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Daniel - Part 7 16 December 2017, Saturday 600 AM Daniel's Place
We wake this morning to my alarm. Wayne starts to get up, but I hold him to me. I had nightmare after nightmare last night, and I need to hold him for a while, to convince myself he's all right.
He pats my arm where it's clamped over him. "Hey. It's okay." I loosen my grip a little, and he turns in my arms to face me. "I'm okay." He looks into my eyes. I know what I must look like. I must look like a scared, weak child to him. He's the one in danger, and I'm someone he has to be strong for. I frown at my own weakness. I have to be better. I will be better.
We both reach for one another simultaneously. And as we pull close he murmurs soft, wonderful selfless things to me. He has no idea what Jason can do. But ... even if he did, I don't think he would change anything. A brave fool. But he's my fool.
I've already set the wheels in motion. The money will be ready for me by Monday. I will have to bring three identifiers, and the withdraw will have to be approved by the head of the branch, but I will have the money if I need it after that.
I have been saving everything I could for years. And this is well over half of what I have put away. I'm very successful in my field ... but I'm not a rock star. Essentially this is going to cost about 4 years of everything I could put away. But he's worth it.
Wayne and Martha have no idea I'm making the withdraw. I realize they won't approve. Only the upper echelons of the credit union know. But, it's not their money. It's mine. And I'll decide what I'm doing with it.
Wayne looks at me. "You know this is all gonna work out, right?" He runs his hand along my cheek, and holds my face. "They'll find this guy. And it'll work out."
I know he needs me to be positive. I smile. "Yeah. I know." But I don't know. Jason is a remarkable person. When I met him I had no idea how capable, intelligent, and driven he is. Usually those things are a positive. But right now, as I stare into the eyes of the man I love, those attributes scare the hell out of me.
Wayne's Journal - Part 10 16 December 2017, Saturday 1010 AM Daniel's Place
This morning has been tense. I finally got Martha to agree that she didn't need to follow me into every room. Though, I had more difficult time convincing Daniel.
"Look, the doors are locked. You even have deadbolts. He can't pick those!" I sighed. "Go to your session!"
Daniel crossed his arms, and stubbornly shook his head. "I already canceled."
I gave an exasperated sigh. "Bad for business Mr. Ison." I shot him an annoyed glare. "I'm fine. And even if he DOES get in, I'm not exactly helpless you know."
Daniel's expression softened. "I know." He walked up and put his hands on my shoulders. "Look, he's a dangerous guy. And I love you. What am I supposed to do?" His voice dropped. "What would you do?"
I frowned. His face was so earnest, and open. I sighed. "Okay. Yeah. I'd want to keep you safe." I hated that this guy had upset Daniel so much. I know a lot of what holds him back emotionally is due to Jason. It makes me despise him all the more.
Daniel retreated back to his media room. He was going to at least get some of his distance program work done, since he was skipping his in person session today. Thanks to me. I sighed again.
I don't like this. I need a way to relax. I started walking toward Daniel's office, and he met me at the door. His face was neutral, but he looked to be in a hurry.
"Hey." He wet his lips. "Turns out I do have to go. Davis, the manager of Arcata Health Sport needs me to come by TODAY for some reason." He shook his head, annoyed. But I was relieved.
"No, go." I didn't want to be a reason he was a hermit in his own house.
He looked into my eyes. "Promise me, you'll be careful. You'll stick with Martha."
"I will." I nodded. "Though I don't know where she ..."
"Right here." She leaned casually against the wall in the hallway. "Lunch is in the oven. I've got some reading to do, and I wanted to hit the hot tub." She jerked her head at me. "Decide if you wanna sit on the bench and keep me company, or if you wanted to join me in the water." She narrowed her eyes. "But you keep a suit on!" I stuck my tongue out at her.
Daniel shook his head. "I have to go. Keep an eye on ... keep an eye on each other. Okay?"
I nodded at him. "Okay." I stepped to him, and gave him a kiss. "We'll be together. We'll be fine. Go on."
Now I'm going to get my swim trunks, and I'll meet Martha out at the tub. I admit, I'm looking forward to it. After all this tension, it'll be nice to relax in the hot water.
Till next time.
Daniel - Part 8 16 December 2017, Saturday 1030 AM Daniel's Place
The text came just as I got to my media room. This time it was a new, unknown number. "Call the police again, tell anyone about this, and I'll end him." A picture was attached. It was clearly taken through the glass of my back deck door from the outside - sometime last night. Wayne was framed by the light from the kitchen as he talked to Martha. He was HERE. I swallowed, and could feel the blood drain from my face.
Another text. "Meet me at your new favorite coffee shop. You have 30 minutes." Now I knew he had been watching us from the start. And from there, I suddenly concluded he has been watching me for a while - possibly a long while.
I made the excuse to go to Arcata. Inside I was terrified for Wayne. I don't care what happens to me. But I can't let anything happen to him.
I quickly got into my Charger. I waited for the garage door to open with more than a little impatience, and took off down the road. I gripped the wheel hard. I was on the way to see the man I hoped to never lay eyes on again.
Wayne's Journal - Part 10 (cont) 17 December 2017, Sunday 2 PM Daniel's Place
I'm going to write the details of what happened over the last two days, as best as I can work out. Some of it I had to get from Martha and Daniel. Here goes.
It was still Saturday morning. Daniel had just left. I changed into trunks, and I heard the back door as Martha must have entered from her cottage. I hummed to myself, and pulled a towel from the rack in the bathroom. Then I walked down the hall into the kitchen.
I caught a flash of movement and turned. Too late. A cold edge pressed against my throat, and I gasped in surprise. His short dark red beard rubbed against my face, and his other hand had my wrist twisted behind my back.
"Here you are." He whispered in my ear. "The one who took him." The blade pressed into my skin, and I grunted as I felt it bite into me - just before breaking skin.
Suddenly Martha was in the doorway of the kitchen. Her eyes were dark and feral. "If you want to leave here alive, you'll put down that blade." She stood about a dozen feet from us. Her weight was evenly distributed, her hands down. She looked relaxed, but I knew she could burst into motion from that position, and cover the distance between us in a second.
Jason knew it too. "Oh, we're both leaving." She made to take a step and he pressed a little more. I couldn't help but grunt in pain as a single drop of blood ran down my throat, and chest from the blade. "Move, and he's going to pop a leak." He took a step back toward the door, and pulled me along. She worked her jaw, looking for an opportunity to act.
"Why? Why now?" She frowned at Jason, her face screwed up with emotion. "All this, just to rob him?"
Jason glared at her. "I'm not doing this for money, you idiotic bitch! I'm doing it because he's not supposed to be happy! Not without me!" He took another step back, and I couldn't help but allow him to drag me with him. "He's the only person I've ever loved. And ... THIS ..." he twisted my arm more behind my back, and I gritted my teeth in pain, " this is nothing but a distraction." His voice had the manic inflection of mental illness in it. "Once he's gone, Danny will realize that."
I realized at that moment this guy had planned from the start to kill me. He was going to kill me. I looked at Martha's eyes, and she had a terrified and angry expression on her face.
"You ... you think he'd want you, after you do this?" I gasped out. "You do this, and he won't want anything to do ... with you."
"SHUT UP." His face pressed against my ear, and I could feel spittle flying from his lips. The knife dug into my throat and I groaned. "You don't know what it's like. You're so NORMAL. And people like you. And Danny likes you." He shook his head. "But he doesn't love you. He can't. Do you know why?" He leaned forward again, and breathed heavily into my ear. "Because Danny is mine."
His voice was the sweetest thing I've ever heard in my life. "My name, is Daniel." I felt Jason jerk and the knife moved against my skin. Only a little, but it was enough to cut. Suddenly I was free, and I fell forward onto my knees. I put my hand on my neck to try and stop the bleeding. And I looked up. Daniel had Jason's wrist in a grip so tight I heard the bones pop. He stood toe to toe with the tall lanky man, and to me he looked like an avenging God. His face was a mask of rage, the muscles in his arms stood out in sharp relief. "And this is OVER."
He squeezed - hard. I heard a sickening sound come from Jason's wrist. Jason screamed and the knife dropped from his fingers. He looked wildly at Daniel. "No. No." He licked his lips. "You can't mean it. You know you're nothing without me." He smiled, the expression manic and unhinged.
Daniel put his other hand around Jason's neck. His eyes were like pools of emerald fire. "I'm everything I want to be without you." I knew Daniel was about to simply crush the life out of him. I struggled to talk, but I couldn't get the words out past my mangled throat.
"Daniel!" Martha had bent to check on me, and she put her hand on Daniel's leg. "No. Don't." I looked up at him. My hand was over my throat, and a little blood trickled between my fingers and ran down my arm. But my eyes pleaded with him.
I willed him to calm. `Please don't do this. He's not worth this'.
He stared down at me, the fire was still there, but it died back a little replaced by concern for me. "He needs an ambulance." There was an urgency in his voice. "Martha, call." He looked back at Jason. "And ... call for the police too. Tell them to hurry."
Martha called. At this point I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. Adrenaline ebbed, and suddenly I was aware of how much my throat hurt. I struggled to stay conscious through the pain. Jason garbled on about how he and Daniel were meant to be together, and how I was interfering with destiny. But each time I opened my eyes, Daniel was looking at me. Watching. Willing me to know how he feels. All the while Daniel held Jason, none too gently, until the police arrived. Once they did he was immediately taken into custody, and I felt Daniel gently lift me from the ground. He put me on the couch, with my head in his lap.
One of the policemen had training as an EMT, and he took a quick look at my wound. He applied a bandage and instructed Daniel to apply as much pressure as I could stand.
My guy held his hand against the wound and I stared up at him. His eyes filled with tears. "You need to be okay." He growled in a shaking voice. I smiled slightly at him. I wanted to be okay, he needed that.
The ambulance arrived shortly after. And I let myself relax into darkness.
The next time I was aware I was in St Joseph's hospital. I lay in a hospital bed, and Daniel's eyes were the first thing I saw. He smiled, the expression was so welcome and genuine.
"Hey." He gently touched my face. I sighed at the contact, and simply enjoyed his presence. He stood up and then bent to kiss my forehead. "I'm so glad to see those brown eyes of yours." He murmured, his head against mine.
I tested my neck a little. It hurt a bit, but not badly. "I ..." my voice was raspy, and I cleared my throat, "I'm really glad you're here." He nodded and smiled.
"Martha is pretty upset with herself you know." He frowned as I reached up to probe at my neck. He simply pulled my hand back down away from it, gently, but with an impossible to resist strength. "But, from the sound of it there was no way she could have done anything different." I thought about trying again, but decided against it. "She said something about owing you a year's worth of Krav Maga lessons."
I smiled. "She doesssn't owe me anything." I stared up at him, and he reached down to stroke my head. I felt my eyelids droop. I shook my head, trying to stay awake.
"How bad isss the wound?" I was slurring? Weird.
Daniel continued to gently pet me. It felt nice. "Three internal stitches. Four external. Nicked a major vessel, but the pressure on the wound kept it from turning into something really bad." He sighed with relief. "You'll completely recover. Doc said it'll be a few days before you should work out, or do anything strenuous."
I nodded. Daniel kept petting me. I felt the specter of sleep approach, and I shook myself awake. He spoke again. "Your sister gave me visiting rights over the phone. She was going to come here, but I told her the prognosis, and she said if we can still make it to see them over the holiday she'd be happy knowing I'm here with you."
"Oh. Ohhhh yeahhhh." I murmured sleepily. I must have had drugs in my body, because I was losing my fight to stay awake.
I jerked, and I realized I had gone to sleep. Daniel stood, talking quietly to a woman in a white coat. Morning light poured through the window, and I blinked as my eyes adjusted. After a quick exam of my wound, I was released. I was given a prescription for some pain medication, and antibiotics. We went to the drug store on the way home. I already knew I was only going to take the antibiotics.
Once we got back to Daniel's Martha walked up to me, and gave me a hug. Martha HUGGED me. It's a little like being loved on by a wolverine. It's cute and fuzzy, but you know it could tear you apart any second. I stood there, not quite knowing what to do.
"Hi Martha." I gingerly patted her back, and she continued to cling to me. I stood while Daniel looked at us and grinned. Eventually she pushed away. I can't be sure, but I think there may have been a tear on her cheek.
"Hey. Glad you're okay." She looked down and wiped at her face. "Sorry ... I fucked up."
"No. We're not doing this." She looked up at me. "You didn't fuck up." I put my hands on her shoulders. "If you hadn't been there, and kept Jason busy he would have dragged me off. And I'd probably ... I'd probably not be here anymore."
She bit her lip, not quite prepared to free herself of her guilt. But she nodded. "Okay."
"Hey ..." I turned to Daniel. "How did you know to come back? How did you know Jason was here, and not going to meet you at the coffee shop, like he said?"
Daniel shrugged. "I couldn't be absolutely sure. But with Jason everything is a chess move. I got about a block away, and I realized that if we stayed together, we'd all be in a lot less danger. I turned around, came back. But soon as I got here, I had this terrible feeling. I just knew he was here." He shivered. "So I crept into the living room, and saw what was happening in the kitchen. Martha saw me, but she's a great actress. She didn't even move her eyes to look at me."
I turned to Martha and threw my hands up in a "See?" motion. She laughed. "Okay, okay."
Daniel frowned. Then he reached for his pocket. I watched as he pulled out his phone, his face obviously tense.
"Oh thank god." He laughed. He blew out a relieved sigh. "It's just the bank. I'm gonna have to cancel that withdraw." Then his face screwed up into a "shit" expression.
"Daniel ... what did you do?" I crossed my arms and looked at him.
"Ahhh ... I may have went ahead and started the process to withdraw that $300,000?" He grimaced and looked at me.
Martha laughed, threw up her hands, and walked into the kitchen to finish prepping lunch.
"Daniel ... I told you not to do that." I was dumbfounded. "Why would you do that?"
He looked at me and shrugged. "For you." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I realized he was ready to hand over more than a ¼ of a million dollars for me. I choked back tears, and I simply went to him and put my arms around his neck. He held me and murmured into my ear. "For you."
Martha had prepared a great lunch for us. Ground chicken with feta and spinach, turned into patties, and fried up. Avocado slices, spicy mustard, a little pepper jack cheese, tomato slices to top the patties. And one of my favorite carbs, baked sweet potato fries. We all ate companionably together, and chatted.
I feel closer to the both of them now than I ever have. And the specter of Jason is gone. He's not getting out of jail, maybe ever. It cost me a little blood and some pain. But as I looked into Daniel's eyes I realized ... it's a cost I'd pay again.
Till next time.