The last week had been really hard for Mercedes; being near Sam and only offering her friendship made her realize that she couldn't do anything for him. No matter how hard she tried. No matter how much she wanted to be everything for him, she couldn't, and it killed her. It made her depressed and sad. But she tried to hide her feelings, shove them down and shove down the thoughts of what River did to her. Today they were all hanging out at the mall, and yet she was distracted. Joey and Brax decided to head off in a different direction as Mercedes faked a smile looking at the sea of people in front of her. She watched Sam closely, "Where should we go?"

The mall was too much for Sam. It was the first time he was out in public, and he shut down on the car ride there, leaving Cap in his place. He didn't want to upset Miss Mercedes. "Can I... go to the bathroom?" "I dunno," he replied, trying his hardest to be like Sam.

Mercedes glanced at him. "Yeah, it's right over there." She pointed to the left. "Do you want me to come with you?"

He shook his head and offered her a small smile. "No, I'll be good."

She nodded. I'll be right here if you need me, Sam." She said, giving him a reassuring smile that she didn't feel. He needed her less and less.

River had been watching the duo for the last 30 minutes, Mercedes still took his breath away, and yet he couldn't get her alone. He had been watching Mercedes and Joey since Jericho took her from him. They would pay. Jericho, Sam, and Rose were going to pay for this. And Mercedes and Joey were the key.

Cap nodded and went into the bathroom. It was so hard pretending to be Sam, but he thought he was doing a good job.

Seeing Sam go to the bathroom, River knew that was his chance to maybe scare Sam into helping him. He followed him inside and folded his arms across his chest. "You must think you are so special right now, got your freedom, got my girl. But you are still nothing but a worthless piece of shit."

There was no one in the bathroom with them, and upon hearing River's voice, Cap immediately fell to his knees. "I am worthless, Master," he whispered.

The moment Sam fell to his knees, River knew it wasn't Sam kneeling before him; Sam wasn't that obedient. He had met this guy a few times when Sam couldn't take what was happening to him. This was his slut. His whore. "Get off your knees, you stupid whore if people walk in and see you!" He moved to see if he could lock the door.

Cap scrambled to get up, fear running through him. He thought that River was gone. "Please take me back," he begged.

"Why the hell would I do that?! No one wants you."

Cap bit back a sob. "Please, Master... I d-don't belong out there.*

"You are worthless, and I am done talking to you. There is nothing you can do to make me want to take you anywhere." River spat

"Please," he begged. "Please, I'll d-do anything... just m-make me yours again."

River turned to face him. "Why would I want a slut like you?"

Caps face screwed up with emotion. "I can be good... please."

"You are weak." He spat, turning away but then an idea formed. Maybe just maybe, he could be useful. "You know what on second thought, my pet. I think I could use you after all."

Cap shrank away. "Please... please, Sir."

River folded his arms. "I want Mercedes."

"I can't give you that..."

River smiled his sadistic smile. "Yes, you can. You can take her to the parking deck. Tell her you want to be alone with her. And then I will grab her."

"I can't do that..." he whispered. "Please take me instead..."

"Are you going against your Master!" River yelled.

Cap cowered from him. "N-no, Master."

"This will be good for you too slut. With Mercedes out the way, you can finally have Joey."

Cap was shaking in fear. "Yes, Master."

River nodded. "Now that's a good pet. You are going to get her to drop her guard, do whatever you have to, to get her to head to the lowest deck. I will be there waiting."

Cap nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Good boy. Now go. I will see you soon."

Cap nodded and walked out, taking a few moments to compose himself.

Mercedes bit her bottom lip looking around; she was about to go find Sam when he walked out. "Hey, are you okay? You were in there for a while."

Cap nodded with a small smile. "All's good.". He reached out and took Mercedes' hand.

Mercedes glanced at him for a moment before linking her hands with his. She said she would be his comfort. "So, where to next?"

Cap shrugged. "I just need a breather. Can we go outside?"

"Outside? You wanna go home? We can find Joey and Brax and go."

"No. Just outside for a few minutes. There's a lot... a lot of people."

She nodded. "Okay, yeah, we can go out front for a while. They have benches out there."

Cap led her towards the parking deck.

Mercedes topped, "Yeah, that's not the front, Sam."

Cap shrugged. "I get turned around in here."

They were almost there...

She pulled him towards the other way. "Okay, well, that is why I am here."

Cap felt panic starting to fill him. He needed to be a good boy.

"I need to go outside, Merce..." he whispered. "Just for a minute."

"Sam, that's not outside; that's the parking deck. Come on, I can take you outside to the front." She said softly.

Cap shook his head. "Please," he pleaded. "Just for a minute."

"Sam, what is happening? What's wrong?" She could see it on his face.

Cap was beginning to panic. "I need air."

Mercedes nodded. "Okay, okay, Sam. Let's go."

Cap led her out to the lower deck of the parking deck. More panic hit him. What was he doing?

As they walked, Mercedes got a bad feeling. "Sam... Sam, this is far enough."

River was in the lowest deck waiting for Sam and Mercedes; he had no intention of letting Sam go.

Cap continued walking. Just a little further.

She stood still. "Sam! Where are you going?"

Cap broke off in a run, hoping that Mercedes would follow him.

"Sam? Sam! What the hell! Oh my God." She hurried after him realizing it wasn't Sam; this wasn't his behavior. "Cap!?"

Cap continued running.

Mercedes followed him. "Please. Please don't run away from me."

Cap's heart broke as he forced himself to continue running.

Mercedes tried to catch up with him; he was just faster than she was.

He slowed down as soon as he sensed his Master in the area.

River watched as Sam came into view now; he just had to wait for Mercedes.

"Cap, stop running, please."

Cap turned to look at her, tears streaming down his face. He spotted River, then looked back to Mercedes. "Run!"

Mercedes saw him, and she leaned forward, her hands on her knees. "What is going on."

"Run, Miss Mercy! Run!"

River opened the side of the car and pulled out his long hunting knife.

Mercedes finally heard what Cap was saying and turned, looking around the garage. She ran to take Cap's hand. "Let's go."

Cap shook his head. "Run!" he shouted again when Mercy came towards him. He ran towards River.

River jumped out of the van as Cap started screaming for Mercedes to run. When Cap ran towards him, he held the knife to his throat. "Don't even think about it, Vixen."

Mercedes was confused, and then she saw and heard River, and her eyes began to water. She wanted to run, but he had a knife to Cap's throat. "What are you doing here?"

Cap felt the knife against his neck and knew that this was it. He only hoped that he made the right choice.

"Go," he whispered.

River gripped Cap harder. "Shut up."

Mercedes stepped back. "I can't just leave you."

"No, you can't. So why don't you come take a ride with me, and I won't hurt him."

Cap gasped. "Yes, you can..." he begged.

Mercedes felt tears fill her eyes. "I promised I would never leave you."

River laughed. "You have 30 seconds."

"Run..." Cap pleaded. "I'm sorry..."

River held the knife closer to his neck, causing some blood to drip down his neck. "I will kill him."

Mercedes swallowed hard and moved towards River. "Don't. I am coming. Please don't hurt him."

As she got closer, River shoved Cap and handed him a pair of cuffs. "Put the cuffs on her."

Cap whined as he pushed the knife against his neck. He fell forward when River pushed him. "I'm sorry."

River pointed the knife towards his back. "Cuff her now. You are a part of this with me. Don't disobey me."

"Cap, don't do this. Let's just go; he can't hurt us if we work together." Mercedes pleaded.

Cap was shaking. He was torn between obeying Master River and helping Mercedes, a woman who was nothing but kind to him. He turned to River and, with an act of bravado, threw the cuffs at him.

River snarled at Cap, slicing him in the arm and lunging for Mercedes. Grabbing her by the arms, she shoved her into the van as she screamed and kicking. He took the cuffs and cuffed her to the bar in the van, then turned to Cap. "You stupid whore."

Cap grabbed his arm where River sliced him. He knew that this was game over for them. "You... vile..."

River yanked Cap up and threw him in the van. "Shut the fuck up." He slammed him against the metal floor. "All you had to do was get her in here, and I would have let you go now; now you will suffer with her."

Cap groaned as his head hit the metal floor and darkness crept into his vision.

Mercedes watched in horror as River attacked Cap. She tugged at her cuffs, punching him with her free hand. "Stop! Leave him alone!"

Cap was out cold.

River smiled at Mercedes. "Do what I say, and your precious Sam will be fine. This... Cap, on the other hand..."

"He is Sam! Just stop, please. Why are you doing this!"

"Because you're mine... you'll always be mine..."

She shook her head. "I am not yours; I never was. And you are crazy if you think differently. Just...just let us go, please."

He smirked. "you are mine... you'll see."

"Let him go then; if you just want me, then you don't need him; he's hurt."

"I don't really care..."

"Why? Why are you like this?" She screamed

"Shhhh..." he smiled. "Don't make me hurt him."

"They are gonna be looking for us. You won't get away with this."

"They'll never find you."

She looked at him. "Haven't you done enough damage? All the people you hurt...what was the purpose? Why can't you just let us go... why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm a villain... that's what I do."

She looked over to Sam/Cap. "You won't win; I won't let you break me, not again." She said, unshed tears in her eyes.

"Oh, I will. You'll be just like your precious Cap soon enough."

She shook her head. "You are crazy. I won't break. I won't. I will fight you; I will fight you with my last breath if I have to."

River laughed as he started to drive away. "You won't."

"I just need to know why me? Why are you doing this to me?" She closed her eyes, realizing she still had her phone. She immediately turned it on silent, then glanced at River as she opened it and called her dad. He would know what to do just by hearing them speak.

"Because I need you."

"Why? What can I do for you?"

"You're the most gorgeous woman in the world."

Her dad answered the phone.

"I don't know what you think you can get from taking me, but I assure you, you are going to pay. You don't know my dad. He will hunt you down for taking Sam and Me... let us go River, and I won't even tell him it's you." She said, hoping her dad could hear her.

Sylvie made her way to Gerald, not realizing he was on the phone. "What are you thinking for dinner?"

Gerald felt his blood boiling as he immediately put a trace on his daughter's phone. "Shhhhh..." he whispered to Sylvie.

"Oh, I'm not letting you go that easy. Jericho can kiss my ass."

Sylvie glanced at him; she mouthed, "What's wrong?"

Mercedes shook his head, "Jericho? That's not my dad's name, and you can stop, just stop. I am never gonna be whatever you want me to be, I can assure you that."

"Oh, you don't know your father ..."

Gerald shook his head.

"I know him, and he is a good man!" She defended.

Sylvie nodded and grabbed her phone. "What do you need me to do?" She whispered.

"Call the cops."

River laughed. "Ask your precious Sam... or better yet, ask Joey about Jericho... they're one and the same."

Sylvie nodded and dialed 911.

Mercedes frowned. "No! You are not going to do this; you are not going to b-break me. I am stronger than you think I am."

"You're weak... I'll break you again... permanently this time... into my little pet."

"You won't because you are the weak one. I have love real love from my family, my friends, Sam. I won't be broken by you."

"You're funny. I got you. you're mine now."

"I am Sam's." She spat at him.

"Your Sam is broken."

She looked over to Sam; he was still out cold. "Sam is healing. And even Cap has his own mind. He disobeyed you. You don't have the power you think you do."

Cap was out.

"He'll learn too."

"What do I have to do for you to let him go?" She wasn't gonna give him anything, but she could lie to save Sam. No matter if Cap betrayed her or not, Sam was still in there.

"Be mine. Forever."

She shuttered. "And what does that mean?"

"Listen to me. Break for me. Be my pet."

"And Sam will be safe? Everyone will be safe?"

"I'll take good care of him."

She shook her head. "What the hell does that mean?"

"He'll be a good pet too."

"You said you would let him go, so let him go. I will be your pet. I am all you need." She pleaded.

"I never said that. I said I would take good care of him..."

"You're a bastard!" She said, looking down at her phone, it was still on, so hopefully, her dad was still there.

They were working on tracking her.

"We'll all be happy together."

"it's never gonna work; you are never going to make me anything with you. Sam will kill you when he wakes up for even thinking about touching me. And my father will skin you alive."

River laughed. "Sam's not coming back, beautiful."

"He always comes back. He always comes back to me. I will never be yours."

"Believe me... he won't be back for long."

Mercedes glanced down at her phone, she only had about 25 percent left on her battery, and she needed to get him to say where they were going, "Where are you taking us?"

"Far away... you'll never ever be found again. You're mine."

She moved her cuffed wrist. "Far away? What does that mean?"

"You'll see."

"Stop playing with me and just tell me! If you are really taking me away from my family, then tell me, tell me where you are taking me!"

"Home," he smiled. "Now shut the fuck up."

"It's not my home. And you don't own me I will speak whenever I want!" she said boldly.

"Oh, just wait until we get home, Princess..."

She was done; if she wasn't getting out of this, she would make his life hell. "Let me go!" She screamed, tugging at her cuffed hands. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"Shut. Up." He insisted.

She just continued screaming. Making as much noise as she could have.

"You don't shut the fuck up; I will fucking kill him."

She stopped screaming and looked over at Sam. "You are gonna kill us anyway, so why should I?"

"Because I can make it quick, or I can make it painful."

Mercedes laughed bitterly. "I hope when they find you, they make it painful for you."

Oh, Gerald would make it most painful.

"He'll suffer."

"He's already suffering; look at what you are doing... you really are a monster."

"I don't care what you think."

"Yes, you do. If you want me like you say you do, then you really do care."

"Eventually, you'll be loyal."

"Knowing who you are, how you treated me, you are wrong. I won't be loyal, not to you."

He focused on his driving again.

Mercedes sniffed, wiping her eyes and looking over to Sam. She reached for him, praying that he still had a pulse. After a few seconds, she breathed out, happy she felt him. "Sam...wake up...please."

Cap was slowly coming to. His head hurt, and his arm was still bleeding slightly. He groaned.

Mercedes sniffed. "Please be okay... please..."

Cap opened his eyes slowly and stared at Mercedes.

Mercedes glanced at River then turned back to Sam. "Sam?" She whispered. "Sam, can you hear me?"

"Not Sam..." he whispered.

Mercedes nodded, looking away from him. She leaned back, removing her hand from his. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Cap's head was spinning as his eyes closed again, and he groaned.

She swallowed hard, her throat scratchy. "I need something to drink...I need...uncuff me, please."

River ignored her.

"I know you hear me. if you want me to do what you say, then you have to treat me like I am a person right now."

Nothing. He turned the music up.

Cap groaned again.

She smiled; that was too easy. She watched him as she lifted her phone. She had less than 12 percent now. "Daddy?" She whispered.

Gerald felt physically ill. "I'm here, sweetie..." he whispered.

"Daddy, my phone, it's gonna die soon."

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too Daddy, I don't think you are going to find us... I am scared."

"We will... just hold on."

"He has me and Sam we are going the speed limit, I am sure, the van is beige... he cut Sam, I am not sure how bad and hit his head on the ground. Ummm, I can't. I can't remember anything else."

Suddenly, River stopped the van. "Who the fuck are you talking to?"

Mercedes dropped the phone. "What? I am talking to Sam; I am scared he's really hurt."

River heard something drop. "Give it to me."

"I don't have anything!"

"Say goodbye, Vixen."

She looked at him while moving the phone to under Sam. "What?"

"It's Sam or the phone. One is leaving this van."

She stared at him then looked at Sam; if River let him out, Sam might have a chance, but he would kill him knowing River. She grabbed the phone. "I love Daddy. I love you so much." She handed the phone to River.

Gerald was screaming into the phone. "I will kill you! I swear to God I will kill you, River!"

River laughed at Gerald, screaming into the phone. "Goodbye, Jericho."

"Bastard, don't think for a second I will not hunt you down like the scum you are."

And he hung up, throwing the phone out the window before beginning to drive again.