Hey, guys so I hope you are ready for a ride into the world of lies, murder, and drama. Manifested Danger is something different for me so its a journey for all of us. Enjoy!


What are you doing? You are making a mistake; this can go so wrong.

Mercedes Jones said to herself as she made herself comfortable on the rooftop that was off-limits to everyone except the owner of the building. She shouldn't be there, that was clear, and the moment she got caught, it could go one of two ways, good or bad. But she needed answers, had to find the truth. Was her best friend on the run? Was she in hiding? Or was she dead?

As she exhaled, pretending to read the book in front of her, she heard a voice, the unmistakable voice of Sam Evans. The man of the hour, it was his rooftop that she snuck onto, and he was the man she most wanted to meet. Being an Entrpuneurer, the Evans name was riddled with success. However, those unfortunate enough to get on his wrong side soon found out that the Evans name also held a lot of weight in the Mafia world.

"I don't care what it takes; get rid of him. NOW!" Sam bellowed into the phone and tossed it onto one of the other chairs.

Turning to her, heated green eyes met brown as Sam finally noticed she was there.

"You don't belong here?" He stated. "Get. Out." He added, grabbing his phone as he moved towards her.

"But I am not finished with my book."

"Read it somewhere else! Get out!" He snapped.

Taking a breath, she stood, purposely dropping her book; she truly just wanted to annoy him for being rude, so she bent down in front of him, grabbing her book and giving him the perfect view of her backside in her deep red short, short jumpsuit.

Standing up, she raised her eyebrow at him. "Happy?"

"Not in the least; why are you here?" He said, and it was clear it wasn't a request.

She ran her hand through her curly hair. "I wanted a quiet place to read."

"There are plenty of other places in this resort, so why are you here? Better yet, how the hell did you get here?"

She shrugged, not answering him.

"Fine, I will just have security remove you." He said, staring her down.

She folded her arms against her chest and shrugged. "You won't do that."

"I won't?"

"No, you won't, You wouldn't treat your guest like that."

"Guest? What's your name?"

She could have lied, but from the research she had done on Sam Evans, he seemed like a human lie detector, and considering she was hiding something huge from him, she figured if she told him as much of the truth as she could, he wouldn't catch on to the lies."

"Mercedes."

"Got a last name Mercedes?"

She shrugged. "Jones."

Watching him, she wondered if he recognized her name from Quinn or if he was just surprised that she told him who she was.

They stood staring at each other for a long moment before Sam turned away from her. "Well, Ms. Jones, you can see yourself out."

"I thought I was clear before that I wasn't finished."

"And I thought I was clear when I said yes, you are," Sam said. "Now, see yourself out; you have delayed me long enough."

Mercedes watched him as he tugged off his suit jacket and tossed it to the side.

"Ah, so you are one of those men, huh?"

That caused him to stop what he was doing and look at her. "Excuse me? What kind of man is that?"

She smiled. "That kind of man who uses intimidation and commands to get a woman to do his bidding."

Sam stalked closer to her. "And are you intimidated?"

Yes. She thought internally. "No."

Sam smiled, a smile that should have made him look like some sinister villain, but it just made Mercedes aware of how very hot Sam Evans was.

"Does that mean you are one of those women?"

She shrugged. "And what woman would that be?"

"The kind of woman who doesn't take shit from any man, doesn't like to be controlled? Tamed?"

"Oh, you think women need to be tamed?"

"In the bedroom, sometimes, in life, I have learned that women can't and shouldn't be tamed."

He turned away from her and started to pull off his shirt, and Mercedes stared at his chest. The man was just as sexy as they said.

He turned towards her and smiled. "You just gonna stand there? You are interrupting my meditation time."

"You meditate?"

Sam laughed. "Yes, why so surprised?"

"I dunno, a strong man like you? I figured you would be doing karate or something."

Sam chuckled. "I take Ju Jitsu on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Show me something."

She didn't know if Sam was amused by her or curious, but she could see the inner demons playing in his eyes. Should he show her, or should he kick her out?

"Come here." He commanded, and she looked at him as he continued. "Unless you are scared."

She moved toward him, showing she wasn't afraid, though if she was being honest, she was terrified.

"Turn around." He said and moved behind her. "The first thing you need to know is how to stand; your stance will determine how effective you are."

She nodded as his hands moved to her hips, positioning her into a fighting stance.

"So you gonna tell me why you are really here?" Ha asked, hands still resting on her hips.

She should have tensed under him, but she had practiced this, showed no fear, and commanded the room. "I told you, I wanted a place to read."

Sam turned her towards him and lifted her chin up to his. "Yeah, I don't believe that, and I am not a man who asks the same question twice."

Mercedes sighed. "My answer isn't going to change. My room, while great, just felt, I dunno, and I saw the door open, and this place is beautiful. I didn't mean to intrude on your space, and I'll leave you to your meditation."

She moved out of his grasp and started towards the door.

"Meet me for dinner." Sam said, and she stopped.

"What?" She asked, turning towards him.

"I told you to join me for dinner."

Yahtzee! Got him right where I want him.

"Can't; I have plans."

Sam shrugged. "Change them. I will see you tonight at seven PM. Penthouse suite. Don't be late."

Sam turned away from her, and she watched him sit on the ground. Walking back down to her room in the resort, she sighed heavily. "I'm close, so close."

"Close to what?"

Mercedes turned and jumped, seeing a translucent standing in front of her.

"Ugh, don't do that!" Mercedes said, shaking her head.

"Considering I am not real, why are you shocked every time you see me?"

"Because I don't plan on seeing ghosts!" She said, sitting down.

"Oh, so you have decided then? That I am dead? Then what are you doing here?"

Mercedes closed her eyes. "I am here to find out what Sam Evans has to do with your disappearance."

"And, have you made any progress?" Quinn asked, sitting in a chair across from the bed.

"I am having dinner with him tonight; I don't know what to wear; you dated him; what does he like?"

"Well, you certainly aren't his type. Sam dates women like me, posh, sophisticated. Stuck up."

Mercedes smiled. "You don't think I am sophisticated?"

"I think you don't think you are since I am a manifestation of you."

"You don't have to be a smart ass."

Quinn laughed. "Apparently, I do. Mercedes, be careful. If you feel off at any time, please just leave. From what I told you, Sam is a dangerous man when he is angry; the good thing is he invited you to dinner, and Sam doesn't just do that to anyone. He is either intrigued by you, or he knows you are after him, and he will try to kill you."

Mercedes opened her suitcase and sighed, going through her clothes. "So are we certain he has something to do with your disappearance?"

"I don't know; all you know is I left you a voice mail and that's it. We need more information, and the man who can give it to you is Sam. But be careful; he is a charming man."

"I don't find him charming." Mercedes defended.

"Yes, you do; that's why I said it. You are attracted to him, but the good thing is you know the truth and won't be swayed by his sweet talking."

KNOCK KNOCK

Mercedes walked to the door hesitating before opening it. Seeing a taller man, she frowned. "Yes?"

"Ms. Jones?"

She scoffed. "Depends on who is asking."

The man held a box in front of him. "From Mr. Evans, and he requests you wear it tonight."

Mercedes was about to shit the door when he pushed the box in her hands and then walked away.

Walking back into the room, Mercedes placed the box on her bed and went back to looking for something to wear. She hadn't packed anything for dinner because she hadn't planned on flirting with Sam.

"You know you want to see what that dress looks like."

"Shut up; I am not wearing some dress your man bought me." Mercedes said.

"And yet you want too, you really want too."

"No one has ever bought me a dress before; why am I explaining myself to you! Go away."

"I can go away, but you will still want to try on the dress. I bet it's beautiful." Quinn said, walking to the box. "If I could, I would open it for you."

Mercedes sighed as she reached for the box. It was a sparkling purple box with a black bow on top, and it was from the boutique in the store at the resort. Untying the bow, she opened the box, removing the pink and red tissue paper; she pulled out the dress and sighed, laying it out on the bed.

"Dammit, it's beautiful."

"Girl, you would look hot in that dress," Quinn said.

Mercedes looked at the lacy fabric and smiled. It was in purple, and that was her favorite color. "I am hoping that is a coincidence."

"What, him knowing your favorite color?"

Mercedes nodded as she looked into the box and noticed a pair of black stilettos and a note from Sam.

Ms. Jones,

See you tonight, wear this.

S.E.

Mercedes breathed. "I am gonna get dressed."

"Be safe, Mercedes; I was caught up in his magic too."

Mercedes grabbed the dress and headed to the bathroom when her phone rang; walking to it, she sighed, seeing it was her friend Artie, who was also one of the detectives on Quinn's case.

"Hey, Artie."

"Don't hey Artie me, I stopped by the bar to get a drink and discuss some things with you, and your Shelly told me you took a few days off for a last-minute vacation."

"Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you, but I got swamped." She said, placing her dress on the hook in the bathroom.

"Mercedes Jones, I will find you and arrest you if you are in New York!"

"Arrest me for what?" She pushed.

"How about interfering with a police investigation? I know why you are in New York, I know who you went to see, I told you we are looking into Quinn's disappearance."

"And I told you that it's been a month, and you haven't found a damn thing! You aren't even looking into Sam Evans or his motley crew."

"He is a person of interest, Mercedes, we are looking into him, but the other leads take priority."

"Yeah, well, you follow your hunches and your leads, and I will do the same. Quinn and I grew up together, she is my sister, and I will do whatever I have to to find out what happened to her. Arrest me all you want, but I am close, Artie."

He sighed. "How close? And I am asking as a friend, not a cop at the moment."

"I am having dinner with Sam tonight."

"Mercedes!" He yelled. "You can't do that! Sam Evans is a man who thinks he is untouchable and he may be right, we know he is in some pretty heavy stuff, but we have no proof, from where we sit, he is a legit businessman."

"I guess it's good that I got an in then. Look, I know you are worried about me, but I will be fine. I am smart, and resourceful and you taught me self-defense, I can handle myself."

There was a long silence before he spoke again. "Be on your guard the moment you step out of your room. Watch your surroundings and know where all the exits are."

"Okay, I got it."

"I am not done." He said. "Do not bring Quinn up, not tonight; you will put him right on guard; if you are gonna do this, then, off the record, not as a cop talking, you gotta play into just being into him, learning about him. If you get in trouble, I have a friend in New York, and she can be there if anything goes wrong."

"A friend or a friend?"

"Just a friend, now, tell me you are still wearing that butterfly necklace."

Mercedes smiled reaching up and holding it, the butterflies wings opened into a small knife, it wasn't big but it was sharp enough to help if she needed. "Yes I am still wearing it, and if it makes you feel better I will wear the ring too, but only because it goes with the dress he bought me."

"He bought you a dress!?" He screeched. "That's dangerous Merce."

"I know what I am doing, go be the great cop that you are and follow those leads, I will handle Evans, and if he is involved with Quinn's disappearance, then I will show no Mercy."


Sam Evans was a man not often impressed by anyone, especially women. It was his experience they lied, used you, and moved on to bigger wallets and smaller minds. He was for sure a love-em and leave-em kind of man, even if, as of late, he was more focused on his many businesses than his love life, but Mercedes Jones seemed to have thrown him for a loop.

He couldn't get a good read on her; one minute, she was flirting, then she was serious; it was as if she just wanted to get a reaction out of Sam, and much to his dismay, she had. She made an impression on him, which wasn't an easy feat. An encounter spanning all of five no more than ten minutes, and she sent him spinning.

He should have run, gotten as far away from her as possible, but no, he had to invite her to dinner. Then completely out of character, he bought her a dress. Who even was he right now?

As the doors opened to his suite, he nodded towards Noah Puckerman, his right-hand man.

"Did she get it?"

"Yeah, she got it; the question is, why the hell did you send it?"

Sam shrugged. "I wanted her to look nice for dinner, and I also wanted you to do your due diligence."

"Well, you were right. She is here alone, it looks like she packed for a weekend, so she won't be here that long. What I don't understand is why you invited her to dinner; she trespassed onto the roof, the last woman who did that you had escorted out of your hotel."

Sam shrugged, looking at the papers in front of him. "I dunno, there was something about her, something familiar yet so very…unfamiliar. She has my interest, and it's been a long time since a woman has done that. Have the chef prepare pasta; that's a good meal, right?"

Puck shrugged. "Hell, if I know, but I do know that you better keep your guard up with that one. If she gives you any kind of vibe that she is here to pull any kind of shit, we will be here."

"She isn't dangerous, Puck."

Puck laughed. "I saw her, Sam; she's plenty dangerous."

Running his fingers through his hair, Sam sighed. "Let's just get everything together for this merger. Evans Corp is about to go international."

"We already are, just not this division; you sure you can trust them, overseas dudes; they don't play by our rules here."

"Well, they better, or they will have to answer to us." Sam sighed. "You know you are my second and command for a reason, right? We ride together, die together, and make sure we get this money right."

Puck laughed. "Okay, that's it; you are not traveling with Azimo and them again."

"What? I can't pull off being hard?" Sam laughed.

"No, you can't."

"Man, whatever, tell Mitz I am ready for him to shape me up. Gotta look good for my date."

"Got it. You should also think about cutting your hair; with us going international, you need to look like the head and not the muscle. It's why I lost the frosted tips."

Sam nodded, running his hands through his brunette locks. He had been debating cutting his hair for a while, wanting to ensure he was being taken seriously.

"Yeah, okay. It will definitely throw my dinner guest off guard."

Puck sighed. "Just be careful; we don't know who she works for; my guys haven't gotten back to me yet."

"That is what makes this dinner exciting. Either she is hiding something, and we have to get rid of her, or she's not, and I get to have a little fun before the real work begins; either way it is sure to be a good night,"