Practiced breathing and a repeated silent mantra of "relax" helped Lorenzo lay still on the bed, his eyes closed, his face a picture of calm. He knew that his room was under some sort of surveillance, though whether it was visual or audio, he had not yet been able to discern. Regardless, it was important that the impression his host received was of Lorenzo sound asleep, untroubled by his surroundings. They needn't know that behind the mask, his mind was reeling.

Though he had no more details about the AG project now than he'd had when he arrived, Lorenzo had learned a great many useful things tonight. First and foremost, it was obvious to him that Antonio had not reached the position of power he'd achieved by being charming. Despite his expensive clothes and the opulent surroundings, the man was a street bully. His natural aggressiveness rolled off him in waves, and the air about him was an unending challenge to all comers to try and see if they were man enough to beat him or woman enough to satisfy him.

He also reveled in making those around him feel lesser than and subordinate. At present, he was not directing that behavior toward his new "associate" because he needed something and hadn't yet achieved his goal. But shocked didn't adequately describe the reaction Lorenzo had felt at seeing the way Mancuso was reduced to a shoulder-slumped husk when he had made a joke Renata disliked. The icy blue eyes of the blond had shown true fear before he cast them downward and excused himself from the room.

It had horrified Lorenzo a bit to realize that the person he'd been most reminded of during these observations was Luis. When they'd been boys and people bowed to his older brother's will, Lorenzo had assumed it was as simple as everyone knowing Luis was the heir apparent to their father's empire. Even then, their mother had been steering her younger child toward a different life, and it was always the eldest who stood by Caton Alcazar's side when important visitors came or when any business dealings were being discussed.

Those had been the treasured years gifted to Lorenzo by his mother, years when he had been blind and deaf to what his father did to build their fortunes. It had also been the time when he had been ignorant of just who the young man he had idolized truly was. For so long, Luis had been the teasing, cajoling older sibling whose job it had become to look out for his little brother. Under that veil of protection, of "teaching" Lorenzo how to get along in the world, there had been wrestling matches and martial arts training and even sessions on how to safely handle guns. It was years before Lorenzo realized that what had seemed innocent enough in the beginning had turned into violent fights that always went on until he had pleaded with Luis for mercy, karate training that had left bruises and cuts and, on two occasions, broke bones, and hour upon hour spent on a firing range learning to disassemble, clean and shoot a dizzying variety of guns or in the sparring ring with knives.

[I]"I won't always be there to watch your back, pequeño hermano," Luis said, his arm wrapping too tightly around 13-year-old Lorenzo's throat. The younger boy's muscles burned in his arms as he fought to break free of his brother's grasp.

"To be a man means to take what you want when it is not offered. Money, power, land, women, your freedom, even life--they can all be taken by force, by having a stronger will than your enemy."[/I]

Laying in bed now, he fought off a shudder at the memory of Luis squeezing off his air supply with a seemingly brutal exuberance before he released his hold and let Lorenzo drop to the canvas of their sparring ring. His throat had actually been damaged, leaving behind a slight rasp that echoed in his voice today.

Even before their father's death, the way people regarded Luis had started to become noticeable. Men who were used to having others cower in front of them would cave from a certain tone in his voice. Women that Lorenzo had seen turn down a half dozen suitors would obediently follow his brother onto a dance floor, to the chair beside him, even to his bedroom from just the way he would look at them.

The looks and threatening tones had never worked for Lorenzo because he simply didn't want to intimidate people. His mother beamed with pride when he reasoned his way through difficulties and his father respected his intelligence. They didn't seem to care that he lacked the hard edge of his brother, in fact, they both had often expressed pleasure at having their "soulful Lorenzo" to dote on.

Luis did not seem to mind this. Though there were jokes about Lorenzo being "his mother's son" and remarks about his "boring" choice of studying history, the two were close. This remained true even as Lorenzo became older and stronger and even as his brother grew more and more determined to defeat him in every last activity they participated in. His aggression had often confused Enzo, but it had rarely sparked his anger. That was just the way his brother was, he'd told himself. And for a long while, that had been enough.

It wasn't until later, until England, that the real questioning had begun. By then, Lorenzo had grown wise to his family's real money-making enterprises, and though he was disgusted by them, as his mother had said, if they weren't willing to walk away from the life Caton and now Luis had made possible for them, then they had no right to pass judgment. Lorenzo accepted that when it came to the money and the business... but more and more, his brother's behavior had troubled him. Sophie had listened to him talk about it endlessly, always refusing to give him an opinion because she didn't want to "interfere in his family." But when he had taken her home to Venezuela to meet his parents and his brother, she had been unable to hide her instant dislike of Luis. Her distaste for him had not lessened, not on a subsequent visit to the family estate and not on Luis' first two visits to England.

"What he says and what he feels are not necessarily the same thing, Lorenzo," she had said. "He professes to be proud of you, to love you... but I see the envy in his eyes. He wants to hurt you because he can't be you."

Lorenzo had not believed her, and Sophie had dropped the subject. And then, on Luis' third visit to London, the uneasy peace between the brothers had erupted.

Sophie's best friend had introduced Lorenzo to his sensei in London. The first year of his training at the British dojo had been spent unlearning much of what Luis had taught him.

[I]"Why are you attacking? What is the point of your attack?"

"To win, Sensei," Lorenzo answered back obediently.

Master Toshima walked to him, shaking his head. "You attack to survive. Watch. Come."

As instructed, Lorenzo took an aggressive stance and launched himself at his instructor. A series of six movements had the men in equally exposed positions, both open to potentially fatal blows.

"What good will it do you to win by killing me if the result is your death, too? Survival is a stronger motivation."[/I]

It had seemed like a simple enough lesson, a change in a fighting strategy and little else. But his acceptance of the master's words had, in truth, been a fundamental shift in the way Lorenzo lived his life. The idea of being neither too aggressive nor too passive suited his personality far better than the overbearing drive Luis tried to evoke from him. Released from that burden of being told he needed to be stronger, harder, meaner and more ruthless, Lorenzo flourished, both as a person and as a student in the dojo.

As pleased as he was with his own evolution, he had also felt pride in Sophie's growing adoration of him. She constantly commented about the joy of watching him come into his own, of seeing him find himself. Lorenzo loved her approval, and it had only served to bond them even tighter together.

When Luis phoned and said he was arriving that Thursday afternoon in March, there had been nothing good about the news. Lorenzo and Sophie were on their term break and had made plans to spend time together discussing her idea of working for UNICEF as soon as school ended. It was something he would never have considered before, but her infectious sense of hope for the world had worn off on him. Lorenzo had tried to put his brother off, but Luis' excuse for coming was that they needed to discuss plans for their parents' upcoming wedding anniversary celebration. It was something Lorenzo could not refuse.

The plan had been for the Alcazar brothers to meet up at the Dently Road pub for drinks and dinner on Friday. Sophie was leaving earlier that day for a weekend with friends in Kent in order to avoid any unpleasantness. Once Luis was gone, they'd resume their planning and spend the rest of their vacation together. But as the saying goes, the best laid plans...

[I]"What the hell are you doing?"

The sound of his brother's voice startled him. Lorenzo turned and saw Luis standing in the far corner of the dojo, just inside the entrance.

"Wh-- I thought you were coming tomorrow."

Luis shrugged. "I decided to come in early, spend a little extra time visiting. It's a damn good thing I did."

Lorenzo started toward his brother, still shocked to see him, but trying to make the best of it. He was just starting to open his arms when Luis smiled, then after a beat, he charged forward. Lorenzo was frozen from the unexpected move just long enough for him to get the advantage, and two sharp, painful blows dropped the younger man to his knees.

"You've forgotten everything I've taught you. I swear to God, this country has done nothing but make you soft."

A kick to his back sent Lorenzo lurching forward.

"This country, that woman, your prissy ass school... Jesus, Lorenzo, look at you. What was that you were doing, sissy karate?"

Lorenzo sputtered as fingers threaded through his hair and his head was jerked back. The next thing he felt was Luis' hand pressing on his throat.

"Fight back."

He could barely move against the twin grips his brother's hands held on him, but Lorenzo managed to shake his head slightly.

"Fight back, God damn it!"

Again, Lorenzo refused.

"You fight back," Luis whispered, his voice a menacing growl, "or so help me, when I'm done with you, I'll go find that bitch and show her what a real man feels like."

His action came without thought. Lorenzo broke free of his brother's hold and rolled away from him, gaining his feet.

"Yes, that's it." Luis grinned with satisfaction. "I taught you how to be a killer. Show me you haven't forgotten what I taught you."

They circled, Lorenzo trying to figure out what was happening, Luis strutting, looking for a way to stoke his brother's anger.

"You can't beat me." A taunt designed to throw him off his game. Lorenzo faltered, hesitating as he tried again to figure out why his brother was attacking him. Luis charged him. Lorenzo stumbled, but did not fall.

"Come on, little brother. Show me what you're made of."

Kicks and blows and devastating countermoves poured out of the two men, and after a few minutes, they were both bloodied and hurting.

"Why are you doing this?" Lorenzo asked as he bounced backward, giving himself a bit of room to recover and regroup. The respite did not last long. Luis performed a spin move that ended with a devastating kick to Lorenzo's midsection. Doubled-over, the younger man fought to stay on his feet.

"You're ready to choose her over your family?"

Another kick.

"You're ready to choose some stranger over me?"

And finally it made sense to Lorenzo. Their mother had told Luis that Lorenzo was not coming home after graduation, that he was instead going off to start a life with Sophie. He knew she'd done so innocently, not understanding the brewing dislike between his brother and his fiancée. And now Luis wanted to bring him to heel. He wanted to remind Lorenzo that he, like everyone else, was expected to bow to Luis' will.

The urge to slip back into the seek-and-destroy mentality taught in the Alcazar household overwhelmed Lorenzo, but a few well-executed evasion moves allowed him time to find his center and his focus. He'd fight Luis, but he was going to fight him as himself... his own man.

"You're backing away because you know you can't beat me." Luis was practically beating his chest his ego was so overblown.

And he was right. Lorenzo knew it. Because he would never, ever be able to muster the anger or destructiveness necessary to kill his own brother. But he saw in Luis' eyes that he did have it... that if need be, he would crush his sibling under his feet to maintain his own sense of power.

The fight continued, but the tenor of it changed dramatically. His sensei's lessons replayed themselves in Lorenzo's mind, reinforcing the image of survival. Maybe he could not defeat Luis, but he would survive him.

The final move came as a surprise to his brother because for all intents and purposes, Luis had won the fight. Lorenzo was badly beaten, his body already in need of days of healing time. He should have been taken down without argument. The battle should have been over. But when it ended, it did so in a sudden, unexpected flurry of kicks and spins that brought Luis to the brink of death in less than four seconds.

The two men were there, frozen, Lorenzo poised to snap his brother's neck where it rested on the mat at an odd angle, a foot pressed into the straining muscles and vertebrae. Instant recognition of his vulnerability seeped through Luis, stilling his body. The only thing in those icy eyes now, Lorenzo saw was shock and fury.

"Whatever you think, whatever made you do this... " Lorenzo's voice was deep, the strength in it undeniable despite all that he had just endured. "Stop now."

There was no response to his statement. Lorenzo increased the pressure on his brother's neck for a beat and then he released him, stepping back and putting distance between the two of them. Luis slowly made his way to his feet, his right hand rubbing at the soreness already beginning to rage in his tortured neck and shoulder muscles.

"So you've chosen her?"

Luis' voice was flat. Lorenzo shook his head in disbelief.

"Why do I have to choose one or the other? I've never been part of the life you lead, Luis, except to love you as your brother. Why suddenly is that a problem for you?"[/I]

At the time, Luis had not offered an answer and Lorenzo hadn't been wise enough to the world to know it on his own, but now... now he knew. Men like Luis, who controlled through fear and intimidation, always ended up afraid of what they couldn't control. And when it had appeared Lorenzo was confidently moving into a life that wasn't dependent on the Alcazar money or power base, he had snapped and tried to rein his brother in. It was the same kind of control Renata had exerted earlier over his chief hit man Mancuso.

That single altercation so many years ago had made Lorenzo more determined than ever to remain free of his family's business and of the life his father and brother had chosen. He and Sophie set their plans. Follow graduation, they would head to a posting in the Middle East. They would spend at least two years working at whatever UNICEF destinations they were assigned, and then they would return to England and start their own family.

When the phone call had come from his mother, begging him to return home because of his father's ailing health, Lorenzo had been unable to say no. Sophie understood. She had never tried to keep him from his family despite her dislike of Luis. It was one visit, one quick stop to help, and then he would join her. They had actually even relaxed a bit over their separation when Sophie was reassigned at the last minute to an immunization clinic in El Salvador, placing her much closer to Venezuela and to him.

Youthful ignorance, Lorenzo thought now as he turned over onto his stomach so he could hide his face from whoever might be watching him in Renata's compound. The change had put her in this monster's path and had resulted in her murder. It had turned the hopeful, aspiring professor to be into a spy willing to do almost anything in order to achieve his vengeance.

And now here he was, in Renata's house, hours away from learning the rest of his target's plans for the weapons he'd asked Lorenzo to begin stockpiling on the Uzbekistan border when the AG project had first been brought to his attention. All he had to do was maintain his calm, keep up the façade and remember the most important lesson that Master Toshima had ever taught him...

[I]"Survival is a stronger motivation.[/I]

Finally sleep began to wrap its ethereal tendrils around Lorenzo's consciousness, drawing him away from troubling thoughts of the chain of events that had once appeared to ruin his life, and instead he focused his thoughts on the new string of occurrences that presented him with a life he'd never dreamed of. Robert's orders for him to go to Port Charles and interfere with Corinthos as a way of drawing Renata's attention, that odd first encounter with Alexis Davis in the Quartermaine foyer, and the uneasy alliance that had turned Lorenzo's world on its axis.

He missed her terribly. He missed Kristina. He hoped that Robert had done as he'd promised when Lorenzo did not return to Florida in 24 hours and sent the telegram Lorenzo had readied for Nano in anticipation of the trip taking longer than planned. Alexis had enough on her plate. She did not need to be worried about him, too, no matter how much real cause for concern this stage of his mission might result in. He just wanted to think of her safe and sound in his home, Kristina snuggled against her, no one able to hurt them or steal away the happiness they had found.

It was that image, that hope, that finally carried Lorenzo off to sleep.

*****

Alexis pulled the pillow beside her into her arms and snuggled against it, inhaling the faint scent of him that remained there.

"Mr. Alcazar will be delayed and out of communication range," Nano had said, the words making her feel even more tired and run down than she had after Sonny's visit. Still, she had nodded, knowing that whatever Lorenzo was doing, it was something he needed to do. She just hoped he was being careful. Nano must have sensed her concern, because he cleared his throat, drawing her wandering focus back to him. An embarrassed smile etched itself on his face.

"Um, Ms. Davis, I probably shouldn't... Mr. Alcazar and I have a system we use in written communication. A way for me to know for certain that the messages are really from him and not being sent under duress, or a way for him to ask me for help without someone else knowing, things like that. He was definitely just delayed... everything is fine."

Lorenzo had teased her recently that his men were more loyal to her now than him, and Alexis had teased back saying that, yes, they were routinely meeting with her in the wine cellar to reveal all his secrets. That he found her acceptance into his inner circle amusing, that he wasn't threatened by it in any way made her love him all the more dearly. And the truth was, whereas she'd often found Sonny's guards intrusive, Nano and his men had altered their style to accommodate she and Kristina so that oftentimes, they forgot they being watched so carefully.

She knew the security the guards provided and her cooperation with them was all that set Lorenzo's mind at ease during his trips away. Even before these last few incredible weeks, he'd hated leaving them, something that had touched Alexis a great deal as their relationship continued to grow and deepen. This, their longest separation since becoming involved in each other's lives, had been hard enough given how troubled he'd been before leaving and the ongoing stresses in Alexis' own life, but after today, all she'd really wanted was to put Kristina to bed and then come lay in his arms and have him promise her it would all work out. Though she was grateful to have an update from Lorenzo, Nano's message had meant that she was facing another sleepless night wrestling with her worries and fears alone.

There hadn't been one decent night's sleep since Lorenzo's departure. First there was missing him and the anticipation of Sonny's next explosion. Then there came the fear of not hearing from Sonny and what that might mean, his self-destructive history coming back to Alexis in memories of smashed glasses, broken mirrors and long nights of drinking. But today the long silence had ended and Sonny Corinthos had shown up at her door.

[I]"I, uh, I think we need to talk, Alexis."

"Why don't you come in and have a seat?" Alexis suggested. "You're right, we need to talk."

The whole house seemed to fill with tension, mostly, she knew, because Lorenzo's men weren't the least bit comfortable with Sonny Corinthos being inside of their boss' home. They would never block his entry because Nano would not allow them to, not as long as Alexis thought him being there was appropriate, but that didn't mean the loyal guards were going to like being in the presence of a man they knew would just as soon see Lorenzo dead as standing on the street. She wondered if Johnny or Max had moved in closer to the house upon Sonny's arrival, just to keep an extra eye on him while he was there in the "enemy camp."

The living room was empty, but she didn't doubt there were guards standing sentry nearby, all ready to haul Sonny out by his lapels if need be, if not worse. Alexis hoped that would not be necessary, but the seemingly calm demeanor he was exhibiting wasn't to be trusted, not given the way their last few meetings had gone. Once they were inside, she turned and faced him.

"I need to ask you before we start... have you been drinking?"

Sonny started to answer, stopped, sighed and then shook his head. "I had been, but I waited until I was sober to come over."

Alexis nodded. "Kristina's in the house."

"Yeah, I figured," he said. "I won't... I, uh, promise not to make a scene. I don't want to upset her."

She nodded again then motioned toward the couch with her hand. "Would you like something, coffee or..."

"Uh, no." Sonny did not take a seat beside her but instead put his hands in his pockets and walked a few steps away from the couch so that when he turned, he was facing her where she sat. "No, I'm fine."

His disappearing act had given Alexis ample time to think about the meeting in Stefan's office at GH and the way it had ended. It would have been easy to heap all the blame at Sonny's feet, citing his irrational expectations and quick temper, but honest examination had told her she had to share a bit of the blame.

"I'm sorry that I overreacted," she said, not needed to explain what she was referencing, she knew Sonny would know. "You... this is hard for me, and when you brought up the issue of 'daddy,' it just... I'm sorry I pulled her away from you like that."

Sonny looked at her as if she'd just spoken in a language he didn't understand. He clearly hadn't been expecting to hear an apology.

"I didn't need to snap at you about it. And this is hard for me, too, Alexis."

"I know."

Their eyes met in a beat of mutual understanding, and as they held each other's gaze, Alexis saw again the dark hue of his eyes change as his emotions swirled inside of him. He was calm and contrite, but he was far from ready to let the past be the past and move on.

"Just say what you need to say to me." Her voice quivered as she said the words, but she said them anyway.

He was quiet for a long time. She waited patiently, her thoughts drifting just far enough from the room to imagine that Nano had long since surrendered Kristina to Alice, who had probably taken the little girl out to the gardens to keep her far away from any raised voices or harsh words.

"I don't know how I'm ever supposed to forgive you for this," Sonny finally said, his eyes staying on her until the statement was finally out. He dropped his head, breaking the connection between them before going on. "You stole so much time from us."

Alexis felt her eyes burn as moisture began to plague them. Her heart ached because for all the justification she felt in doing what she had done, Sonny's words weren't something she could refute. But she would not let her guilt make her forget the rest... she couldn't.

"And you made me feel like I couldn't trust you with the truth... so much so that I risked losing her rather than telling you that you were her father. Do you get that, Sonny?"

"How did I do that?" he asked, trying to keep his tone under control. "When did I ever lie to you about who I was?"

"Maybe you didn't," Alexis admitted, the sting of that hitting her hard. "Maybe I saw what I wanted to, but you certainly didn't do anything to dissuade me from that, did you?"

He blinked hard. She was right, and he knew it. "I... I liked having you in my life. I didn't want to push you away. And I..."

The rest went unsaid, and in realizing she didn't know what filled in the blank space, Alexis was reminded again of how far apart they had grown. Before she would have know if he'd been about to say that he had wanted to try to be the man she believed in, or if he'd been planning to explain that he hadn't wanted to disappoint her. But now "And I..." remained two words with no real meaning.

"Can you tell me something, honestly?" she asked, certain she needed the answer even if she didn't necessarily want it.

"I'll try."

"That night... the thing with A.J. Why did you call it off if all I saw when I looked at you was what I wanted to see?"

The question caught him off guard. Flustered, he began to pace around the wingchair by the fireplace. Lorenzo's chair, where Alexis often sat with him late at night when the house was quiet.

"Why--why would you ask me that? What does that have to do with anything?"

He wasn't going to answer her. She wasn't really surprised. Alexis wasn't sure Sonny had an answer to give her, but she'd hoped... clearly in vain. "When you called off those men, you cemented the picture I had of you in my mind. I felt as if everything I'd ever said in defense of you was justified by that one action. And then everything that came after, it was the exact opposite of that portrait, Sonny, and I didn't know who you were anymore."

"What everything?" he asked, his face now showing a hint of anger. "I went back to my family... but not until I had talked to you first. I tried to respect your decision to move, to not work with me anymore. And you know that I... I regret what happened to your sister, but that was not my fault."

"No, it wasn't." Alexis sighed, the admission still feeling somehow wrong to her even if she had long ago accepted that Sonny had been Luis' victim as much as she had. His fury had been jealousy over a woman, not business, not a fight for power. Just disgusting, violent jealousy, and half of Port Charles had paid for it. "And will it really make you feel better if I stand here and list every single thing you did that I took issue with? Is that really going to help us get anywhere?"

"Well, you tell me, Alexis. You're the one who said you couldn't trust me with the truth. That's your excuse for all this, for keeping me from our daughter. So what was it? Because, you know, you don't get to use my life to justify anything anymore, not if you're living here with..."

"Leave him out of this," she said, her voice raising slightly. He stopped and stared at her hard.

"We can't leave him out of this, not as long as you live here, not when he has access to my daughter."

"Sonny, right now we're talking about us... and fine, if you want to know what I mean, how about you turning on Zander, sending Jason to beat him senseless because you were mad at him?"

"That was business. Zander understands that."

"Was it business when you lied to me about it? You swore to me you would never lie to me again, and then you looked me right in the eye and lied to me about Zander for the second time."

Sonny sighed heavily and shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't understand. He was a kid to you, a kid you cared about. That was always the problem with Zander. But he was an employee of mine, and he had crossed a line."

"And when, exactly, did Zander go from being a kid[b]you[/b] cared about to being an employee?" Alexis asked, her arms crossing in front of her as she fought to keep her own temper under control. "Was it when he fell for Carly and didn't like how you'd treated her or was it when he felt shoved aside in favor of Jason?"

"What the hell does that have to do with us?!"

He clenched his fist as he realized that his last words had been yelled and not spoken. Sonny paused a moment, trying to gather himself, and waited for her response.

"I didn't know when the day would come that I had crossed a line with you, Sonny. Don't you see? I watched you turn on this young man that we had fought for and protected. You cast him out and set yourself against him as cruelly as I've seen you do with any foe you've faced since I've met you." Tears made their way into her eyes and her voice as she put sound to the thing that had lived inside of her for so long now.

"What if you had known about the baby and I had told you that Carly embezzled money from Club 101 to try and get me out of town? Who would you have believed? What if I had told you in the hospital that day that yes, the baby was yours, after you'd already told me you would never let me take anything that was 'yours'? Would you have even tried to understand, or would you have hired a lawyer that day to try and take her from me the minute she was born as payback for my deception?"

"I would never have done that to you." Sonny's words were emphatic, and he looked truly outraged that she had even suggested such a thing. "I would never have set out to hurt you."

"You stood by and let me be vilified for killing a man that you wanted dead... that you sent Jason to kill. The Quartermaines almost took her forever, Sonny. If Skye and Ned had their way, I'd not only not have our daughter, I'd be a memory that she'd never even have."

His face darkened as her words registered. "What are you talking about?"

The pain of reliving a past still too recent filled her, making her breathing shallow as she remembered being ambushed by a man who looked so much like the one who's death she had been a part of and the outrage she had felt when she realized Skye had manipulated the entire situation.

"No, I'm not rehashing every minute of my life for you. The point is, Sonny, if you gave a damn about me, you would have shown up before you found out Kristina was yours... you'd have done it out of decency, out of memory of our friendship, hell, just because I did what you wanted and got rid of Alcazar. But you didn't lift a finger to help me, and I realized that you'd turned your back on me just like you had Zander, like you do everyone who disappoints you."

Sonny rolled his eyes at her, his jaw setting in a hard edge. "Alexis, none of that makes what you did all right. I don't care how afraid you were, Kristina is my daughter. I had a right to know her and to help protect her and to fight for her, and you denied me that."

"And we're back to square one again," she said, her hands flying out in exasperation. "You don't want to understand, Sonny, and I'm not going to apologize for doing what I thought was right, so where does that leave us?"

An uneasy silence crackled around them, the air tight with tension. Sonny couldn't seem to make up his mind whether he wanted to fight or if he was ready to try something else. Finally, he walked over and sat down on the sofa keeping a wide distance between them.

"I want to know her."

"And I realize there's no stopping that now," Alexis replied. She was shocked at how much anger had disappeared from both of their voices.

"I'll go over the papers with the lawyer."

She nodded, grateful that he was going to try.

"But there's one thing I cannot accept, Alexis, and that is my daughter in this house. I cannot allow that."

The flutter of hope she'd felt died and Alexis stood, moving further away from him.

"Kristina is in no danger here. Lorenzo loves her."

"And he hates me."

"A feeling I'd say is pretty mutual, wouldn't you?" she asked, stunned that he was really going to make this the sticking point standing between them and a peaceful resolution as to their roles as parents.

"But the difference is that I don't have his kid livin' in my house." Sonny stood now, crossing toward her. He stopped when Alexis took a step back.

"He could use her to hurt me."

A bitter laugh ripped out of Alexis' throat. "I can assure you, Sonny, Lorenzo loves us more than he hates you. He would never use Kristina as a weapon. He wasn't even willing to do that when he was angry at me for Luis."

"So he says."

"Not everyone lies to the people they love."

Somehow everything they said led back to that.

"Okay, you tell me something honestly." Sonny crossed his arms and stared at her intently. "You say you might have seen what you wanted to see in me because of how close we got. What's to say you aren't doing the same thing again, seeing what you want to in Lorenzo just 'cause you're sleeping with him?"

Alexis mirrored his pose and returned his stare with equal purpose. "I'm not sleeping with him, Sonny, I'm in love with him. And shocking as this may be to you, he isn't afraid to love me back. That is how I know that this is real, that he's real. He doesn't use his past as an excuse to hide from our future."[/I]

Tears burned against her cheeks as she lay in bed remembering the heated conversation. Sonny had taken her declaration of love for Lorenzo as badly as she'd expected him to, and he'd left shouting about her forcing him to go to court. Alexis had immediately called Dara and asked her to start putting together a set of counterarguments for whatever Sonny might try to do in front of a judge. She wasn't going to try to stop him from seeing Kristina, but she intended to honor her promise to herself and to Lorenzo... Sonny Corinthos was not forcing her out of the home she shared with the man she loved.

That home felt only half full right now, though. Her beautiful baby girl's laughter helped to fill the empty hallways and large rooms during the day, but at night, Alexis missed the simple pleasure of listening to Lorenzo's breathing while he slept and the luxury of being able to turn into him and feel his strength there whenever the ghosts of her past came calling in the middle of the night.

It amazed her how quickly she'd grown used to being so intimate with him. Yes, their friendship had grown strong and steady, providing a solid base for the romance that had sprung forth out of it, and no doubt the chemistry between them was powerful. But it was the small things that amazed her... the ability to touch his cheek or the feel of his lips pressing against her hair as he dropped a quick, comforting kiss on the top of her head... all those wonderful little liberties that they'd denied themselves until their passion had finally forced the issue.

Alexis wasn't sure how she had ever lived without what they shared. She did know that she didn't ever want to be without it again.

Squeezing his pillow a little more tightly, Alexis rolled over onto her back and held the poor downy substitute in her arms. She was so tired. These last few weeks had been hell on her sleep schedule. For a solid four days after Lorenzo left, she'd felt sick to her stomach every night when she tried to go to bed, making it hard to rest well. His voice over the phone had helped her to relax then, and finally she could sleep. But during the day, her exhaustion kept catching up with her, prompting naps with Kristina. Undoubtedly, that was making sleeping at night even harder, but Alexis couldn't ever seem to fight off the midday sleepiness.

"Plan our perfect day for when I get home." That was what Lorenzo had told her one of those nights when his warm voice had filtered its way through the phone lines in Venezuela to their dark, lonely bedroom here in Port Charles.

Her perfect day proposal had met with his approval. Since he never liked to sleep after returning from a trip out of the country, they would take advantage of his early return and Kristina's new habit of sleeping a little bit later each morning to make love. Then they would shower and take Kristina for a walk and go to the Grille for banana waffles. After that, home so a certain little girl could take her nap while Mommy and Zo snuck off for a little more lovemaking. Then an afternoon of playing and a quiet dinner at home. And just to make sure Lorenzo was tired enough to really get some quality sleep, once Kristina was down for the night, "I'll ravish you and wear you out once and for all."

His laughter had stayed with her that night as she finally released her worries and began to dream. Tonight, the memory of it helped her do the same. It was no surprise that her dream was all about Lorenzo's homecoming, and the perfect day that would hopefully come sooner rather than later.

*****

The open wound of loss and the deep hatred she felt had combined to make Skye start looking for revenge. Ned seemed content to tuck his tail between his legs, the beating he'd taken from Sonny and the follow up visit from Lorenzo having cowed him. But she wasn't afraid of Sonny and though Lorenzo had scared the hell out of her when he'd come to reprimand her for setting Alexis up, Skye had determined that this Alcazar brother was far more talk than he was action.

With Kristina long gone from their lives and Ned babbling about starting over again without her, thoughts of payback fueled Skye's daily existence. She did not accept in any way that the little girl she loved was "where she belonged" or that justice had been done. As far as the redhead was concerned, Alexis Davis had been a vessel to bring Kristina into the world and was of little use beyond that. Her viewpoint hadn't even changed upon learning of Ned's lie of omission that he was not, in fact, the baby's father. Skye felt that her decision to love Kristina made her entitled to the little girl.

But Alexis Davis had won, and Kristina was gone.

Had she had the opportunity to burn Alexis with Sonny Corinthos herself, she would have taken it, but now that Ned had dropped the bomb, Skye had the option of sitting back and watching the fallout. The mob boss' temper was legendary and after what he'd done to Ned, who had only helped in the lie, she couldn't imagine what a hotheaded, wronged Sonny would do to the woman who had stolen his child. Still, even as she feasted on visions of his brutal attempts to destroy Alexis, Skye wanted more.

Her decision to drop by the Harborview Towers was made after Ned told her once and for all that he was done with the whole "Kristina" issue. She was not done, and she needed a new ally. She had the perfect one in mind... the only person who might possibly hate Alexis Davis as much as she did.

"Mrs. Corinthos is not home," the guard informed her coolly, and Skye scowled.

"When will she be home? It's very important."

"She's away for a few days. I can't really say."

When no more information was forthcoming, Skye made a decision. She pulled out her cell phone, clicked in a few numbers, and then waited for his familiar voice to answer.

"Hello! Who's calling and is there fun involved?"

"Coleman, it's Skye Quartermaine."

"Red!" he replied enthusiastically. "What's your pleasure?"

"I need some information. I'll pay you for it."

He chuckled. "As if there was any doubt. What you need, Sweetness?"

"Carly Corinthos is out of town. I need to know where, and I need to know now."

"Whoa, you want me poking around Corinthos business, that's gonna cost a little more than the standard grand."

Skye rolled her eyes. "How much extra?"

"Well, I'm a fair man, so I'll give you two options. $2,000 outright or $1,000 and a night of carnal pleasures."

"You're disgusting," she spat back. "What's the matter, you can't get any women to sleep with you without blackmail involved?"

"Hey, darlin', Coleman's got his pick of the ladies... but I have a special place in my heart for a certain redhead, that's all. But if you're still towing the 'faithful girlfriend' line, then..."

"Fine," she said, memories of her past liaisons with the charming if scraggly rogue returning to set off a wave of unexpected desire. "But the night will have to wait until after I've had my conversation with Carly."

"I guess I better get busy then, 'cause I don't like to wait long for something so sweet. Call you when I got what you want, babe."

Two hours later, Skye was on a plane headed for Florida and had a date with Coleman marked on her calendar for Friday night. It came as no surprise that Sonny's family was booked into the best resort hotel in Orlando, and it took virtually no time at all for her to bribe a staff member into pinpointing where the group was upon her arrival. Slipping off her expensive shoes, Skye waded through the sand of the beach toward the familiar thin blonde who was sitting with her infant son on a blanket while Michael played in the water with Courtney.

"My, my, what a picture. Shame your husband is missing it."

Carly's eyes shot toward her and the shock in them at hearing a familiar voice was instantly replaced by contempt. "Skye, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you."

Kneeling down, Skye took up a position on the blanket while Carly switched the baby to her other arm.

"You flew from Port Charles to Florida to talk to me? Why?"

"I don't know. I thought that maybe, at long last, you and I have something very powerful in common. Seemed like something we should discuss."

"And what the hell is that?" Carly asked.

"Our all-consuming hatred of Alexis Davis, of course. That entitled, self-righteous bitch got away with murder, and I lost Kristina. Now I'd think you're pretty afraid of what she may take from you."

Carly shrugged, her face a physical question mark. Skye rolled her eyes at the coy game.

"Oh, come on, I know, all right? I know that Sonny's Kristina's father. And now that he knows..."

"What?"

The cool anger in the blonde's voice stopped Skye cold. She studied the other woman's face a moment and realized that, until just then, whatever Carly's reason for leaving home had been, it hadn't been full disclosure. Sonny hadn't told her about Kristina.

"You didn't know. That's why Sonny went nuts and nearly killed Ned. He found out that Kristina is really his child."

Skye had never seen anyone's eyes cloud over with so much hatred in her lifetime, and that was saying something considering the vile people she'd associated with. But there was no doubt in her mind that Carly Corinthos was going to be waging a very pointed campaign of destruction upon her return home... and Alexis Davis was going to be her sole target.

*****

The minute his plane touched down on American soil again, Lorenzo ordered his driver to take him to the nearest hotel while his own jet was fueled and prepped for take off. Though he had showered before leaving Renata's island, he still felt as if he were covered in the filth that permeated the world he had just left, and he needed it off of him.

An hour and two bars of soap later, Lorenzo still didn't feel clean, but he felt less dirty.

[I]"Lorenzo, these are my friends Amir and Daoud.[/I]

Taliban. Lorenzo had suspected as much, but his stomach had rolled over anyway as he extended his hand to these "friends" of Antonio's. The stockpiling of weapons so near the Afghan border had made it clear the AG project would run counter to every agenda the WSB and the nations it served were fighting for. Only the guarantee that it would never be completed made this a deal that Lorenzo Alcazar the man could be a part of. There was already too much blood on his hands from the transactions he'd had to complete in order to maintain his cover. No matter what reports Trent showed him or what any government official might claim later, Lorenzo knew they couldn't possibly have stopped every gun or every bomb from reaching its destination. Innocent people had died, and he had played a part in that.

Robert had told him repeatedly over the years to focus on the lives they had saved, to think more about the gift to the world Renata and his entire network eradicated would be. Lorenzo had done that today in order to keep himself from throwing up during lunch with the malevolent bastards sharing the table with him.

He'd been working so hard at keeping his mask in place, Lorenzo had barely caught the slight movement of Mancuso's hand. The what and why of it were not clear, but alarm bells began ringing at that instant. He saw the next movement clearly, eyed the flash of metal as it cut through the air and felt the movement of the table as Amir, the younger of the two Taliban, lurched forward and then collapsed back in his chair.

[I]"What the..."

Lorenzo fought the urge to follow up on his words by jumping out of the chair and moving back from the table. His natural instincts screamed at him, but he held them at bay and turned a calm face to his host, his mantra of survival the tether holding him together.

"I had no idea you were providing entertainment as well as lunch."

A beat passed and then Renata, Mancuso and Daoud burst into laughter.

"You see?" Renata said between guffaws. "You see why I chose him?"

Daoud shook his head. "A man of nerve. Excellent."[/I]

As the day wore on, Lorenzo learned that the murder he'd just born witness to was the elimination of a believed leak. Amir had been seen speaking with a known mole for the American government. That meant that before the AG project could move forward, the danger of exposure had to be eliminated.

It was a stark reminder to Lorenzo what would happen to him if he slipped even once and earned a look of distrust from any of these men.

Finally, the deal was outlined. The weapons in Uzbekistan were, it turned out, a test to see how much firepower Lorenzo could amass in a difficult region. He had proven himself, something Daoud's inventory had confirmed. Renata wired the money for each and ever weapon into the Alcazar account in the Cayman Islands while Mancuso cleaned up the mess he had made of Amir.

[I]"What we have now will be disseminated to our troops at their various staging grounds," Daoud explained. "But before we can move, we must do something of note. A cataclysmic event, if you will, to herald the return of the Taliban to its land."

"And what exactly did you have in mind?" Lorenzo asked. The sickening smile that passed from the Afghan to Antonio sent a chill up his spine.

"The destruction of the capital, with the new ruling government in residence," Renata chimed proudly. "Our friends here will pay you handsomely for providing them with the materials they need, and I shall provide the additional manpower and security required to accomplish their goal."[/I]

Lorenzo wearily climbed the steps of his plane and took his seat. Each time he reviewed the details of the proposed "project," he had to remind himself it would never happen. It was an elaborate illusion Renata was being allowed to believe could come to fruition. But it would never happen.

"It can't happen," he muttered under his breath.

At long last, Lorenzo understood why he had been brought into Renata's exclusive "inner circle." Two of Lorenzo's top employees were the absolute best munitions experts in the world. They were supposed to be burned out Israeli soldiers who had gone mercenary. The truth was, they were WSB agents who believed they had infiltrated the Alcazar organization. For what the Taliban wanted to accomplish, they would need people of such skill that no one in the region was up to the task and while Renata could provide them with nearly everything else they required, he did not have the personnel to carry out the large-scale bombing. It was easier and more practical to go to the next best source, and that was Lorenzo.

With the plane safely in the air and jetting back toward New York, Lorenzo opened the magazine that had been laying just inside his hotel room door when he had finally emerged from the shower. He found the note stuck between two pages detailing the most dangerous SUVs on the road.

"Meet me at the P.C. warehouse as soon as you land. I'm already on my way."

Robert was true to his word. He was at the computer ready and waiting to debrief his top field operative. By the time Lorenzo had finished telling him about the events on the island, even the grizzled WSB veteran was looking a bit shocked.

"They honestly think they can pull this off?"

Lorenzo shrugged. "Think about it. If I were who they thought I was, they'd have a damn good shot."

Robert nodded, knowing he was right. They discussed the mission specifics and detailed how Lorenzo should handle follow up with Renata for another hour before Robert finally pushed himself away from the keyboard.

"How ya doin', mate? This sounds like it was a rough one."

For a long moment, Lorenzo considered talking through all the disgust he'd felt at having to be around these men, surely the worst he'd encountered in all his years under cover. But eventually, he shook his head and stood up.

"I just want to go home, Robert. Right now, that's all I want to think about."

The two set their next meeting and Lorenzo left, planning to do just that. He arrived to a dark, quiet house, his relief at finally being here so intense that he didn't even flinch at the sight of Corinthos' guard standing out front.

As he always was, no matter what hour Lorenzo returned home from a trip, Nano was waiting for him in the entryway. The two men exchanged a warm handshake.

"It's good to have you home, sir."

"Nano, I don't think I've ever been so glad to be home."

"Was the meeting successful?"

"It was. I'll need you to make special security arrangements for this payload, but we'll get to that later."

"Of course."

"How are my girls?"

Lorenzo felt his lips curl into a smile as he spoke and realized it was the first time he hadn't faked the movement in days.

"Things have been fairly quiet," Nano replied. "Well, as quiet as they ever are with Miss Kristina around. Mr. Corinthos was here, but he left under his own power. Ms. Davis is still feeling a bit under the weather, but she's kept her usual schedule."

Lorenzo knew Alexis would fill him in on Sonny's visit, and so he didn't press for more details. Instead, he did something else he hadn't done in days... he made a joke. "Her usual schedule, huh? Well, I'll have to put a stop to that and make sure she gets some rest now that I'm back."

Nano chuckled. "Yes, sir. Shall I have some coffee started?"

It wasn't an unusual question. Lorenzo always dove into some activity upon his return, his hard line about adjusting his body clock something he never deviated from. At least, he never had, until now.

"You know, I think I'm going to go upstairs. And why don't you get to bed yourself? You must be exhausted."

Nano was still looking at him, his mouth slightly agape, as Lorenzo turned and began to take the stairs two at a time. The soft fragrance of Alexis' perfume was the first tangible bit of her he recaptured as he reached the door to their bedroom and pushed it open. Next it was her form, her curves making a stunning piece of art out of the sheets as his eyes adjusted to the dark and began to take in more detail. Her hair was fanned out all over her own pillow and spilled over onto his, which she held in her arms the way she often held him. Lorenzo couldn't help but smile. Finally... finally he was home.

After shedding his clothes, he walked to the bed and carefully eased into it. He just wanted to hold her, to feel her skin again and be reminded of everything that was beautiful and right in the world after having witnessed so much of its horror so very recently. The moment his arms settled around her, she sighed and pushed back against him.

"You're home."

"Yes."

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head back slightly, looking at him. Her first words had apparently been said to the dreamlike Lorenzo she'd felt join her in bed. Now she looked at him, seeing he was real and smiled.

"You're home," she said more firmly, her voice rising with happiness.

Alexis turned and wrapped herself around him, her head cradled against his chest. "I missed you so much."

Lorenzo leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then he moved his fingers lightly through her hair. "I swear, all I could think about was this... being here, holding you. I think you've corrupted me, Ms. Davis."

"How so?" she asked, her voice tinged with sleep.

"My ruthlessness exterior is hard to maintain now that I'm a man in love with the most exquisite woman on earth."

She sighed, and then lifted her head, their eyes meeting. "Now see, you're being all charming, and I had all these plans to just have my way with you when you got back and now I'm..."

Her yawn gave away what she was trying to say, and Lorenzo laughed and gently guided her head back down so that her cheek rested on his chest again. "I promise, I shall lay here compliantly and let you have your way with me after you get some sleep. But you won't mind if I hold onto you for a bit now, will you?"

Alexis snuggled more against him and placed her right hand against his chest. He could feel the warmth of her palm above where his heart beat.

"Just for a bit... I think that'd be okay."

He knew when sleep had reclaimed her from the change in her breathing, and Lorenzo closed his own eyes then, and willed away all thoughts of places and things that were not filled with Alexis' laugh and Alexis' smile and Kristina's trusting face.

He thought of home and nothing else, and for now, enjoyed a temporary peace.

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