Chapter 65 - The Dress
Trey and Cat were busy over the following week. They were making wedding plans and getting ready to close on the house. Trey had also been working on the perfect opportunity to get Leo. There was no way he was letting Cat testify so Leo could have another chance to hurt her.
He looked down at Cat, who was still sound asleep. With the pregnancy and everything else going on, she had been exhausted. He rubbed her back as she slept.
Everyone who met his lioness loved her. Roger and Valerie couldn't get enough of her. All they talked about was being grandparents. Aiden and Kitty were always with her, helping with the plans for the house or the wedding. Who could blame them? Cat was so pure and kind that people were naturally drawn to her.
Saira had told them that they were having a boy cub. They had been going over possible names but hadn't decided on anything solid yet. They found a doctor that dealt with shifters, and she said the pregnancy was progressing nicely. The cub was healthy and growing steadily.
Trey was thinking about everything he was going to do with his little cub when Cat rolled over and smiled at him. He still couldn't get over how beautiful she was. She took his breath away every time he looked at her.
"Good morning, my handsome mate. What were you thinking about?" Cat rubbed his cheek with her hand. When she woke up, he had seemed a million miles away.
"Good morning, my gorgeous lioness. I was thinking about our cub and all the things I wanted to do with him." Trey rubbed her belly, which was still flat, but he knew his son was there. Cat put her hand over his, and it felt like their little family was connected.
"What's on the agenda for today? I have to meet with Valerie and Kitty to finalize everything for the wedding next week. I'm glad we can do it quickly while I can still wear a dress without too many alterations." Trey wanted to tell her about Leo but was worried it would upset her. He decided to go ahead and let it be her decision if she wanted to be involved or not.
"I have something to tell you. You won't need to worry about testifying against Leo." Cat looked at him in surprise. On top of everything else she had going on, the prosecutor had been calling to review her testimony almost daily.
"Susan never said that Leo decided to make a deal. Did something happen?"
"Not yet, but something is going to happen. What I'm about to say has to stay between us, okay?" Cat sat up worried and looked into his eyes.
"Okay."
"When Leo goes to court in a few days, he's not going to make it. I'm going to kidnap him while he's being transferred, and then Atlas is going to make sure he's never seen again." He held his breath as he watched her face. He saw the tears in her eyes and thought maybe he'd gone too far and shouldn't have said anything.
"You would do that for me?" She heard Atlas growl making her laugh. "I'm sorry I didn't forget about you, Atlas. I just can't believe you're doing this. I want to be there and let Saira get a piece of him too."
Trey was surprised. He'd been prepared for multiple reactions but didn't think she would want to be there when the deed was done. However, he sometimes forgot that Cat had a fiery side that she kept hidden from most people.
"If that's what you want, you can be there. Are you still okay to shift while you're pregnant?" He sat up next to her on the bed, and she leaned against him happily.
Cat had always dreamed of what she would do to Leo if given a chance, and now with her lioness, she can make that dream come true. Saira reassured her that they could shift without any problems.
"Saira said we can shift, and it won't hurt the cub. When is this supposed to happen?"
"He has a court appearance in two days. That's when we'll get him." Trey didn't tell her that Roger was going to help them. The fewer people who knew all the players, the better.
"I need to get ready to see Valerie. My dress is coming today so make sure you don't come to the house without warning. You're not supposed to see it before the wedding, or it's bad luck." Cat kissed him before hopping off the bed and heading to the shower.
Trey watched her as she went into the bathroom. He would join her, but neither of them would get any work done if he did. He, Aiden, and Roger were going to pick up the wedding bands. Cat had no idea that he had special ordered the bands with engravings.
Roger had helped and insisted on being part of everything because he was taking his job of giving Cat away seriously. Trey was surprised that Roger hadn't tried to convince her to let him adopt her to make it official.
Cat came out of the bathroom, humming to herself, and walked to the closet. Trey got out of bed and went to take a quick shower. When he came out, she was dressed in her usual jeans and t-shirt. She was brushing out her long hair that was now past her waist.
"Trey, I need to get my hair cut, but that's one thing that still worries me. Before I was with you, I made them cut it dry and not touch me. However, I would like to get something special done before the wedding, can you help me? If I start to freak out, I'll need you there." Cat looked at her hair, which was getting out of control.
"I have the perfect person to do your hair. She and her husband have a little shop in Sacramento where he does men on one side, and she does women on the other. I have been going there since moving to this area. I'll make an appointment for each of us so we can go when no one else is there. Don't get it all cut off." Trey hugged her and ran his fingers through her long hair.
"I won't. I know you like it long. I'm taking off now. See you a little later." Cat wrapped her arms around him and gave him a long kiss. She missed him when they weren't together, but she also liked having girl time with Valerie and Kitty.
Cat walked up to the main house while Trey waited for Aiden and Roger. When she got to the house, Valerie had a huge smile on her face.
"I have a surprise for you. Your dress came early." Valerie grabbed her hand and pulled her into Roger's office, where she had hung the dress.
She stopped when she saw it and began to cry. Planning the wedding and everything else had happened so fast that it hadn't seemed real. However, now that she was seeing her dress, it hit her that she's getting married.
Cat walked up to her dress and lightly touched the silky white material. It wasn't over the top, but still beautiful. The dress was sleeveless with a fitted bodice covered in tiny sequins that looked like white seashells. Cat wanted something to represent being proposed to in Monterey. The skirt was snug but had a slit up to her knee on one side to give her room to move. She didn't want a long train but had a thin veil attached to a headband covered in the same seashell sequins.
"It's so beautiful, Valerie. I'm almost afraid to touch it." The doorbell rang, and Valerie went to let Kitty in. Cat turned around when she heard a gasp from behind her.
"Cat, your dress is gorgeous. You're going to look like a princess, and those sequins are so shiny they look like diamonds." Kitty walked next to Cat and continued admiring the dress. She was happy for her friend. She loved her like a sister.
"Your dress is here too." Cat and Kitty turned around and saw the maid of honors dress. It was royal blue with short sleeves and fitted for Kitty's petite figure. Cat showed her where she had the same seashell sequins added around the waist of the dress, giving the illusion of a diamond belt.
"I didn't know you were adding those." Kitty ran her fingers over the sequins. She had never worn such a beautiful piece of clothing.
"Alright, ladies, I think you need to try these dresses on so we can make sure there are no adjustments needed." Valerie helped each of them into their dresses and had them stand side by side. She got teary-eyed looking at the two young women. They were giggling and spinning around, looking young and carefree.
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A few days later, Leo was all smiles as he was given a suit to wear for court. Today was jury selection, and he was acting as co-counsel. His only purpose for being part of his defense was so he could question Cat and try to make her break.
He chuckled under his breath as he finished putting the dark blue suit on. Leo thought he still knew how to push all her buttons to make her submit. He would make her look like a fool, and they would set him free so he could be back in business.
When he walked out of the restroom, the two guards who were waiting outside were gone. Instead, there were two police officers, a man, and a woman. Leo shrugged, assuming they had come to escort him to the courthouse.
After his hands were cuffed behind his back, the two officers grabbed his arms and led him out the back door. Once outside, they shoved him into the back of a police car a little too hard, making him fall to the side.
"Hey, watch it. You're going to mess up my suit." Leo struggled to sit back up without using his hands and glared at the officers.
"Shut up, pervert. You're lucky all we did was push you." The female officer slammed the door in his face. Leo was going to make a complaint as soon as he saw his attorney. They shouldn't be able to treat him this way.
He looked around at their surroundings as they started driving and realized they were headed out of the city. Where were they going? His attorney didn't say anything about his case being moved to another court.
"What's going on? This isn't the way to the courthouse." Leo felt panicked. He was trapped in the back of the car and handcuffed.
"You're not going to the courthouse. The guards reported that you escaped after going into the bathroom and called us to help look for you. Guess what, Leo? No one's going to find you." The man who was driving laughed.
The blood drained from his face. He laid on his back and tried to kick the glass out of the window, but it wouldn't budge. He began screaming for help, but no one was around as they headed to a remote area. Leo had no idea where they were as all he saw were trees.
The car pulled off the side of the road, and the two officers got out. Leo saw a man come from behind one of the trees and recognized him as Cat's boyfriend, Trey. When they opened the back door, Leo scooted over to the other side of the car, no longer wanting to get out. That guy was huge, and one blow from him would kill him instantly.
The door behind him suddenly opened, and Leo fell backward onto the ground. He screamed for help, but Trey was next to him and kicked him hard in the ribs before pulling him up by his cuffed hands so he was standing.
"You can scream all you want; no one will hear you." Leo began shaking with fear, no longer able to speak. "Thanks, Roger and Ellie; we'll take it from here."
Leo was confused when Trey said we. Who else was with him? Trey pulled him backwards into the woods as the two officers made a u-turn and headed back toward the city.
Trey came to a stop and turned Leo around, throwing him to the ground. He looked up and saw Cat standing there with her arms crossed. He smirked at her even though he was on his knees.
"Is this your present from your boyfriend to kill me in front of you?" Leo struggled to his feet, but Cat walked over and kneed him in the groin as hard as she could, making him fall again.
"I am perfectly capable of killing you myself. This is your only chance to run before they get you." Cat smiled as he looked at her in confusion, still in pain from her knee.
"Before, who gets me?" Leo heard a deafening roar behind him, and he slowly turned around while still on his knees. A massive lion was standing behind him where Trey had just been. Leo tried to crawl to get away, but it was hard with his hands behind his back.
He turned toward Cat, and right before his eyes, she turned into a gigantic lioness. Leo screamed in fear and curled into a ball on the ground, shaking. Both lions circled him growling as Leo began wetting his pants.
