Celtic's Series
      Trust Me

  

"Danny! What is wrong with you? You're acting like a madman!" Michelle stood in their bedroom wide-eyed and watched the worn man before her bounce around as if he were dodging obstacles in a pin-ball machine.

"Wha-? Michelle, don't ask questions now. We don't have time. I gotta get you outta here." He continued to empty the contents of her clothes drawer into her flowered travel bag.

"Get me outta here? But you said we needed to talk. What's going on?" Her eyes never left his frame. The skin underneath his eyes was dark, and his brow was growing a permanent furrow. His face had grown thin over the past few months, but the difference was alarming that afternoon. His cheeks were drawn and stubble painted his chin and lip. His eyes darted around their bedroom frantically, unable to rest on anything, and he scratched his head attempting to make sense of the shapes waving in front of him.

"Danny?"

He caught a glimpse of the setting sun out their window and his eyes shot toward the clock. "7 o'clock….ok….yeah, we gotta get movin'," Never looking at his puzzled partner, he went back to emptying drawers. He had finished up with the one he had been working on and went to the top drawer, yanking it open. He paused for the first time since they had entered the room. He squinted and narrowed his gaze at the pink lace in front of him. He reached for it, but his hand struck an invisible barrier. His view widened to include the baby blue and lavender colors holding onto each other. He blinked and cleared his throat. He stared at the underwear he had never seen or touched before for a few more seconds before looking at their owner.

Michelle stood there, searching his troubled eyes. Ordinarily she would have been angry with him for even looking at her silken collection, but there was something desperate going on in that mind of his, she was certain. He wore an expression that she hadn't seen since that night at the docks. That look of total uncertainty… FEAR. It unnerved her, and she let out a shiver. "Danny, why don't you just slow down and tell me what's going on?"

His adam's apple lodged in his throat, and he was too weak to move it. His head dropped back to the drawer and he tried to collect his broken thoughts. He cocked his head to the side and swallowed the lump down. "We don't have time, Michelle." His eyes lifted to her again, but this time, they traveled up from her bare feet, to her bare legs, on to her exposed belly and to that blue bikini top. His hands shook as they remembered tying the strings behind her back. He swallowed again and continued to raise his eyes to meet Michelle's brown worried gaze. It was a look he had yet to see in her; it was a look of genuine concern. She was worried; he was scaring her. He coughed and snapped his shoulders back. He didn't want to scare her.

"Michelle… why don't you go get dressed while I.." his eyes dropped involuntarily down her frame again. "Um.. while I…finish packing up here and we'll get going?" He threw a smile at her.

She had seen that smile too many times before. That smile that told her not to worry, that everything was under control. That he wouldn't let anything happen to her. That smile scared her most of all, because it told her something was definitely going on. He didn't want her to worry, he didn't want her to be scared, and she knew that meant that HE was scared. She caught her nerve and spoke. "No."

It didn't register with Danny. He had popped his knuckles and dove into the pastel colored drawer and was emptying it into the bag.

She spoke louder. "I'm not doing anything until you tell me what's going on, Danny."

This statement pulled his face up to meet hers and flashed her a look of disbelief. "C'mon, Michelle, I'm not playing games right now. Go get dressed."

She straightened her back and repeated her declaration. "No."

He threw the bag onto the floor and looked at her with an exhaustive motion. "Michelle!" He stopped and got control over his voice. "Michelle, I'll explain in the car, but I really, really need you to go along with me on this. Please."

The sincere pleading coming across in his voice softened her spine and her lips parted slightly. "You're worrying me, Danny. Are we in trouble?"

His ears burned and his legs took control. He moved toward her and had her in his arms without thinking. He buried her head into his neck and inhaled the scent of her hair in. His arms wanted to squeeze her, but he fought them so she could breathe. He felt her hands on his back; they tightened and he could feel her fingernails grasp their intended targets. Her flesh was as warm and smooth as it had been what seemed like only minutes earlier.

Michelle's nose was invaded with the scent of him. He was sweaty, and she could almost taste the dust that he had yet to wash off. She felt his arms tighten around her, and she fought it, but she tightened her hold on him in return. His pounding sternum drummed against her own. She lifted her face enough so her forehead was smashed against the side of his face. He nuzzled her, and his stubble buffed her skin, but she didn't mind. She raised one hand to hold the other side of his face. His breathing deepened before he backed away enough to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you. But you have to believe me, I don't have to time to explain right now. Just, please, go get dressed and I'll try to fill you in after we leave."

She looked at him and felt her suspicions leave her. Her nose wrinkled. "But you only packed one bag, Danny. Full of MY clothes. Are you not coming with me?"

He looked away and let go of his grip. "Uh, no, not right now. I have to..take care of some things. But it won't be too long, I promise. " He looked back up at her. She didn't move. "Michelle, please."

She moved toward the bed and picked up the one outfit of hers he hadn't packed. She moved her hand over the white cotton top, and without looking back up at him, she retreated to the bathroom to change.

He watched as she shut the door behind her, and for the first time since he had found out Sammy was in town, he sat down and threw his head into his hands. His fingers parted his curled hair and he pulled at the strands in frustration. He lifted his head and threw it back, trying to take in more air and searched the ceiling above him. "Oh, Santos, how did you get into this mess?" He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He heard the door open and looked at the wife he hadn't been able to have yet.

She smiled sweetly. "Let's go."

The evening air had re-grown it's startling bite as it whipped through the golden curls that lay across the car seat. Michelle closed the window as she watched the last sliver of the red sun descend under the horizon, leaving the landscape naked with it's afterglow. The passing trees tucked their leaves in, curling them under as the blueness of night settled in.

Michelle closed her eyes and listened to the hum of the car motor and fought off the lullaby of the subtle vibration in the seat traveling down the highway. She looked over at her chauffeur. Danny's silhouette was outlined by the silver emitted from oncoming headlights. His lips were terse, and he leaned his head to the side attempting to stretch his taught neck.

Her voice filled the car with as much volume as a little girl trying to be heard in a football stadium. "Danny?"

"Hmmm?" His voice was barely audible itself, and it's exhaustion made itself apparent with a raspy resonance.

"Are you going to fill me in now, or should we embark on the relentless game of 20 questions?" She watched for his reaction, chewing on her lip and squinting in the darkness to make out any movement in his face.

He was silent for a moment, stone expression set on the road ahead. Letting out a sigh, his lips relaxed and she could almost make out the weak smile emerging between his fatigued cheeks. "Oh, Michelle, I don't even know where to begin."

"Well, um, ok. Why don't we start with what or who we are running from? Is it your mother? What has she done now?"

Danny shook his head. "No. Believe it or not, my mother has nothing to do with this. I think it would probably be better if she were the one to worry about." He sat there and resumed his silence.

"Okkkk…well, then just who are we running from?"

He searched for the words carefully before answering. "There's an old… acquaintance of mine in town."

Michelle sat there impatiently waiting for more, and pouted when she realized he wasn't going to offer anything. "Danny, c'mon, am I going to have to drag every detail out of you? So, you have an old friend in town, what's the problem? Did they not send flowers or something?"

Danny's frustrations seized him from nowhere. He let out a chuckle that rumbled from the bottom of his belly and it grew in size until his entire body shook from the shock wave. Michelle sat there, wondering what the Richter Scale reading would be on his outburst, worriedly watching the oncoming traffic and held her breath as a few cars swung out of their way. "Danny? Are you ok? Come on, now, you're driving here, remember?"

He swallowed his laughter back down and regained control of the steering wheel. "Sorry, I'm ok." He cleared his throat. "Flowers? Oh, that would be the day, Michelle. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone has ever sent me flowers…" his voice trailed off leaving Michelle even more frustrated.

"Alright. Nevermind, I don't wanna know. Just drive in between the lines, ok?" Michelle looked out the window and crossed her arms.

He looked in her direction and his lips straightened once more. "Ok, I'm sorry. Look, this, uh, acquaintance, is here for anything but giving me flowers, ok?" She sat in continued silence, refusing to ask for anymore information. He went on. "His name's Sammy. He's from an old rival family. We kind of, uh, grew up together…always pulling stunts to see which one could outdo the other. And, well… I had the last laugh." There was a certain intense tone is his voice.

"The last laugh?"

"Yeah.. the last laugh…"He echoed her under his breath. "It was a well-deserved last laugh. Michelle, I probably shouldn't go into everything with you, but-" she swung around and cut him off.

"For once, just for once, Danny, I wish you would tell me everything. I don't ever think I've seen you so spooked. What did he do to you?"

Her words stabbed his ear drums, and he silently cursed at himself for letting her seem him that unnerved. "Michelle-"

"Just start from the beginning, Danny. What did he do to you?"

He let out a long breath and centered himself. "Well, let's see…. I was 14 at the time. It had been about one month since we had been to New York for some 'friendly business'…" Michelle watched the outline of his lips recreate the scene for her.

"Pilar! Mama's gonna kill you when she sees that you've been into her make-up!" Danny's young lips twisted when he heard his older brother lecture their sister. He walked down the hall and peered into Mick's room, where he saw Mick sitting on his bed and Pilar standing with her back to the door. Mick motioned to him. "Danny, tell her to go wash off, she'll listen to you."

Danny looked at the black silkened hair facing him. "Pilar, have you been into Mama's make-up?" She kept her back to him. "Pilar?"

She hesitantly turned around with her face focused on the floor. She rolled her eyes and raised her face to meet his.


Danny caught the laugh in his throat before it escaped through his mouth. There stood before him a face that he did not recognize. There stood a young girl with dark purple eyelids that extended up to her eyebrows, cheeks blood red from blush, and lips and a chin to match.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I just wanted to look pretty for dinner tonight, since it's Daddy's first night home and all.." She went back to examining her shoes. Danny looked past her at Mick, who had gone back to reading the latest mystery novel. He moved towards her, and knelt down when he reached the small girl, bringing his face even with hers.

"Oh, Baby, I know that. But you know, Daddy already thinks you're beautiful. And I'm sure he's missed this face," he grabbed hers and squeezed it receiving a giggle in return, "just exactly the way it is. Now, if you go wash up, I won't tell Mama that you've been into her stuff. Deal?" She threw her arms around his neck and squealed.

"Ok, Danny." She picked her legs up from under her purple dress and ran out of the room. He let out his controlled chuckle and looked back up at Mick, who was returning his laughter. "Oh, couldn't you have just seen the look on Mama's face?"

"Yes, I could." Their laughter amplified as Mick mimicked their mother's would-be expression.

"Daddy!!!" Pilar ran down the stairs and greeted Miguel Santos as he walked through the front door. Her exclamation alerted the other family members that shortly followed her to welcome the family head home.

"Hey, Sweetheart! How were you? Did you behave for your Mama?" Pilar nodded her head excitedly while looking around her father's back to see what he was holding.

"What do you have, Daddy? Let me see!" She impatiently maneuvered around Miguel and reached for the object in his hand. He held his hand still so she could reach it, and smiled when he heard her excitement.

"Oh, Daddy! She's beautiful!" She emerged from behind him holding a raven-haired porcelain doll to her chest. Carmen flashed her husband an approving smile before leaning in to welcome him home. Danny and Mick descended down the stairs and smiled at their father.

"Ah! I think I have something for my boys as well… let me see here…" He rummaged through a bag on his arm and brought out a couple of bounded objects that he handed to his sons.

Mick looked over the cover of his carefully before responding with glee. "Oh, I've been looking for this series! Thanks, Papa." He nodded at his father before returning to study the collectable comic books that his father had just handed him.

Danny looked at the book just handed to him and read the title, "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Danny had shown an interest in Russian literature a few years before in school, and Miguel took every opportunity to educate his boy in the subject. He saw the potential in him to understand the complicated patterns required by their profession, and he wanted to nurture his curiosity. Danny looked up at his father. "Thank you."

There was an awkward silence that followed before a servant entered. "Dinner is ready, Sra. Santos."

"Ah, very well. Come, Miquel. I'm sure you're hungry after your trip. Come tell us about it." Danny watched his mother take his father by the arm and lead him into the dining room. Pilar and Mick both followed eagerly. Danny looked back down at the book he held. For some reason, the cover felt like it was made of lead, and he couldn't bring himself to open it and expose the pages. There was a strange feeling in the air that night. He raised his eyes again and focused on his family sitting around the table. His father at the head seat, and his mother across from him. Pilar sat between them clenching her new doll to her, and Mick to the side of her was busying himself with making animal shapes out of his napkin. Carmen looked up at her son and motioned for him to come join them.

Danny wasn't quite sure just how long dinner had lasted, but every bite he managed to swallow down added on to the brick growing in his stomach. He heard the voices of his family in the background, but they were muted out by the pounding in his head. A small line of sweat formed on his upper lip, and he nervously looked around the table. He watched as his father sat back and rubbed his tummy, showing satisfaction at his welcome home dinner. He smiled and patted Pilar on the head before looking across the table at his wife. Danny looked over at Mick, who was still busy creating things on his plate.

He rubbed his numbing hands to try and create feeling in them again. He couldn't understand why he felt this impending sense of doom. A loud chuckle let out by his father was muffled by the amplified sound of the front door slamming down the hall. Miguel's laughter got louder as Danny's ears honed in on the rapid footsteps approaching from down the hall.

The next few seconds were a blur, but he vividly remembered the gaping mouths of his parents as the dining room doors swung open. Three men entered wearing masks, two larger ones and a smaller one. They barely lifted the barrels before Mick flung himself onto Carmen and Danny dove across the table to shield his sister.

The shots boomed inside of his head and he felt the warmth rise up from his stomach and shoot through his throat. He felt Pilar squirm and shake and with each shot he squeezed her harder. Carmen's screams rang out, echoing the shots. The sounds blended together into one loud whirling inside of his ears to the point he didn't realize when the blazing stopped. He lifter his head and saw the men leave the room. The smaller of the three looked back and faced Danny through the mask. He couldn't make out the face, but he saw the mouth curl into that stupid smirk. Feeling the fire inside him fueling, he started after the men but stopped when he heard the crash beside him. He looked down and saw Pilar on the floor, passed out with tears streaking down her cheeks. His eyes trailed to the broken face of her doll laying beside her.

Danny heard his mother scream and run past him. He couldn't look in that direction. His neck seized up when he tried. His eyes followed up the wall instead, photographing the image into his mind of his father's splattered blood above his unconscious sister. His feet went heavy and the room began to turn and the shrill screams of his mother behind him deafened his ears.

"Danny!!! Look out!" Michelle screamed in unison with the car horn speeding around them. Danny leaned on the wheel and skidded into a parking lot before coming to a halt.

Michelle spun around and saw the intimately acquainted car behind them fish tail back into it's lane before looking at her driver.

Both of their chests were heaving and Danny threw his head against the wheel. "Danny? Are you ok? Danny!"

He looked up and flicked the inside light on. He grabbed her face and stared into her fear-dilated eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" He moved her face from side to side.

She threw her arms around his neck and he heard her sniffle. "God, Danny. I'm so sorry… I had no idea…."

He pulled away from her. "Michelle, don't… I'm not looking for pity, I'm just trying to explain what's going on." He scanned the area in front of them, realizing that they had arrived at their destination. He opened the car door. "C'mon, we're here."

Michelle followed him out of the car and stood shakily in the night air. She listened as he hustled around the car and grabbed her bag out of the trunk. "Danny, where are we?" She surveyed the surroundings and saw nothing but an old-type colonial looking house with it's porch light on in front of them.

He approached her from behind and took her by the hand without stopping. "Just c'mon, I'll explain when we get inside." He walked briskly, tugging her along behind him toward the house.

The front door opened when they arrived on the porch, and a plump older woman flashed Danny a huge smile. "Oh, we've been waiting for you!" She stood to the side and motioned them in.

Michelle timidly followed Danny into the house and watched the woman shut the door behind them. The woman returned her look to Danny and yelled out a name. "Stacey! Come get this bag for our new guest!" With that, her eyes fell onto Michelle and she gave her the same warm smile. "Oh, is this her? Well, she sure is a pretty thing!"

Danny smiled at the woman and looked up as a younger girl came into the entryway. "Oh, no, Stacey, is that the name? I'll take the bag, it's alright." Danny motioned her out of the room and he leaned in and gave the older woman a hug. "Hello, Millie. How have you been?" She kissed his cheek as he pulled away and smiled at Michelle.

"Oh, we've been good. Beautiful weather lately, we've all been having trouble staying inside." She smiled again.

Danny looked at his inquisitive wife. "Oh, I'm sorry, Michelle, this is Millie. Millie, this is my wife Michelle."

The woman giggled with laughter and gave Michelle a grandmother-type hug. Michelle flashed Danny a questioning look as the woman hung onto her. He bit his bottom lip and let out a genuine chuckle.

"Well now, come, let's get you settled." She motioned to Danny, who kept Michelle by the hand and followed Millie up the creaking stairs.

They walked down a hallway, and Michelle hesitantly returned stares from women who were peaking at them through their doors. Millie turned and opened a door toward the end of the hallway, and they followed her into the room.

She flicked the light on, and Michelle was amazed at the subtle homely feel of the room. She was amazed to see a lot of her stuff already set up, including a shelf full of all of her favorite books and pictures of her family…Rick, Abby, Meta… her eyes peered at the picture beside the bed… their wedding picture. Her eyes hurt, and she looked up at Danny who was watching her carefully. Without taking his eyes from her, he motioned to Millie.

"Millie, could we have a few minutes alone while I get her settled, please?"

'Oh, sure, take your time, Danny." The woman turned and shut the door behind her.

Michelle let out her breath and frantically looked around the room again. "Ok, Danny, where are we and just what is going on?"

Danny set the bag down and took hold of her shoulders. "You'll be safe here, Michelle."

"Ok, but where am I?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain right now, but you're safe here. That's what's important. " His eyes took their turn to trace the room. Michelle wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

The reality of what he had told her in the car stung her. She looked at his face, and for the first time, she really tried to look past the expression that he was showing to see the expression that he didn't want her to see. His eyes met hers and were caught there. "What?" He asked almost defensively.

"Ok, so I understand what Sammy did to you. But I still don't understand how you 'got the last laugh'."

His shoulders dropped and he stared at that face before him. He wanted to reach out and squeeze her into him. Her gaze traced the smooth line of his lips up the rough line of his hair. She got a sudden flashback of how stiff that shirt he was wearing earlier felt. "Maybe you could stay awhile and freshen up. You'll feel better, and then you can finish telling me what happened…"

He instantly shook his head. "No, Michelle, I can't have any contact with you for awhile."

The words cut her like a whip, and she was almost aggravated at herself by being affected by him in that way. There were nights not too long ago she would've dreamed of those words coming out of his mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Well-" his cell phone buzzed on his belt and he reached down and snapped it open.

"Yeah?" Michelle watched his changing expression and mused who could've been on the other line. Danny yanked his wrist up and looked at his watch. "It's 10 o'clock! Ahhh. Ok, hold 'em off, I'm on my way." He snapped his phone shut and headed toward the door.

"Danny!" He looked back at her and ran back.

His mouth was on her without an explanation. She took his bottom lip between her teeth and thought about hanging on, just so he wouldn't go. He groaned lightly and ran his hands down her side before giving her an ending, closed mouth kiss. He looked at her eyes. "I'm sorry. But you HAVE to trust me on this. Can you do that, Michelle?"

She swallowed with labor. "Do I have a choice? Just be careful. Please , Danny?"

He nodded with an inner satisfaction that she was concerned about him. He took one last look at her and drank her image in. With one final step, he was out the door.

Michelle ran to her window and looked out into to parking lot. The tail-lights were already winking good-bye and she let out a shaky breath.