BK 2 - Chapter 25 - Another Message
Trey and Aiden went outside to walk around while the women talked. Aiden didn't like leaving Kitty when she was upset, but he also knew Cat was probably what she needed. He decided now would be a good time to tell Trey about Kitty's kidnapping.
"I have something to tell you. Something happened while Cat was in heat." Trey looked at his brother in concern.
"What is it, Aiden?"
"Ricky Giordano sent someone for Kitty. The man kidnapped her. He thought he had knocked her out, but she played possum until she was alone. She knocked him out with a baseball bat and tied him up. Kitty called me and wanted to send Ricky a message when I got there. She had me shift into Harley, and he bit off three of the man's fingers before scratching him down his torso. We called the ambulance before we left." Aiden looked down, not wanting to see if Trey was angry. He had told Kitty his brother would understand, but he wasn't as confident now that he was telling the story.
"You didn't kill him? Why not?" Aiden looked up at Trey in surprise.
"Kitty only wanted to send a message, not kill him. I'm worried that Ricky won't give up and someone else will come for her. The next time it might not be as easy to get the upper hand."
Trey thought about what his brother had said and was impressed with how Kitty had taken the man down. If that had been Cat, he and Atlas wouldn't have let him live. The only reason Caleb was still alive was that there had been too many witnesses when Cat was found, but that may be rectified eventually.
"I agree, Ricky, most likely will send more muscle next time. Kitty is tough if she was able to take down one of his men. Especially not being a werelion yet. Where is she on letting you mark her?" Aiden sighed.
"We're closer, I think. That's one of the reasons why we came early. Kitty wanted to talk to Cat about transitioning. What do you think we should do in regard to Ricky? She was kidnapped in front of your apartment, so they know where we're staying." He hadn't mentioned it to Kitty yet, but he thought they might need to change locations.
"I think you should move out as soon as possible. We have an extra bedroom here so you can stay with us if you'd like. That might be the best option anyway because they would have a hard time getting in the gates, and there are three lions here." Trey knew his brother wanted to take care of his mate on his own. However, the Italian mafia was not something you wanted to mess with, especially with Kitty still being human.
"Thanks. Let me talk to Kitty and see what she wants to do. I know she's going to be upset about leaving the apartment. Maybe if I tell her it's only temporary, she'll be okay with it. She loves Cat too, and being close to her will make her feel better." Aiden knew Kitty wouldn't be happy, but this was the best option.
When they went into the house, delicious aromas greeted them that made their mouths water. Kitty and Cat were in the kitchen laughing and pulling out dishes to set the table. Both men walked over to their mates and kissed them.
"What are you two in here cooking that smells so good?" Trey asked Cat.
"You're favorite." She winked at him.
"Chicken pot pie with your homemade crust?" He asked excitedly.
"Yep, and Aiden, Kitty did most of the work herself. We were laughing because she was telling me about your attempt to make a lasagna." Everyone laughed except Trey, who was in the dark. Aiden quickly explained it to him, and he shook his head.
"I don't think any of us in our family learned how to cook; mom wasn't the cooking type. Cat, can you leave the kitchen for a minute? I want to run something by you." Trey led her upstairs and mindlinked Aiden to talk to Kitty. He thought getting them moved in as soon as possible was best.
"What is it?" Cat asked when they were in their bedroom. Trey quickly explained what happened to Kitty while she was in heat and that he told Aiden they could stay with them.
"Why didn't Harley kill the man?" Cat asked matter of factly; she knew how possessive werelion men were.
"Kitty only wanted to send a message, not kill him. I'm surprised that Aiden and Harley didn't go ahead and take it into their own hands. So what do you think? Are you okay with them staying here until this is all sorted out?" She didn't even need to think about it. Family came first, and she would do whatever was necessary to keep her family safe.
"Yes, it will be nice having them around. Kitty could use someone to talk to that understands where she came from. She opened up to me, but I could tell she was still holding back. She reminds me of myself when we first met." Trey frowned at her words. Not because Kitty needed someone to talk to. He frowned because he didn't like to think about how Cat was when they first met.
"Good. Let's stay up here for a few more minutes until I get the okay from Aiden." Trey decided to use those few minutes wisely and leaned down to kiss his mate.
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When Trey and Cat went upstairs, Aiden led Kitty over to the couch. He was trying to think of the best way to approach the subject.
"I want to talk to you about something." He reached over and smoothed her hair back from her face.
"What is it? You're scaring me." Kitty was feeling anxious that something had happened.
"I talked with Trey about what happened with Ronaldo, and he had a suggestion that I think we should consider. He doesn't think we're safe in his apartment right now, so he would like us to move in here with him and Cat. Just temporarily until we can ensure Ricky's men are no longer after us." Aiden held his breath as he watched her face.
Kitty thought about what he said, and at first, she was heartbroken. They had just gotten comfortable in the apartment and made it their own. However, if Ricky sent more men, she knew they wouldn't be as easy to subdue as Ronaldo had been.
She wanted to say they would be fine in the apartment, but Kitty decided it would be safer to stay with Cat and Trey. She also liked the benefit of talking with Cat whenever she wanted.
"I agree it will be safer as long as it's only temporary. I have something to tell you too." Kitty tried to hide her smile.
"What is it?" Aiden saw her biting her lip, making him even more curious as to what she was going to say.
"I talked with Cat and decided I'm ready to have you mark me. In fact, now that we're going to be staying here, can you do it here? I would like to be around Cat while I'm going through the transition."
Aiden stared at her in shock. He was still trying to process that she had said she was ready to be marked and wanted to do it right away. He couldn't hold his excitement in. He suddenly stood up, pulling Kitty with him. He lifted her into his arms and swung her around as he laughed happily.
"You'll let me mark you? Oh, Kitty, you've made me the happiest man in the world." Aiden mindlinked Trey and said they could come down now. The couple came down the stairs not even a minute later, looking at Aiden and Kitty beaming at each other.
"Kitty has agreed that we should stay here temporarily. Even better than that, she has agreed to let me mark her. Cat, she'd like to do it while we're staying here so you can be with her while she's going through the transition. Are you okay with that?" Cat ran over to Kitty and hugged her.
"Of course, I'm okay with that. Congratulations, both of you. Our dinner should be ready, so why don't we eat and then we can go get your things before it gets too late. We're going to have so much fun." She pulled a smiling Kitty into the kitchen so they could get the food on plates.
"I'm so happy for you. I will be with you every step of the way." Cat hugged her again, and Kitty laughed. She was excited to be able to share this with her.
The men loved the pot pie so much nothing was remaining for leftovers. Cat only allowed them to have one piece of cake, saying they could have more once they picked up Kitty and Aiden's belongings.
They all rode in Trey's truck to the apartment. Trey said there was no point in taking both vehicles when everything they needed could fit in the truck.
When they got to the apartment, Aiden and Trey stepped in front of the women as they approached the door. Both had noticed the door was ajar. Trey slowly opened it and peeked inside. He didn't see or hear anything, but he still proceeded cautiously.
They all walked carefully inside. At first, it didn't look like anything was out of place. However, as they made their way into the bedroom, Kitty put her hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream.
Lying on the bed was Ronaldo, and his throat had been slit so deeply it didn't look like his head was attached. On the wall was a message written in what they assumed was Ronaldo's blood.
*"We're not afraid of a lion, but you should be afraid of us."*
