Chapter 5 - The Car Ride

"I need you to tell me what's going on. Don't hold anything back." Cat glanced over at Trey and could tell he was weighing his options.

"I'm stronger than I look, and the only way I can stay safe is to know everything. You got your wish. I'm with you. Even though I did think about leaving you in the hospital parking lot, I didn't. I'm not promising I won't ditch you later, but it's in my best interest to remain with you for now, so please tell me everything." Cat looked over at him again, and he was studying her face.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything, but I need you to stay with me. I did all of this to keep you safe. If you promise to stay with me, I'll be honest with you." Cat could feel his eyes on her as she drove. She decided she would agree to stay with him for now, but that may change in the future.

"Okay, but you have to promise me one more thing. You can't touch me. I don't care how innocent you think it is. Any type of touching scares me and causes me a lot of pain." Cat spoke softly, hoping he wouldn't make her elaborate. She didn't talk about her past with anyone, especially not someone she had just met.

Trey could tell that Cat didn't want to explain why she didn't like to be touched. He knew a few things about her childhood but not all the details. He decided to agree to her demands for now. He planned on eventually showing her how good touching could be.

"I promise not to touch you. As I said, in the hospital, Leo was released early. Detective Cummings didn't contact you because she was trying to protect you. She had hoped you could move on, so she kept watching him after his release to see what his plans were. Leo stayed in Indianapolis for a while, but then she lost track of him. Detective Cummings almost called you at that point, but she didn't know where he was headed and didn't want to alarm you if it wasn't necessary. She began reaching out to precincts all over the country where she knew he had contacts asking them to let her know if he was seen in their areas. She notified us a few weeks ago that you lived in Sacramento, and he may be coming this way to find you."

Cat was furious that Detective Cummings hadn't contacted her as she had promised. If she had warned her, she would've been prepared and gone into hiding as soon as he was released. Now she was with a detective who had just put on a show about needing medical care to get her alone.

"What made you think Leo was in Sacramento and I'm in danger?" Cat asked.

"My team has been keeping tabs on you, which has been pretty easy because you never go anywhere other than work. We're also keeping tabs on the deep net, looking for any contact between Leo and his known associates. We picked up some information that looked suspicious. It alerted us that he might have found your location. The message was from an associate of Leo's that lives in Carmichael. He said in a chat that the Cat was located and there would be a reunion. With you going by Cat, we concluded they were talking about you. That's when we started working on a plan for what the next steps should be." Trey stopped talking, and Cat glanced over at him.

He was watching her, and she assumed it was to gauge her reaction based on everything he had told her. She decided not to comment on the fact that they'd been following her. Cat knew she wasn't paranoid when she felt someone watching her. She was concerned, though. Who else could have followed her? She felt a little better knowing she was no longer in the dark about what was happening.

"Whose idea was it to have you come into the hospital as a patient?"

"It was my idea. I insisted on a private room because I wasn't sure you would be my assigned nurse. I figured it would be easier to sneak out to find you if I didn't have a roommate. Detective Cummings said you were independent and stubborn, so the only way to keep you safe may be to take you by surprise. However, it didn't take a lot of effort to make you leave. I wasn't expecting you to be so willing to come with me." Trey sounded confused.

Cat was confused, too. She couldn't understand why she had been so inclined to jump into a car with a stranger and go to an unknown destination. She tried to quickly think up a response to what he said.

"One thing you'll learn about me is that I'm all about self-preservation. That's why I have no problem picking up and running. You almost gave me a panic attack each time you touched me, so just remember to keep your hands to yourself, and we'll be okay. Did Detective Cummings tell you what Leo did?" She asked.

Cat held her breath. She had to know what he knew. Did his team know all the gruesome details? Detective Cummings had promised that if it ever came to this, she would only tell people what was crucial for them to know. She could see Trey was hesitant to answer. Cat felt her heart pounding in her chest while she tried to decide if it was better if he knew or not.

"She told us that your mother died when you were young, Leo abused you for years, and in court, he yelled that he would pay you back. She said any further details would have to come from you. We have access to your case files and court documents from Indiana, but I didn't look at them. I wanted to respect your privacy and give you a chance to tell me what you thought I needed to know when you're ready." Trey answered honestly. He watched her face to see what her response would be.

Cat let out the breath she'd been holding. At least Detective Cummings kept that promise. She heard him say he didn't look at her case files because he wanted her to tell him everything herself, but that would never happen.

"You didn't look at the case files? What makes you think I'll ever tell you the details?" She looked at him in question.

Cat had never told anyone about everything in her past. Not even Detective Cummings knew all the details. She couldn't understand what made Trey think that he was different. He looked into her eyes, and she had to look away. He was making her feel funny again. Cat liked to be in control, and right now, she didn't feel like she was in control of anything, least of all the effect he was having on her.

"No, I didn't look at them and won't. I want you to trust me so you're comfortable telling me yourself. It didn't seem reading all the details that led you to where you were before I met you was a good way to earn your trust." Cat risked another quick glance at him. She felt a pull toward Trey, which she wasn't ready to admit. She knew she should ditch him and disappear, but something made her want to stay.

"So, what's the plan now? I assume we aren't going to drive across the country." Cat felt overwhelmed with everything and wanted to get out of the car. Trey was so big that being in her little car, they were so close that she could feel the heat from his body, and it was unnerving.

"We need to go to a hotel where we can stay until there's a plan in place to get Leo. One of the patients you admitted tonight is one of his associates, so I knew they may be getting ready to make a move on you." Cat knew immediately which patient he was talking about.

"Jack Davis, I knew when I looked into his eyes that he was evil. People can put a smile on their faces and lie with their mouths, but the eyes hold the truth." She spoke softly. The eyes never lied to her.

"You're very perceptive. Maybe you should have gone into law enforcement." Cat heard admiration in his voice. That was new for her. Most people treated her like a freak when she spoke like that.

"Let's just say when you've seen your share of monsters, it's easy to identify the ones wearing sheep's clothing. Why are you here protecting me? This isn't the usual procedure to take a single person into hiding who may or may not be in danger. What else is going on that you haven't told me about?" Cat saw Trey gaping at her. She knew there had to be more to the story than her safety. She doubted the Sacramento Police could afford to put a whole team together to protect one insignificant woman.

"What makes you think we wouldn't go to these extremes to help one person?" Trey asked her cautiously.

"Your response only confirms for me that something more is going on. I need you to tell me the truth, or I won't be willing to go along with this. I may be small, but I'm capable of taking care of myself." Cat was getting angry again. She needed to know why they were taking these steps. She was not the naive damsel in distress that would sit back and let the handsome detective keep her safe. Cat knew there had to be another reason that they were taking such an interest in Leo.

"The truth is when we picked up the chatter about Leo and you, it led us to a possible ring of pedophiles. I'm here to protect you, but we also hope to draw Leo out and have him lead us to the ring leaders." She could feel him watching her, and Cat suspected he thought she would be upset that it wasn't all about her.

"Thank you for telling me the truth. I'm more than willing to be part of something that would take multiple predators off the streets." Cat felt better knowing that she could help keep children from going through the terror that she had. However, that also meant she couldn't leave Trey to hide by herself. If she did, then she would be putting children in danger. Even though she would prefer to be on her own, her desire to protect those children was stronger than the fear she had of being alone with Trey.

"Were you planning on taking my car the whole time, or did you leave a vehicle at the hospital?" She asked.

"No, I was dropped off. I wanted to take your car, so it looked like you had just left. I didn't have much time to plan, so besides the clothes on my back and some cash, I have nothing else." Trey answered. Maybe he should have packed something, but making sure Cat was safe was all he could think about.

"You know, by making yourself have an allergic reaction, you risked something going wrong. What if it had been so bad that you stopped breathing, and it wasn't able to be reversed? You took a chance with your life. Please don't do that again." Cat looked over at him with concern. Trey couldn't tell her he was a werelion, and the allergic reaction was hardly more than a minor irritation that lasted only a few minutes.

"It was the first thing I thought of to get myself admitted, and I promise I won't do it again. Also, since I'm being honest, I should tell you that it was my idea to take you away. My team wanted to wait and continue watching to see if someone made a move on you. I wasn't going to risk putting you in danger. That's why I didn't have time to prepare. I was afraid my team may try and stop me, so I had to get to you before they did."

Cat looked over at him and could tell he was watching for her reaction. She didn't know how to feel about what he said. On the one hand, it concerned her that he went against his team, and on the other hand, she was glad that he put her safety above everything else. Unfortunately, that was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. She turned back towards the road before speaking.

"Thank you for thinking about me. I would rather run and hide than let anyone get close enough to touch me." She said softly.

"You're welcome, and while I'm with you, I promise no one will get the chance to put their hands on you." Trey's words warmed her heart slightly. She knew he didn't know how much that simple statement meant to her. Cat didn't want him to think she was getting comfortable with him because that could only lead to trouble, so she kept quiet.

Trey smiled to himself as they continued down the highway. He could tell he was starting to get through that wall she had around herself. He planned on tearing that wall down until Cat agreed to be his.