Here is another drop for you! I hope you like it!
Mercedes Jones checked her heart rate as she ran on the treadmill, headphones in, singing along to her '90s workout mix. She liked to change up her mix every workout so she didn't fall into a rut. She had her playlists set up by decades, from current hits all the back to the 80s. Hopping off the treadmill, she grabbed her water bottle, taking a sip before grabbing her gloves and moving to her punching bag.
Once a week, she took boxing, something she recently started when she got a threatening letter at her off. Being the top District Attorney, she was no stranger to threats, but something about that letter felt off.
She bounced on her toes, and Queen Latifah's "UNITY" Started to play. She cracked her neck, humming along with the song. "U.N.I.T.Y that's a Untiy." She began to punch the bag, the lyrics allowing her to focus on her punches.
"Now everybody knows there's exceptions to this rule, now don't be gettin' mad when we playing; it's cool. But don't be calling me out my name; I bring wrath to those who disrespect me like a dame."
She lost herself in the punching when she felt a chill run down her spine. She turned around, feeling as if someone was watching her. She pulled off her headphones and turned around, hearing a loud crash. Being that she was home alone, fear crept into her mind. Grabbing a dumbbell, she dialed her dad's number and placed one of the AirPods back into her ear.
She crept out of the gym and exhaled as he answered. "Hi, buttercup, shouldn't you be working out? You are more predictable than my bowels."
"Eww, papa I heard a noise downstairs…."
"Please tell me that you called the police and are locked in the gym." He said.
"I thought you knew me." She hissed.
"Mercedes, walk your derriere back into that gym! I am on my way."
Mercedes walked towards the stairs, gripping the dumbbell tighter. "I am not gonna run scared every time I hear a noise, and I am keeping you on the phone in case of an issue."
"What am I gonna do if someone is in your place? Scream at them to leave you alone?" He snapped.
Mercedes sighed. "I am probably just hearing things. I have a gate and an alarm system they would have had to…daddy."
She stood frozen as she looked to the busted window, and then in the middle of the foyer was red paint; she hoped it was painted: spelling out "You're Next."
"Mercedes? Buttercup? Talk to me." He said through the phone.
"Someone was here." She said below a whisper.
"Go to your room, lock the door. I am on my way."
Mercedes nodded, running back up the stairs and to her room. She heard her dad talking to someone before he told her to hold tight and disconnected the call. Going to her closet, she grabbed the metal bat she kept for situations like this. She waited a good ten minutes before deciding to face her attacker head-on; if they wanted her, she would give them one hell of a fight.
Walking out of her room, she tiptoed down the stairs, hearing voices; she held her breath as she reached the hall and jumped out, swinging the bat at whoever was in her house.
"Damn, down, batgirl." She heard as someone gripped the bat. She frowned, yanking it away and staring into a familiar pair of green eyes.
"Why the hell are you in my house!" She sneered at him.
"Because I invited him." Came the booming voice of her father. "Sam, did you find anything?"
Sam nodded. "Whoever it was, came in through the back door and left the same way. I checked around it doesn't look like they installed any listening devices or anything; they only came for the threat. Speaking of which, the red on the ground is painted, but the message is clear."
"Oh, look, he can read." She spat, folding her arms across her chest.
"You know I came here as a favor to your father, but I can see you are alive, so I am gonna go," Sam said, turning.
"Stop! I asked you here for a reason, Sam." Jonah Jones said and Sam sighed, turning back around.
"My daughter has been getting death threats for the last few weeks, but now that someone has come into her home, she is no longer safe. I can't be sure, but since the threats started the moment she was assigned the Walter Mayfield case, I assume he has a hand in this."
"What does this have to do with Sam's dad? I am fine; I am always fine no one is going to come at me and get away with it."
Jonah walked towards her. "Mercedes, this is no time for you to be prideful! Your mother and I are worried about you!"
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "This is not the first time I have gotten death threats! I am not some child who can't handle a big case."
Sam folded his arms across his chest. "Wait, Walter Mayfield? That Mob Boss?"
Mercedes sighed. "Yes, the alleged Mob Boss. I am prosecuting him. We go to trial in 6 months."
"And how soon after you were given the case did the first letter come?" Sam asked.
"Dad, are we seriously doing this?"
Jonah nodded. "Tell him."
"The letter was on my desk the morning before we had his arraignment telling me to give him a light sentence, and when I didn't, they started coming weekly. Today the Defense's last-ditch effort for a mistrial failed, and the judge set the trial date." She ran her hand through her hair. "The police said they are looking into it, but they haven't found anything."
Sam nodded. "You need protection, a bodyguard of some sort, to keep this kinda thing from happening."
"Oh, you sure as hell are not gonna be the one to do it." She said, shaking her head.
"Trust me, Mercedes, I was not about to be the one to offer you any kind of services." Sam spat at her.
"Good! Do you understand how weak that would make me look? To be intimidated by a man I am prosecuting?"
Sam laughed bitterly. "And we can't have that, can we? Have Mercedes Jones do anything that would make her look weak. That's too much like you're human and not a bloodthirsty succubus!"
"Why are you here!" She screamed at him in frustration.
"Will you two shut up! You are both right! Mercedes, you need a bodyguard, but you can not come across as weak; that will weaken your case to the public, and with a case like this, how you look to the public is important." Jonah said.
"You act like I haven't done the whole big trial thing before, dad. I am the top District Prosecutor in New York; I have taken down a fortune five hundred CEOs who got caught inside trading, scumbag landlords who ripped off their tenants, and of course, who could forget that playboy Dom who drugged his subs. I can handle a Mob Boss; he isn't the first or the last to threaten my life."
Jonah moved in front of her. "Mercedes, this is serious; those were idle threats, this man he has killed will have no problem killing or getting one of his minions to kill you, and that is where Sam comes in."
Mercedes shook her head. "You are making no sense; if having a bodyguard would make me look weak, why did you call Sam here to be my bodyguard?"
"Because my darling daughter, only you, myself, Sam, and your mother will know that Sam is here to be your bodyguard. Everyone else around you will think that you and Sam rekindled your romance, and you two got back together."
Mercedes frowned, staring at him. "No."
"No?" Jonah asked.
"No, there has to be another way."
Sam sighed. "Unfortunately, there isn't. As much as I dread these next few words, I have to be honest here. The plan is genius. I have security detail experience, I have a team that can analyze any calls or notes you get, and we have history, so I am the perfect choice. The problem is that I am not sure I want the job. We didn't exactly break up as much as you left me and never looked back."
"It's not like that stopped you from moving on." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Like I was gonna wait for some work-obsessed tease who always got what she wanted then dropped them because they didn't fit into her perfect little life!"
Mercedes stepped back, looking at him. "Wow, tell me how you really feel, Evans?"
"I just did! And trust me, that was the tame version." He sneered.
"Enough! You two are behaving like kids, not like the grown-ass adults you claim to be." Jonah said, standing between them. "We all want the same thing, for Mercedes to remain safe. And we believe that the only person qualified for it is Sam. So grow the hell up, and let's make a plan so this can work."
Sam and Mercedes growled at each other, and Jonah shook his head. "Sit!" He commanded using the voice he used to use when he commanded his troops.
Sam and Mercedes both took a seat looking at him, neither wanting to get on his wrong side; he was a scary man.
"Dad, Sam, and I haven't spoken in seven years…."
"Oh? Was I supposed to send you a birthday card? I'm sorry, you didn't leave a forwarding address when you packed up all your things and just walked away." Sam sniped.
Mercedes glared at him. "Yes, I left you; I apologized, and you were pissed. It's old news, Sam; hum a different tune!"
"Hum, a different tune, of course, a heartless, callous, manipulative…."
"Enough! Look, you two were in love once; Sam, you asked me for permission to marry her, so the feelings had to be real, right?"
"We were together for three and a half years, so yes, I was in love. So glad I dodged that bullet." Sam smirked at her. "It's clear I was the only one; she never loved me."
Mercedes looked away from him, not wanting him to see how hurt she really was at that comment.
Jonah rubbed his forehead. "Sam has been back in town for eight months now. So that's your cover, he came back, and old feelings die hard. No one will question why your boyfriend is around you or why you moved in with him."
"Moved in with him!" Mercedes screamed, throwing her hands up. "That is not happening!"
"Mercedes, you get your stubbornness from your mother, but you get your logic from me, so think logically. Someone broke into your house, your secure house; that means that someone you know may have betrayed you. All this could have been worse; living with Sam ensures your safety."
"If you don't like that, you can always run home to mommy and daddy; we both know how much you love to run away," Sam smirked again, getting true pleasure in her pain.
Mercedes cut her eyes at him. "Shut up."
"Mr. Jones, I know you want me to protect her, but its clear she's scared to live with me, which is a surprise to me because I should be the one who is scared to live with her, though this time around, I won't be dumb enough to take my eyes off of her."
Jonah sighed. "This is the only option; go grab some of your things, Mercedes."
"While she does that, I am going to call my guys in and have them do a thorough sweep in case I missed anything," Sam said, walking out of the door, and Mercedes turned towards her dad.
"Why in the world would you think Sam Evans was the answer to my problems?!"
"First off, you may be thirty years old, but you better take that disrespect out of your voice. Sam trained under me for five years, then he left for his final tour, and now he is back with his own private security firm. He is the only one around here that knows you well enough to protect you. And you know this, so the question is, why are you fighting me on this?"
Mercedes looked at the door and back at her dad, and he sighed. "Care to tell me the real reason you broke up with him because that load of bull you fed me eight years ago about you two moving apart seems to be a lie if you still love him after all these years."
"We were moving apart dad, he wanted to marry me, he wanted to be a career soldier, and I am not mom; I wasn't ready to just be his wife and follow him around. But it didn't mean I didn't love him."
"You still love him then?" Jonah asked.
Mercedes went to open her mouth but closed it when Jonah gave her a knowing look.
"Dammit, Mercedes!"
"I didn't ask you to do this, dad!" She defended.
"Pssh, I don't care about that; he's guarding you; ya'll can figure out your love issues later; I'm pissed cause now I owe your mom a full body massage! Do you know how long it has been since she has rubbed my feet? And now it's even longer because she bet me you were still in love with Sam."
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "I am gonna go pack."
Turning, she stalked up the stairs and screamed as she fell onto her bed. Hearing her ringtone blast in her ear made her jump. She hit answer as she hopped up, going to grab her bag.
"Why are you calling me when you are supposed to be on an airplane right now to go home?" Mercedes asked.
"I am in the Lounge. My flight doesn't leave for another hour, so we aren't boarding yet; how are you? Still burning the midnight oil?"
"No, I am packing, Bas. You are not going to believe the hell that was unleashed on me tonight."
"Cedes, what happened? I just saw you a few hours ago."
"Someone broke into my home and painted "You're Next" on my floor, next for what, I don't know. But my dad decided I needed a bodyguard."
Sebastian cursed under his breath. "I agree with him; you need to be protected. Is that why you are packing? I will only be gone for about three weeks, and I can cut my trip early."
Mercedes walked into her closet. "Yes, that is why I am packing, and trust me if I could let you come back here and be the one to help me, I would."
"Okay, so you are packing because your dad hired you a bodyguard?" Sebastian asked.
"He did…and that I could handle; but what I can not handle is my father having Sam Evans as my bodyguard."
"Sam, as in your ex Sam?"
"Yes! He said that because Sam has his own security firm and we used to date, no one would be suspicious if we were seen together, and we told them we got back together. I am not okay with this!"
"And Sam is in your house? The place I literally just left?"
"Yes, Bas! Are you suddenly hard of hearing?"
He breathed. "And where are you? Like right now, at this moment, where are you?"
"I'm in my room or my closet rather; why?"
"And where is Sam?" Sebastian asked.
"Uh, downstairs, probably waiting impatiently so he may come in here and try to hurry me up, but what does that matter?"
"Merce Sam might come in your room, where there is a photo of you and Sam on your bedside table? Or how about that photo he took of you at the beach hanging downstairs?"
Mercedes's eyes widened as she stepped back into her room and stopped seeing Sam holding up the photo of her and him on her nightstand.
"Shit."