I Love Her and I Mean It

CHAPTER 6

When his day was over and all was sorted out, Danny left the precinct early to head home to his wife. The whole experience had been a trying endeavour for the both of them, and he wanted to make sure she was okay. He could feel his concern and guilt rising as he drove. He regretted ever asking her to talk to her father. Watching her sit there and squirm, watching the tears fall down her face as she spoke, watching how much pain it was causing her just the speak to him let alone say the words she was forced to say. That was all because of him; and that fact wasn't sitting well with him. No matter how many times his sister told him that she would be fine, and that if she wasn't okay she never would've agreed, he still felt terrible. So there he was, jumping out of his car the moment he reached the house, and ran inside to see her. He opened the door, and was instantly greeted by his father sitting in the living room reading a book with a glass of scotch sitting on the table next to him. The sound of the door closing and the rush of which he entered the room made the commissioner lift his view from the pages to his son.

"Hey," the older man greeted him.

"Hey," Danny said in urgency, "Where's Linda?"

"She's upstairs," Frank said watching him closely after his response. He watched look up at the staircase, but never ascend it. It was as if his fears left him bolted to the floor.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Frank asked, trying to get to the bottom of his turmoil.

"It's nothing dad," Danny insisting, afraid of telling him that he involved his wife in his insane endeavor, "Really it's nothing for you to worry about."

"Really?" Frank questioned, not believing his claim.

"Yeah," Danny continued, "I'm gonna go look for Linda." And with that he trekked up the stairs in search of his wife. He entered the room they were staying in and found her sitting by the window. She didn't move at all from when he entered or even look his way when he walked over to her. He was so nervous that when he sat down next to her, he found himself struggling to say anything.

"Hey," he finally spoke, "Are you okay?" She looked at him with tears brimming in her eyes, and the very sight made Danny's heart shatter in two. He pulled her in close and held her tight as she shook in his grasp. He wanted to ease her pain and banish all her fears, kicking himself for being the cause of them in the first place.

"I'll be okay Danny," she said her voice shaking from emotion, but there was some part of him that found it hard to believe.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into his shoulder, "I shouldn't have asked you to do that."

"It's okay Danny," she said, and soon she was consulting him instead of the other way around, "I'm okay. You can stop apologizing to me. I'm okay. Really."

"Okay cause I'm not," he partially joked holding her tightly and he felt her arms tighten around his waist. His nerves had been eating at him all day, and that was the first time in a while he actually felt relaxed. He felt his nerves subside and focused on steadying his breathing as he found comfort in his wife's arms. He relished in the moment, as it felt like it would be the only ounce of calm he would receive before the storm.

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Soon the next day had arrived and everything was about to happen. Linda had put things in place; in the car ride back to the house, she had told her father about Danny's plans to have drinks with a few friends after work and this hole-in-the-wall bar in Manhattan and they all knew that Michael had every intention of following Danny there. And what he was going to see was not Danny with friends, but Danny alone with his partner in a bar. They knew that that would put the final nail in the coffin, placing Michael right where they wanted him. Knowing very well how the day was going to end, Danny spent the morning with his wife and his sons, telling his boys what was to come and that he was going to be just fine. That the plan was going through and that they need not worry. But even though he spent the whole morning calming his family's nerves, it did nothing to help his own. Danny spent the rest of his morning and the entire afternoon going over the final details with his partner and trying not to freak out. This was the night that he was going to be willingly kidnapped by a known killer that was out for blood. His blood in particular. And he was going to hand himself over to him, regardless of how badly he felt like panicking at the very idea of it. But nevertheless he had to do it. For the case, he had to do it. There was so much craziness going on around him that it felt like time had frozen. At least it did for him. But when they find time creeping on them, Danny starting wishing that time had frozen. Because now they were pulling up to the bar in their surveillance van, preparing to start their act.