Criminal Minds
Chapter 3
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An Artist's Lair
In a rustic studio overlooking downtown Port Charles, an evil mind was at work.
On top of worn counters, was a collection of six years of art. Six years of death.
"To think, it all started with you," a voice whispered.
An aged photograph sat propped up against an easel. The photographer looked at his first, truly finished product. The faint glow of her ivory skin stood in contrast to her red, plumped lips. Her hazel eyes open for the world to enter through them. Her long blonde hair tousled with streaks of blood.
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Flashback, New York City. November, 2003
She had been so young, but yet so ripe for the picking. She was willing to go to any lengths to get her photo taken by an up and coming photographer. In the dim lights she laughed about the setting-- dark and mysterious like so many photo shoots she had done recently in the city.
"You're gorgeous," he told her again, kissing her neck.
She knew it was a bit unprofessional to have an unscheduled private session with a photographer. Her agency might fire her if they found out. But there was something about Franco that just lured her in. It was his eyes, she decided. They were in themselves a series of contrasts--dark and passionate, with a sense of aloofness and recklessness that excited and frightened her.
She tried to ignore the growing pit at the bottom of her stomach. She had moved to the city two months ago to pursue her dream of becoming a model. Soon after, she signed on to a reputable modeling agency based in SoHo. She tried not to picture her parents disappointed faces when she told them she had dropped out of Michigan State after her third semester. It wasn't that she didn't think she would do well in school. No, her 4.0 GPA her first year was a testament of that. She dropped out because she knew she was wasting time by not pursuing her dream.
"This is a fantastic set up, where do you want me to change?" Arianna asked looking around.
"No costume change required. What color undergarments do you have on?" He asked as he put a new roll of film in his camera.
"Black," she said.
"Perfect. Strip down."
"Boy, you get right down to business don't you?" She laughed nervously, hoping her midwestern accent hadn't shined through.
"Strip."
As she took off her clothes, she wondered if it was too late to make a run for it. She sighed and thought of how humiliating it would be if word got out she had run away from NYC's new "it" photographer.
Instead, she sat in the chair he motioned her towards and looked at the camera.
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Present day, New York City
"AHHHHH!!!!! No, don't come after me. No, no, no, no, no!" Lulu screamed.
"What is wrong with you? Afraid I might get too close?" Dante laughed coming after her.
Lulu tried desperately to get away from him and without falling, but to no avail. In three swift movements, he was behind her, hands on her waist and she tried to steady herself.
"No fair!" she said spinning around. "You obviously have way more experience at this than I do."
"Oh man, seriously you make my response to that statement way too easy." Dante said with a mischievous gleam in his eye. He still had his hands on her waist and though the windchill was reaching new lows, Lulu suddenly found herself growing hot.
"Oh really, hot shot?" Lulu said changing her lighthearted tone to a voice she only used in the bedroom. He was two inches away from her face and she could easily reach up and witness his level of...experience. But before she could do that, she wanted to take him down a notch or two, for funs sake.
"Yes, really." Dante said looking down at her lips.
"You want to prove it?" Lulu asked, seductively licking her lips.
"More than anything."
"Catch me."
With that she took off, leaving him behind to eat his words.
"Hey!" Dante yelled after her.
This time it took him a little longer to catch up to her, but he did and this time his arm swiftly moved behind her back, pulling her body against his in one strong, quick motion. She was laughing and out of breath, until she felt how close his body was to hers. Even through layers of clothing, her stomach was doing backflips.
He looked at her, with wisps of her hair loose around her face and her face flushed from laughter, he thought he'd never seen a more beautiful sight.
"What do you say to hot cocoa? My treat," he said gently.
"Mmm. Now there's an offer I can't refuse," she said still looking up at him, expectantly.
Before she could think another thought, his lips were on hers softly caressing her mouth, his tongue swiftly licked her lips in one fell swoop. But as soon as he started, he was gone too quickly, leaving her with a taste of her own medicine.
She collected herself after a few seconds, hoping her knees wouldn't betray her on the slick ice she was standing on. As she skated to the nearest bench, she watched as others enjoyed the ice rink. On their drive into the city--which she figured was their location after an hour of driving and when they approached the New York City skyline in the foreground--she looked over at Dante's face and realized how much more relaxed he seemed when getting away from Port Charles. She was glad he included her in his little getaway.
The only other time she had been to Central Park was years ago with her mother. Then, they came for a brief stay while Laura worked on business for her cosmetics company. They spent full day exploring the different areas, but the part she loved best was the castle they came across while walking. She imagined herself as a princess overlooking her grounds, looking for her prince. She remembered getting lost in the huge park with her mom by her side, eating ice cream cones and playing hide and seek. It was one of her favorite memories and one of the last ones she had of her mom before she became ill.
She didn't think Dante knew just how perfect this surprise was. She watched a pair of twins, no older than five years old trying to maneuver their skates through layers and bundles of coats and scarves. She was laughing to herself when she felt Dante's gaze on her. As she turned to look at him, with two hot cocoas in hand, his face had an expression on it that she had never seen before. It was like he was making a promise to himself. It turned into a slow smile as he approached her and handed her drink over.
"So, how does it feel to be in my neck of the woods?" He asked her as he sat down. His arm reached behind her as if on automatic and she smiled for what seemed the billionth time in the last three hours.
"Haha, well this isn't exactly Brooklyn you know," Lulu said.
"Ahhh, well you see I can't exactly go to Bensonhurst while I'm undercover," he said. "Too many relatives and too many thugs with screwy loyalties to the mob. But, we're not here to talk about business or my obnoxious family. How's your hot chocolate?"
"Wait a minute, maybe I want to hear about your so-called 'obnoxious' family." Lulu said poking him on the shoulder.
"There's really nothing to tell, I got four uncles all of whom are loud, annoying, and overweight. There's my great Aunt Sofia and my grandma Bianca who are constantly barging into my life whenever I'm at home. Oh, and I have a about a million cousins, half of whose names are Leo, Vinnie, Vito, or Gino. Trust me, when this is all over you'll meet every last one of them," he said without realizing the implication of his words. He was too busy enjoying the view of the city's skyline beyond the park.
This was his favorite ice rink in the city. As a young boy, his mom had taken him here a couple of times ignoring the jeers it earned from her brothers. They hated anything that they thought was too touristy and thought ice skating was left up to girly figure skaters. Dante, however, loved the ice and considered joining his school's hockey league but became too invested in baseball after Mr. Poletti's death to have time for it.
Lulu thought his words over and decided she liked the idea of meeting his family-- though the cynical part of her warned her against feeling this way. For now, she ignored that voice and moved a bit closer to Dante, watching other couples skate in circles, holding hands.
"This was a lot of fun," she said looking up at his face again. "Thank you for 'rescuing' me as you so daftly put it earlier tonight."
"Hey, hey now. Who said the evening is over?" He said softly.
"What do you mean? There's more?" She said sitting up, her eyes widening in surprise.
"We haven't even gotten to the main course."