Chapter 20
The ride to the safe house was accomplished in almost complete silence. Sonny and Jason were both preoccupied with thoughts of the meeting ahead of them. If Philippe Lafontaine had the right information, it could help them enormously.
Something else was on Sonny's mind. "Do you really understand about the time Elizabeth brought me brownies, Jason?" Knowing that he had betrayed his friend once before, Sonny didn't want him to misunderstand this situation. "It was all about how much she missed you. She told me she couldn't stop thinking about you."
Jason looked at his friend and assured him, "I know, Sonny. It's OK. I missed her, too, after I left. I'm glad she had you to talk to about it."
Sonny smiled and said, "Good. Now about Philippe - I've only met him once. Seeing as you know him fairly well, he might feel better opening up to you. I'll let you do a lot of the talking."
Jason nodded. "OK. Hopefully he'll have something we can use against Alexander Cranton. Michelle said that Philippe investigated him, so maybe there will be some information that could help us."
The car stopped in front of a small house and the two men got out. They walked to the door, knocked twice, and waited. After verifying their identities through the side window, Johnny unlocked the door and let them in.
"Any problems?" Sonny asked.
Johnny responded, "No. Everything went exactly as planned. I met him at the pre-arranged spot and brought him directly here. It's been quiet since then."
"Thanks, Johnny." They walked into the small sitting room and found their guest resting on the sofa.
Hearing their entrance, he opened his eyes, stretched, and stood. Philippe Lafontaine was a tall man, with light blond hair and dark brown eyes. Many women had been known to fall for his boyish good looks and devil-may-care personality. "Sorry. It has been a long week." Stepping forward, Philippe held out his hand and said, "It's good to see you, Jason, and you, Sonny."
Shaking his hand, Jason responded, "It's good to see you, too, Philippe. For a while, we were pretty worried about you." He paused, as the other two shook hands. "I'm really sorry about your father. I liked and respected him."
Sonny added, "Your father was an honorable man, Philippe, and I'll do whatever I can to help you - whatever you need."
"Thank you both," he answered gruffly. "It's still hard to believe he is gone." Turning to Jason, he asked, "How is Michy doing? She must have taken the news hard."
Jason nodded. "She did. And she wouldn't even consider that you could be dead. She said she would know in her heart, if you were gone. We haven't told her that we know you're alive, Philippe. We thought it might be safer for her."
"I agree, Jason. Michelle isn't exactly discreet with her emotions." He smiled fondly. "I'm glad she has had you to lean on."
Looking uncomfortable, Jason responded, "Things have changed. Michelle and I aren't together anymore." He waited for his friend's reaction.
Philippe frowned. "She was crazy about you. What happened?"
Jason sighed. "It's a long story, and we have some important things to discuss. Do you think we could come back to this later? We've been watching out for her all along, Philippe, and she's staying at Sonny's."
Accepting this, Philippe said, "All right. Where should we start?"
Jason suggested, "We know that your father was expecting the attack and planned for it. Can you give us any details?"
Turning to grab his jacket, Philippe took out a pocket knife and sliced open one of the seams. From inside he extracted a case containing a CD. He handed it to Sonny and explained, "Everything you need to know about my father's operation is on that disk. Guard it well because there are people who would do anything to get their hands on that. Some of my father's men gave up their lives to protect me and make sure that I escaped with it."
"I understand," Sonny responded. "Thank you for trusting me with it." He took the disk and slipped it into his coat pocket.
"My father had great respect for you, Sonny. He told me that I could count on you to help me get through this." He cleared his throat and continued, "I want out of this end of my father's business. He did a good job of separating his legitimate shipping business from the other, and I want to run it. That's what he wanted for me."
"I know, and I'm going to try to make sure that happens. It would help if we had as much information regarding the takeover as possible. Knowing who was behind it, will help us eliminate further threats," he explained.
"You have probably already heard that it was connected to the Russians, but I also know who headed up the manoeuvre. We had an informant inside our enemy's camp and he confirmed that a man named Alexander Cranton was the leader." There was a look of pure hatred on his face. "Our spy managed to get word to us before that S.O.B., Alex, killed him."
Sonny and Jason shared a concerned look at this confirmation of their theory. Seeing it, Philippe asked, "What's going on? You don't seem surprised to hear who was behind this."
Jason sighed. "We're not. I've already had a run-in with Cranton. He's here in Port Charles and he knows Michelle is here. We're fairly certain that he has been making some well-executed moves against us."
Philippe swore. "I thought Michy would be safe here. I'm going to kill him like the dog he is."
"No," Sonny stated firmly. "If you're going to get out of this business, then you need to let me handle Alexander Cranton. I need to go over this information and you need to stay put."
Looking at Jason, Philippe asked, "Do you know what he did to Michelle? He almost destroyed her, and when she finds out that he is responsible for our father's death, as well as her mother's, I don't know what she'll do."
Jason could sympathize with his pain. "I know that you're worried, but Sonny is right. What Michelle needs most is you alive and free to live your life the way you want. She's already faced Cranton here once, and stood up to him. Let us bring him down."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time Jason got home, it was well past midnight. He closed the door behind him and shrugged off his coat. Rubbing his neck to ease some of the tension, he recalled the unpleasant nature of his personal conversation with Philippe. He had known that his friend's concern would be for Michelle's feelings, and he hoped one day Philippe would understand that he hadn't meant to hurt her.
Jason was walking toward the window, when he noticed Elizabeth sleeping on the sofa. Moonlight lit her face, illuminating the features he loved. He sat in the chair and drank in the sight of her. Resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands, he watched her sleep peacefully. His chest tightened when he thought of how much danger she could be in because of him. He would give everything he had to keep her safe.
Grabbing the blanket from the back of the sofa, Jason leaned over and covered her. While he was tucking it in, Elizabeth's arms came up around his neck and she said sleepily, "Hey, you. When did you get back?"
Jason smiled and brushed the hair back from her face. "I just got here. I didn't mean to wake you. You should go upstairs and get some sleep." Even as he said the words, he could feel his body responding to her nearness.
Reaching up and brushing a kiss across his jaw, she said, "Going upstairs sounds like a good idea, but I don't really feel like sleeping right now. Maybe you could think of something else we could do." She continued kissing his jawline, working her way up to his mouth, where she used her tongue to trace its outline.
Jason's body tightened and he captured her lips with his to kiss her deeply. He put one arm under her knees, the other behind her back, and lifted her as he stood. Carrying her upstairs to his room, he continued kissing her. He set her on the bed gently and moved to join her. Elizabeth slipped her hands underneath his shirt, stroking his muscular torso, and then used them to pull the shirt off over his head. When she began kissing his chest, Jason breathed in sharply.
"Do you know what you mean to me, Elizabeth?" he asked hoarsely. "You're the other half of my soul. I want you to stay with me forever. Does that scare you?"
Her heart full to overflowing, she responded, "No. It doesn't. I love you, Jason, and I want to be with you always." Her eyes shone with tears as she pulled his head down and kissed him hungrily.
He quickly divested them of their clothing and feasted his eyes on her. Running his hands over her body, he caressed her lovingly and built the fire between them until it was all-consuming. And, when they came together, the heat of their passion sealed their promise of forever.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sonny crawled into bed with his sleeping wife, snuggled up to her back and put his arms around her thickening waist. Holding her close reassured him when he was afraid, and right now he needed that reassurance. He was scared of feeling this happy. He had everything he'd ever wanted and whenever he got this close to his dream, fate always seemed to step in and snatch it away.
The woman he held in his arms, her son, and the child she was carrying - his child - were his whole world, and yet, because of him, they were in constant danger. Sometimes the guilt almost overwhelmed him. He had been too selfish to really push her away and now, it was too late. Their lives were so intricately connected that at times, he didn't know where he ended and she began.
Feeling his arms tighten slightly, Carly stirred and asked, "Sonny? Is everything OK?" She turned to look at him and caught the haunted look in his eyes.
He reached out and ran his fingers through her blond tresses. "You need your rest, Carly. Go back to sleep."
Worried, she replied, "Not until you tell me what's wrong, Sonny. You're scaring me."
"Shhh. Don't worry. It's just that sometimes I'm afraid that something will happen to ruin the life we've built. You - our family - mean everything to me," he said thickly.
Pulling his head down so she could rest her forehead against his, she responded, "Oh, baby. We're going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything rob us of what we've worked so hard for and neither will you."
"Just keep reminding me, OK?" He leaned in and kissed her softly, tenderly, and then with increasing intensity. Soon they were lost in the maelstrom of desire that always flared between them and the only sounds were of two people loving each other into the night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jason caressed the soft skin of Elizabeth's back as she lay with her head on his chest. Their passion spent, they lay entwined, enjoying the feeling of closeness - oneness.
Elizabeth could hear the regular beat of his heart beneath her ear and felt that somehow hers beat in tandem with it, as though they were linked. She struggled to find the words to tell him how deeply he was imbedded in her heart - how much she needed him in her life, but fatigue was overwhelming her. "Jason," she said sleepily. "I love you."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too, Elizabeth," he responded quietly. "More than my life." He continued to stroke her skin softly and before long, her deepened breathing told him she was asleep. Jason lay awake savoring the moment, glad that his Elizabeth was here with him - in his bed, in his life, but mostly in his heart.
Thinking of the danger they could be facing, made him wonder if he should have allowed her to be part of his life. If he were less selfish, he would have stopped seeing her a long time ago. Now he could no more send her away than he could cut out his heart. She was so much a part of him, that without her, he would be a lost, empty shell. Holding on to the thought that he would fight with everything he had to keep her in his life, Jason followed her into sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The ride to the safe house was accomplished in almost complete silence. Sonny and Jason were both preoccupied with thoughts of the meeting ahead of them. If Philippe Lafontaine had the right information, it could help them enormously.
Something else was on Sonny's mind. "Do you really understand about the time Elizabeth brought me brownies, Jason?" Knowing that he had betrayed his friend once before, Sonny didn't want him to misunderstand this situation. "It was all about how much she missed you. She told me she couldn't stop thinking about you."
Jason looked at his friend and assured him, "I know, Sonny. It's OK. I missed her, too, after I left. I'm glad she had you to talk to about it."
Sonny smiled and said, "Good. Now about Philippe - I've only met him once. Seeing as you know him fairly well, he might feel better opening up to you. I'll let you do a lot of the talking."
Jason nodded. "OK. Hopefully he'll have something we can use against Alexander Cranton. Michelle said that Philippe investigated him, so maybe there will be some information that could help us."
The car stopped in front of a small house and the two men got out. They walked to the door, knocked twice, and waited. After verifying their identities through the side window, Johnny unlocked the door and let them in.
"Any problems?" Sonny asked.
Johnny responded, "No. Everything went exactly as planned. I met him at the pre-arranged spot and brought him directly here. It's been quiet since then."
"Thanks, Johnny." They walked into the small sitting room and found their guest resting on the sofa.
Hearing their entrance, he opened his eyes, stretched, and stood. Philippe Lafontaine was a tall man, with light blond hair and dark brown eyes. Many women had been known to fall for his boyish good looks and devil-may-care personality. "Sorry. It has been a long week." Stepping forward, Philippe held out his hand and said, "It's good to see you, Jason, and you, Sonny."
Shaking his hand, Jason responded, "It's good to see you, too, Philippe. For a while, we were pretty worried about you." He paused, as the other two shook hands. "I'm really sorry about your father. I liked and respected him."
Sonny added, "Your father was an honorable man, Philippe, and I'll do whatever I can to help you - whatever you need."
"Thank you both," he answered gruffly. "It's still hard to believe he is gone." Turning to Jason, he asked, "How is Michy doing? She must have taken the news hard."
Jason nodded. "She did. And she wouldn't even consider that you could be dead. She said she would know in her heart, if you were gone. We haven't told her that we know you're alive, Philippe. We thought it might be safer for her."
"I agree, Jason. Michelle isn't exactly discreet with her emotions." He smiled fondly. "I'm glad she has had you to lean on."
Looking uncomfortable, Jason responded, "Things have changed. Michelle and I aren't together anymore." He waited for his friend's reaction.
Philippe frowned. "She was crazy about you. What happened?"
Jason sighed. "It's a long story, and we have some important things to discuss. Do you think we could come back to this later? We've been watching out for her all along, Philippe, and she's staying at Sonny's."
Accepting this, Philippe said, "All right. Where should we start?"
Jason suggested, "We know that your father was expecting the attack and planned for it. Can you give us any details?"
Turning to grab his jacket, Philippe took out a pocket knife and sliced open one of the seams. From inside he extracted a case containing a CD. He handed it to Sonny and explained, "Everything you need to know about my father's operation is on that disk. Guard it well because there are people who would do anything to get their hands on that. Some of my father's men gave up their lives to protect me and make sure that I escaped with it."
"I understand," Sonny responded. "Thank you for trusting me with it." He took the disk and slipped it into his coat pocket.
"My father had great respect for you, Sonny. He told me that I could count on you to help me get through this." He cleared his throat and continued, "I want out of this end of my father's business. He did a good job of separating his legitimate shipping business from the other, and I want to run it. That's what he wanted for me."
"I know, and I'm going to try to make sure that happens. It would help if we had as much information regarding the takeover as possible. Knowing who was behind it, will help us eliminate further threats," he explained.
"You have probably already heard that it was connected to the Russians, but I also know who headed up the manoeuvre. We had an informant inside our enemy's camp and he confirmed that a man named Alexander Cranton was the leader." There was a look of pure hatred on his face. "Our spy managed to get word to us before that S.O.B., Alex, killed him."
Sonny and Jason shared a concerned look at this confirmation of their theory. Seeing it, Philippe asked, "What's going on? You don't seem surprised to hear who was behind this."
Jason sighed. "We're not. I've already had a run-in with Cranton. He's here in Port Charles and he knows Michelle is here. We're fairly certain that he has been making some well-executed moves against us."
Philippe swore. "I thought Michy would be safe here. I'm going to kill him like the dog he is."
"No," Sonny stated firmly. "If you're going to get out of this business, then you need to let me handle Alexander Cranton. I need to go over this information and you need to stay put."
Looking at Jason, Philippe asked, "Do you know what he did to Michelle? He almost destroyed her, and when she finds out that he is responsible for our father's death, as well as her mother's, I don't know what she'll do."
Jason could sympathize with his pain. "I know that you're worried, but Sonny is right. What Michelle needs most is you alive and free to live your life the way you want. She's already faced Cranton here once, and stood up to him. Let us bring him down."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By the time Jason got home, it was well past midnight. He closed the door behind him and shrugged off his coat. Rubbing his neck to ease some of the tension, he recalled the unpleasant nature of his personal conversation with Philippe. He had known that his friend's concern would be for Michelle's feelings, and he hoped one day Philippe would understand that he hadn't meant to hurt her.
Jason was walking toward the window, when he noticed Elizabeth sleeping on the sofa. Moonlight lit her face, illuminating the features he loved. He sat in the chair and drank in the sight of her. Resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands, he watched her sleep peacefully. His chest tightened when he thought of how much danger she could be in because of him. He would give everything he had to keep her safe.
Grabbing the blanket from the back of the sofa, Jason leaned over and covered her. While he was tucking it in, Elizabeth's arms came up around his neck and she said sleepily, "Hey, you. When did you get back?"
Jason smiled and brushed the hair back from her face. "I just got here. I didn't mean to wake you. You should go upstairs and get some sleep." Even as he said the words, he could feel his body responding to her nearness.
Reaching up and brushing a kiss across his jaw, she said, "Going upstairs sounds like a good idea, but I don't really feel like sleeping right now. Maybe you could think of something else we could do." She continued kissing his jawline, working her way up to his mouth, where she used her tongue to trace its outline.
Jason's body tightened and he captured her lips with his to kiss her deeply. He put one arm under her knees, the other behind her back, and lifted her as he stood. Carrying her upstairs to his room, he continued kissing her. He set her on the bed gently and moved to join her. Elizabeth slipped her hands underneath his shirt, stroking his muscular torso, and then used them to pull the shirt off over his head. When she began kissing his chest, Jason breathed in sharply.
"Do you know what you mean to me, Elizabeth?" he asked hoarsely. "You're the other half of my soul. I want you to stay with me forever. Does that scare you?"
Her heart full to overflowing, she responded, "No. It doesn't. I love you, Jason, and I want to be with you always." Her eyes shone with tears as she pulled his head down and kissed him hungrily.
He quickly divested them of their clothing and feasted his eyes on her. Running his hands over her body, he caressed her lovingly and built the fire between them until it was all-consuming. And, when they came together, the heat of their passion sealed their promise of forever.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sonny crawled into bed with his sleeping wife, snuggled up to her back and put his arms around her thickening waist. Holding her close reassured him when he was afraid, and right now he needed that reassurance. He was scared of feeling this happy. He had everything he'd ever wanted and whenever he got this close to his dream, fate always seemed to step in and snatch it away.
The woman he held in his arms, her son, and the child she was carrying - his child - were his whole world, and yet, because of him, they were in constant danger. Sometimes the guilt almost overwhelmed him. He had been too selfish to really push her away and now, it was too late. Their lives were so intricately connected that at times, he didn't know where he ended and she began.
Feeling his arms tighten slightly, Carly stirred and asked, "Sonny? Is everything OK?" She turned to look at him and caught the haunted look in his eyes.
He reached out and ran his fingers through her blond tresses. "You need your rest, Carly. Go back to sleep."
Worried, she replied, "Not until you tell me what's wrong, Sonny. You're scaring me."
"Shhh. Don't worry. It's just that sometimes I'm afraid that something will happen to ruin the life we've built. You - our family - mean everything to me," he said thickly.
Pulling his head down so she could rest her forehead against his, she responded, "Oh, baby. We're going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything rob us of what we've worked so hard for and neither will you."
"Just keep reminding me, OK?" He leaned in and kissed her softly, tenderly, and then with increasing intensity. Soon they were lost in the maelstrom of desire that always flared between them and the only sounds were of two people loving each other into the night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jason caressed the soft skin of Elizabeth's back as she lay with her head on his chest. Their passion spent, they lay entwined, enjoying the feeling of closeness - oneness.
Elizabeth could hear the regular beat of his heart beneath her ear and felt that somehow hers beat in tandem with it, as though they were linked. She struggled to find the words to tell him how deeply he was imbedded in her heart - how much she needed him in her life, but fatigue was overwhelming her. "Jason," she said sleepily. "I love you."
He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too, Elizabeth," he responded quietly. "More than my life." He continued to stroke her skin softly and before long, her deepened breathing told him she was asleep. Jason lay awake savoring the moment, glad that his Elizabeth was here with him - in his bed, in his life, but mostly in his heart.
Thinking of the danger they could be facing, made him wonder if he should have allowed her to be part of his life. If he were less selfish, he would have stopped seeing her a long time ago. Now he could no more send her away than he could cut out his heart. She was so much a part of him, that without her, he would be a lost, empty shell. Holding on to the thought that he would fight with everything he had to keep her in his life, Jason followed her into sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*