You Belong To Me (10 page)

“Ah dispatch, we're unable to get into the premises. Let's try and find a number to call, maybe the guy will come down and open the door.”

Dispatch responded: “No known number on file officer. Be advised; leave business card in mailbox instructing Mr. Tillitson to call as soon as possible.”

“Alright, will do.” As the officer placed a business card with the name and number of the detective division in Ethan's mailbox, he gl
anced up at the second floor window. Through the dirt and grime he thought he saw someone looking out at him, but he couldn’t be sure.

Mitch was just pulling into the driveway when he took a call from his friend Mike at the police department. “Hey buddy ho
w’s it going? Were you able to catch the creep?”

“Listen Mitch, we went by that scumbags place and he's got dead bolts all on the outside door, all we could do was leave a card telling him to call.”

“What? Are you serious man? You know he's not gonna call Mike. Isn’t there something else you can do?”

“Mitch, this is just the beginning, we'll get him. We can't sit outside his house and wait for him to come out.”

“Oh? Why not? He's got no problem sitting outside Danielle's house or beating up women,” Mitch shouted angrily. “Mike what’s it gonna take to get this guy?”

“Listen Mitch, you gotta calm down. You know there is a process to this whole thing, listen we've gotta build a case.” Mike urged.

“So what you’re saying is that you basically have to catch him in the act. That’s not gonna fly with me buddy. I'm not going to sit around and wait until this creep up and attacks Danielle and her friends. He’s broken into Danielle’s home, stolen her personal items and attacked her best friend, isn’t that enough to be able to grab him?”

“Unfortunately it isn’t that easy Mitch. We’ve got no proof that he did it. Shayla herself said she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that it was him. And until we’re a hundred percent sure, all we can do now is keep an eye out and hope
that he messes up.”

“Yeah well I don’t like the sound of that buddy so listen, you do things your way and I’ll do them mine.” Mitch growled.

“Listen, you need to concentrate on keeping Danielle safe and let us worry about Ethan, you got that? Look, Memorial Day weekend is coming up, why don’t you take her up to the cabin for a few days? She can relax; get her mind off of all this for a while. Just think about it. In the meantime, I’ll be in touch. We're gonna put this guy away if he did it Mitch.”

“What do you mean if he did it?”

“Like I said there's no hard evidence yet, just let us do our job buddy ok?”

“Mike, I'm running out of patience I'll tell you that much.”

“Well just be patient a little longer and let us catch him, and we will Mitch, we will.”

“Alright Mike, keep me posted.”

“Will do, talk to you later.”

In the kitchen and preparing the side dishes, she heard Mitch pull up in the driveway. Oh good he's home, she thought and she wa
lked to the door to greet him.

“Hey babe, how was your day?” She gave her man a welcome home kiss.

“It was okay babe thank you; Danielle having you greet me at the door feels great, come back over here.”

Pulling her towards him, she felt just how happy he
was to see her.

“Now Mitch, do you think I can have that effect on you every day? Because I’d sure like it if I did,” she grinned before kissing him again.

Holding her close he parted her lips with his tongue and they both explored each other fully until Danielle had to pull away. “Mitch we'd better stop, I've gotta finish getting dinner ready and you’ve gotta wash up. I love a hot sweaty man, but I'm not sure our guests would.”

“Okay, okay your right,” he said, smiling.

“How you feeling Shay babe? You sure you up to going to see Danielle and Mitch?”

“I'm fine; it'll take a lot more than a couple punches to keep me down.”

“That’s my girl, have I told that I love you Shayla?”

“Well not in the last half hour, so I need to hear it again please,” she said sitt
ing in his lap and kissing him.

“Shay, I love you more than you can ever know.”

“I love you too Jason, you ready to go babe?”

“Yeah, all set.
  I can't wait to see Mitch's place, Danielle says it gorgeous”.

“I just hope she doesn’t get too upset when we te
ll her what happened.”

“I know. If I know Danielle like I think I do, she is going to blame herself for what happened but I know that Mitch will calm her down at least.”

“Yeah, your right babe come on, let's go.”

“I'll tell ya I can't wait for Shay and Jason to get here with some of my clothes.”

“Why? I think you look pretty sexy in my boxers and tee shirt. Makes me want to take them off of you right now.”

“Oh Mitch stop,” she said laughing.

“But if you insist on changing,
I've got your clothes here now. They’re out in my truck hang on and I'll go get them.”

“Hey, wait a minute, how come you have them? Shay and Jason aren’t coming? What happened?” She asked confused.

“No, it's okay, they are still coming hun. Things just got a bit changed up today so I picked up your clothes, here let me get them, I'll be right back.”

That’s strange, she thought to herself. How come he picked them up? Oh well, I'll ask Shay when they get here. I'm glad that he did pick them up, now I can chan
ge into something decent for our guests.

After changing into her clothes, Danielle put a touch of make up on and feeling like her old self again, headed back down stairs.

“Mitch, can I just say that you’re the best packer of female clothes and items I've ever seen, thank you so much honey.”

“Oh your quite welcome and I grew up with a sister too, so I pretty much know what to pack and anything else you need you just let me know.”

“Thank you Mitch.”

Hearing the doorbell ring, she ran to the door excited about
seeing her friends. “They're here, she said excitedly.”  Mitch couldn’t help but laugh as she skipped to the door. Her excitement soon turned to shock once she saw the black and blue bruise on Shayla's face. “What took you guys so long? I've missed you. Wait, Shay... What the hell happened? Did you get into an accident? Come in, sit down. What’s… what’s going on?”

“Danielle, honey we wanted to wait until we were all together to tell you.”

“Tell me what? What the hell is going on guys?”

“Sit down Danielle.”
  Sitting down, Danielle wondered what the hell was happening.

“You know how we'd planned for me to go pick up a few things for you at your place today?”
  Said Shayla who was still a bit sore from the morning assault.

“Yeah?”

“Well I went there before work and once I got inside that asshole came up behind me and hit me Danielle.”

“What? Are you fucking kidding me?”
  Looking back and forth at them all, Danielle couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“He's in jail right?”

“Well, no.  We struggled a bit and I finally was able to get away by hitting him in the balls."

“Good for you Shay, the asshole deserved it, but how did he get away?”

“After I hit him, he doubled over and I got the hell out of there.”

“Thank god. Oh Shay, I'm so sorry this happened to you, it
's my fault! This asshole is now going after my friends? Who's next? I can't believe this all happened today and here I thought he'd have skipped town or better yet died. And now I find out that he is still around and attacking the people I love?”

Mitch wa
lked over and putting his arms on her shoulders, tried to console her.

“Danielle babe, none of this is your fault.”

“I know, I know. I just hate to see my friends getting hurt, that’s all.”

“Did he say anything to you Shayla? Oh my god, what if you weren’
t able to get away? Just the thought of that makes me sick.  Thank god you’re alright!”

“I am alright Dee, and the only thing he kept asking was where you were and of course I told him to go fuck himself. That’s when he hit me a second time."

“Shay, your one brave woman, and I love you for it.”

Danielle hugged her best friend as tight as she could. “My world would have crumpled if you were taken out of it Shay.”

“I'm not going anywhere Danielle; it’ll take a lot more than that asshole to get rid of me.”

Now, both women had tears in their eyes as they held each other close.

“That settles it, I'm not going back to that house, I'll find someplace else to live and I'll put my things in storage until I do.”

“Danielle, you don’t have to find someplace new, I t
old you from the beginning, you’re welcome here. Your home is here now.”

“Mitch, are you sure you want me to move in? I mean isn’t that a bit sudden? Don't you want to think about it?”

“What's there to think about Danielle? You like it here, I like having you here so it's settled. We'll work on contacting your landlord and removing your stuff later. Right now let's enjoy each other's company while I fire up the grill. Jason come on, let's grab some beers and head outside.”

While Mitch and Jason went outsid
e, Danielle showed Shay the rest of the house. 

Upstairs they had a moment to talk alone.
  

“Shay, I can't tell you how glad I am that you’re okay. I want this to be over and I know you do too. I'm so sorry that I ever doubted you when you told me time a
nd time again that it was him. I just hope the police catch him, build a solid case and put him away somewhere far, far away!”

“I know. I feel the same way Danielle, but you've gotta know I would have never told him where you were, he would have had to kil
l me. But then if he did I definitely wouldn’t have been able to tell him where you were,” Shayla said with a smirk.

“Shay don't joke like that, it's scary enough knowing that the freak put his hands on you.”

“I know, I'm sorry I'm just glad it's over,” Shayla hugged her friend.

“Over for now at least, but I'm sure the police are gonna get him.”

“Let’s pray that they do, and sooner rather than later,” Danielle let out a sigh. Shayla could see the emotional toll all of this was taking on her friend.

“Okay,
enough wasted energy on that asshole, let's talk about something good, well?”

“Well what?”

“Oh don't you well what me girl, you know exactly what I'm talking about, and you’re going to move in with Mitch aren't you?”

“I don't know Shay, I'm not sure. I me
an we’ve only just met, don’t you think it’s a bit too fast?”

“Danielle, sometimes you gotta go with your heart and throw all that second guessing out the window.
  How can you say no if you're falling in for him?”

“I am falling for him and the sex is great
and he wants to protect me and introduce me to his parents and....”

“Wait a sec, hold up!" Shay said holding up a hand, did you just try to get by me real quick when you said the sex was great? Now I know you’re gonna back up, reverse and tell me everythi
ng Danielle.”  Laughing, Danielle said, “Okay, okay, Shayla we made love last night and it was ohhh so good, I mean it was like phenomenal!” Danielle beamed. “Oh my Danielle, she finally unleashed her inner sex kitten, I'm so proud of you. Well now there certainly should be no question of his feelings for you Danielle.  Move in, try it and if you don't absolutely love it move out.”

“Shay, you realize you sound like an infomercial right?”

“Ha-ha, you know I'm right, but I'll stop pestering you. The decision is up to you Dee, but I just don't want you to make a decision that you'll end up regretting.”

“Your right Shay, I'll tell him yes tonight.”

“Good, now your bruised friend is hungry, let's go get those salads ready.”

Outside, while they drank beer in front
of the grill, Mitch told Jason about the phone call he had received from Mike.

“So the creep has dead bolts on all the doors?”

“Apparently so, and not just your run of the mill dead bolts, this guy’s got electronic keypad dead bolts. And without a warrant and sufficient evidence there isn’t much they can do at the moment.”

“Shit, you’d think having electronic dead bolts preventing entry to his place would put the cops on notice,” Jason said pointedly.

“I agree buddy, it should have been their first clue. He obviously thinks that'll keep whoever out.”

“Well it won't. He told me to be patient and that they put a business card in his mailbox, instructing him to call.”

“And they really think he'll do that? Bullshit!”

“I know, but for now we'r
e gonna wait, we're going to be extra vigilant and we're gonna wait.”

“Look Mitch, I know I'm the one who told you not to fly off the handle but the more I think about it, maybe you’re right, maybe we should take the guy out ourselves.”

“Jason, we gotta think this thing through because neither of us wants to go to prison over that sick fuck.”

“You’re right, I know. I guess I'm feeling this way because of what happened to Shayla.”

“I understand Jason I do, we're both in the same boat, this asshole has hurt the women we love.  And for now it seems like he got away with it, but it's only a matter of time before he slips up. Oh don’t worry buddy, we'll be paying him another visit, just as soon as I can get an address off my friend in the police department. Now let's get ready to eat.”

While Danielle and Shayla finished setting the table outside, Mitch carried over the

platter of grilled chicken and steaks.

“Looks good babe,” she said giving him a kiss.

“Thanks, I'm starving, and not just for the food,” he whispered into her ear.

Having good conversation, wine and food made their time very enjoyable and relaxing. “Hey you guys, we're supposed to go out this weekend, are we still on?”

“Actually,” said Mitch, “I was thinking since this weekend is the first hoorah of the summer, we should go on up to my parents place in Maine.  It's secluded, you guys can have your own room, it's on the lake, and there are some nice little restaurants and bars nearby...”

“Okay buddy you sold me at bar nearby! I could go for a little p
artying.”

“Oh could you now?” Asked Shayla playfully punching his arm.

“Well I'm game if you guys are,” said Danielle.

“Good then it's settled, we'll leave Thursday night. I know Jason and I can take off and Danielle you’re on vacation, so that leaves you,
Shay.”

“No worries there, we're closed on Friday and Monday for the holiday so we are all good to go. Thanks so much Mitch.”

“Yeah buddy thanks a lot.”

“No problem, I figured the place sits there empty most of the year, I'm the only one that goes up there
anymore and we all need to get away so there ya go. We'll leave Thursday night and come back what, Monday afternoon?”

“Sounds good.”

“You’re definitely right Mitch, we could all use a mini-vacation,” Jason said contented.

“Well that leaves us one day to g
et packed Shay, you think we can do it?” Danielle asked jokingly.

“Hell yes we can Dee, your bags are already packed and I'm going to get started tonight when we get home,” Shayla said with excitement in her voice.

“Oh great,” Jason laughed. “Looks like I'll be up all night helping, thanks Danielle.”

“No problem Jason.” Laughing, they all finished up their meal.

After saying goodnight to Shayla and Jason, Mitch followed Danielle into the kitchen and began helping her clean up.

“Danielle babe, I wish you would reconsider moving in here with me, you would make me the happiest man alive and I know ...”

Pressing her fingers against his lips to silence him, she looked deep into his eyes and said, “Yes Mitch, I will move in with you. I didn't want to make a hasty decision that we might both regret but after talking to Shay about it and thinking about how much I care about you, I realized that there is no place I’d rather be.”

“Danielle I promise, you won't regret it and I want you to k
now that you moving in here feels like not only the right thing to do, but the only thing because I love you.”

“Mitch I want this to work, I want us to work. And it is so far, it is. It's just are you sure? I mean this maniac is interfering in all of our l
ives and it's getting so complicated.”

“Danielle look at me.” Lifting her chin, he cupped her face in his hands.

“We're here together and yes things are crazy right now, but right here in this moment, you’re here with me, and you’re safe. I will not let anything happen to you that is a promise. You are part of my life now and I will protect you at all costs.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “You make me feel so safe, I feel like we're starting the first chapter of our life together.”

“We are Danielle, we are and it's only going to get better,” he said as he pulled her close and began slowly kissing her neck.

She let out a soft moan as the mere touch of his tongue on her made her body quiver. As Mitch got down on his knees and slid off her shorts, she welcomed
his tongue with her wetness as he glided it inside of her. She let his tongue probe deep inside of her; she let him take complete control over her as she laid her head back.