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Standard disclaimer.

Second last chapter.

Sam shot Storm a quick look.

His brother's face was grim, but he didn't say anything, he just slid out of the passenger seat.

The moment he shut the door behind him, the vehicle jerked to life, as the driver steered out of the parking lot.

Mercedes looked out the tinted window, as Storm got into another SUV, then turned back to Sam, confusion on her face.

"What's going on?"

"He's heading to the marina, to get in place with the rest of the guys," Sam answered, gently grabbing her hand.

Storm and his boss, had only involved a very small fraction of the SWAT team and a few guys from vice they trusted.

There was no way in hell, they would chance anything, leaking to Benito. Not when he was finally within reach.

Mercedes withdrew her hand from Sam's.

"Why aren't we going with him?" she asked.

He wanted to reach for her again, but decided against it.

"Baby, they can't allow a civilian to be part of this operation."

A frown marred her lips and he could see the understanding in her eyes.

"So...you lied to me?"

"I didn't..."

"Yes, you did. You sure as hell didn't correct Storm, when he told me I'd be waiting on that boat, to lure Benito. How about, when he reassured me his team would be covering me the entire time and they only needed to bring Benito out into the open, to prove he'd kidnapped Mason. You sat there and held my hand and didn't say one damn word!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and scooted a little closer to the door...away from him.

"I promised you, I'd help bring Mason home alive. If you refused to work with them and didn't call Benito, or tried to meet him on your own, you and Mason would have been killed."

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth and give me a chance to make the right decision?" she asked quietly.

The accusations Sam saw in her dark eyes, sliced right through his chest, making him feel even shittier.

"They needed to make sure you would call Benito. This operation has to go off without a hitch. Everything you said to him, needed to be believable."

"Did you know about this before...or after we..." She glanced at the driver, then back at him.

"After, but...I knew that once they had the notebook, you wouldn't like whatever plan they came up with." 'Might as well go with full honesty.'

Her lips thinned.

"I don't understand why I can't be there. Storm said Benito was never going to make it to the boat. What if he gets to the marina and doesn't have Mason? What if..."

"You're a civilian. There is no way in hell, they'd allow you to even remotely be a part of this. There's an undercover policewoman on the boat, just in case Benito sends someone to scout it out first. 'You' will be there. But you have no place there."

Something, he had no doubt she understood perfectly well.

With her arms crossed, Mercedes turned in her seat, away from him and stared out the window.

"You shouldn't have lied to me."

Sam scrubbed a hand over his face.

"I...I know. And I'm sorry for that. But not for anything else. Even if for some insane reason, Storm would have allowed you to be involved, I wouldn't have."

Her head whipped back around, her eyes blazing.

"You wouldn't have allowed me?"

"Damn straight." If she thought he'd ever let her walk head first into danger, she was out of her mind.

Her dark eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth, no doubt to blast him, when his cell phone buzzed. Sam tensed, when he saw Storm's name.

"Yeah?"

"Mercy still with you?" Storm's voice was grim.

Sam tightened his grip on the phone.

"What's going on?"

"I need to talk to her."

"Storm..."

"Sorry man, I've gotta talk to her." There was no room for argument in his brother's voice.

That alone told Sam, something very bad had happened. 'Please don't let it be Mason,' he silently prayed.

His gut twisted, as he handed the phone to Mercedes.

"It's Storm, he wants to talk to you."

Her eyebrows drew together.

"What about?" Sam shook his head, as she took the phone and held it up to her ear. "Storm? Wha...I don't understand. But...How..."

Tears started rolling down Mercedes' cheeks, as she dropped the cell.

Sam picked it up and started to speak to his brother, when she broke into a sob.

"Mason's dead."

A vise tightened around his chest. 'Shit!'

He ended the call and shoved the phone in his pocket. He'd get the details later. Right now Mercedes needed comforting.

Sam attempted to pull her into his arms, but she jerked away from him, slapping at his chest.

"Don't touch me!"

He reached for her again, desperately wanting to offer support. "Mercy..."

With an ashen face and shaking hands, she shoved his hands away.

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick." She slapped a hand over her mouth and tears tracked down her cheeks, as she struggled with her seatbelt. Sam unsnapped it.

Her face grew more ashen, as she made a blind grab for the door handle.

So Sam tapped their driver and motioned to the gas station they were approaching, on the right side of the road

Nodding, the guy pulled in to the brightly lit station.

There weren't any other cars there, so they got a spot right out front.

Mercedes...still holding a hand over her mouth...jumped from the vehicle and darted for the glass doors, before Sam had even unbuckled himself.

He thought about calling Storm, but decided to go in and wait for her.

She'd likely want some privacy, but he'd be waiting outside the door when she was done.

The store was quiet.

The young female Asian clerk, texting on her phone, barely glanced Sam's way, when he entered.

Once outside the unisex bathroom door, he knocked lightly.

"Mercy?"

"Go away." Her voice was muffled, but he could hear the tears in it.

"Baby..."

"Just give me a couple minutes!" She sounded angry, not that he blamed her.

He knew, once it fully hit her that Mason was dead, she'd be a wreck. And he planned to be there for her...if she let him.

He wanted to call his brother back and demand answers...he wanted to know how the hell Mason had been killed and who had done it.

Guilt ran rampant through him, as he wondered, if they should have done something differently. But he'd never know, until he knew the details.

When Sam heard Mercedes quietly crying inside the restroom, it was like knives being dragged across his skin.

He raised his hand to knock again, but knew her well enough, to know, she wouldn't appreciate the intrusion.

Hating that she was stuck in a gas station bathroom crying, he took a step back and headed down the aisles, until he reached a cooler and pulled out a water bottle for her.

He might not be able to ease any of her sorrow, but he could at least take care of her, the best way he knew how.

When he heard the bell above the door jingle, he automatically glanced towards the front of the store.

A young Spanish-looking guy, maybe in his early twenties, was at the counter buying cigarettes.

That wasn't what took Sam's interest, though. The guy had a black and blue bandanna, shoved in his back pocket...the Ninety-Ninth Street gang colors.

Ducking down, Sam made his way over a few more aisles, until he had a perfect view of the front of the station.

There was a blue muscle car, that looked just like the one he'd seen outside the motel. There was no one else inside though...which meant, this guy was alone.

Sam peered around the edge of the aisle, to get a good look at the guy. He was flirting with the sales clerk, not paying any attention to his surroundings.

Which meant he hadn't been following them.

The area of town they were in, wasn't exactly a rough neighborhood, but it was on the cusp of a bad neighborhood.

The same one the Ninety Ninth Street gang frequented.

'Just great.'

Any other day it wouldn't have mattered. But today it did.

Setting the water on the ground, Sam hurried around the corner of the aisle, so that he was walking parallel to the glass windows.

He wanted to get as close to the door as possible, but still remain hidden from the guy.

He was too far away to get to Mercedes and there was a big gap of space between the aisles of food and the short hallway, where the restroom was.

Nowhere for him to hide his approach.

He just prayed she stayed inside.

If she did, they wouldn't have any issues. If she came out and the guy at the register recognized her, things could get nasty.

As the guy pocketed his change, then grabbed his cigarettes and a candy bar, Sam saw Mercedes stride out of the restroom. His heart plummeted.

Her head was down, as she wiped tears from her cheeks and her skin was abnormally bland, beneath the harsh fluorescent lights.

The young male hadn't noticed her...yet.

His back was to her, as he turned toward the front doors.

Crouching a few inches lower, Sam remained hidden behind the first row of canned sodas and beers.

Every muscle in his body was tense, as he readied himself for a fight, even while he prayed it wouldn't come to that.

For a brief moment, he let a small breath of relief escape.

Then, the guy turned back around.

It was as if everything moved into slow motion.

The gang member headed back for the register, but paused when he saw her.

He reached into his pocket and Sam took a step forward, only stopping, when the guy pulled a phone out.

He looked at the screen, then back at her. Then he reached into his jacket pocket.

Sam didn't wait to see if he pulled out a weapon.

Silently, he moved out from behind the long row and rushed the guy.

Though Sam didn't make a sound, the clerk made a slight yelping sound, causing the dark-haired guy to turn in his direction.

In the guy's hand, was a .45 semi-automatic pistol.

Sam was vaguely aware of the woman behind the register screaming and Mercedes letting out a strangled sound, but all his focus was on the gang member.

Without losing momentum, he opened his arms and tackled him, not giving him a chance to raise his weapon.

He had one of his own, but this wasn't a situation that called for it.

As Sam made contact, the guy let out a loud grunt, and slammed into the tiles.

His head hit the ground and bounced up, and Sam heard the gun clatter to the floor, but that wasn't enough.

With a sharp punch, he jabbed the guy in the ribs. This guy had tried to kill Mercedes, or scare the hell out of her...twice.

The dark haired guy began to struggle and even though Sam would have loved to beat the shit out of him, he wrenched one arm up and twisted him over, until he was face down.

When he tried to fight, Sam raised the arm higher, so that if he moved, his arm would snap.

A dark part of Sam wanted to break it...so bad...but it wouldn't be punishment enough.

Out of the corner of Sam's eyes, he watched Mercedes picking up the fallen gun.

A quick glance at her, made his gut clench.

She looked almost frozen with shock. Her eyes were wide and her face even paler than before.

"Are you okay, Sam?" she asked. Her voice was wobbly and watery and damn it, he wanted to slam this guy's head into the tile again, for that.

"I'm fine, baby. Get behind that aisle and keep the gun close to you." He nodded with his head, hoping she would follow directions. And she did.

Once Mercedes was out of sight, Sam glanced over his shoulder at the door.

He twisted the gang member's body, so that they were facing the front of the store and his back wasn't exposed.

He looked at the sales clerk, who was just gaping at them.

"Call the police."

His words seemed to snap her out of her trance. Nodding, she scrambled with her cell phone and dialed.

Sam was about to tell Mercedes to get their driver, when he spotted the guy rushing towards the front door.

"I called for back-up, when I saw what was going on. I'll stand watch by the door," he said quietly, as soon as he was inside.

Sam nodded silent thanks, although he wasn't going to relax just yet.

But, just in case this shithead's friends were around, he needed someone to watch his back.

Underneath him the guy was muttering curses, about how this was a big mistake, but Sam ignored him.

He would have liked to tell their driver, to put Mercedes in the SUV, but he didn't want her outside and out of his sight. He needed her close.

All he cared about, was getting her back to his place.

While he wanted to know what the hell had gone wrong, with the sting operation to bring Benito Garcia down, he placed it on the back-burner. Getting her out of here, was on his mind right now.

She was obviously in shock from her brother's death and he needed to get her to a place safety, before the numbness faded and the true grief set in.

Unfortunately, he knew that they'd be stuck dealing with questions and would have to make statements.

When he risked a glance in her direction, he wished he hadn't.

She was peering around the aisle he'd told her to duck behind, staring at the gang member on the floor.

Dried tears stained her face, leaving trails of mascara smudged under her eyes. Her face was drawn and her dark eyes full of sorrow.

Sam would give anything, to gather her into his arms and just hold her. He inwardly cursed, as he pinned the gang member to the floor.

Somehow, he was going to help Mercedes get through this. He had to.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but in fact, only minutes later, blue and red flashing lights, filled the parking lot.

Almost immediately, a stocky patrolman, took the gang member into custody.

The punk cursed at the cop, telling him this was all a big misunderstanding, as he was being dragged from the store.

Considering, there were three witnesses and if the video surveillance worked, it was further proof of what he'd been about to do.

So, Sam wasn't concerned about the guy.

The gang member would be going to jail for a long time.

But that was the least of his worries right now.

Men and women in uniform milled in and out of the store and even though Mercedes shrugged his arm off, when he tried to embrace her, she stayed near him, watching everything unfold around them.

After answering a couple dozen questions, over and over, the cops finally let them go, without taking them down to the station for questioning.

Sam knew the only reason they were being let go, was because of his brother Storm and because, he worked for Evans Security.

They hired a lot of off duty cops for local security work and had a good working relationship with the department.

Once they were let go, Sam settled Mercedes into the back seat and slid in next to her.

"It's too soon to go back to your place, Mercy. Not until we know, Benito has called off his dogs. Considering what happened at the gas station...do you want to go to my home...or a hotel...or a safe house?"

He'd take her any damn place she pleased, as long as it wasn't her home. There was just too dangerous.

"Take me to my parents." Her voice was monotone, as she stared out the window at the patrol cars and police officers.

"Baby..."

"Don't call me baby! Don't...just don't. I want to go to my parent's house." Her voice broke on the last word, absolutely shredding him.

He glanced at the driver and gave him the address.

Once they'd steered out of the parking lot, Sam turned back to Mercedes. She still only gave him her profile, refusing to glance in his direction.

"I'm so sorry about Mason."

She whipped around to look at him, tears in her eyes.

"Don't say his name. I don't want to talk about him with you. I just want to..." Now, the tears started falling.

Turning in her seat, she gave him her back. Her shoulders shook with each silent sob, breaking his heart.

He started to place a comforting hand on her back, but stopped himself at the last moment. She'd made it clear, she didn't want his help.

Feeling more helpless than he ever had...including when he'd been in the Marines and had been left behind enemy lines for two months, without a way to contact his team...Sam sat there, staring at her, unable to do a damn thing.

When they made it to Mercedes' parents' house, she got out of the vehicle, without a backward glance at Sam.

And while he wanted to chase after, her he knew it would be a fruitless effort.

He couldn't force her to let him comfort her. To take care of her.

If he tried, she'd just push him further away, than she already had.

Feeling numb, he instructed the driver to take him down to the station.

He knew that's where Storm would be and he planned to get answers about what had gone wrong tonight and why Mercedes' brother was dead.

Stay safe...trust God...always.