First Impressions
Parts 19-20
By Kellie
Michelle drew in a deep breath as Danny's lips moved along her jaw line towards her ear. She felt him lightly nip at the lobe with his teeth. He rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him as he sought out her lips again. Michelle moaned as she felt his hand run down the length of her torso. Danny released his grip on her and broke the kiss.
"Danny?" Michelle gasped as she tried to catch her breath.
He reached out and began to stroke her hair as he spoke, "Michelle, I want to do things the right way with you. I've been thinking about what you said last night about not wanting to be in the dark about what's going on with Frank, Mick, and me. I want to trust you and I want you to trust me."
Michelle raised her head up from its resting place on his chest as she looked into his eyes, "Does that mean you're going to tell me everything about this mess?"
"Yeah, I am." Danny paused as Michelle rolled off of him and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Michelle, if I tell you all of this, it will put you in more danger than you already are in. Are you sure you want to know?"
Michelle answered, "Yes, I'm sure."
"Let's go downstairs to the table. I have some things I need to show you for all of this to make sense. I've got to go to the car and get some papers, I'll meet you there."
"Okay," Michelle replied.
Before Danny could get out of the room, his cell phone rang. Michelle watched as he answered. Danny held the phone out to her, "It's Harley. Don't forget that camera when you give her the grocery list," he remarked with a grin.
Michelle smiled as she took the phone from him. "Hi, Harley."
"Michelle, Frank told me what happened at the beach. Are you alright?" Harley asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Rick was here earlier for his golf game with Phillip. He's going nuts since you didn't come home last night."
"With everything that's happened, I hadn't even thought about Rick or my shift at the hospital this afternoon. Harley, what should I do?" Michelle inquired.
"Michelle, you can't take the chance that Mick has found a way to tap into the phone at your house. I'll check with Frank. I think I have an idea that will take care of everything. I'll fill you in when I get there. Now, give me that grocery list."
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Danny cautiously made his way out of the house and down to the barn. He opened the trunk of the Corvette and then opened the compartment holding the jack and spare tire. He pulled out a manila envelope. "Michelle, I hope you can handle this," he said to himself.
A few minutes later, Danny opened the back door and entered the kitchen where Michelle now sat waiting at the table. "When will Harley be here?"
"She said it'll be about an hour and a half since she has get Buzz and Selena to watch Zach before she heads to the store." Michelle continued, "Danny, Harley told me that my brother is going nuts since I didn't make it home last night. I'm also scheduled to work in ER tonight from 7 to midnight. If I don't show up or call in, a lot of people are going to start looking for me."
"I know. I've been thinking about that, but I haven't come up with any ideas yet."
"Harley told me that she has an idea. She's going to run it by Frank before she gets here."
Danny nodded as he took a seat across from Michelle and laid the envelope on the table. Michelle looked down at it and then back up at Danny. They sat in silence for several minutes before Danny finally spoke, "Michelle, I want you to understand that once I tell you everything you're going to be in even more danger. If anyone finds out what I'm about to tell you, it could get us both killed."
Michelle looked up at Danny; the seriousness of what he had to say was clearly etched across his face. "Michelle, are you sure you want to know everything?"
"Danny, over the past two days, I've spent time with a person that I want to know everything about. I know that I'm attracted to you, and I believe that we could have a future together." Michelle paused and looked up at him before adding, "But that future has to be based on honesty. My mother died in a car accident because she found out that my father had been dishonest with her. He had an affair with a nurse at the hospital. I won't have a relationship with you without honesty."
Danny reached across the table and took Michelle's hand as he reached up and wiped the tear running down her cheek with his other hand. "I want that future, too."
He reached down picked up the envelope and laid the contents on the table in front of Michelle. She glanced over the assortment of papers and photos before they rested on a single object. "Based on the impression I had when I first met you, I never would have expected this," she remarked as she reached out to pick the object up.
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Michelle carefully fingered the gold shield and identification card inside the leather wallet. "A Santos is an FBI agent, that's something I never would have expected. How did all of this come about?"
"After my father's murder, I spent years wanting to get back at whoever took him away from me, from my family. When I finished high school, my mother wanted me to stay here in Springfield to go to college. She wanted to groom me to take over the business, but I wanted to go away to college. It took a lot of talking, but my mother finally relented and agreed to let me go away to school. While I was there, I was taking all kinds of classes trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. One day I was studying in the library when a federal agent came in and sat down and started talking to me. I was sure he was there to ask questions and try and get me to implicate my family in something, but he didn't ask me anything. Instead he gave me a letter and explained to me that my father had asked him to give the letter to me before he died. He told me that my father was going to be a witness in a federal case against some of the other families. He had been in charge of the investigation. My father had asked him to give me this letter when I was old enough to understand everything," Danny said as he fingered the letter.
"What does it say?" Michelle asked.
"Basically, my father told me that he wanted a better life for our family. He didn't want his children to be a part of the business, so he had decided to turn state's evidence in order to free us all from living the type of life he had been forced to live. He wanted us to follow our dreams, not the plans of the family. I spent a lot of time after that thinking about that letter and about the way my father died and my need to get back at who ever killed him. I had a lot of long talks with that agent. He was retired by then and was living in the town where I was going to college. Eventually, I changed my major to criminal justice with plans to go to law school. He contacted some people he still knew in the bureau, and they approached me about becoming an agent during my first year of law school. Because of the things I learned in this letter, I had been looking for a way to avoid becoming a part of the business, so I decided to join the bureau. I hadn't planned on participating in an investigation into my own family. I was just going to refuse to come back to Springfield so I wouldn't have to deal with my mother or the business. I spent a couple of years working some different cases. About six months ago, my mother called me and told me about Mick's drug problem. I hadn't been home except to spend holidays in years, so I had no idea. I took a leave of absence to come help her with Mick. She started harping on me about joining the business, so I moved into the boarding house."
"Danny, where does Frank and the investigation into your family come into all of this?"
"When I got here, I started tailing Mick to find out how deep he had gotten into dealing. That's when I noticed Frank and David keeping him under surveillance. That's when I came up with the plan to get Mick arrested on a minor drug charge so we could force him into a rehab program. I explained what I wanted to do to my mother, and she agreed to go along with it. That's when I contacted Frank. He's the only other person in Springfield who knows about this. We've been working together, not only to do something about Mick, but also to find out who was truly behind my father's murder. When I moved into the boarding house and refused to join my mother's business, I started approaching some of the other families offering to join forces with them if they helped me take control of the business from my mother. Once I'm in with one of the other families, I'm hoping to get the evidence needed to bring all of them down."
Michelle sat in silence as the enormity of the investigation Danny was involved with sank in. Finally, she spoke, "Danny, how does what happened on the beach yesterday change things?"
"I think Mick found out I had been feeding information to David," Danny said quietly.
"That's why Mick shot him," Michelle whispered.
"Yeah. Now Mick's tailing Frank. He's getting too close to finding out my secret. Mick's mind is so messed up, he wouldn't think twice about killing us both if he finds out."
Michelle stood and walked over to the sink. She looked out the window towards the barn as her mind processed everything she had learned. Danny walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder, "Michelle, after everything I've told you this morning, are you sure you want to find out if we have a future together?"
Michelle reached up and put her hand on top of his on her shoulder, "Danny, you're trusting me with your safety when you don't have to. I already know," she paused before adding, "I want a future with you."