Celtic's Series
    Secret Guardian

  

The lavender plush comforter was amazingly soft, and Michelle squirmed against it in an attempt to center and tie together her thoughts. She felt her temples tense and her eyes itched as she viewed her foreign surroundings. "I'll be safe here…" she mouthed under her breath. "Alright, Danny, why doesn't that make me feel any better?" She stood up and smashed her hands together tapping them against her forehead. Her stomach cramped and she bent over trying to ease the pain.

The spasm tunneled through her lower stomach and rested underneath her sternum, relentlessly hanging on to her ribcage and determined to maintain it's knot. Michelle felt her face pulsate from hanging over and she let out a whimper of discomfort. She reached out a hand and took hold of the white whicker chair conveniently extending it's back to her. She leaned on it with taught knuckles and tried to straighten up. The spasm screamed through her body and brought her chest back down. "Ughhhhhhh" was the only vocalization that managed to escape her contorted lips. Taking a deep breath, she kept her belly tight and slowly began to straighten up. The blood left her face and returned down into her chest, leaving a stinging sensation behind before everything went white.

"I mean it, Carmen! If you don't get that son of yours under control, someone's gonna have to do it for you!" Nino's hot breath curled the few wisps of hair around Carmen Santos' face. Her expression remained unchanged, and she caught back her coughs from the stench of salsa on his breath.

"Look, Nino, I don't know what happened with your shipment, but I can assure you, Danny had nothing to do with it. In case you haven't noticed, we've been very busy with our own..details." She shot her molten-faced colleague a knowing look and straightened her jacket.

Nino cocked his head back. "Ah, yes, your details. Another one of Danny's messes. I'm warning you, Carmen. You know if he doesn't shape up, I'm gonna have to step in, because if I don't, you know someone else will. It's just a matter of time. If it wasn't Danny that messed with my shipment, that means the Rosierras' are lookin' to mix up some trouble. Either way, it means problems for me, and I can't have it, Carmen. My trouble WILL stop now, do you understand?"

"You don't have to explain the rules to me, Nino. I'll look into it. Now, why don't you go home and relax a bit? I'll be in touch." Carmen signaled for one of her men to escort Nino out before he could protest. He nodded before shooting her another glare and walked out of the room, bumping shoulders with a ragged Danny on the way out.

Danny spun around and locked eyes with Nino. His eyes called for a demanding silence, and Danny slowly turned and entered the den.

"What did Nino want? What's going on?"

Carmen slapped her hands down on her desk. "You know damn well what Nino wanted, Danny. Why didn't you tell me what Sammy had planned? We could have prevented this!"

Danny let out a sigh and fell down into the chair facing his mother. "I had other things I had to take care of first."

Carmen threw her hands up in the air and waved them in frustration. "Other things?! What other things? Oh!" She stopped and bent down to bring her face inches from Danny's. "Let me guess… did those 'other things' have something to do with Michelle?"

Danny's energy returned and he pushed himself out of the chair and stared down at his mother who had suddenly shrunk in size. "You leave Michelle out of this, do you hear me? Do you realize Sammy planned all of that just so he could create a distraction and kidnap her? Hmm? Did you know that?"

"Oh, and why do you think he'd go to the trouble, Danny? Come on, think about it. The only reason he would go after Michelle would be to get to YOU. We've got to deal with this, and I don't want you doing anything without telling me, is that clear?" Carmen's voice penetrated the air like a whistling teapot.

"Fine, yes, it needs to be taken care of." Danny nodded in agreement.

Carmen's shoulders dropped when she heard her son's cooperation come across. "Ok, now, first all, where is Michelle?"

Danny stared past his mother before looking back at her. "She's safe."

"You're not going to tell me where she is?"

"No."

"Oh, that's great, Danny. How are we supposed to look unified when you're keeping secrets from me?"

"I'm not telling you. It's a closed subject, so I suggest you expend your energies into something else."

Carmen's contempt for Michelle radiated in her glare at Danny. He smiled warmly and reflected her glare back at her.

"Ok, well, in all honesty, my son, you look like hell. Why don't you go clean up and get ready for bed. I've got some calls I'm going to make. I want you to take tonight and rest up. Take some time to really think about some things, and we'll get back on track tomorrow."

Danny's body ached and wouldn't let him refuse the thought of rest. He nodded again almost defeated. "Ok, I'll be up in my room." He shook his head and walked out the door.

The bedroom was surrounded in a deafening silence. Danny trudged through the transparent sandbags around his legs and made his way to the bed. He mustered up the strength to take off one shoe and rested to build up the stamina to take off the other one. His dry eyes shifted across the room and landed on a pink object in the floor. He squinted, trying to make more sense of the shape. To no avail, he rose and walked to it. His spine screamed and shook him as he bent down to pick the item up. The corners of his mouth turned up when he realized it was Michelle's pink slip. "Must have fallen out of the bag. But I don't remember packing it." He lifted the slip to his face, and felt the warmth enter and spread to the rest of his body. His toes tingled and he curled them against the floor. "Ah, that smell.." The silk massaged his dry face, and he felt the heat fade away as he lowered the slip down to look at it. He had only seen Michelle in this slip one time, and that was right before she had smacked him in the nose with the bathroom door. He let out a chuckle at the memory. He looked back down at the floor and saw another object. Torturing his spine one more time, he bent down to pick it up.

It was a wadded up piece of paper, and the blurry letters danced before returning to their starting position.

        Danny-

Don't worry, you didn't forget to pack this. I missed you this time but don't worry-I'll
find her.

A fire traveled up Danny's back and he stiffened. "Son of a…Ugh!" He crinkled up the piece of paper and hurled across the room. It made a light 'pat' sound against the floor. Sammy had been there, and this wasn't the first time. He had been there, at least one previous time, snooping around through their things. Through Michelle's things. He had the nerve to dig around in her underwear drawer! Danny held his stomach as he felt the knots tighten. He made his way to the bed again, and brought the slip back up to cover his face. Not even his anger was a match for the sleep collectors that had come for their pay.

"Michelle? Michelle, Honey? Are you with me?"

"Danny? What's going on?"

"No, Honey, Danny's not here. Do you remember where you are?"

Michelle licked her dry lips and grimaced when she tried to swallow.

"Feel like you've been eating cotton? Ha ha ha. Come on, can you get up?"

Michelle opened her eyes and made out the fuzzy figures above her. The face of the one looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She blinked hurriedly and stared at the face again. It smiled.

"Hey, it's Millie. Remember me? We heard a 'thud' and came in here to find you on the floor. Did you hurt your head?" Millie placed her hand on the back of Michelle's head and rubbed. When she hit the tender spot, Michelle's body went rigid and she sucked her breath in.

"Ah, ok, well… it doesn't feel that big, and your pupils are reacting to the light, so I think you're going to be alright. Do you think you can get up?" Millie and the other girl offered theirs hands and gently lifted Michelle from the floor. She was still swimmy-headed and the room spun around her. They sat her in the whicker chair that they also lifted from the floor and a young girl with gray eyes and jet-black hair entered the room with what looked like a glass of orange juice. Millie took the glass and lifted it to Michelle's mouth with her other hand supporting her chin.

Michelle tried to fight her off, but the juice felt good going down her throat, as well as down her face. "Oh, I'm sorry about that, Dear. Stacey, would you get us a towel?" Michelle watched Stacey walk past her, and then looked back at Millie. The realization hit her and her eyes flung open wide. Stacey came back, and Millie wiped off her face as the thoughts raced through her head. Danny had dumped her off here and took off. "You'll be safe here, Michelle." His words jumped on her ear drums, and she felt the sting return from watching his tail lots speed away.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude," Michelle swiped Millie's doting hand away. "but where am I, and what am I doing here? Do you have any idea?"

Millie smiled a knowing smile and sat back from Michelle. "When was the last time you had something to eat? Why don't you come downstairs and we'll fix you up a plate. No wonder you're passing out on us." Millie stood up and motioned for Michelle and the other girls to follow her.

She remained in the chair. "I'd really just like to know where I am?" Michelle repeated.

Millie looked back at her. "You will, Dear, but I promised your husband we'd take good care of you, and I don't think he'd appreciate us letting what just happened happen again. So, let's go get something to eat." Millie turned and continued out the door against Michelle's protests.

Her legs felt soft under her, but she made her way to the door. She peered out into the hallway and noticed the number of doors that were slightly ajar with eyes curiously peeking out from behind them. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway, being serenaded by the closing of doors all around her. She picked up her pace and followed the sound of clanging dishes down the stairs.

She reached the dining area and the aromas of chicken and home-made cookies dueled each other in the air. Her tummy rumbled when it got a whiff of the scents, and Michelle took her place at the table.

Millie hurried around her, bringing one dish after another. "Don't wait on us, go ahead and dig in." Michelle looked down at the overflowing plate in front of her, and timidly took a bite. Her bites became more ravenous with each succeeding taste, and she felt the waistband of her pants tug when her plate was empty. She looked back in the direction of the kitchen where Millie and Stacey stood, smiling at their hungry guest.

"Good meal?" Millie asked teasingly. Michelle smiled and nodded. "Are you ready for some desert?" She headed for a container that housed the doomed cookies made earlier that day.

"Actually, I'm just really thirsty… and I could use something cold." Michelle wiped her mouth with a napkin, and Stacey appeared with an offering for her.

Michelle took the object from her hand, and opened the wrapper. "I love these when I'm in the mood for something cold." Michelle got a flashback of her family's barbecues when she got a taste of the cold popcicle Stacey had brought her.

"Thank you." Michelle smiled genuinely and rolled her head from side to side to release her neck muscles. She felt Millie approach her from behind.

"So, I guess you've had one heck of a day from what I hear."

Michelle smiled and continued to devour her popcicle. "You could say that."

Millie chuckled before going on. "Well, I can tell you one thing for certain. That husband of yours sure does think the world of you."

Michelle felt a twinge of guilt flood her. The same guilt that filled her every time someone told her of Danny's feelings for her, knowing that she had never expressed her feeling to him, or to herself for that matter.

"I guess I should tell you that you're in the Haven House."

Michelle looked up at her. "The Haven House?"

"Yes, it's a house set up for people coming out of abusive marriages, relationships, young girls scared about their pregnancy and seeking refuge, sick women who's husbands can't take it and hit the road, rape victims, you name it, you need refuge from something, you'll find it here." Millie bit into one of the cookies Michelle had turned down. The low light reflected in the graying strands of the woman's hair.

She nodded, following Millie's words. " I see, but I don't really understand why I'm here."

Millie leaned closer into Michelle and lowered her voice. "You know Stacey in the kitchen?" She nodded again. "Well, her husband attacked her one night because he thought she had been with another man." Michelle stared at Millie with wide eyes. "Well, come to find out, her husband was drunk as a skunk, and saw her leave a party with his brother because she didn't want to drive home with him in that condition. He misunderstood, followed her home and almost took the life from her." Michelle felt her freshly eaten dinner churn. "Oh, yeah, and she was 7 months pregnant at the time, did I forget to mention that?"

"Oh my God." Michelle threw the unfinished popcicle into her plate and fought the emerging acid coming up her throat.

"Oh, don't worry. The police got there in time, luckily, and he spent the next 5 years in prison, leaving Stacey with their healthy baby boy." Michelle smiled, relieved to hear the story of this stranger to her turn out ok. "Then, of course he was released, and immediately went after her. That's when she was brought here. That bastard hasn't been able to find her since. And her son, Scott, is safe and asleep upstairs right now." Millie sat back and watched Michelle's face contort into shapes she hadn't seen before.

"So, all those women upstairs…"

"Are all hiding out here, so to speak, yes. It's a very well protected place, Michelle, Danny was right to bring you here."

The phone rang and Millie got up to answer it. Michelle played with the popcicle stick on her plate, her mind wheeling. The stories she had heard tonight burned her brain and her face felt numb. She had never thought of such atrocities taking place, but in less than twelve hours, she had heard about Miguel Santos' murder and now this poor woman. She knew this horrible story about her, and she didn't even know her last name. Stacey came up cautiously and sat down beside her. Michelle looked up at her with sympathy in her eyes.

"Stacey.."

"Oh, it's ok. We're doing fine, and you know what's really strange? I'm rarely ever scared anymore. I never thought I'd be able to lay down at night and not…"her voice cracked." And not see that face above me." Stacey smiled, and for some unexplainable reason, it comforted Michelle.

"You know who's responsible for this place, don't you?"

Michelle stared blankly at her and shrugged her shoulders.

"Danny set it up right after he turned 18. He's overseen who stays here for years now and makes sure they're kept safe."

Michelle felt her throat lump come back home and settle in. "Danny runs this place? "

"Yes. He's kept it running from the start, and I really don't know where any of us would be if it weren't for this place." Stacey let Michelle digest what she had just told her. "I eavesdropped one evening when Danny came to bring some supplies to Millie. She was asking him how he could keep spending so much of his own money to fund the place, and he told her…" Michelle sat there hanging onto each word. "He told her that regardless if his mother knew of it or not, her hard-earned money was going to create some good, if she insisted on making others suffer to make it. And I think he even mentioned some pretty blonde that he might be bringing in… said his brother was taking a real liking to her and he had been watching out for her… But that was awhile ago, I don't suppose you know who that might have been?"

Michelle froze and dropped her jaw. "I…uhhhhhh… I had no idea." The flashback of that night on the docks flooded her memory. There was a softness in Danny's eyes that night, she had seen it, but refused to acknowledge it. She had refused to acknowledge anything about the man she was learning about.

Millie jarred Michelle out of her trance and she jumped. "Oh, ha ha, sorry Dear, but you have a telephone call."

"Uh, ok, thanks Millie." Michelle took the phone and placed the coldness next to her ear.

"Hello?" The was nothing by a deadened silence. "Hello?"

A muffled voice replied. "You're voice is as pretty as you are." The line clicked and Michelle stared back at Millie.