Connor's POV:

We exited the Sin Bin in silence, with little Danielle asleep in my arms. Her hands grasped onto my rosary as she snuggled closer against me. When we finally made it to Rocco's car, Murphy opened the backseat door for me, allowing me to slide inside without jostling her too much. My brother took the wheel with Rocco in the passenger seat.

The car moved forward down the street, away from the crime scene we had created in our wake of vigilance. Neither of us said a word for awhile, tired from our mission. I gazed out the car window, casually stroking Danielle's hair with my fingers. I heard her sigh as she held on tighter to my rosary. Her head lay against my chest, with her body cradled in my lap.

Needless to say, it felt wonderful to hold her.

Even though I wasn't pleased that she had to witness Lappazzi being blown to pieces, I was secretly proud of her for taking matters into her own hands and standing up for herself. She was a strong young woman and I had been more than amazed by her display of it in the past 24 hours.

"Hey, is anybody hungry? Maybe we should stop at a diner or somethin'." Murphy spoke up from the front seat.

"Yeah, man, good idea. I'm starving." Rocco added, turning around to look at me.

I felt my stomach growl at the mention of food. Dani stirred in her sleep, breathing softly in the darkness. "Yeah, I think we oughta stop somewhere. I'm pretty hungry meself, and I haven't seen Dani eat anything all day."

It was settled. We stopped at a late night coffee shop to get some food for the night. After we parked the car, I gently woke up the girl sleeping in my lap. I tenderly placed my hand on her cheek as her eyes slowly opened. She slightly groaned as she held back a yawn.

"Connor? Guys, where are we?" She asked us, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"We're at a coffee shop to get somethin' to eat, Dani. Ya wanna come inside with us?" Murphy asked her from the driver's seat.

"Okay, that's fine." Her voice still dripped with sleep. I smirked at her as I opened the car door and climbed. Dani slowly crawled out behind me. I held my hand toward her to help her out, but she managed to balance herself against the car as she set her feet onto the asphalt of the parking lot.

She placed her small hand into mine as we all walked inside the diner. There were only two other customers present, so it felt safe to sit down without anyone recognizing us. Murphy and I ordered coffee while Dani asked for a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Rocco sat across from us at our table, a rare serious look in his eyes.

"Alright, let's talk some business. I know a sick fuck who makes the ones we've been doing look like altar boys. Worst night of my life when I met this guy. He never says a fucking word to me. We're driving twenty-five minutes, never a sigh, no throat-clearing, nothing. This guy takes out a whole family; wife, kids, everyone. Like he's ordering a fucking pizza. I knew that if I didn't keep it together, it was my ass. He has a poker game out back of his place with a bunch of wise guys every Saturday. Worst day of my life, man."

Rocco hung his head in defeat as he finished his tale. I looked over to Dani and Murphy beside me.

"Well, I'm sold." Murphy declared to Rocco, staring straight at our friend.

"Don't worry, Roc. We'll do this guy right and you'll feel a lot better." I told him calmly. I could feel Dani's eyes on me, and I knew she was about to state her take on the situation.

"I'll be there to help, too." She piped in, her voice filled with no sign of backing down. I stared at the determined young girl with reluctant pride for her bravery and slight fear for her safety.

I chuckled and smirked at her, shaking my head in disbelief. Silently, I asked God for advice on what I was supposed to do. Why was she doing this to me? Why was she pulling my emotions in opposite directions?

One part of me was proud of the internal strength she possessed, a little lioness waiting to be released from her cage. Another part of me saw the lost, injured girl in the alleyway, trapped by a traumatic assault that would haunt her for life.

I knew very well that God gave me the mission to protect her as long as she was with us, the Saints of South Boston. Then again, what if God wasn't the only reason I was so driven to keep this girl safe? She was becoming much more to me than part of His job for me as a Saint, a protector of the innocent.

Hell, she already was a lot more to me. Danielle Smecker was something else entirely.

And I would make sure no harm came to her…no matter what.

.

.

.

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Later, we arrived to the house of Rocco's mother. She was on an exotic cruise for the past couple of weeks, so she wouldn't be back for awhile. Murphy and I volunteered to sleep in the living room while Dani took Roc's mom's bedroom. There was also a bathroom where she could take a shower for the night. It was midnight, so we were all pretty exhausted.

As Murphy and I unpacked our weapons and gear, I could the sound of water running through the pipes, meaning that she was taking a shower. Rocco lay slumped in the big recliner with his feet propped up, snoring loudly.

Murphy turned on the small lamp next to the sofa as I removed my pea-coat, wiping some sweat off my brow. My brother pointed to another small bag lying beside our duffel packs.

"Looks like Dani forgot her knapsack. Ya gonna take to it her?" Murph raised his eyebrows as I sighed in annoyance.

"I suppose I will, Murph. I don't want her to be embarrassed in a house full o' men." I grabbed up the small knapsack full of her clothes, pocketknife and walkie-talkies and headed down the hallway toward the bedroom.

I couldn't hear the water running anymore, so she was probably drying herself off in the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, I softly knocked on the bedroom door, hoping I wouldn't startle her.

"Dani?" I asked her from outside the door. "Ya left your bag in the livin' room, so I'm gonna leave it out in the…" Before I could finish, the door opened, revealing lovely little Danielle wrapped in a white towel, her long brown hair dripping wet with water.

"…hallway fer ya." I whispered the rest of my sentence, standing there in amazement at the sight of her.

Her green eyes stared back at me as she clutched the towel tighter around her, the skin on her arms shaking with goose-bumps. I looked away from her, staring down at the carpet. Feeling like a complete ass-hole, I placed the bag at her feet, being careful not to look at her almost naked form.

"I…I'm sorry, Dani. I didn't mean to bother ya." I placed my focus on her face instead of her body, seeing no sign of anger or embarrassment in her adorable expressions.

"It's alright, Connor. Thank you for getting my bag for me." She smiled at me quietly, wringing some water out of her hair. "Do you…want to come in? I'll just put some clothes on in the bathroom. I was kind of hoping you and I could talk."

"Yeah, sure. Wh…whatever ya want." I agreed as she opened the door wider to let me in.

I sat down on the bed while she took a nightgown out of her backpack and entered the bathroom to change, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, she emerged back into my view, her wet hair brushed and straight, wearing a green nightgown with straps on her shoulders, revealing the white straps of her bra underneath them. I had never seen her wear the color green before. Jesus, I could have sworn there was an angel standing before me, cleansed in Holy water.

I saw a few more of the dark bruises on her bare legs, a small frown forming on my face as my eyes gazed along her body. "Are you okay, Connor?"

Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts, her eyes staring at me with concern. "I'm fine, Dani. It's alright."

Her legs started shaking as she walked over to sit next to me on the bed. We both stayed silent, trying to think of something to say to each other. Dani was the first to start talking.

"Connor…I wanted to talk to you about…what happened between us over the past twenty-four hours. I mean, I always feel like there's some kind of tension whenever we talk to each other." She looked down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with me.

I slowly reached over and placed my fingers under her chin for our eyes to meet. "Danielle, I don't really get what you're tryin' to say." My other hand gently took hold of hers, my fingers wrapping around it.

"I…I just don't understand why you're so hell-bent on protecting me. You've only known me for what, three days. Since then, we've already kissed and almost had a foreplay session in that fucking alleyway. Then, you get pissed whenever I don't listen to you, like you have some kind of authority over me, when you don't!"

She was practically yelling now, tears beginning to form in her eyes. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to finish her angry rant. She stood up off the bed and in front of me, releasing her hand from mine.

"Connor…I just don't understand what I am to you. Is it because you feel guilty for finding me that night in the alley? Are you just having me around so you can fuck me when you get the chance?"

"Danielle, just calm down, darlin'." I tried to soothe her. Before I saw it coming, she raised her hand and slapped me across the cheek, her green eyes glowing with anger. The shock of her hitting me flared up as I stared at her in disbelief. She stood her ground in front of me, the tears flowing down her face. I stood up from the bed and gently placed my hands on her shoulders.

Her breath came out in short gasps, her whole frame shaking with vulnerability. It truly broke my heart to see her breaking down like this.

"Why, Connor? Why is it so important for you to protect some girl that you've only known for a few days?" She nearly screamed at me.

The fury boiled inside me as I stared at her in silence. Right before she could finish her sentence, I yelled out to her. "It's because I love ya, Danielle!"

She stopped in front of me, the tears still flowing down her face. "Wh…what did you just say?" Her voice was shaky, nervous.

"Ya heard me." I told her, standing straight up, tightening my grip on her shoulders. Now, I was pissed.

"No…you don't mean that." She tried to turn away, but I held her fast.

"Danielle Smecker, there will never be any closed doors between us." I growled as I bent down in front of her, scooping her up into my arms with ease. She let out a gasp as I dropped her onto the bed. Dani only stared at me in stunned silence as I turned and headed back to the door. I didn't look back at her as I left the room, slamming the door behind me. The sound of her faint crying left my ears as I walked down the hallway.

Stomping back to the living room, I saw Murphy stretched out across the sofa, his feet propped up on one of the arm-rests.

"What was goin' on in there? You two havin' a spat?" He asked as I kicked off my boots.

"No, Murph. All ye need to know is that I'm pissed, I did somethin' really stupid and I feel like gettin' shitfaced drunk tonight." Murphy slowly smiled at me as I went to the fridge in the kitchen and pulled out a case of beer.

"All right! Let's do what angry Irishmen do, me dear brother!" Murph nearly yelled out in excitement as I took a bottle of beer and gulped it down with the anger of an Irishman being rejected by the woman who had become more to him that he ever expected.

There is never enough alcohol to help a man cope with what he may interpret as rejection from the woman he loves. But, there is enough determination in the man to make him want to give her everything she needs to be happy...