Puppy Love - 11. Chapter 11

Levi slumped in one of the corner booths of the small café as he waited for Blaine to pull up. He wasn’t sure where Christian was at the moment and he was scared spit-less that he was going to show up looking for him. Levi had never been so happy to be in a car wreck as he had been that morning. Glancing back out the window, Levi felt his heart start pounding in his chest when he seen Mark’s truck pull into the parking lot, followed by a police cruiser. He hadn’t been sure at first if Blaine would come, after the things that had been said at the house, but he had known that he had to believe that Blaine loved him as much as he loved him.

Levi slowly climbed out of his seat as he saw Blaine step out from the driver’s side and make his way quickly towards the café’s entrance. He hadn’t made it more than a few steps when Blaine was suddenly before him wrapping his arms around Levi and holding him close. As much as those strong arms hurt right now, Levi didn’t want to be anywhere else. He didn’t know how long they stood there holding each other, and he didn’t care about the looks that were being shot at them, he was just happy to be back in the safety of Blaine’s arms.

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked softly, pulling back enough to see Levi’s face.

“I’ll be fine, just a little beat up,” Levi whispered, his voice cracking as he tried to hold the tears back. He hated crying, but he felt so much relief at just having Blaine there with him that it was almost impossible not to let the tears flow down his face.

“We need to go have to checked out babe,” Blaine said, refusing to completely release Levi from his arms as the two cops that had followed him made their way into the café.

“Mr. Riley,” Officer Harris said, placing a hand on Blaine’s arm. “We need to get Mr. Turner to the hospital to have him checked over.”

“I know,” Blaine whispered.

“After that we’ll have to get his statement on what happened.”

“I understand that too,” Blaine growled. He wasn’t upset at the cops, he knew that they were just trying to do their job, but he had been so afraid of losing Levi that he had a hard time believing that he was back in his arms, safe and sound. Lowering his lips to Levi’s, Blaine kissed him, letting out all of the pent up fear that he had held inside of him. Blaine forgot for a moment where he was, but when he remembered, he realized he didn’t care. He loved Levi and he didn’t care who all saw it.

“You came,” Levi whispered as he pulled back and buried his head against Blaine’s chest.

“Of course I came.”

“I didn’t know…” Levi started to answer, only to be interrupted.

“Levi,” Blaine said, pulling back and tilting Levi’s head up so that he could look into his eyes. “I’m sorry for the things I said earlier, I was just so afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Levi asked his voice small.

“Afraid of losing you, of being alone. I ran in the hopes that if I was gone, Christian would leave you alone.”

“He’s not gone from our lives yet Blaine; he’s still out there, somewhere.” Levi said, trying to figure out how to voice his fears that when Christian turned up again Blaine would run again.

“I know that Levi,” Blaine said softly, still refusing to release Levi from his arms. “Whatever he has to throw at us, this time, we’ll face it together. I won’t let him chase me away from you again Levi. Maybe if I had been there you and Mark wouldn’t have been…” Blaine said, his voice trailing off.

“Oh my god! How is Mark? Is he okay? Is he…” Levi trailed off, unable to continue the thought.

“He’s okay, the paramedics checked him out at the house. He’ll be a bit sore for a while, but he’s going to be fine. He’s out in the truck right now,” Blaine answered.

“No, he’s not,” said a voice from behind Blaine.

“Mark!” Levi exclaimed, stepping around Blaine and pulling the other man into a hug.

“You okay?” Mark asked softly, trying not to wince as Levi’s arms pressed against his bruised body. He knew he hadn’t succeeded when Levi pulled away, a guilty look on his face.

“I’m sorry Mark. I didn’t realize,” Levi said softly.

“No worries, I’m just glad to see that you are okay. You are okay, right?”

“Yeah, a little shaken up, and a bit sore from the accident, but…”

“Accident?!” Blaine exclaimed. “What accident?”

“That’s how I managed to get away. There was something in the road and Christian swerved to miss it and rolled the car. He was knocked out and I ran.”

“Excuse me,” Officer Harris said, stepping up to where Mark, Levi, and Blaine stood. Turning his attention to Levi, he said, “You said something about an accident?”

“Yeah, something was in the road and Christian swerved to miss it. He must have pulled the wheel too far because the car hit the ditch and rolled.”

“Was he driving a two door, powder blue, hatchback?” Officer Harris asked.

“Yeah.”

“The accident we passed a mile or so down the road,” Harris said to his partner.

“I’ll go out to the car and radio in, see if they can connect us to the officers on scene. Find out if they have the suspect in custody.”

All the talk of an accident got Blaine thinking back to the accident that he had passed. As selfish as it sounded, he hadn’t given any thought to who had been in that accident. Now knowing that Levi had been in that car made his gut twist, Levi was the one in that accident. He had known before that he had almost lost Levi, but the reality of it was that he had almost lost him not once, but twice. Blaine’s knees suddenly gave out beneath him and he suddenly found himself on the floor, his face buried in his hands as he gave way to the tears that had threatened ever since he had walked out of Levi’s front door that morning.

“Blaine? Babe?” Levi started, kneeling next to Blaine and pulling him into his arms. He hated to see him hurting and now, even more than before, wished that he could find some way to rid their lives of the threat that was Christian. Levi felt his own tears roll down his face as Blaine buried against him, the tears flowing freely as he sobbed against his chest.

Levi didn’t know what to do for Blaine and so he just sat there and held him as he let the emotions of the day flow out of him. Levi was aware that they were drawing a crowd but he was past the point of caring. Blaine needed him, and whoever didn’t like it could just go to hell. When the sobs quieted, Levi pulled gently away and helped Blaine to his feet, keeping one arm wrapped around him, holding Blaine to his side.

“I’m sorry,” Blaine whispered, his voice choked with emotion.

“No need to be sorry babe,” Levi answered softly. They were interrupted as the second officer walked back up.

“I talked to the officer’s on the scene of that wreck and apparently the victims fled the scene. They’ve searched the area, but they haven’t found the victims. I let them know that one of the victim’s was here and that the reason that they fled the scene was because they had been kidnapped by the operator of the vehicle. They asked that we wait here so that they can come and question Mr. Turner as to what exactly happened to cause the accident.”

No one noticed the man sitting in a corner booth on the other side of the small café.

***

Christian sat fuming as he glared across the room at the group of people surrounding Blaine. He had been lucky to get into the café unnoticed. He had watched from outside, trying to figure out if there was any way to get Blaine’s newest fuck toy out of the café and had seen all chance of that disappear with Blaine’s arrival, followed closely by the police. He had wandered around the building until he found a side entrance and slipped in. Now he sat in a corner booth, as far away as he could, and watched the scene unfold before him. He felt only a small measure of glee as he watched Blaine sink to his knees on the floor.

“That’s it ya little bastard, you always were a weak one,” Christian muttered under his breath. “You think it’s over, but the fun is just beginning,” Christian said softly, already planning on how he could get to Blaine next. He knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, more than likely the cops would keep a close eye on Levi’s house, but it wouldn’t be the first time that he had outdone the stupid fucking cops.

“Can I get you anything else,” the waitress said as she walked up to his table.

“No, I’m fine,” Christian said, wanting her to leave in case she drew anyone’s attention towards him.

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything?” The blonde asked, popping her gum as she placed one hand on her hip, cocking her hips invitingly.

The stupid blonde, oblivious to Christian's mood, was really starting to get on his nerves. The popping gum was aggravating his headache, and she was blocking his view of what was going on across the room.

“Actually, there is something you could do for me,” Christian said, his voice icy.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, maybe you could go get some Tylenol for me, your constant prattling is giving me this major headache,” Christian said, his face contorting into a sneer.

“You didn’t have to be such an asshole,” the waitress said, her voice drawing the attention of one of the officers across the room.

Christian cringed as what he had least wanted to happen happened. After a few minutes Christian realized that he couldn’t stay in the café any longer. After the waitresses little outburst, the cop had been keeping an eye on him. Throwing enough money on the table to cover his soda, Christian stood up and acted as though he was going to the bathroom, quickly slipping out the same door that he had come in through.

***

Blaine cringed as he sat in the booth next to Levi and listened to Officer Harris asking questions about what had happened. He still couldn’t help but feel like if he had been there with Levi that none of this would have happened.

“Mr. Turner, could you please tell us what exactly happened this morning?” Officer Harris asked, pulling out a small tape recorder and set it on the table in front of Blaine and Levi.

“Well, Blaine had just left the house.”

“Could you tell me approximately what time that was?”

“I don’t know, probably about four thirty or so,” Levi answered, feeling a sharp pain in his chest at the thought of how Blaine had almost walked out of his life.

“Okay, thank you. Did you need a glass of water or something before you continue?” Harris asked, motioning for a waitress. He had seen the look that had passed over Levi’s face and knew that reliving the morning was going to be hard.

“Yes please,” Levi said, his voice breaking before he went on. “About half an hour or so after Blaine left, the phone rang. I answered it and it was Blaine, he said that he was on his way home, the next thing I knew, the phone had gone dead and Christian was there. I turned around and Christian was standing there holding the phone cord in his hand.”

The waitress soon showed up with a glass of water and set it in front of Levi. Picking it up, Levi took a small sip as he caught his breath. He hated having to go through this, but he knew that if he didn’t that Christian would remain free.

“Anyways,” Levi continued, “I backed away; heading towards the kitchen, Mark had already gone in there earlier. Christian went on to tell me how I was just Blaine’s new little fuck toy and that Blaine didn’t deserve to be happy. Christian followed me into the kitchen; he hadn’t noticed yet that Mark was in there too. When his back was to him, Mark took the glass he was holding and tried to smash it over Christian’s head, but something must have warned him, because Christian flew around and smashed his fist into Mark’s face.”

“Is that when you were knocked unconscious Mr. Wallace?” Harris asked, turning his attention towards Mark.

“Yeah, I couldn’t tell you anything else, other than the next thing I remember is Blaine being there.”

“Okay, go on,” Harris said, turning back to Levi. “What happened after Mr. Carmichael knocked Mr. Turner unconscious?”

“Nothing really, he came towards me and punched me, the same way he had Mark, but unlike Mark, I didn’t black out. I did fall to the floor and I distinctly remember him kicking me in the ribs as I laid there on the floor.”

“Did Mr. Carmichael have a weapon of any type?”

“Other than his fists? I’m not sure, I wasn’t in any condition to argue or fight much as he took me out of the house.”

“Did he hurt you at any other time between the time you left the house and the time that the accident occurred?”

“No, he just kept my arm in a grip so that I couldn’t escape. I don’t know how fast he was going as he drove, but there was something in the road, I’m not sure what. He swerved to miss it and I saw my chance to get away. I tried to jerk my arm away from him, I didn’t have a whole lot of strength, but it was enough to divert his attention and make the car go into the ditch. He had to have been still going at least forty miles an hour when he hit that ditch and the car flipped, and he hit his head on the steering wheel. He was knocked out and I climbed out through the window and made my way here, then I called Blaine.”

“Could you describe Mr. Carmichael to us?” Harris asked.

“Probably about six foot or so, with bleached blonde hair. He has a goatee, but it’s black. Couldn’t tell you eye color,” Levi said, only to be interrupted.

“Blue,” Blaine said softly before his voice strengthened. “I didn’t think of it before, but if you could get into his house, there’s a picture of him that was taken a couple months ago.”

“We’ll get a warrant and go search the house, see if he has any weapons there or anything else to link him to the kidnapping. I think we have enough for now though, do you need us to take you to the hospital to be checked out?” Harris asked Levi.

”No, if I need to go then Blaine can take me. No offense officer, but I just want to go home,” Levi said.

“We’re going to go and see about getting a warrant to search Mr. Carmichael’s residence. If we need any further information then we’ll contact you.”

“What will happen when you find him?” Blaine asked.

“We’ll take him into custody. You and Mr. Turner would have to come down to the station to positively identify him.”

“And if he comes after us again?” Mark said, his voice agitated.

“I doubt he will now that we’ve been contacted, but if he does, we’ll have undercover officers keeping an eye on you. If he makes any contact with you, we’ll know. We will also tap your phones so that if he calls we can perhaps trace the call and find out where he is holed up at.”

“So is that everything?” Blaine asked, wanting nothing more than to take Levi home and make up for what had happened earlier in the day.

“For now, I think we have everything we need. We’ll follow you to the house where we will have another officer waiting to keep surveillance in case he does come back. We’ll also have someone over there tonight to tap the phone lines. Now, I need to tell you now, you need to behave as you normally would. Unless Christian is also watching the house, there is no way he could know that the phone is tapped or that you are under surveillance.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Blaine said, getting to his feet and helping both Mark and Levi out of the booth. “You’re coming home with us,” Blaine said to Mark, his tone making sure that there wouldn’t be any argument.

“I’ll come there for the rest the day and tonight,” Mark said, “But, tomorrow, I am going to my own house.”

“No, you’re not,” Blaine argued, “I want you to stay with us where we know it’s at least relatively safe.”

“Mr. Riley, if I can interrupt,” Officer Harris said, stepping closer. “Since Mr. Wallace is a part of this, we will also be having his home watched. We don’t want to take any chances, so he will be as safe as his own residence as he would be with you and Mr. Turner.”

“You’ll stay at the house tonight though?” Blaine questioned, his fears only partly alleviated.

“Yes, I’ll stay with you guys tonight, but I may steal your watchdog when you aren’t looking,” Mark said, chuckling softly.

“Oh shit, Ruff!” Blaine said, his heart hammering in his chest. “I had completely forgotten him!”

“It’s okay Blaine,” Levi said, wrapping one arm around Blaine and squeezing lightly. “Ruff is fine; shortly after you left I put him back in his carrier. He wasn’t out when Christian showed up.”

“We better get home then,” Blaine said, moving towards the front door of the diner. “He’s going to need out desperately.”

“Yeah, but I have to tell you Blaine, I think he knew something was going on, because I could hear him barking and snarling.”

Blaine silently shook his head as all three of them piled into Mark’s truck, Levi in the middle. Within minutes they were on their way home with a patrol car following them. It wasn’t until they were part way down the road that Blaine realized that they hadn’t talked to the officers who had been on the accident scene. He quickly pulled over and put on his hazard lights and waited until Officer Harris came up to his window.

“Everything okay here?” He asked, his gazing raking over each of the three men.

“Yeah, everything is fine; I just remembered that we were supposed to wait for the officer’s from the accident. Do we need to go back?”

“No, I should have mentioned that, but Officer Lanning talked to them and we are just going to send them a copy of our police report. Since Mr. Turner went into so much detail regarding the accident we are able to do that.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure before we got home.”

“Okay, we’ll follow you the rest the way and point out the surveillance team to you so that you know it’s them, and then we’re going to go work on getting that warrant.”

“Okay, thanks,” Blaine said, rolling the window back up and waiting until Officer Harris was back inside his patrol car before he turned off his hazard lights and went the rest of the way home.