel like that, but I won't make the mistake of trusting you again." Cat shook her head and looked down like she was defeated. Melanie bit her tongue. She knew her mother well. She could make herself look really vulnerable, throwing people off with her small size. It was what Cat did right before she became her most lethal.
"I don't think you have a choice in the matter. It's time to meet Raul. From what I understand, he has a lot planned for you and your family. I did my part, so it's time for me to go." Thomas prepared to walk away, but Cat stopped him.
*"Get ready,"* She mindlinked Melanie.
"I have one question," Cat asked him, and he turned to look at her with that smirk she couldn't wait to wipe off his face.
"Oh, yeah, what's that?" He asked, taking a few steps closer to her. Cat looked up at him and smiled, making him stop.
"Did you plan on being the first?" She asked. Everyone around them looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what she meant.
"The first what?" Thomas asked, suddenly feeling like he should run away.
"The first to die," As soon as the words left her mouth, Cat and Melanie shifted into their lionesses and attacked. Saira went for Thomas tearing his arms off before he had the chance to shift into his lion. Chika jumped on Brandon, using her claws to scrape his face off. She then bit a huge chink out of his side, leaving him bleeding out on the ground. Ava saw what was happening and tried to shift, but Chika jumped on her back, scratching her from her head to her legs before ripping both legs off as soon as she got out of the car.
After their attack on the three shifters, they turned toward the humans, who stared in disbelief. Several tried to run, but they were on them in seconds. They tore through the men before they had a chance to pull a gun or any other weapon. Angelo tried to run onto the plane, but Chika wasn't letting him escape.
She leaped up and tackled him before he could reach the top. They rolled down the steps as she tore him into pieces like they said they'd done to Saxon. When she got up, she looked around and saw there were only a few men left who were all running away screaming. Chika looked at Saira and nodded. They would let them go so they could warn Raul his plan didn't work.
*"Chika, let's go find our family."* The two lionesses started running in the opposite direction of the men. They had no idea where they were going, so they followed their instincts.
After running for a few minutes, they found a long building that looked like a warehouse. Chika groaned when she saw it. She and Melanie were tired of warehouses. They stayed in the tree line in case they came across any humans. It was dark out, so it was hard to see now that they were away from the small airstrip that had been well lit.
*"Go slow and stay hidden. This place gives me the creeps."* Saira said.
*"I agree something is going on here. Maybe we should hang around and see if we see anything. I want to find our family, but I feel there's something here we need to see."* Chika answered.
*"Yes, let's do that. I'm going to try and mindlink your dad. If they're anywhere in the area, he should hear me."* Saira said. She mindlinked Trey, but nothing happened.
*"I still can't talk to him, but it doesn't feel like it did before when there was a block. It feels like he's too far away."* They lay in the tall grass among the trees and watched the building in front of them. There were only a few lights outside, but it looked all lit up inside.
About an hour after they'd started their stakeout, Chika and Saira heard someone running down the road to the warehouse. It was the men who'd run away from the airport. Obviously, their fear had confused them, and they'd gone in the wrong direction. The two lionesses couldn't help chuckling at the terror they had caused them. The three men began banging on one of the doors loudly.
"What the hell are you doing?" Someone yelled at them when the door was opened.
"The women got away. They turned into lions and killed everyone except us. Let us in before they get here." They tried to push past the man standing at the door, but he refused to let them in.
"They got away? Then you need to go find them. I don't want you to come back until you have them." The voice carried to the lionesses, and they could hear a thick Italian accent.
"They'll kill us. They killed everyone in a matter of minutes. You can't expect us to get them." One of the men sounded like he was in tears.
"That's exactly what I expect. Now go. If you return without them, I'll kill you myself." The door was slammed in the men's faces as they looked at each other. They slowly started walking back the way they'd come.
Chika and Saira were prepared to watch and wait for as long as necessary to determine what was going on. Neither could sleep as they were too afraid they'd miss something. Saira kept trying to mindlink Trey, but nothing was happening.
They'd been lying still for several hours. Just as the sun was starting to rise, they heard something behind them. As they turned, they jumped to their feet and gasped. How'd they find them?
