Despite the blurring vision she'd had since getting on the elevator back at Harborview Towers, Dara managed to drive home and now fumbled with her keys to unlock the front door to her apartment. Locking it firmly behind her, she numbly kicked off her shoes and dropped her coat near the leather chair. She blinked the tears, wiping them angrily off her cheeks. Grateful that no one had called, Dara stood in the hallway, her feelings jumbled and mixed up, she remained still for a few minutes as she desperately tried to figure out what to do now. But she couldn't think, all she could do was feel. Feel and remember, the little things. The first time his fingers grazed her forearm. His warm smile, his dimpled grin and the way his eyes would twinkle, even in the darkness of his bedroom. His voice, the things he whispered to her, the little murmurs, mumbles and noises he made while they were together. The way he stroked her face afterwards, until she fell asleep in his arms. How he made her feel so warm and safe, his body protecting hers, from anything.
Then the change. The detached coldness, the seemingly dead eyes, the rigid body language in him. All the goodness sucked out leaving only a hollow emptiness.
Overwhelmed by the repeated onslaught of shame and embarrassment, Dara's arm reached out, her hand pressed against the wall to support her and her head dropped as her face crumpled, two deep shuddering exhales of pain escaping her. Just as quickly as it had happened, it was over and she pulled herself together, suddenly feeling the need for a shower.
*******
Sonny's Penthouse
He emerged from the upstairs, taking the steps slowly, painfully as he made his descent to the living room. Jason turned from where he was standing and began rattling off information about an upcoming load of shipments for the coffee warehouse. All Sonny could hear was the buzzing in his head as he reached for whatever dark liquor was at the bar table. After downing two quickly, he took his third to the chesterfield and sat, his entire body aching as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar warmth to kick in. Jason observed all of this carefully, obviously Sonny had not had a good night.
"Sonny?"
Sonny released a deep sigh. "I'm listening, you don't have to stop."
Jason shifted his gaze slightly, suddenly sensing a delicate fragrance in the air. His head turned and walked towards the stairs, the scent growing stronger, it was familiar and it belonged to a woman. His eyes darted to Sonny as he sat restlessly on the chesterfield. Women who left Sonny's place before he arrived in the morning never made Sonny on edge, so either she was still here, or he'd found someone. As usual though, Jason's mind told him to be cautious.
"Everything okay with Mike?"
"Yeah."
His voice was tight but controlled, he was hurting. Definitely a woman.
"Anything on your mind?"
"Just the warehouse stuff, listen, I won't be in today, I'm not feeling too great okay?"
Jason's jaw tightened slightly, Sonny might avoid personal problems, but he never outright lied, not to Jason at least. Still, Jason knew pushing would provide no answers, he'd have to wait.
"I'll be down at the warehouse all day, so you know where to find me."
Sonny nodded, "thanks Jason," he said, his mind, clearly, elsewhere. Jason nodded and opened the front door where Johnny was standing. Another powerful blast of the perfume hit him and Jason paused, he knew this woman, he was certain of it. Shutting the door, he motioned Johnny to follow him to the elevator doors.
"What's going on with him?"
Johnny shifted in his spot uncomfortably, he was under strict orders not to speak of Dara Jensen to anyone. He wasn't sure if Jason was part of the restriction, but Sonny was adamant about secrecy. "I'm not sure I know what you mean Jason."
Jason grimaced at Johnny's stonewalling attempt. "You tell me what's going on right now, I make sure none of the heat goes your way."
Johnny's jaw twitched slightly, contemplating Jason's offer. It was sound, Jason wouldn't back out of any offer he made to the crew, but still, he wasn't sure.
Jason could see he was losing the battle of getting a handle on what impending crisis was brewing inside Sonny's mind, so he pushed. "Listen, if something bad's going on with Sonny, I need to know, for everyone's safety."
Johnny debated his options one last time before deciding to talk. Motioning towards the elevator, he lowered his voice, casting his eyes towards the front door of Sonny's penthouse. "Okay, she came real late one night about three weeks ago, then nothing for about a week. Then she came every night, leaving in the morning. They're real low key about it, Sonny doesn't want to draw any trouble about her being with him, that's why you haven't been told. We watch her at work and make sure she gets home okay."
"Slow down a sec', who is 'she'?" Jason asked quietly.
Johnny took a deep breath, "Dara Jensen."
Jason's eyes widened, he was speechless for a few moments, "a-are you sure? Dara Jensen, A.D.A. Dara Jensen?"
"I know, *believe me* I know, when I first saw her I thought she was personally delivering a subpoena, then Sonny follows her in. Six hours later she waltzes out, all fixed up, but a definite glow coming off her." Johnny shook his head, still hardly believing the tale.
"And for two weeks now, she comes at night and leaves in the morning?" Jason repeats. Johnny nodded his head, "Sonny hasn't said anything to me about it, she's real nice and polite but I get a vibe from her that she's still kind of embarrassed to be here, then this morning, she comes out and her face is down and she's all upset, doesn't say a thing to me. I just make sure Danny follows her home and makes sure she gets there safely."
Jason ears perked up, "she left upset this morning? Did Sonny say anything?" he asked and Johnny shook his head. "After her, it was real quiet until you came, I think maybe he broke it off or something."
Jason nodded again, saying nothing as the startling information sunk in. Finally, his crystal blue eyes rose to meet Johnny's piercing gray ones, "conduct yourself as usual, don't say anything to Sonny about telling me, just keep doing what he says. I'll get back to you as soon as I can," he instructed.
Johnny nodded, "what are you going to do?"
Jason punched the elevator button and the doors slid open. "I'll figure something out. Thanks, Johnny," he said appreciatively as the doors slid shut.
******
Dara emerged from her steam filled bathroom somewhat refreshed. She tied secure her light blue terry cloth robe and placed the brush she'd used to comb her now dampish hair on her vanity table. She padded quietly across the hardwood floor of her bedroom and into the living room, grabbing the remote off her CD stereo player and pressing the play button. Urging the music to come and take her mind off of Sonny Corinthos, she wandered past her phone, noting that someone had called while she was in the shower. Her heart jumped slightly, had he called? Had he called to beg for forgiveness and ask her back into his life? That he'd made a horrible mistake? Dara bit her lower lip as she delicately pressed the play button, waiting anxiously for the message to rewind.
The CD player, having finally settled on a piece, whirred to life and the music gently kicked in, flooding Dara's apartment with the soft music.
Strangers in the night
Exchanging glances
Wandering in the night
What were the chances
We'd be sharing love?
Before the night was through
Dara's eyes widened as the answering machine gave its familiar beep. "Hey Dara, it's Marcus, I'm down at the station and I'm kinda wondering where you are..."
Something in your eyes
Was so inviting
Something in your smile
Was so exciting
Something in my heart
Told me I must have you
"You do Frankie justice Ms. Jensen." The soft words echoed loudly in her mind, and her eyes watered. She snapped them shut, she wouldn't cry, she couldn't. Anger filled her, damn him! Damn him for taking her in and then throwing her out! Damn herself for falling for him, for letting another man break her heart. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he'd said things to her, made promises to her and against her better judgment, she'd fallen in love with Sonny Corinthos. She knew his story, his past, she knew everything and she still wanted to be with him. She was a fool, a damn fool. Dara opened her eyes as the tears spilled onto her cheeks. No matter what she thought, it couldn't stop the deep pain she was feeling, and how she was again, succumbing to them. Dara flopped miserably onto the sofa and buried her face into a nearby pillow, her weeping now going full steam as Marcus's concerned voice on the answering machine, could barely be heard above the music of Frank Sinatra.
"This may sound weird or something, but I feel like you've been somewhere else over the past few weeks. I don't want to pry, especially over the damn answering machine, but I'm worried Dara, hell, I feel like an over protective older brother, but I can't help but feel that something in your life is swallowing you up..."
Strangers in the night
Two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment
When we said our first hello
Little did we know
Love was just a glance away
A warm embracing dance away
********
Warehouse 34 on the Docks
The three men entered the busy warehouse's entrance quietly. The leader, Danté Vitali, strode purposefully towards a group of men, talking quietly and gesturing towards the workmen.
"Gentlemen," Danté greeted them his entire demeanor reflecting, the coolness in his voice. His eyes traveled the gathering, settling on one man in particular. "Parker," he said quietly, "come here, we need to talk."
Parker, nervously shoving his hands into his coat pockets, made his way to the front of the group. Danté motioned him towards a more secluded area and gently guided the man down the hallway of crates, away from the workers who were busy loading up another shipment. Andrew Parker, a friend he'd found while in boarding school in Europe and through the years, had become one of his most loyal and trusted allies, until now.
"Now Parker, when I put you in charge of this warehouse, I expected you would take this as a gesture of my trust and confidence in you to do a good job," Danté started as he stopped walking and turned to face Parker.
"Mr. Vitali, I know we've been delayed in getting our merchandise out in time for new shipments coming in, but you see the delay is due in part to the FBI cracking down on our shipping schedule. We use the same routes too frequently and the men made unnecessary stops along the way making it extremely easy for the authorities to monitor our activities. I've only just managed to work out new routes and curb some of the unnecessary behavior," Parker defended himself quickly, feeling uneasy as Danté and his men slowly cornered him.
Danté's eyes flashed with annoyance, "you know I hate excuses, and if it weren't for the fact that you seem to be becoming a leader to these men, and a childhood friend, things might be different, and not in your favor. They respect and follow your orders and seem to not need the usual motivations this family has used in the past. Congratulations," Danté said blandly and Parker's face relaxed somewhat.
"Thank you sir, I appreciate your support."
Danté smiled warmly in return, but his eyes were hollow. "In fact, they respect you so much, I wonder if you've been thinking about moving up in the organization." Parker's eyes darkened with uncertainty but Danté grinned at him serenely. "Perhaps organizing these men to follow you, I know some do not approve of my wishes of taking over this family-"
"Not me sir, I support you completely," Parker interrupted earnestly, despite the sinking feeling that was growing inside of him.
"You support me by making excuses for your incompetence? Changing route schedules without asking my permission while gaining a following with the workers?" Danté hissed menacingly, "I can't have men under my control getting ideas about taking my place." He took a step towards Parker, watching the man's eyes dart around with fear as he pressed himself against the warehouse wall.
"I would never-" Parker begged, but it was too late. Like lightning, Danté's weapon emerged, complete with a silencer and within a few seconds, two shots had been fired and Parker lay motionless on the ground. Danté spat out the bad taste in his mouth onto the dead man's slumped frame before handing the gun to a man nearby and he bent down near Parker's body, grasping the dead man's left hand.
"Vincent, Parker was married?" he asked.
Vincent nodded as he handed the gun to another man, "yes, no children."
"A lavish funeral for the grieving widow then, you know how to deal with this," he waved towards Parker as he rose. Vincent nodded, "Parker was well liked and your friend since you were youths, it should infuriate the men to know Moreno mercilessly killed him and dumped his body into the harbor like reeking garbage," he smirked. He jerked his head to the nearby men and without a word, plastic was produced and the careful removal of Parker's body began. Danté and Vincent emerged from the hallway into the open area.
"Do you want me to change Parker's scheduling back to the old routes?" Vincent asked.
Danté shook his head, "no, keep the new ones, we'll have fewer problems now, one less thing to worry about."
Vincent chuckled slightly, "so Parker was right, his ideas were on target."
Danté's expression darkened, "Parker's dead, I can't have a dead man taking credit for all of this," he boasted, gesturing to the dozens of men who were busy packaging and loading the last shipment of the day.
Vincent simply shook his head, Danté was just like his Uncle, only he had a more charming way of executing a loyal worker and taking credit for his accomplishments.
"I'll ensure the weapon is disposed of properly and arrangements for Parker's funeral are made as well as ensuring his widow is well taken care of," Vincent reported but Danté's focus was elsewhere. His voice trailing off, Vincent turned his gaze towards the open warehouse door, where Danté's attention was tuned to.
With her fiery mane of curls hanging loosely around the black trench coat that covered every inch of her, save for the stiletto black heels that adorned her feet, Tori was a sight and with a sultry smile, knew she had the attention of every man in the warehouse. With a look to Danté, Tori moved towards the staircase that lead to the office upstairs, the heels slowly clicking against the metal stairs as she made her graceful ascent.
"Do whatever needs doing," Danté murmured as he watched the beauty reach the top of the stairs, turn and shoot another sultry smile his way.
Vincent nodded, feeling the burning sensation of want that every man in the building had, but knew she was Danté's property, and so much as looking at her too long would be a mistake. Clearing his throat and averting his gaze, Vincent glanced at his watch, "when should I come back for you?"
Danté shook his head as he moved towards the staircase, "I'll call you, just be ready, I'm not sure how long I'll be," he said.
Vincent closed his eyes briefly in frustration, God, he hated it when Danté would wander off in the middle of business, Tori would and should wait, showing up unnannouced at Sonny Corinthos's warehouse to push his buttons was more pressing, but now...Vincent opened his eyes and watched as Danté opened the door to the office for Tori, following her inside before shutting it behind them.
Danté's not even in complete control and he's just shown again how he can't handle the responsibilities, Vincent fumed silently as he left the warehouse and got into his vehicle. How on earth can this city handle him once Moreno is gone?
********
Danté stood beside his black leather sofa, watching as Tori moved slowly around the room, closing each of the blinds before locking the door and turning to him.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," she purred as she approached him, her hands reaching out to unbutton the coat of his black Armani suit. Danté shook his head. "No way baby, you are just what I need," he said suggestively as he discarded the jacket onto the office desk, his hands greedily moving to remove the black trench coat from her but Tori playfully swatted his hands away, instead pushing him onto the sofa and quickly straddling him, the lust in her eyes locking with his own. She wanted him, right here and now and to no surprise, she recognized his own look mirrored hers.
Slowly she took his hands and placed them on the knot of the belt that secured the coat around her as her own began to unfasten the buttons on his white shirt. "So, what was my baby doing that made him need me so much?" she whispered sweetly as her fingers now roamed his firm chest.
Danté pulled free the belt and slowly parted the jacket, confirming his delighted suspicions that she had worn nothing but the jacket and the heels. Feeling himself grow with desire, he pulled her roughly towards him, possessively kissing her on the lips, his tongue demanding hers as he tugged at the jacket. Moving his lips downwards, he hungrily sucked, licked and nibbled his way along her jaw line and onto the nape of her neck.
"You wanna know what I was doing?" he murmured as his hands roamed her curvaceous frame. Tori groaned appreciatively in response, running her fingers through his hair, before offering up a hoarse, "yes."
"Do you?" he demanded his tone more authorative, before again taking her mouth in another long, searing kiss, before breaking it. Tori looked down at him, his face flushed but a calm challenge in his eyes. Leaning into his ear, her hot breath against his cheek, she strongly whispered, "yes."
Danté wordlessly pulled her down onto her back on the sofa and stretched out on top of her, but kept his full weight off. Tori was the kind of girl who seemed to be turned on by anything, so she was worth keeping, but he was curious to see her reaction to this. She was trembling slightly beneath him, which made him more aroused than he already was.
"Do you really wanna know?" he asked and before she could respond, he carefully grinded himself against her, causing her to moan with desire. "Oh God baby, you know what this does to me," she whimpered and her hands pulled him towards her but he ignored her reaction.
"Yeah, but I want your answer."
Tori's eyes widened slightly, "sugar, I already told you I wanted to know."
Danté responded with another push, and Tori uttered another low moan of approval. "But I want you to tell me the *right* way."
Tori's eyes flashed with a mixture of desire and delight, she loved these little games they played. She giggled gently, and ran her manicured nails lightly along his chest, making him shiver, "yeah baby, tell me," she requested playfully.
Danté clicked his tongue with disapproval and removed her hands from his chest. He grasped them together and with one strong hand, secured them above her head, quickly instructing her to not move them an inch, no matter what. To ensure she would comply, he pushed a little harder this time against her, teasing her. Tori bit her lower lip a guttural moan escaping her lips, but she didn't move her hands and he asked again.
"Do you really wanna know?"
"Yeah honey, I wanna know what you were doing," she crooned, "you gotta tell me, I need to know," she whimpered as his hands moved across her smooth skin, towards her thighs. Ever since meeting him at a 'business' function, Danté Vitali had swept Tori away and shown her at every turn what kind of person he really and truly was. Both in and out of bed, he enthralled her with his devious, sometimes deviant ways and ruthless appetite. He'd told her already most of his women couldn't keep up with him, but by the glint in his eyes whenever she stepped in the room and the way his touch made her shiver like never before, she knew she was more than a common mistress. They both did.
"Tell me what I want to hear," he insisted, before lowering his head and slowly dragged his tongue around her navel and upwards, lavishing attention everywhere, spending more time when Tori's moans and sighs of pleasure increased. "Tell me," he rasped as he devoured her neck.
"Yes, tell me, tell me please," she said hoarsely, she was near and Danté, nearly ready to take her, grinded hard against her, not caring that she had wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and was arching herself to him, he wanted her to say it, just one more time. Tori whimpered again and his lips once again found hers as his hands stroked her inner thighs gently. She knew it was bad, that he had done something awful, judging by how much he was getting off on it, she knew the kind of things Danté did, but it never affected her like this before, until now.
"Tell me, now Tori," he commanded, his voice strict but thick with lust.
"Yes! Tell me Danté," she begged, almost deliriously, pleading for his touch, not caring how loud she might sound as she writhed underneath him, pinned by his strength.
It only took Danté a moment to fumble with his pants before he complied to what both had been wanting and afterwards, he gave her a satisfied smile, watching her come down. Tori's eyes opened, a glazed expression and a relieved smile crossed her face, she belonged to him and she knew it.
"You remember Andrew Parker right?" Danté asked and Tori nodded, finally he was going to let her in on the big secret.
Danté watched Tori carefully before revealing what he had done. He wanted to watch every second of her reaction. "Well, now he's dead," Danté said, his voice void of all emotion. Tori's eyes widened in shock before a menacing grin grew on her face.
"You killed him?" Tori's voice echoed the thrill of the kill that Danté had felt since ending Parker's life less than fifteen minutes ago.
Danté nodded, almost proud. "Didn't need him or want him, so I took him out just before you came."
"Naughty boy," Tori said delightedly and Danté beamed a wicked smile at her. God, she was perfect for what he needed. "Baby, you should do that more often, if it keeps getting you like this," Tori sighed appreciatively as her hands cupped his face. He drove her wild, anytime, and he knew she could keep up with anything. They were perfect together, keeping each other satisfied. Tori had always been thrilled by the more darker, animalistic side of men and now, she was with a master, enjoying ever second of it.
Danté positioned himself over her, his eyes flickering both desire and rage, "baby doll, the bodies have just begun to come down. Moreno, Corinthos, anybody who gets in my way will feel my wrath, I guarantee it."
Tori smiled, a composed expression coming over her face. Danté peered down at her curiously, "baby, what is it?"
With lightening reflexes, Tori rolled the two over jubilantly, having been completed aroused all over again by Danté. She straddled him once again as he lay flat on his back on the wooden floor. As his mouth opened to speak, his eyes displaying a mixture of surprise, annoyance but a hint of feverish desire, Tori's index finger gently censored his speech.
"No talking sugar, now it's *my* turn to be naughty."
*******