A/N – Thank you to all of my reviewers… your responses make me write quicker. Thanks also to Jerilee for having the confidence in my story to put it on her site. And remember, tell me what you like, tell me what you don't like, tell me what you want to see… I'll adjust and possibly try to fit some of your "wants" in if it goes along with my projected plot…
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Sonny Corinthos was outside his door. His guard had informed him of that five minutes ago. And Lorenzo had made him wait. Not for a particular purpose, just because he wanted to. With a sigh, he finally stood up from the couch, straightened his suit, and made his way to the door slowly. He was in no particular hurry to open said door, but the sooner the confrontation started, the sooner it would be over.
"Corinthos," he greeted as he opened the door and walked back into the penthouse. The mob boss stood there for a second, glaring, before entering.
"You hiding my wife again, Alcazar?" he asked as he walked calmly up to the significantly taller man. Lorenzo put his hands in his pockets and let a ghost of a smirk cross his face as Sonny nonchalantly looked around the room.
"At least this time, you had the graciousness to knock," he said. "And I don't remember 'hiding' anyone. It seemed to me that your wife was 'hiding' herself from you." Anger crossed over Sonny's face.
"My wife wouldn't hide from me," he growled.
"Oh?" Lorenzo asked, more amusement coming out in that one word than he anticipated. With a shrug he continued to look at the dark man. "If you say so. May I ask how you misplaced her this time?"
"Misplaced?" Sonny asked, squinting his eyes in question and putting his hands on his hips.
"Yes. Misplaced. As in 'lost'. I'm assuming you are here on your little rampage because you can't seem to find Carly. Oh, I'm sorry. I mean 'your wife'. It seems that when that happens, it's your natural inclination to come here first. It couldn't be possible that 'your wife' has a life outside of you," Lorenzo said, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm.
"My wife is not misplaced, she is with our son," Sonny corrected, looking around the penthouse again, just to make sure.
"Do you ever not think in terms of possessions? You throw around the words 'my' and 'our' a lot. It seems to me that you are insecure about something," Lorenzo prodded. He couldn't resist throwing the bait out there. Sonny was silent for a moment while Lorenzo went to pour himself a drink.
"I did not come here to talk about Carly. But since you brought it up – leave her alone. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that. She and I are married. We love each other and Michael. We are a family -" Sonny said, waving a hand to emphasize his point. Lorenzo smiled at the statement. Sonny was struggling to not use the word 'my' or 'mine' in his speech. It was a good feeling to have Sonny Corinthos rattled.
"Bully for you," Lorenzo toasted good-naturedly, hiding a grin by taking a drink from his scotch. Sonny frowned.
"Alcazar, you are a problem. I don't like you … personally or professionally. I strongly suggest that you find somewhere other than Port Charles to conduct your 'business', and soon. If you don't, then I will find somewhere for you. And I guarantee it won't be pleasant."
"Port Charles suits my needs just fine for now, Corinthos. I may be here for a while yet. Unfinished business, and all that," Lorenzo said, sitting down. Sonny looked warily at him.
"Revenge? To bring me down? It is worth all of the trouble you'll get yourself in?" Sonny asked. Lorenzo let out a sharp laugh.
"Not everything is about you, Corinthos," he said. Sonny stood up straighter.
"Guys like you, Alcazar, they use everything they can to get what they want. You want a piece of me and you want my territory. You've already used my wife to try and get what you want. It almost worked. You won't get the chance again. Stay away from Carly, get out of Port Charles. You've been warned." Sonny turned on his heel to walk out.
He stopped short near the door as the scotch glass previously in his rival's hand smashed into the wall near his head. He felt the glass shards slide off of his suit. There wasn't much Sonny could say as he turned to look at the calm man standing in the middle of the room.
"Hmmm," Lorenzo said as he cocked his head slightly to one side, completely in control. "Pity I missed." He strode purposefully across the room to where Sonny stood. "Got your attention now, don't I, Corinthos? You seem so used to being the one to give orders. Well, now, it's time for you to listen."
"You have nothing to say that would interest me, Alcazar," Sonny said defiantly, though still a little shaken. Lorenzo's lip twitched just slightly.
"A minor difference in opinion," Lorenzo said confidently, clasping his hands in front. "Your threats are mere play words, Corinthos. I am no danger to Carly. I never have been. The only threat to her and her children is you, plain and simple."
"I will not say it again. Stay *away* from my wife," Sonny hissed. Lorenzo shook his head in mock sadness.
"Temper, temper, Mr. Corinthos. I have a temper of my own – I only use it for special occasions," Lorenzo's eyes steeled over. "If you ever touch Carly in anger again, it may be a celebration time sooner than we think."
"You're not going to get what you want here. Leave before you end up like your brother," Sonny fumed, ignoring Lorenzo's not-so-subtle implication.
"This conversation is beginning to get repetitive and I find myself getting bored. There isn't much more that we can say to each other, Corinthos. You'd better leave before I start taking you seriously," Lorenzo said, reaching over to open the penthouse door. Sonny glared one more time as he stepped out of the door.
"This was your final warning."
"Your concern is touching," Lorenzo said with a humorless smile as he closed the door. He looked briefly down at the broken glass on the floor before going to pour himself another drink.
"Truce terminated," he muttered to himself before taking a large drink of the liquor. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.
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There wasn't much a wife could do when her husband was pacing the room like a caged tiger. Three sets of eyes darted back and forth, watching Sonny.
"Why don't you sit down, Sonny?" Courtney asked. Sonny shook his head and continued. Carly brought a hand up to her forehead.
"Sit down, Sonny. You're giving me a headache," she ordered. Sonny stopped and looked at Jason.
"I want double guards on Carly and I want double guards on Michael. We can't take any chances that Alcazar isn't going to try something. I want my family safe," he said. Carly scoffed.
"I'm safe," she said with a roll of her eyes. Sonny shook his head.
"No, you're not. You've had so many complications, Carly. Nothing can happen to you. You don't need more stress," Sonny said almost distractedly. Carly scoffed again.
"Yeah, okay Sonny. You do that. Double guards, people watching me like a hawk, you starting a war … not exactly a stressless situation, husband of mine," Carly said, disdain evident in her voice. Sonny turned to look at her.
"I did not start a war," he defended. Carly rolled her eyes again as she laid her hands over her stomach.
"Right and I'm sure you storming over and pretty much telling Alcazar where to shove his truce was a confidence-inducing ploy," Carly chided sarcastically.
"Carly, this is business. Stay out of it," Sonny said. Carly sat up.
"Bullshit, 'this is business'. I know full well this isn't about business. You had an alliance of sorts with the second most powerful man in Port Charles and you just blew that out of the water. To keep that truce would have been business, but what you just did was all personal," she argued. Sonny looked to Jason to back him up – but Jason didn't say a thing. He agreed with Carly. This was personal, and he was questioning Sonny's decision to single-handedly destroy a peace accord.
"This was not personal, Carly. And how do you know about it anyways?" he asked, glaring over at Jason. Jason just shrugged.
"My God, Sonny. Give me a little credit, okay? I know you. I know what 'things' are in 'taking care of some things'. So don't you dare stand there and lie to me about this being business," Carly hissed. Knowing that this conversation was going places they didn't want to go to, Courtney and Jason stood up to leave. Carly was stony silent as Courtney hugged her and Jason kissed her cheek. She stared at Sonny as the pair walked out the door.
"Why are you doing this, Carly? Why are you picking a fight?" Sonny asked once they were alone. Carly laughed humorlessly.
"Why am I doing this, Sonny? I have trusted Lorenzo Alcazar with my life time and time again. He hasn't failed me - or you, for that matter, considering you do have a stake in my life. Yet you continue to make this into a plot against you!" Carly yelled.
"It is, Carly! Can't you see he's using you? He's trying to make you feel grateful to him!" he yelled back.
"Why shouldn't I be grateful to him? Without his help, I would have been stuck with Ric until he took our baby and killed me. You certainly weren't any closer to finding me. Without his help, our baby would have died – and possibly me, too. Without his help, Courtney would be rotting in prison somewhere for hitting Elizabeth. I think I have every reason to be grateful. Rather than attacking him, you should be thanking him," Carly pointed out, showing more emotion that she was aware of. Sonny was silent as he watched her.
"He got to you, didn't he? You have feelings for him," he said angrily. Carly shook her head.
"My feelings towards Alcazar are none of your concern," she said softly.
"Bullshit, Carly! He's my enemy!"
"Recently, he wasn't your enemy - until you made him one today," Carly countered.
"Goddamn it, Carly!" he exclaimed.
"Mr. Corinthos!" an exasperated voice called from the doorway. Carly and Sonny both looked to see a shocked Dr. Meadows standing there. "Mr. Corinthos, you need to lower your voice. You, of all people, know that Carly needs to take it easy." Carly sighed as she sat back in the bed. Thank you, Jason, for sending the reinforcements. It took Sonny a few seconds to calm down before he turned back to the doctor.
"Carly is going to be okay, right Doc?" he asked. Carly's features softened at the worried look on her husband's face.
"As I told Carly earlier, she needs to take it easy. We're going to keep her here for a few days just to monitor her. I have all the confidence that everything will right itself – but it will take a little time. It'll probably cut close to the due date, but as I said, we'll be monitoring that to make sure there is no danger to either Carly or the baby," Dr. Meadows assured Sonny. He nodded. With a quick good-bye to Carly, the doctor took her leave. Carly looked down at her hands as silence filled the room.
"Go home, Sonny," she said.
"What?" Carly looked up at her husband's question.
"I said to go home," she said as she locked eyes with him. "You're tired, and Michael hasn't seen you all day. Go home." Sonny reached over and took her hand. After staring at it for a second, he looked up at her.
"You know I love you, right?" he asked. Carly nodded jerkily before he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. "Get some rest. I'll be back in the morning." Carly nodded again before he turned and left the room. Carly let her head drop back against the bed. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.
"Well, that was touching." The voice caused a chill to run up and down Carly's spine. But it had nothing at all to do with fear.