Beauty & The Beast (Book 1)

76. Makes sense now

Cat sat in the snowed up park on a bench waiting. She couldn't believe her relief when Vincent told her he was safe. She was still worried about being seen but this was the only way to talk. She hears someone sit down on the adjacent bench and closes her eyes when Vincent speaks quietly.

"Am I happy to see you," he sighs, the smile in his voice clear.

"You have no idea," she agrees breathily.

"I'm sorry I took so long...just wanted to make sure they weren't following us." Vincent checks the area. "Catherine, these Muirfield guys...they knew exactly where I was, and we're talking precise co-ordinates. I just...
it doesn't make sense."

Cat takes a deep breath. "It does... Uhm, Evan tipped them off."

Vincent sits forward, his hesd turning around to look at her, despite them agreeing not to face one another earlier. "How do you know?" he asks the side of her face, before she also turns.

"He told me." Vincent clenches his jaw. Evan, Evan Evan...
"He saw us together at my apartment two nights ago and then he followed you to the tunnels from there." Cat looks at Vincent. She was wary of telling him this, but they had no secrets between them.

Vincent glares out at the snow. Evan, Evan, Evan...

"I believe if I had just been honest with him sooner..." She trails off.

Vincent scoffs. She was blaming herself again for something someone else did. "Catherine come on, it's not your fault," he looks at her.

"It is my fault. I let him take things too far, especially his feelings...for me," she says the last bit carefully, swallowing at then checking Vincent's reaction. "You should have heard him," she sighed.

He frowns deeply. Evan...his mind growls.  "What did he say?"

"That we could never be together. That our love would never work out." Vincent looks away from her. Evan...
"He was upset."

Vincent nods, his teeth close to breaking from the force he bit down with. "He sent a death squad after me," he grinds out.

"Which is why I need to talk to him and convince him that you're not the monster that he thinks you are." Vincent gives her the sideway and looks ahead again. "If he could bring Muirfield to you, he could lure them away."

"He's put you in enough danger as it is, I think it's about time I talk to him," Vincent looks at her and gets up.

"Okay," she gets to her feet to follow him. "I don't see that ending well," she says. She saw the way he was glaring at the passing people like they were Evan himself. Vincent didn't like Evan having feelings for her. This 'talk' was going to end in someone having a few bruises.

"Listen," Vincent stops and turns around. "Catherine, they're gonna ask him how he picked up on my trail, and he may deflect a few times but eventually they will stop asking nicely and he will give you up." She looks like she wants to say he wouldn't, but Vincent was sure that if Evan's heart was broken enough or he was worried enough he would. "You know it's true and I can't let that happen," he states.

"You're gonna have to. Because you can't walk into my precinct for a little mano e mano." She looks at him, coveying with her eyes to trust her. "I can handle this okay?"

He licks his lips and pulls them in, jaw set. Cat takes that as a yes and then walks away from him.

Vincent sniffs against the cold and then he goes off to find Evan.

**

When Cat gets to the station to talk to Evan, he isn't there. Instead there are a group of officers, a lab assistant and Gabe Lowan busy going through all of his files and equipment.