Chapter 28 - Taken
"How dare you speak to me like that, you ungrateful little bitch." Cat smiled at Leo's response. He didn't scare her anymore.
"What do I have to be grateful to you for? You're an insignificant piece of trash that is too much of a coward to come after me yourself. Instead, you send these weak men who are even bigger idiots than you."
Trey couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had never been more proud of Cat. She wasn't showing any fear but facing Leo head-on and letting him know he couldn't get to her. He walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. Roger was still on the phone and said they were trying to pick up Leo's location.
"I took you in when no one else wanted you. All I asked was that you do as I say, but you couldn't follow that simple rule. You had to run to the police, but you call me a coward?" Cat could hear Leo's voice shaking with anger, and she started laughing loud enough for him to hear.
"You sound a little upset. What's wrong? You thought you would hunt me down, but you're wrong. I'm hunting you, Leo. When the police take you to prison, I hope they tell them everything you've done. I know what prisoners like to do to perverts like you, and I think it's time you get a taste of your own medicine."
Cat was so enraged at him for what he'd done to her and the other children that she was screaming into the phone. Trey's arm around her gave her the strength she needed to let him have it. She was done being frightened; she was mad.
"You'll never find me, but I'll be seeing you soon. If your boyfriend is listening, tell him he will die alongside you if he tries to keep you from me." Leo hung up the phone, and Cat looked up at Trey with a smile.
"I think I shook him a little what do you think?" She felt vindicated being able to stand up to Leo in a way she'd never done before.
"I think my little kitten has a temper, and I love seeing it. You definitely got to him. I'm glad we're hiding here and not at your apartment. Leo will probably try and send even more people after you now." Trey leaned down and kissed her. He had forgotten that Roger was still on the phone until he heard him saying his name.
"Hey, Roger, sorry I got distracted. Did you get him?" Trey winked at Cat, and she chuckled.
"We have a car following him now; he was near Cat's apartment. I'll keep you updated on what happens." Roger hung up, and Trey put his phone down.
"Well, they're following him. All we can do now is wait to hear from Roger. What do you want to do while we wait?" Trey knew one thing he would like to do, but he figured Cat probably wasn't in the mood after talking to Leo.
"Do we have a laptop here? I'd like to start researching what we need to do for the group home. I want to get started on it as soon as Leo is locked up." She looked up at him hopefully, and every thought he had about taking her to bed went out the window. He couldn't deny her anything and would get them as many laptops as needed.
"I'll call down to the front desk and have them get us a couple of them. Is there anything else you need?" Cat thought for a minute and couldn't think of anything.
"No, I don't think so. Can the front desk do that for us?"
"When you have money, people will do whatever they can to try and get it from you. We're in the penthouse, so people will do backflips if we ask them to, for a price, of course." Trey smiled as she stared with wide eyes. She wasn't used to having anything she wanted brought to her on a whim.
"Wow, money does change things." Cat whispered. She had never dreamt about having access to a lot of money. Her dreams had been focused on surviving. She was a little uncomfortable with Trey spending his money on something she wanted. As she watched him call the front desk, her mind was in turmoil.
"What's wrong?" He could tell she was upset about something, but he had no idea what. She had seemed so excited a few minutes ago.
"I've never had money. I have some saved, but nothing like what you have, and it's a little intimidating. How can I ask you to spend money on my dream?" Cat was still trying to wrap her mind around everything, and this just hit her like a lightning bolt.
"You didn't ask me, I offered. Your dream is my dream because I would do anything to make you happy. If you wanted me to buy you the moon, I would find a way to do it. Don't think about the money. Just look at it as we're fortunate to be able to put it to good use and help others." Trey ran his fingers through her hair and smiled.
Cat thought about what he said and sighed. He was right, and it wasn't like she was asking him to buy her a large diamond or something extravagant. They were making a group home to help children. As she was still thinking, someone called the phone in the room, and Trey answered.
"They have two laptops, and they're bringing them up now."
"How did they get them so fast?" Cat asked in awe.
"They have their ways." The elevator rang that someone was coming, and Trey walked over so they wouldn't have to come into the room. When the door opened, a young porter was there with a large bag that he handed to Trey. He thanked the man and gave him a tip.
Trey walked over to the table and took out two boxes. Each one was a brand-new laptop. He gave one to Cat and kept the other for himself. They quickly opened them, plugged them up, and turned them on.
Cat told Trey she wanted him to look up the legalities of opening a group home while she researched available resources. They both worked non-stop for hours, bookmarking pages and discussing their findings. Cat couldn't have been happier. She was finally doing something that would make a difference.
While they were working, Trey received a phone call from Roger saying that the car following Leo had lost him. Apparently, Leo had stopped at a convenience store. While the officers in the car waited outside, he slipped out the back. He had also left his phone in the car he was driving, so they had no way to track him at this time.
Cat wasn't too worried. She felt safe in the hotel with Trey and knew Leo would probably call her again from a new phone. She returned to the task at hand and put Leo in the back of her mind for the time being.
When they finally decided to take a break, she realized it was past lunchtime. Trey suggested they order room service from one of the restaurants downstairs, and Cat agreed. They decided on Italian and were told their food would be there in about 30 minutes.
Trey decided to shower while they waited, and Cat went back to the laptop to look over some of the things she found. He whistled happily as he went into the large bathroom. He was so glad to see her doing something that caused a fire in her eyes.
He wanted to shower to wash some of the staleness he felt and to calm Atlas down. The lion was getting frustrated because he hadn't been out for a run in a few weeks. He kept telling Trey if he didn't let him out soon, he would do it himself. Taking a warm shower would help Atlas relax. Trey promised him they would find a place to run in the next few days.
While Trey was in the shower, Cat continued to look over the things she had saved. She felt her excitement growing and couldn't wait until they actually had a place to start turning into what they wanted. She also decided to call her manager at the hospital to let them know she wasn't coming back.
After her phone call, she was heading toward the bathroom to see if Trey was almost done when the elevator suddenly rang, letting her know someone was coming up. She looked at her phone and was surprised. Their food wasn't supposed to be there for at least another fifteen minutes. Cat shrugged, figuring they must have gotten it done sooner than expected.
She smiled as the elevator stopped. Cat's smile froze as the door opened, and she was staring at a gun pointed at her chest. She slowly looked from the gun to the person holding it. How had he found her? The man smiled as he walked into the room.
"Hello, Caterina, nice to see you again. If you scream, I'll kill Trey. So come with me now before he comes looking for you, and I'll let him live."
Cat tried to think of a way out of this, but there wasn't any. She had to do what he said, or he would kill Trey. She swallowed and nodded her head; she was too scared to speak. Was he going to take her to Leo? He reached over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the elevator.
She glared at him as the elevator started going down. She had known she was right about him. The man holding the gun on her was none other than Detective Caleb Pierce.
