Maiden and the Lion (Lions of Manhattan 2)

The two goons frisked Cat and Bea. They took away their cell phones and herded them to a silver Cadillac parked near the gate.

“Cat?” Bea called warily. She hadn’t thought their little interview attempt would cause them to run in with the blackmailers.

“Stay cool, hon. We’ll get through this,” Cat said. She turned sharply to Danielson as they passed him by. “Hey, Danielson. Snap out of it!”

But Danielson just stood there with a blank face.

“He only obeys my command, Mrs Larousse. Save your breath.” Angelo gestured to his men. “Be quick about it.”

The goons cuffed Cat and Bea’s wrists and they unceremoniously shoved them to the trunk of the Cadillac.

“Is this really necessary?” Cat protested.

“Do you want to be gagged?” Angelo shot back.

Cat pursed her lips.

One of the goons pushed Cat into the trunk. Bea was next. They lay side by side with their legs folded. Bea felt claustrophobic immediately, even though the space was quite roomy. The man slammed the trunk closed. Darkness surrounded them. Outside, she heard muffled sounds of Angelo ordering his men. The Cadillac’s engine started and the car moved.

“Well, this sucks,” Cat said. “You okay, hon?”

“I-I think so.” Bea’s voice was shaky.

“Don’t worry, Gabe and Alex will come for us.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Gabe had me implanted with a tracking device. He was afraid I’d get into these kinds of situations. Guess it was useful for occasions like this.”

Bea wasn’t so sure. She was scared out of her wits.

Chapter Six

Alex burst into Gabriel’s office, fuming. Inside, Gabe was in the middle of a meeting with Ren. “You’ve got to do something about your mate!” he started.

“What about Cat?” his older brother asked.

“She took Bea out from my apartment. I specifically told Bea to stay put.”

“Why would Cat do that?”

Alex massaged his temples. “MacGee said they were going out to discuss the wedding. Did you tell Cat about Bea?”

Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t keep secrets from my mate. Maybe they were going out shopping.”

“I called them and they didn’t answer their phones. Gabe, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Sit down. Tell me from the beginning.”

Alex pulled up a chair and sank into it. “MacGee called me ten minutes ago while I was having a meeting with people from Hydra. Cat showed up in my apartment and shortly after, the two came down to the parking lot. MacGee intercepted them but Cat insisted on taking Bea out. She’s not safe, Gabe. I haven’t been able to find out who the blackmailer is.”

“Wasn’t Cat fitted with a chip? We can track her GPS.” Ren opened his laptop and got busy with his programme. “Give me a minute.”

“How did the Hydra investigation go? I thought you were putting a personal detail on Bea?” Gabe asked.

Alex sighed. “I had them cancel it since I claimed her. I thought she’d be sitting still in my apartment until this is over.”

“What about them investigating the leaking?”