Author Debbie Gould

Dan’s eyes flew open at the sound of his phone ringing. As he fumbled for the receiver, he glanced at the bedside clock. Three thirty in the morning, damn, it was never good news at this hour. He took a deep breath then blew it out and answered.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Danny, thank god you answered. I’m in trouble here, its bad this time, real bad. I don’t know what to do. Oh shit Danny what am I gonna do?”

Dan could tell by the sound of his sister’s voice that she was about to hyperventilate. She was almost to the point of hysteria. “Melanie sweetheart, calm down. You need to take a deep breath and talk to me. What’s happened?”

“Oh Danny, I messed up big this time. I caught him and a woman at his office this afternoon. I thought I could finally be free, so I told him I was done, that I was leaving. He lost it Danny, totally lost it. I truly thought he was going to kill me this time. He just left, but I need to get out of here before he comes back. He took my car keys with him and it’s snowing so damn hard I cant walk out of here. I need help, please Danny, I really need your help.”

Dan couldn’t fathom what the hell was going on. But he could hear the terror in

Melanie’s voice. He had pulled on his jeans and threw a shirt over his head while he was talking to her. “Back up Mel, what do you mean you thought he was going to kill you this time? What the hell is going on?” Dan had a strong suspicion he wasn’t going to like her answer.

“There is no time now to get into it, Danny please just come help me.”

He was having a hard time hearing what she was saying through the sound of her crying. Dan suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He forced the lump in his throat down and tried to calm her. At the same time he got his feet dressed and found a sweatshirt.

“Honey, calm down of course I’m going to help you. Can you call a cab to take you to a hotel till I can get there?”

“No I already tried, it’s like a blizzard outside. Nobody will come out.”

“Okay, get your things together and wait for me. I’ll be there in an hour or so.”

“Danny, it’s a two hour drive and it snowing.”

“Well I guess it’s a good thing you have an ex-cop with a heavy-duty four wheeled drive pick up for a brother. Don’t worry, I’ll be there before you know it.”

“Danny...thank you. Please be careful, there’s so much you don’t know about Tony. He’s a dangerous man. I can’t live like this anymore, I’m so, so tired.”

Shit! Shit! Shit! Why didn’t he know any of this. Was he so damn busy with his own life he didn’t know the hell his sister had been living thru. He had to know one thing before he hung up. “Mel, how long...how long have you been living like this?”

There was along pause before she answered, followed by a deep sigh. “Since the day I married him”

“Dammit Melanie! Why didn’t you tell me? Why the fuck didn’t you get out?” Why didn’t YOU know. Why weren’t you there for her. Dan could hear he crying again, but could barely hear her word.

“Please don’t hate me, please Danny I couldn’t bare it.”

“Aw, Mel, I’m sorry. I could never hate you. You’re my baby sister. I love you sweetheart. I will fix this for you. You’re coming home and everything will be fine. I promise. I’ll have my cell phone on and I’ll be there before you know it. I love you.”

“Thanks Danny, I love you too.”

Dan hung the phone up, grabbed the whole thing and flung it against the wall. “Fuck!” How could he have missed this. How could he have allowed his sister to live thru five fucking years of unimaginable hell. Had he really been to damn preoccupied with his own damn life. She only lived two hours away for shits sake. Why hadn’t he visited her more often.

He’d been so caught up in his own dramas that he hadn’t even noticed his sister was in trouble. When Hannah left him four years ago, he’d thrown himself into his work and hardly notice life went on around him. Shit!

Dan grabbed his wallet, shoved the 9 mm into its holster and threw on his coat. He left his room and went down the hall, he took the stairs to Luke’s room two at a time and burst thru his bedroom door.

Luke was his best friend from high school and partner in their PI and securities business. They became partners six months ago when Luke was discharged from the Air Force due to injuries he received in Iraq. He needed to know Dan would be out of town for a while.

Dan turned to the side to switch the light on in Luke’s room. When he turned back around to find himself staring down the wrong side of the barrel of a 9 mm.

“Jesus H Christ, Luke, it’s me.”

Luke immediately swung the gun up and away from Dan’s head. “God dammit Dan! What the hell is wrong with you. I could have killed you. Shit!” Luke turned away from Dan walked away from him.

Dan knew Luke well enough to give him a second to gather himself together. Luke had told him about some of the shit he had seen and done when he was in the Air Force, stationed in Iraq. Dan knew it was the watered down version and could only imagine the demons that lived inside his friend. Dan also knew better than to ambush him as he’d just done, but with the call from Melanie, he forgot all that.

“Sorry man, I wasn’t thinking. Look I just got a call from Melanie and I wanted to let you know I have to leave. I’m not sure when I’ll be getting back, but just so you know, I’m bringing her home with me. You’re going to have to meet with Kahne in the morning, I doubt I’ll be back in time to make it. He wants us to install a security system in his daughter’s lake house. I’m supposed to meet him there at nine to do a walk through.”

Dan turned to leave when Luke’s voice stopped him. “Wait just one god damned minute. What the hell are you talking about, what kind of trouble legal?”

Dan didn’t want to get into this with Luke, number one he didn’t have time for it, number two, Luke and Melanie had a history. He knew she wouldn’t want Luke to know what was going on. He shoved a frustrated hand thru his hair. “No not legal. I really don’t have the time to get into it now, I really need to be there like five minutes ago. I’ll fill you in when I get back.”

Luke was dressed and grabbing his boots before Dan had finished talking. “Fill me in on the way. Lets go.” He grabbed his jacket and gun and pushed by Dan to get out the door.

Dan ran down the stairs and caught up with Luke at the back door. “Dammit Luke, there are things you don’t know, and I’m fairly sure Mel wouldn’t want you to.”

Luke stopped, hand on the doorknob and hesitated for a quick second He took a deep breath then opened the door without looking back. “Probably not, but if she is in trouble, and she must be to have you this wound up, I’m going. If it turns out you don’t need my help, then I’ll stand down. She wont have to deal with me. But if you do need my help, I’ve got your back, always. And so does she. That’s what friends and partners do. I’ll deal with the personal issues. Let’s just get going.”

Dan shook his head and smiled. It was good to have Luke back, he’d missed his best friend the nine years he’d been away. It was nice to know he could count on him when the chips were low, he just hoped Melanie agreed. “Okay partner, lets go.”

They jumped in Dan’s truck. Dan drove while Luke laced up his boots and put his jacket on. Dan and Luke had been friends since they could walk. There wasn’t anything one wouldn’t do for the other. There wasn’t anything they couldn’t say to each other or talk about. Except Melanie. And Dan really dreaded telling Luke what was going on.

Twenty miles down the road Luke couldn’t stand it anymore. He wanted to know just what the hell was going on. Understandably, with his and Melanie’s past, he and Dan had an unspoken agreement not to discuss Melanie for the sake of their friendship.

So he got by with listening to bits and pieces of their phone conversations or when Dan talked to other people about his sister, Luke would shift a little closer to listen in. He had no one to blame for that but himself. He was the one who screwed up and lost the girl. A mistake he has regretted since making. His only solace was knowing she was happy and he hadn’t screwed up her life the way he did his own.

Luke took a deep breath and looked over at Dan. “Okay, we’re on our way. Fill me in.”

Dan was silent for a moment. Luke was beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer him. “It seems Mel has been having some trouble with her husband.”

Luke stiffen, this was not what he wanted to hear. “What kind of trouble?”

Dan shook his head, “Look, I’m pretty sure Mel wouldn’t want me discussing this with you, and from what I am finding out, I cant say as I would blame her.”

“Dan, just spit it out. I am the last person who would judge her. I hope you know that.”

‘Yeah, I do. I just don’t think she does. Anyway, she called to say she needed to get out of the house. Apparently she found her husband cheating on her and told him she wanted a divorce. He threatened her and she is very afraid of him. She said she was afraid he was going to kill her.”

Luke’s stomach flipped and bile clawed up his throat. This doesn’t sound like the happy life he imagined for her. “Is he home now? If she is that scared of him why doesn’t she drive somewhere public and wait for us instead of staying there?”

“He’s not home right now and they just got dumped on with a shit load of snow. She said not even the cabs are running. Plus he took her car keys with him when he left.”

“Why is she so afraid of him Dan? What the hell has been going on?”

“I don’t know. When she said she was afraid he was going to kill her she said this time. I asked her what that meant but she wouldn’t tell me. I did ask her how long this had been going on and she said since she married him.”

Luke’s face was beat red by now and his voice shook with anger. “Are you trying to tell me Melanie’s husband has been abusing her for years and you had no fucking clue?! How the hell could that happen. You two are supposed to be close. How could you not know this was happening to her?”

“Look you don’t have to beat me over the head with it. I fucked up. I don’t know how I could have missed something like this. Melanie is one of the most important people in my life and I’ve let her down. Do you know how that makes me feel?”

Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. Sorry I blew up at you like that. Why doesn’t she go to the cops? Have the bastard arrested.”

“Probably because he is a cop. A decorated, highly regarded Detective. Used to work Vice. Everyone thinks he is this hero, super cop. I doubt anyone would believe Melanie. Beyond being a cop he also has some pretty hefty political contacts.”

Luke thrust a hand threw his hair. “So she’s basically a prisoner in her own home.” Damn he couldn’t believe this was happening. She had to be living in hell. All this time he thought he was doing the right thing by her by staying away.

“I don’t know how I missed all this. She’s changed Luke. She’s not the fun life loving girl she used to be. How could I not see that.”

“I’m not sure you realize what your sister meant to me back in the day. She was everything to me. All this time I have been patting my self on the back telling myself what an honorable thing I did by breaking it off with her. What a bunch of bullshit! I know I hurt her back then. What you need to know now is that I will help the both of you get through this. I’ll do what I need to make this up to her.”

“Don’t you think your taking a lot on those big shoulders of yours Luke? Besides, its not me you need to convince is it?”

* * *

Melanie sat cross legged on her bed. She was finally ready to get the hell away from Tony. She had always known Danny would help her but had been to afraid and ashamed to ask him. Beside she didn’t want to put him in that position. Tony was not a man that would allow her to leave without retaliation.

When she found that one of his attacks on her left her pregnant she knew it was only a matter of time. If she was to protect her baby, she would need to leave. She still hadn’t told Danny about the baby.

Not because she was ashamed, she loved her baby more than life. He was giving her the strength she needed to get her life back together. But she was ashamed about the violent way he was conceived. She never wanted Danny to know what her marriage was.

Well he was going to find out soon enough wasn’t he. She got up from the bed and started shoving some clothes into an overnight bag. Her left wrist throbbing where Tony had grabbed it and twisted earlier. Between her wrist and her swollen right eye she figured she’d gotten off too easy this time.

She needed to concentrate on getting out of here. The little boy she carried was her world. She’d had nothing to live for before him, but now she could see a new future for herself and her son.

God, how much longer until Danny got here? An hour an fifteen minutes had passed since she called him. Please, let him get here before Tony comes back. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed him, unable to wait any longer.

* * *

Dan’s cell phone rang, breaking the silence that filled the cab of the pick up. Dan handed to phone to Luke so he could concentrate on driving. Only fifteen minutes away and he had the suspicion that every minute would count.

“Hello.” nothing but silence answered him. “Lainie? Is that you?”

Luke heard a gasp when he said Lainie. It was his old nickname for her. “Lainie, please answer me, are you okay?”

Melanie’s voice trembled as she answered. “I’m fine. Could I please speak with my brother.”

Luke handed the phone over to Dan. “ Melanie? Honey are you alright? We’re about fifteen minutes away.”

“Why Dan? Why is he with you. I didn’t even know he was home! How could you do this to me?”

Her voice sounded nearly hysterical to him. He glanced over at Luke who was watching intently. Christ! Why did things have to be so difficult.

“Listen to me Mel, everything is going to work out. I promise you. No worries, right?” That had always been their motto. No worries.

“No worries? This has got to be one of t he worst nights of my life and you bring him with you. Are you trying to shame me more than I already am?”

“Listen Mel, no one is judging you or your situation, shit happens. I am here to make sure nothing happens to you ever again. And I mean that, no one will hurt you again.” He gave Luke a pointed look.

“Okay Danny, I’m sorry. It was just such a shock. I …”

Dan heard a loud crash and Melanie’s scream. “Oh God, he’s back Danny. It’s to late.”

“Stay on the line Mel, don’t disconnect, I’m giving the phone to Luke so he can three-way 911. Hang on honey we are almost there.” Dan threw the phone to Luke and stomped on the accelerator.

Luke got the 911 operator on the line and gave her Melanie’s address as Dan gave it to him. He switched back over to Melanie so that now the 911 operated could also hear what was happening since he had no idea himself.

“Lainie? You still there? Tell me what’s going on.” He could barely hear her whispered voice coming through the phone.

“He’s home, he’s downstairs yelling for me. It’s too late Luke, I can hear him coming up the stairs.”

Luke could hear the angry voice of a man getting closer. Never had he been so terrified for someone in his life. He felt impotent, useless. There wasn’t a dam thing he could do for her.

“No Lainie, it’s not to late. You just hang tight, we’re coming. You hear me Lainie, we are almost there.” Luke heard Melanie scream as the sound of a door splintering apart came over the phone.