Protecting Emma

by ML Michaels

  When Officer Moore returned, a woman cop was with him. Her blond hair was pulled tightly back into a ponytail, and she wore a suit.

  “Hello Miss Watson, my name is Officer Robins. I am here to tell you about protective services.”

  “Please call me Bella. Protective services?”

  “We believe if we let you go, the Carraccis will come after you. Almost every witness we’ve questioned has mysteriously died. We do not want that to happen to you. So, instead, Officer Moore will escort and stay with you in a safe house until the hearing next week.”

  Bella was speechless. She looked at Officer Moore, but he was looking at Officer Robins. She was to be locked in a safe house with this man for a week? What would they do? What would they talk about? What would happen at the trial? Regardless of her questions, she concluded that the safe house was a better option than dying “mysteriously.”

  “Okay then,” she said, and the two officers escorted her out of the interrogation room.

  ***

  “Here we are,” Officer Moore said, unlocking and opening the front door of the safe house. The two of them had driven about ten minutes from the police station to arrive in a suburban neighborhood. The houses were lined unbearably close together on the block and all painted the same sickening shade of eggshell. “Home sweet home.”

  “How long do we have to be here?” Bella asked, moving past him into the hallway.

  “The hearing is in a week. Hopefully you’ll be safe, and can go back to your normal life after that,” Officer Moore replied. He dropped both of their bags on the floor and removed his belt and jacket, hanging them both on hooks drilled to the back of the front door.

  “Will I have to call you Officer Moore forever?” Bella with a smile. “I think now that we’re living together, we should be on a first name basis.”

  If he realized it was a joke, he didn’t let on. Without smiling, he said, “My name is Daniel.”

  “Well, Daniel, why are we so serious?” Bella said playfully, flirting without quite grasping that that was what she was doing.

  “I’m serious because this is a serious situation.” He turned and locked the front door. “All of the windows are bullet proof, and there are deadbolts on all of the doors. For no reason are you to leave the house. You understand?”

  “Not even for a breath of fresh air?”

  “Not even for a breath of fresh air. You are in grave danger, and you’re under my charge. I can’t let anything happen to you.” He looked down at her with a concerned look. Bella had never experienced someone caring this much for her safety. She suddenly felt like a small child. It felt good to be protected.

  “All right, Daniel. I understand.”

  “Good. I am going to go check all of the doors, and then I’m going to settle in. There are two rooms upstairs. You can take which ever you prefer. Oh, and I almost forgot. There is food in the fridge if you’re hungry.” And with that he went off to secure the premises.

  Bella stood in the hallway for a moment feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under her. She thought about calling her sister, but realized the police had taken her phone. Sighing, she bent over and picked up her bag and made her way up the stairs. She chose the first bedroom, a spacious but simple room with a single bed and a small window. Her eyes began to droop and her body felt heavy as stone. She realized how exhausted she was. Collapsing on the bed with all her clothes on, she kicked off her shoes, and was asleep within seconds.

  ***

  Bella woke up early, a little disoriented and extremely hungry. She crept downstairs to the kitchen. It felt strange to be in a house that wasn’t hers and that she wasn’t familiar with. The fridge was stocked full with fresh veggies and fruit, eggs, and milk. She was in the middle of cooking a veggie scramble when Officer Moore—Daniel—came down the stairs, sleepy eyed and surprised to find Bella making breakfast.

  “Good morning,” Bella chirped, feeling well rested.

  “Morning,” Daniel mumbled.

  “I take it you’re not a morning person?”

  “I’m not usually up so late. I’m more of an early bird than a night owl.”

  “Well, I made some coffee. Want some?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  She poured him a cup and put the milk in front of him. He was wearing grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. It was disorienting to see him looking so casual, so homey, especially after interacting with him at the police station. He looked normal now; not like a cop.

  Bella finished making the eggs as Daniel sipped his coffee. His stomach grumbled as Bella handed him a plate of food.

  “This looks delicious.”

  “Dig in,” Bella said, smiling at him. She had a wide, beautiful smile and white teeth. Her large dark brown eyes were framed by dark bangs curving over her eyebrows. Daniel didn’t notice before how pretty she was. He looked down at his plate and tried to distract himself with food.

  “Do you like it?” she asked sincerely.

  “You’re a very good cook.”

  “Thank you.”

  They ate in silence for a little while. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but they both had questions for the other, and without knowing how to ask, the silence grew to be too much. Finally, Bella blurted out, “Why did you become a cop?”

  Daniel was surprised by the question, but he smiled. “My grandfather, my mother’s father, wanted me to go into finance and work for the company he founded. I went to college and started in business, but I just wasn’t interested. My dad was a cop so I decided to follow in his footsteps. I switched to criminal justice and wouldn’t have it any other way. When my grandfather died last year, he left me a huge inheritance that I have no idea what to do with,” he smiled. “My mom keeps hoping I’ll come to my senses and join the business. It’s never going to happen,” he smiled and took another sip of his coffee. “What do you do?”

  “Me? Oh, I, um…I work in a bar. It’s nothing fancy, but it pays the rent. I’m actually a writer, but I haven’t gotten anything published yet.”

  “What do you write about?”

  “My life mostly. Things that happen, how little things that seem meaningless can change the course of our lives forever.”

  Daniel looked up at her from his plate of food. “I know what you mean.”

  “Do you, now?”

  “Yeah, what I mean is, I didn’t think much about it when I became a cop, but now I’ve experienced so many things that wouldn’t have happened if I had gone into finance.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like my wife dying.”

  Bella was taken aback; he looked too young to be married. “I’m so sorry. How long ago?”

  “Two years. She was a cop, too.”

  “What happened?”

  “We met in training. She was shot in the head when we were out in the field. I wasn’t there to cover for her.”

  “That is so awful.”

  Daniel suddenly seemed uncomfortable. Bella struggled for something to say.

  “Well, if you hadn’t been a cop, you probably wouldn’t have met her.”

  “I wish I hadn’t. Then she wouldn’t be dead.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  Daniel put his fork down, and stood up. “I’m sorry I can’t talk about this anymore,” he said, grabbing his plate and putting it in the dishwasher. “I’m going to go take a shower. Thanks for breakfast.”

  “No worries,” Bella said. And then, before Daniel was gone, she said: “Shit happens. Your wife would want you to forgive yourself.”

  Daniel looked at her and half smiled. “I’m sure she would,” he said and made his way up the stairs.

  Bella cleaned up from breakfast, and her mind couldn’t stop wandering back to the conversation she’d just had with Daniel. He seemed like such a good man; she would love to see him happy, see him smile.

  She climbed the stairs, and as she walked down the hallway toward her bedroom,
Daniel came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

  “Oh,” he said, “Excuse me.” She stepped out of the way, and he hurried past her to his bedroom. Bella was floored. Daniel had an amazing body. Seeing him standing there in the hallway, his hair dripping, and his body still steaming from the shower was almost too much to handle. She didn’t know how she was going to make it a week in the safe house with this handsome, troubled cop.

  She decided to take a shower too, to calm down and give her self something to do. She heard the phone ring and Daniel talking to someone while she was washing, but she couldn’t make out any words. Curious, she hurried through washing her hair, and got out of the shower quickly. She dried off and put on the fresh clothes the police had given her. Jeans and a black t-shirt did the trick. She brushed out her hair quickly, and shook it out to dry. She opened the door and heard Daniel talking on the phone downstairs.

  “Sure thing, Officer Robins. Thank you for calling.”

  “What happened?” Bella asked from the top of the stairs.

  Daniel looked up, and she descended. He too was wearing jeans, and the white t-shirt from earlier, but now he had his gun in a holster around his waist.

  “That was Officer Robins. She was calling to let us know that Kenny has confessed and is working with the police now. They will release him, and hopefully he will lead us to Dom.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I’m just surprised. I didn’t know Kenny was smart enough or capable enough to do something like that.” Bella laughed, and Daniel smiled. It was a radiant smile, and Bella felt blessed to witness it.

  “You should smile more,” she told him. “It lights up your whole face.” Bella took a step closer to him. They were less than a foot apart now. Daniel sighed, and Bella felt his breath. It was sweet on her face.

  “Daniel, I—”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Who’s that?”

  “I don’t know,” Daniel said. “Get down behind the counter.” He pulled out his gun and walked toward the front door. The doorbell rang a second time, followed by knocking. Daniel looked at her and brought his finger to his lips. He peered out of the peephole, and waited. The doorbell didn’t ring again. Finally, Daniel returned the gun to its holster and told her she could get up.

  “Who was that?”

  “I don’t know. It was a man carrying a bag full of fliers. It could have just been that, or it could have been someone the Carraccis sent.”

  “I’m glad they went away.

  “Yeah me too.” Daniel looked at her as if he were about to say something and then shook his head.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing, nothing. I’m going to go upstairs to my room for a while. Are you okay hanging out by yourself down here?”

  “Of course. I’ll be fine.”

  As Daniel walked up the stairs, Bella said, “Thank you.” Daniel looked back at her and smiled.

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  ***

  Bella was reading a book on the couch, when the doorbell rang again. She’d ordered a pizza because she didn’t want to cook again for dinner. Folding a dog-ear to mark her page, she stood up and placed it on top of the blanket she’d just wrapped around her. She went to the door and looked out of the peephole like Daniel had done earlier. It was the pizza guy. Without thinking much about it, she opened the door and smiled at him.

  “Two medium cheese pizzas,” he said to her and smiled back. One of his two front teeth was gold capped. His face was grinning, but his eyes were cold. He looked familiar to her, and Bella suddenly got a bad feeling.

  “Bella, get down!” Daniel’s voice thundered from the top of the stairs. She looked over her shoulder and fell back against the wall as her knees buckled. Daniel had his gun out aimed straight at the pizza guy, who had dropped the pizzas and pulled out a gun of his own. The pizzas fell on Bella’s head and arms, blocking her view as the pizza guy shot twice at Daniel. Daniel fired back once, and the pizza guy fell. Bella screamed as he fell on top of her crushing the pizza boxes. His chest cemented her legs to the ground, and his head lay crooked to the side, eyes open, staring at the wall blankly. A hot wetness spread over and around her legs.

  “Daniel!”

  He was immediately at the bottom of the stairs, dragging the pizza guy off of her and out onto the porch. A car drove by and shot at him. He shot back, and then he shut the front door as fast as he could and then locked the two deadbolts behind him.

  “Are you okay?” Daniel dropped to his knees in front of her. They both sat in a puddle of blood. “Tell me you’re not hurt, Bella. Are you?”

  Bella shook her head. “No, I don’t think so,” she managed to whisper. She was shaking uncontrollably. She’d never seen someone die before.

  Daniel had his cell phone out. “Hello?” he said. “I need back up at the safe house. There’s been an attempted murder against Bella Watson. We are both fine, but the attacker is dead on the porch.” He looked at Bella, taking her hand in his as he finished his phone call, “Yes. Thank you.” And he hung up the phone. “Bella look at me. You’re going to be okay.”

  Bella couldn’t stop staring at her hands covered in the pizza man’s blood. She was still shaking, but not as badly.

  “What were you doing opening the door like that?”

  “I—I ordered a p—p—pizza…”

  Daniel shook his head, and picked her up from under her arms and got her to her feet. Then he swept her up and carried her like a child up the stairs and to the bathroom. He started the shower and put Bella on the toilet seat while the water got hot. He knelt down in front of her and looked her in the eyes.

  “Listen to me, Bella. You’re going to be okay.” He tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ear. “Your turn. You say it now.”

  “I—I am going to b—be okay,” she said, hardly more than a whisper. She looked at him and said sincerely, “Thank you for being there for me.”

  “It’s my job. I had a bad feeling when I heard to doorbell ring again. What were you thinking ordering a pizza? Of all things!”

  “I didn’t want to cook again. I didn’t think it would end up like this.” Tears filled her eyes, and she began crying as she said: “I’m so sorry. You could have been killed.”

  “You could have been killed too, but we’re both okay.” Daniel hugged her, and Bella felt safe in the strong embrace. She wasn’t ready to for it to end when he pulled away. She looked into his eyes and got lost in them. “Officer Robins is running the plates on the car that shot at us and drove off. We might get some useful information out of this. So it might not all have been for nothing.” Daniel noticed her bottom lip tremble, and added: “Bella, cheer up. It’s all going to be okay.”

  Daniel stood up and checked the temperature of the water. “Your shower is ready,” he said as he made his way to the door.

  “Daniel,” Bella said. “Please don’t go.”

  He stopped, his hand on the doorknob. Without turning around, he said, “Okay.”

  “Please stay with me,” Bella whispered. She didn’t want to be alone; she needed his presence to feel safe.

  Turning around slowly, he walked back over and stood in front of her. “I’ll stay with you.” And then he gently helped her out of her bloodied clothes. When she stood standing in front of him wearing nothing but her bra and panties, she looked up at him with big, inquiring eyes. He looked at her tenderly, but solemnly.

  “Bella…” he sighed. “I don’t know about this.”

  “There’s nothing to know,” she replied. She removed his t-shirt. It was smeared with blood. As she wriggled the shirt over his head and arms, she sighed at the beauty of his body. She rested her head against his strong chest. She unbuckled his pants, and he put his arms around her. They stood like this for a long time. And when they finally broke the stillness, and his pants came all the way off, he just stood there, impossible to read. She took him by the hand, and they both got
into the shower.

  “Just hold me,” Bella said softly as the water poured down on them, washing the blood off their bodies.

  ***

  It was a solemn night. After the shower, neither of them spoke much. Bella was lying awake in her bed, staring out the window and unable to relax her body. She was lost in a mixture of thoughts ranging from the frightening and sickening smell of the pizza man’s blood to the indomitable sense of safety she felt being carried up the stairs in Daniel’s arms. The juxtaposition of both experiences was stark and shocking.

  She cursed herself for being thick enough in the head to order a pizza when she was cooped up in a safe house to protect her life. She was both embarrassed and grateful to Daniel at the same time. She was relieved he’d been there to rescue her and to be there with her afterward, but she couldn’t deny that seeing him with his gun out, and having the pizza guy collapse on top of her, was terrifying. She’d been with plenty of guys who thought violence was a cure-all. She was done with guns and knives and fists. After this, she vowed to herself, no more violence. And with that promise to herself she was finally able to fall asleep.

  Daniel lay in his bed remembering the sensation of Bella’s head on his chest, the way her body shuddered as she tried to calm down, the way it relaxed when she finally surrendered into trusting him. He had a feeling this was not the first time Bella had been through something so traumatic, but he didn’t want to bring it up to her. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. He wasn’t one for forcing people to talk about their pasts. He knew how difficult it could be.

  For a moment he had been angry with Bella for disregarding his instructions and opening the front door, but then he realized it truly was a mistake—a potentially fatal mistake, but still an honest mistake.

  He was relieved that Officer Robins might find out useful information from the plates and that Bella hadn’t been hurt. If something bad happened to her, Daniel didn’t know what he would do. They’d only known each other a couple of days, but he was already beginning to feel strongly for her. She was under his care; he needed and wanted to keep her safe—no matter what. Though there was something else that was bothering him. He knew that she was in shock, that she just wanted to feel safe and be held, but as she embraced him in the shower, both of them wearing nothing but their undergarments as he washed all of the blood off of her legs, he noted her undeniable beauty. Part of him wanted to kiss her on the back of the knee, unbuckle her bra, and kiss her soft parted lips. He couldn’t do any of these things. He didn’t want to take advantage of her, and besides, it was against all rules to become romantic with a witness. He pushed the thought from his mind and tried to asleep, which felt impossible with Bella in the other room, so far and so close at the same time.