Chapter 25 - The Intruder
Cat and Trey got out of the bathtub as soon as they heard the crash. She sat on the bathroom floor shaking while Trey quickly pulled on his pants. He listened to see if he could tell where the person was in the apartment, but he didn't hear anything. Trey picked up the gun he had put with his clothes before he opened the bathroom door.
Cat was in the corner and couldn't see anything. Trey turned to her and held his finger to his lips, telling her to stay quiet. She nodded without speaking. She was terrified that something would happen to him as he went out the door. Where were the other detectives? What good did it do to have cameras if they didn't see anything?
Cat pulled her knees up and was rocking back and forth in fear. She suddenly heard a loud bang that sounded like someone had broken in through her front door. She then heard people running and people.
She wanted to see what was happening but was too scared to move. She heard someone struggling and shouting. She then heard someone running toward her, and she felt a moment of fear until she saw Trey. He ran over to her and scooped her up into his arms.
Cat wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. Being in Trey's arms and hearing Atlas purring made her shaking subside.
"What happened?" Cat looked him over as best she could with how tight he was holding her, and he looked fine.
"A man broke in through your sliding glass door. Roger and Ellie saw him on camera. They waited until he got close to the bedroom and broke in through the front door. The three of us were able to take him down without any trouble. Luckily he had no weapons on him. It looks like he thought he would be able to come in here and kidnap you."
Trey was furious that anyone had been able to get into her apartment in broad daylight. He was going to have to talk to Roger about tightening the security. He was still holding Cat, unwilling to let her go.
"Trey, are you bringing Cat out here?" She heard Atlas growl at Roger's question, and despite the situation, she giggled.
"I think they're waiting for us, and I'm naked. I don't want to go out there like this." Trey looked at her and smiled.
"When I thought about how close he'd come to you, I had to hold you to ensure you were okay." He leaned down and kissed her gently. He was so scared when he realized someone had broken in.
Trey put Cat on her feet so she could get dressed. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He and Atlas were still trying to keep themselves calm. They wanted to go back to the other room and kill the intruder.
"Alright, I'm ready." Cat had put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before combing out her long hair.
As they walked out of the bedroom holding hands, Cat gasped. Her living room was a mess. There was broken glass from the door, and some of her belongings were thrown on the floor.
She saw Roger and Ellie standing next to a man who was handcuffed. Roger was holding onto his arm while the man glared at Cat.
"You were supposed to be alone so that I could get the money." He had the nerve to try and lunge at her, and Cat felt anger coursing through her body. To everyone's surprise, she walked over to the man until she was only a few feet away.
"You can tell Leo that none of you will get your hands on me. I'm not for sale, asshole." Cat spit in his face and then walked back to Trey, who was staring at her, speechless. She didn't even act scared.
"You bitch, I'll come back for you as soon as I make bail." Cat smiled at him and looked at Roger.
"Did you hear him threaten me? That adds more time to his sentence, right?" The man's face went white. He was so focused on Cat that he forgot the police surrounded him.
"Yes, I did, and so did Ellie, Trey, and the cameras we have recording. What's your name, idiot?" Roger had to admit he was surprised by Cat. She wasn't cowering in a corner like some victims would be doing. She was facing the man head-on.
"Mitch Black. I only came because Leo said he would pay someone twenty-thousand dollars to take her to him. You can't blame me for wanting that money. You should be locking Leo up, not me." Mitch was begging for his life now. He was ready to throw whoever he could under the bus.
"Don't worry; we'll be locking him up real soon. Maybe you two can share a cell. Ellie, get this piece of shit out of here. There should be officers downstairs with a patrol car waiting on you."
Ellie grabbed the man by the handcuffs that held his hands behind his back. She pushed him ahead of her and out the door. Once they were gone, Cat took a sigh of relief.
"Cat, I have to say I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to confront him. He should be ready to talk when we get him back to the station. Hopefully, he knows something that we don't already know." Roger smiled at Cat, and she blushed a little.
"I don't mind facing the monsters I can see. It's the ones hiding like cowards that scare me." Cat took Trey's hand in hers, needing to touch him.
"I'm sorry he messed up your place. Is there anything I can do to help clean it up?" Roger looked around and cringed. Mitch had smashed her sliding glass door and tossed some of her things on the floor. He definitely wasn't a criminal mastermind.
"No, I think Trey and I can handle it. Thanks, though." Cat smiled at Roger. She wanted to be alone with Trey. She thought there had been enough excitement for one day.
"We need to talk about increasing security. That man shouldn't have been able to get in here that easily." Trey was fuming with anger. With all their precautions, someone could still get into the apartment.
"I already have Marc on it. In the next few hours, he will have a security team wire this place. So if any door or window is broken or opened while the alarm is on, it will set it off. Cat, we won't let something like this happen again. Ellie brought your purse. It's there on your kitchen table. Please charge your phone and make sure you always have it on you. As I said before, Leo or one of his people may try to contact you. Also, all calls on your phone will be traced so we can try and locate the caller. Do you have any questions?" Roger looked at both Trey and Cat.
"No. Thank you for taking the extra precautions." Cat gave him a small smile.
"Roger, I think it's time for you to go so Cat and I can begin cleaning this mess up. Will you have Marc arrange for someone to replace her sliding glass door and the front door you kicked in?" Trey looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Already working on it. They should be here about the same time as the security team." Roger waved as he left through the broken front door.
"How are you really doing?" Trey asked her with concern. He had been just as stunned as the others when she engaged with the intruder.
"I'm okay. I was scared in the bathroom because I didn't know who it was. When I saw that man, my fear turned to anger. I was mad because he thought he could come in here and deliver me to Leo. I was angry because he ruined the lovely time you and I were having. Most of all, I was furious because he scared me. I wasn't afraid that I would get hurt. I was worried that something would happen to you. That is my biggest fear of all. I love you, and the thought of something taking you away from me is like a knife to my heart." Cat walked over and put her arms around him.
"I love you too, and nothing will take me away from you. I'm not your average man remember? I'm glad you were angry. You should be angry, and I liked seeing that fiery side of you. Atlas was about to shift and attack, but when we saw you weren't scared anymore, it calmed us down." Trey was whispering in her ear so no one would hear the part about Atlas.
"Let's clean this place up and order something for dinner. I don't want any memory of him being in here." Cat frowned when she looked at the mess he had made.
Her home had always been where she could go, where no one could hurt her. Now her safety net has been taken away from her. She didn't know if she wanted to live there after Leo was caught. There may be too many bad memories.
"What are you thinking about?" Trey ran his fingers through her long silky hair.
"Honestly, I don't know if I want to continue living here after you catch Leo. This place has made me feel safe in the past, but I have bad memories here too. Not only from what happened today but also from my nightmares. Do you think we can find a place to live together? Something new for both of us." She looked up at him, and he was smiling.
"I think that's a great idea. A new beginning." Trey leaned down to kiss her passionately. His heart was ready to burst with how much he loved his little kitten. When he pulled away, they were both smiling.
Trey and Cat started cleaning up the glass and broken items from the living room. It didn't take long, and just as Cat was putting the vacuum away, Trey's phone rang.
"Hey, Roger, what is it?" Trey put the phone on speaker and laid it on the table so Cat could hear.
"I need you to get Cat out of the apartment now. You don't have time to pack anything. I want you to get to your truck and leave. I will call you in a few minutes." Cat looked at Trey in confusion as to what was happening.
"What's going on?" Trey knew he wasn't going to like what he heard.
"Cat's address was released in the chatroom we had been monitoring. We don't know how many people may be heading your way. Get out of there now."
