BK 2 - Chapter 17 - Full Disclosure
Kitty nervously got dressed for their dinner with Cat and Trey. She was looking forward to a home-cooked meal because she hadn't had one in years. However, she was scared they would be upset when they heard the second reason they wanted to come to Sacramento. She put on a pair of black jeans and a black short-sleeved blouse.
Aiden walked into the room wearing his usual blue jeans with a white t-shirt. She loved the casual look that made him look good enough to eat. Kitty walked over and wrapped her arms around him, taking comfort in the warmth of his body.
"Aiden, are you sure Trey and Cat won't ask us to leave after we tell them about Ricky? I don't want to bring trouble to their door."
"Trey's a detective. Trust me, he's the best one to talk to, and he'll help us decide the right thing to do. It will all work out." He kissed her head. He had total confidence in his brother and knew he would lead them in the right direction.
As they drove through Granite Bay, Kitty couldn't believe her eyes. The houses were some of the largest she'd ever seen. She reminded herself that Trey and Cat were staying in the pool house of Trey's sergeant. If they were living in one of these massive houses, Kitty would have told Aiden to turn around so she could put on a dress and heels. She felt out of place just driving through the streets.
When they pulled up to a gigantic house with a large white iron gate, Kitty knew she was way out of her league, and her nervousness became almost unbearable. Aiden noticed her fidgeting and took her hand in his. She looked at him, grateful, as she tried to calm herself down.
He put in the code Trey gave him to open the gate, and they drove past the main house to the back, where the pool house was. Kitty sighed in relief; the pool house was smaller and not so intimidating.
She looked around as they got out of the car. There were flowers everywhere that made the air smell like a fragrant bouquet. She thought she would love to bring her art supplies and paint the beautiful picture in front of her.
Trey opened the door when Aiden knocked, and Kitty was once again blown away by how much the two brothers looked alike. She smiled at Trey as he led them into the house. She loved the place immediately. It was extremely comfortable and welcoming.
The furniture was all white, and the floors were green slate. There were touches of color throughout the entire place that seemed to accent all the white perfectly. Cat was in the kitchen waiting on them, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. All of Kitty's doubt that she didn't belong left when she saw Cat's warm smile.
"Hello, you didn't have trouble finding us, did you? I know if I drove myself, I would still get lost." Aiden and Kitty both smiled back at her.
"No, our GPS, with the help of Trey's instructions, was pretty on point." Aiden walked over and looked out the back door at the beautiful backyard.
"Come with me." Trey led him outside.
"How was the apartment, Kittana?" Cat asked as she started pulling things out of the refrigerator to place on the table.
"It was great. It's nice to enjoy time with Aiden without worrying someone will find out. Can I ask you something?" She looked down, worried she might be crossing the line when she had just met her. However, she wanted to talk to Cat without the men around.
"You can ask me anything you want, Kittana. After all, we're almost sisters." Cat smiled to ease her nervousness.
"How did you handle going from a human to a werelion? I'm still having trouble understanding how this is all possible." Cat understood perfectly what she meant.
"It wasn't easy. To find out we live in a completely different world than we thought, where there are shifters, vampires, witches, and who knows what else. At first, it felt like all the childhood nightmares had come true. However, after talking with Trey and seeing how he is, I understood that even though all of these things are out there, most of them are good. If they were all bad, we humans would have known about them. I took it one day at a time, and Trey didn't mark me until I was ready and sure that this was the life I wanted."
"Aiden has been the same with me. He's giving me time to process everything, but it scares me when I think about turning into a lion. Yet when I think about being without Aiden, that scares me even more. Did you feel like you were no longer you after you got your lioness?" Kitty hoped Cat knew what she was asking.
"I had the same worry about having another thing living inside of me, so to speak, but it's not like that at all. Saira and I are more partners. We have our own personalities and ideas. I'm still me, and she's still her, but we're stronger together. Does that make sense?" Cat didn't know if she was describing it correctly, but Saira said she was doing fine.
"Yes, I know what you mean. Thank you. I feel better being able to talk to someone who was also human. I wanted to ask you about your group home too. What made you decide to open a home for abused children?" Kitty looked away, not wanting to meet Cat's eyes.
"I was abused as a child, starting at the age of six. I was placed in a group home, but it did nothing to help me. I want to make a place for children to feel safe and call home where they can get the help they need." She looked at Cat with wide eyes. She would have never thought the strong independent woman she was looking at had a broken childhood.
"I grew up in foster care from the time I was four. I had so many foster families I lost count. Some of them were nice, and I didn't want to leave. Others were terrible, some worse than others, depending on what form of abuse they wanted to dish out. When I turned eighteen last year, I aged out of foster care and was put on the streets. I've lived in hotels, shelters, or on the street since that time. Aiden came across me one day when he was in San Francisco. He had me stay in a hotel in Monterey until we could decide what to do because he was worried his family would hurt me. He's the only one I've ever said anything about my childhood to besides you. So you see, when you and Trey helped us, it gave us real hope that everything would be okay."
Kitty had tears running down her face as she looked at Cat. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had a friend who was a kindred spirit and understood what it was like not to have a happy childhood. Cat walked over to her and smiled.
"Can I hug you?" She nodded at her through her tears. When Cat hugged her, Kitty felt all the anxiety and fear she had been holding onto for years begin to leave her body. Cat's hug seemed powerful like she was taking her sorrow away. She didn't say anything because she didn't understand it herself.
"Why did you ask if you could hug me? Most people would have just done it and not care whether you wanted it or not." Kitty pulled away from her new friend with a smile as she wiped away her tears.
"Up until recently, I couldn't be touched at all. No one had given me a kind touch since my mother died when I was six. I would never touch someone without their permission because I know how painful it can be. Trey and I are going to try and see the house we're buying for the group home tomorrow. Would you like to come and see it with us? I would really like your input Kittana."
"Yes, that would be great. Please call me Kitty."
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As Aiden and Trey walked out back, Aiden decided that he would bring up the topic of Ricky. He thought it would be better to talk to Trey away from the women. He knew Kitty was still sensitive about being homeless and what she had to do to survive.
"I have something I want to talk to you about. It's the other reason I was looking for you." They continued slowly walking around the backyard.
"What's going on?" Trey sounded concerned.
"Kitty was homeless before I met her, and to make ends meet, she pickpocketed. Almost a year ago, she pickpocketed Ricky Giordano, the enforcer from the Italian mafia syndicate in San Francisco." Aiden looked up at Trey as he stopped walking.
"Is she the anonymous person that the FBI is looking for?" Trey asked in shock. Of all the things he was expecting his brother to say, this was not one of them.
"Yes. When Kitty took Ricky's money, a money clip was on it that had a hidden compartment with a micro SD card. Before leaving San Francisco, someone broke into Kitty's hotel room, leaving a note saying she needed to turn over the clip or they would kill her. We turned it in to the FBI anonymously that same day. According to the news, Ricky's attorneys are questioning the chain of custody."
Trey stared at his brother, feeling the same fear he knew Aiden felt. If Ricky found Kitty, she would be dead, and if she went to the FBI, it would be like putting a giant target on her back.
"I'm sorry this is happening to you and your mate. I don't think she should go forward right now. The FBI can still use the evidence that she gave them without her. I'm glad you came to Sacramento to put further distance between Ricky and Kitty. I know his trial is starting soon, so he'll be busy, but you need to be careful because he has contacts everywhere. At least they don't know what she looks like." Trey noticed Aiden's face went white.
"Actually, they do. Kitty hid from them when they realized she had taken the money. She overheard them say to call someone to make a sketch of her. I'm sure they didn't give that information to the FBI, but Ricky and his men know." Trey's first thought was to keep Aiden and Kitty hidden entirely out of view, but he had another idea.
"I still don't think you should go to the FBI. Hopefully, no one finds her, but three lions are waiting to protect Kitty if they do. If Ricky's men disappear, no one will miss them, at least not anyone that will say what they were doing." Trey's lion Atlas and Harley both growled their approval.
"That will make Kitty feel better. I'm hoping she'll let me mark her soon, so she'll have her own lion." Tray patted Aiden's back.
"I'm sure she'll come around. I brought you out here so she could talk to Cat in private. Cat picked up that they may have similar pasts, so she wanted to give her a safe space to talk to her." Trey smiled at Aiden as they headed back to the house.
"I appreciate that. Kitty has wanted to talk to someone who has gone through the changes from a human to a werelion. Can I ask you something about Cat?" Aiden didn't know how to word what he wanted to say.
"Sure."
"Is she something more than a werelion? Kitty and I both get a feeling from her that makes us feel warm all over. It's like just being in her presence has a calming effect. I'm probably not saying that right, but we both felt it yesterday." Trey smiled at his brother.
"As far as we know, she was a human and now a werelion. I thought I was the only one who felt that way around her because I was her mate. It does make me wonder if she has something more in her family history than humans. I don't know what it could be, though." Trey thought about what Aiden said as they walked into the house. He always knew Cat was unique, but now he wondered if there was even more to her than they knew.
