"Drink this," Sonny placed a paper cup of coffee on the edge of his desk. The woman sitting in the chair next to the desk looked at it.
"No," she said, pushing the cup away with two fingers. "Thanks." Her throat was dry, her voice coming out in a wry rasp.
Sonny rolled his eyes, "You look like you need it."
"I don't," she said shortly, crossing her skinny arms and folding in on herself. She hunched over protectively and Sonny's sympathy mode kicked into high gear. Her shoulders were thin and Sonny could see the protrusion of her collarbones.
"You do," he insisted. "It's nearly 3 in the morning and you look like you're going to pass out." He nudged the cup forward with two fingers, the same gesture she had just used.
She looked up at him, eyes flashing dangerously in the unforgiving fluorescent lighting of the precinct. "I'm fine."
Something in her tone brokered no argument, so Sonny dropped it. For now. Instead, he asked her name.
She lifted her chin slightly and set her jaw. "Lorelei."
"Lorelei," Sonny tried it out. "Pretty name. Lorelei what?"
Lorelei sighed tiredly; looking much older than, well Sonny wasn't entirely sure how old she was. She could have been anywhere from 20 to 35. But something told him that she was younger than his 36 years.
"Lee. Look, I'd like to get home. I don't have time for this," she waved one hand in the air, gesturing around to the precinct, before immediately wedging it back against her side.
"Unfortunately, this," Sonny mimicked her gesture again, "isn't going anywhere. Prostitution is a serious offense."
Lorelei chewed at her lower lip, finally showing some uncertainty under her previous bravado. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone again. "I wasn't actually doing anything," she said, more confidently than she felt. "So I happened to be hanging around outside. Big deal."
Just as Sonny was about to respond, Rollins appeared out of Benson's office. She pointed at Lorelei, "You can go."
Lorelei grinned wildly, a harsh look on her face. "Told ya," she shot the words like bullets at Carisi.
He frowned as she shouldered her ratty purse and snagged the coffee off of his desk, knocking it back as she walked out of the precinct.
"What the hell was that, Carisi?" Rollins said, sitting down at her desk and pulling up a file on her computer.
"Nothing," he shrugged. "Why'd you let her go?"
"Technicality," Amanda replied. "We couldn't hold her."
"Oh," Sonny said, frowning to himself. Lorelei Lee, a fake name for sure, was stuck in his mind.
"We've got to stop meeting like this, Detective," Lorelei smirked, the expression falling off her face as Carisi tightened the handcuffs behind her back.
He sighed before reading Lorelei her Miranda rights. There was something about the woman that intrigued him? He wasn't really sure what he felt for the woman, other than disappointment that he had to arrest her again.
"Stop getting yourself into trouble then," he replied, guarding her head as he guided her into the backseat of his car. Not that she really needed it; she was so tiny her head wasn't really in danger of hitting it on the doorframe.
She frowned, wrinkled her nose, "Not that easy. Not everyone's a wannabe White Knight like you, Detective."
"I'm not a wannabe White Knight," Sonny locked eyes with Lorelei in the rearview mirror and she looked away immediately.
"Oh, even worse," she said, not looking at him. "A White Knight who genuinely thinks he's a good guy."
Sonny opened his mouth to argue, but shut it when he saw the wry, expectant smirk on Lorelei's face. She was waiting for him to defend himself, to try and give her examples of how he really was a good guy. He didn't owe her an explanation and he wasn't going to play her games.
Fin and Amanda had Lorelei's john in the car ahead of him. Sonny tapped absently on the steering wheel as he followed behind. Lorelei kept sighing in the back seat, as if she was expecting him to talk to her. He watched her pick at her nails, little flakes of polish scattering in the air.
"Ya gonna clean that up?"
"Huh?" Lorelei looked up, finally meeting his gaze in the rear view mirror.
"The polish," Sonny clarified. "I like keepin' the car clean."
"I'm not cleaning your car," she said, deadpan, resuming picking at her polish. Sonny shook his head and pulled the car to a stop in front of the precinct. He unfolded himself from the front seat and pulled Lorelei out of the backseat. She gave him a cat-like smile as he gently nudged her forward.
"I think this one might be another technicality," she said, almost teasing. "Then we won't have to see each other again."
Sonny remained quiet as he led Lorelei into one of the interrogation rooms. The thought of never seeing her again sent a spike of annoyance down his spine. He liked how she talked back to him.
"Want anything?" he asked, removing the handcuffs from her wrists and tucking them back in his pocket.
Lorelei shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing." She let a sultry smile unfold across her lips.
"Nothing's gettin' you out of this, this time," Sonny narrowed his eyes and left the room. He could hear a sarcastic burst of laughter before he shut the door.
He leaned against the wall in Olivia's office, watching Rollins and Fin talk to the john, letting Lorelei sit alone for a while. Olivia had hoped that she might be able to tell them about a prostitution ring that had been particularly nasty in their treatment of women. The john knew nothing; he'd get an arraignment date and probably some community service, maybe even nothing if his lawyer was expensive enough. But Lorelei, Lorelei might be helpful.
He rubbed at the side of his nose while watching the john fall to pieces, begging Fin and Amanda not to tell his wife.
"Carisi," Olivia stuck her head into her office, startling the younger detective.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Lieu. What's up?" he asked, turning the microphone off and silencing the interrogation on the other side of the wall.
"I'm going to talk to Lorelei now, join me?" she gestured and took off quickly down the hall, Carisi following close behind, a growing feeling of excitement in the pit of his stomach. He was looking forward to bantering with Lorelei.
"So, Lorelei," Olivia said, sliding into the chair across the table from the prostitute. "I'm hoping we can work something out."
Lorelei raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."
Sonny crossed his arms and leaned against the opposite wall, watching his boss in action.
"You're looking at 3 months for prostitution," Olivia said simply. "If you can help us, I'll talk to the DA."
"Why bother? You've seen my rap sheet, this isn't the first time I've been to jail and it won't be the last," Lorelei shrugged.
"Mm," Olivia hummed, flipping open the thin file she had brought into the interrogation room. "Beatrice Tannetti, twenty seven years old" Carisi blinked owlishly at Lorelei's real name and he caught her flinch when Olivia said it, "two collars for prostitution. One for possession. Two DWIs. You don't have to go down this path."
Lorelei - Beatrice - Carisi wasn't sure what to call her now, glared at Olivia. "You don't know anything about me. So don't pretend that you're trying to help me. White Knight over there already tried." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Just arraign me and let's get this over with. I'm not helping you with shit."
Olivia sighed and gathered the folder. She stood and headed for the door, stopping just inside the doorframe. "You're smart, Beatrice. It's a shame to let that go to waste."
Lorelei smirked and flipped Olivia off.
Carisi frowned as he watched his lieutenant shake her head and walk out of the interrogation room, leaving him behind.
"So, Beatrice," he said after a beat. "Pretty name."
She glared up at him and sighed. "Figures. She leaves you here thinking I'll just magically agree to help because you're cute."
Sonny raised an eyebrow at her statement, but didn't comment on it. "Don't worry about it. You're not my type."
He wasn't entirely sure why he had said it; in fact, Lorelei - Beatrice - whatever the hell her name was - she was exactly his type. Smart, witty, challenging. Apparently Italian if her name was anything to go by.
"Oh of course," she said, voice dripping in sarcasm. "Mr. White Knight Detective would never deign to lower himself to a woman who sells her body."
"Hey," Sonny snapped, pointing his finger at her, "I didn't say that."
Before they could continue the argument, Fin poked his head into the room.
"Carisi, let's go. We got a vic out in Bryant Park."
With one last look back at Lorelei, Sonny nodded and followed Fin out the door. Once it was securely shut, Beatrice sighed and dropped her head into her hands. She was so tired, so wrung out. Everything just seemed to take so much more effort nowadays. She ran her fingers through her tangled black hair, catching them against countless knots. God, hearing her arrest record read back was kind of like a gut punch. Where had it all gone wrong?
She used her crossed arms like a pillow and rested against the table until a completely different detective came in and brought her to a holding cell. As she sat there overnight and through her arraignment the next day, she couldn't help but miss Detective Carisi's sympathetic blue eyes.
"Fin is going to be in there with you," Olivia said, handing Carisi the glasses with a small camera in the frame. He nodded and adjusted them on his face.
"Lieu, no offense, but I know what I'm doing," he grinned. "At least we know this time Declan Murphy won't be around to pistol whip me."
"He apologized for that," Rollins said testily.
"No, he didn't," Sonny shot back.
Olivia stepped in before the two detectives could go into sibling bickering mode. She held up her hand, "I know you know what you're doing, Carisi, but I like to be prepared. There's a very good chance Tom Gordon will be there, selling his girls. We need a solid arrest, I don't want him wiggling free on a technicality."
Olivia went over a few more of the technical aspects of Fin and Sonny's undercover assignment before sending them into the house that doubled as the hub of the prostitution ring they were trying to dismantle. Sonny adjusted his glasses and the sleeves of the button down he was wearing and tried not to look like he was watching what Fin was doing.
It was easier than he thought.
The house was packed full of people - men that looked like they had just walked off of Wall Street with their expensive suits and watches, which made sense since the prices for time with these women was absurdly high, and the women themselves wearing nearly nothing on their bodies and inches of makeup on their faces. It all struck Sonny as depressing. He sucked in a breath and schooled his features into the bored, aloof expression many of the other men had on before one of the women approached them.
He dropped casually to one of the couches that were available and also slightly hidden. It provided him a good vantage point to watch the room. He was only alone for a few minutes before a thin woman sauntered over and began grinding on him, her back to his face. Sonny let his hands wander up her body, feeling soft skin and lean muscle. She pressed her ass harder into his groin and Sonny groaned, playing along.
He watched the other men in the room, looking to see if any of them could be their guy. Without any help on the inside - Sonny thought about Lorelei again - they'd had to put together the operation and a case slowly. It had taken months, but finally a reliable tip had come in, leading to Fin and Sonny going undercover. Gordon was unassuming; no one would peg him as the head of a prostitution ring that fed into a human trafficking ring. Sonny wondered if he'd actually be sitting around with one of the women on his lap or if he would show up later.
The woman on his lap turned around to face him and recognition sparked in her deadened eyes.
"Hey, you're that det-" she mumbled before Sonny slapped his hand over her mouth. Fuck, of all the places.
"You only open your mouth to put my dick in it," Sonny growled, playing his part. He widened his eyes slightly, hoping Lorelei would get the damn hint.
She did.
Her expression went passive again, with only the slightest hint of life behind her green eyes. She resumed her motion, rotating her hips against his groin and Sonny felt his slacks get tight. He grunted and gripped Lorelei's hips, digging his fingers into flesh harder than he needed to. She frowned down at him, wiggling in his grip.
Sonny looked around Lorelei's body and caught sight of Fin. The other detective was leaning against a wall, one of the women in front of him with her back against the wall.
He needed Tom Gordon to make his appearance so he could get the hell out of here. He needed Lorelei to show up like a fucking hole in the head. Speaking of, she leaned down and bit at his earlobe, running her hands up and down his chest, dangerously close to his belt buckle. She was clearly enjoying herself.
"Stop," he ground out, grabbing her wrists and holding them above her head. She smirked and pressed her full body weight down on his dick, enjoying the hardness of him as it pressed into her. He glared at her and she ducked forward, capturing his bottom lip in between her teeth.
If Gordon showed up now, Sonny would have to let Fin handle the takedown. There was no way he'd be able to get up any time soon.
"Go," he commanded. "I'm done with you."
Lorelei looked at him, opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but closed it and used his shoulders for leverage to climb off his lap before sauntering away. He watched her go, hips swaying, and it did nothing to help the throbbing erection that was straining painfully against his slacks. Sonny grumbled to himself and repeated a few Hail, Mary's, willing himself to think of anything but Lorelei's body. It worked after a few minutes and Sonny was grateful for it because not twenty minutes after he shooed Lorelei away, Gordon appeared.
He and Fin called in their back up and rounded Gordon and the johns and the women up, taking them to the precinct where they met up with Barba.
Sonny scrubbed a hand over his face and fell into his desk chair. God, he was tired. But their sting had been successful. Gordon was locked up and Barba would arraign him in the morning. Sonny's thoughts drifted to Lorelei. He knew she was being held in the conference room with a couple of the other women. Before he could second guess himself, he dropped the fake glasses to his desk and headed for the conference room.
He stuck his head in quietly and Lorelei saw him immediately. The blank expression in her eyes didn't change, but she raised an eyebrow and stood up.
"Hello there, White Knight," she spoke slowly, a little bit dazed. Sonny'd seen that expression before. Drugs.
"Lorelei," he replied, not unkindly, but already regretting his decision to come up. Against all of his better judgment, he was attracted to the woman in front of him.
"Bee," she said and Sonny frowned, looking around his head for an insect.
Lorelei smirked a laugh. "My name's Bee. Or that's what it was before..." her sentence trailed off.
"Bee's nice," Sonny said. "Beatrice is nice."
She snorted. "It's stupid. My mom was stupid."
"I like it," Sonny retorted. "You want a coffee?"
Bee's hands shook and she wrapped her arms around her midsection. "Nah, I've had the coffee from here. It sucks. Not as good as the coffee in the 12th precinct."
Despite himself, Sonny laughed. Bee looked pleased.
"I think I can make a Starbucks coffee appear," he offered, softening at the sight of her small smile. It brightened her face, making her look less tired, less wrung out. The smile made her look younger.
"Iced black, please," she replied, shivering a little and rubbing at her nose. Sonny nodded and left for Starbucks, returning twenty minutes later with two coffees and a sweatshirt from his locker.
"Here," he offered her the coffee and the sweatshirt. Bee took both, slipping her arms into the sweatshirt's long sleeves before taking a long sip of the cold brew. Her hands disappeared into the long sleeves, making her look like a child.
"Thanks," she mumbled around the straw. "Very White Knight of you."
Sonny opened his mouth to shoot back a sarcastic comment, but thought better of it when he saw the genuine look of appreciation shine through the hazy look in Bee's eyes. Instead he simply nodded and said, "you're welcome."
He gave her a small smile and turned around to go back to his desk, there was a lot of paperwork to do.
"Hey," Bee called after him and Sonny turned. "You know my real name now, but I only know your last name."
"It's Dominick, but my friends call me Sonny," he replied easily.
"Dominick," she tried out his name. "It's nice."
She smiled at him and Sonny knew he was done for.
"I don't get it, Ma!" Sonny complained, leaning against the counter. "She's around all the time!"
"Sonny," Angela Carisi bustled around the kitchen, adding oregano to her tomato sauce and stirring, "Are you sure there's nothing with this girl? Because - "
He cut her off, "Nothin', Ma. I swear. She's just - ," he paused, there really wasn't a way to explain Bee to his mother. "She just annoys me."
Angela raised an eyebrow at her son. Pointing the wooden spoon at him, she said, "Don't you disparage a woman like that, Dominick. You're no picnic yourself."
Sonny held up his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright. I won't say another word."
"Now, you know that's not what I meant," she chastised her son, a broad grin on her tan face. "Tell me all about this girl."
"Nothin' to tell," Sonny shrugged, swiping a carrot stick off the chopping board. "She's just in the precinct every once in a while."
He left out the fact that she was only there because she'd been cited half a dozen more times for prostitution since the bust on Tom Gordon.
"Oh? Is she one of the officer's sisters?" Angela asked, tasting the sauce. Pleased, she poured it over the warm pasta and started grating the Parmesan cheese.
Sonny shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to lie to his mother. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Sonny absently hoped that it was Olivia so he could have an excuse to escape his mother's questioning.
"Is that your girl?" Angela sing-songed, scooping generous portions of pasta into bowls.
"Actually, yeah," Sonny frowned. He had given Bee his number after the fourth or fifth citation; worried about the bruises he had seen on her wrists, in the hope that she would let him know before she could be taken in. It was a gross violation of his authority and position, but hell, everyone else in the unit had bent rules.
The text in question was indecipherable, a jumbled mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. His stomach sank.
"I gotta go, Ma," he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Sonny! What's the matter?" she called after him. His only answer was the door slamming shut behind him.
Sonny put in a request to track Bee's cell phone and found that she was en route to Lenox Hill hospital. He flipped on the lights to speed through traffic.
Still, with traffic from Staten Island it took him an hour and a half to get to the hospital. By the time he arrived, he was worked up into a state of fear and panic.
"Detective Carisi," he snapped at the nurse sitting at the main desk, "Beatrice Tannetti. Where is she? Skinny, black hair." Sonny's hands gestured wildly as he spoke, his badge cutting through the air.
The nurse frowned. "I'm sorry, Detective, I can't give you that information."
"The hell you can't," Sonny grumbled. Before he could think, he said, "She's my girlfriend. Where is she?"
"Well," the nurse said slowly, clearly not believing him, "she's probably in a recovery room right now. Um," she checked the computer, "room 1901."
"Thank you," he said sincerely and ran off.
He tapped his foot impatiently in the elevator and practically burst out of it when the doors opened. He slowed to a speed walk, while looking for her room.
"Bee?" Sonny stuck his head into room 1901 and found her in the first bed. He stepped back in shock at the sight of her.
"Oh, Bee," he whispered. She looked sunken. She was even thinner than the last time he'd seen her, purple bruises covered her arms and there were deep hollows under her eyes and cheeks. Bee's lips were chapped and her hair was tangled in knots.
She was sleeping, he knew, based on the rise and fall of her chest, but if you had told Sonny that she were dead he would've believed it.
His presence seemed to rouse her a little. Bee moaned softly and moved sluggishly to rub at her eyes. They blinked open and she focused on his face.
"Sonny," she mumbled, blinking stupidly at him. Her voice was even raspier than usual and quiet, so quiet Sonny had to bend down to hear her.
"Hey," he said softly, his heart pounding in his chest. "What happened to ya?"
She closed her eyes and winced painfully. "Nothing," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Bee," he said, firm but sympathetic. "You look like a fuckin' corpse. What the hell happened?"
"I OD'd," she murmured, even quieter than before. God, was she embarrassed. Here was this gorgeous detective who, for whatever reason, seemed to be concerned about her and she was just a stupid junkie prostitute.
Sonny scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Okay, okay," he said, more to himself than anyone. "This is what's going to happen. You're coming home with me, we're going to get you clean, get you a job. I'm not taking no for an answer, Bee."
"Okay," Bee was too tired to fight him.
"Okay," Sonny repeated to himself with a smile. He sat down in the visitor's chair and crossed his legs. "Do you want to talk or sleep?"
"Can you just talk to me?" she asked, eyes already halfway shut.
"Yeah," Sonny agreed, "I can do that." He talked about the funny things his nieces did until long after she was passed out.
Both Bee and Sonny were surprised at how easily she fit into his life. Months had gone by since her hospital stay and Sonny felt as if Bee had always been with him.
The detox process hadn't been easy, not by a long shot. Sonny'd taken a few days off that first week, just to make sure she wouldn't backslide. Olivia hadn't asked why, and he hadn't offered up any reason. They all had their secrets, Bee was his.
"D'you want lasagna for dinner?" Bee asked now, sitting at the counter in Sonny's kitchen with her hands wrapped around a large mug of coffee. That was another thing that Sonny liked about having Bee around his place. She could cook.
"My mom was off the boat Italian," she had explained one day when he came home to both a messy kitchen and a messy Bee. She'd been making pasta from scratch.
"Sure," Sonny agreed easily. "Make whatever you want."
Bee grinned happily, "Okay! I'm going to try out my Nonna's recipe. I don't remember exactly what she put in it, but I've got time to experiment."
That was another thing that Sonny learned about Bee. She could talk. Left to her own devices, she would chatter for hours.
"Have fun, Bee," he laughed, grabbing his suit jacket and kissing her on the side of her head as he left for work.
Sonny still hadn't mentioned Bee to the squad. It was easy, really. Amanda and Olivia had Noah and Jesse to take care of. Fin had his son and Sonny never really hung out with Barba. They went out for the occasional drink after a tough case, but Sonny usually just stayed for one and then went home. Bee was clean now, but he knew Olivia and Amanda would latch onto her past and judge him for it. Besides, it's not like they were dating. He was just helping a friend.
"So," Bee said, fidgeting with the hem of her sweatshirt (Sonny's sweatshirt, but appropriated weeks ago and was now Bee's), "I, uh, I'm thinking about getting my degree."
Sonny looked up from the Chinese takeout he was dumping onto plates. "Seriously?" he grinned. "That's a fantastic idea."
"Thanks," Bee said softly, watching as Sonny moved around the kitchen with ease. He was in old jeans and a St. John's t-shirt that was so faded the red was nearly pink. The gel in his hair had loosened its hold and his hair was flopping over his forehead now. He looked so domestic it sent a pang through Bee's heart.
"I'll be out of your hair soon enough," she said. "There's a whole bunch of work study programs and dorms and everything. I don't want to inconvenience you for any longer than I already have."
She hated to say it, but it was time for her to leave. Sonny was a wonderful friend, but the longer she stayed, the more in love she fell.
"What?" Sonny dropped the carton of lo mein. "You're not in my hair. I like havin' you here."
Bee quashed the small thrill that rose in her when he said that. She shook her head. "I am though. I'm very grateful to you and I'll always be your friend, but I think... it might be best if I left soon."
The thought of her leaving was the worst thing Sonny could think of. He needed her to stay.
"No, no," Sonny shook his head and moved around the counter to stand in from of Bee. "It... I'm bad at this. I wanted you to get clean, to...to find yourself. I didn't want to push anything on you. But, god, I don't want you to leave."
Bee was silent, his words ringing in her ears. He hadn't confessed any feelings for her, not really, but his earnest and desperate tone might as well have.
Sonny took her silence the wrong way. "I mean, if you, maybe, if you think you need to leave, I won't stop you, but don't think I want you to leave because you're annoying me. It's the opposite."
"Oh," Bee whispered, standing up from the couch. Sonny's sweatshirt fell to the middle of her thighs, drowning her. She blinked a little at him, taking in his comfortable clothes, the panicked look on his face, and then she launched herself at him. Sonny caught her in his arms easily and Bee wrapped her legs around his neck, pressing her lips to his in a wild kiss.
Sonny responded in kind, tightening his grip on her and sliding his tongue into her mouth. He grew hard and Bee could feel him under her, hot and throbbing. She moaned into his mouth, threading her fingers through his hair. They broke apart after a minute, both gasping for air. Sonny rested his forehead against Bee's.
"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," he said, voice hoarse with desire.
Bee laughed, "You didn't do anything! I jumped into your arms!"
"If I jumped into yours, I woulda crushed you," Sonny retorted, poking fun at Bee's height. She was 6 inches shorter than he was and he loved it.
Bee responded by kissing him again. "I'm not moving out," she said and Sonny knew it wasn't a suggestion, that she had decided their next moves for them.
"Like I said, I don't want ya to," he adjusted his grip on her ass. "But maybe we could have this conversation while we're both sitting?"
She nodded, laughing when she realized that she was slowly slipping out of Sonny's arms.
"Can't believe I fell for the White Knight act after all," she teased.
A/N: I've been working on this one for *weeks* - life is busy lol. Anyway, this was based on a prompt from Tumblr and I had a blast writing it. Let me know what you think - I'd appreciate your comments :)