So I have been really sick, you know, but I wanted to get this and the next chapter up today because it's my birthday! But I hope you enjoy it! And I hope you stay safe and blessed!

Sam stared angrily at Seth as Puck went through the USB. Mercedes eyed Quinn, who was equally shocked, but both women understood there was no way they could talk right now.

Puck exhaled loudly, shaking his head. "It looks like he was trying to do double dealings with the Russians and with the Irish. Had this gone through, there would be a war at hand."

"What was your endgame, Seth?" Stacey asked, looking at the files. "This would have brought us all down."

Seth shrugged. "Do what you will with me. But my secrets remain mine."

Quinn laughed. "He wanted to take over and told me I would be his submissive Mafia Queen. You were right, Sam; once he thought he could control me, he acted as if I were nothing and told me everything. He wanted to pin the Irish and the Russians against our Italian Family. Then make it seem like you did it all."

"You bitch! I gave you everything!" Seth yelled at Quinn, and Puck moved towards him.

"Call her another bitch, and your teeth will be on the ground. It's bad enough you touched her; you will not disrespect her!" Puck growled.

Seth shook his head with a sneer. "It's my word against hers; she could have faked all that information. You can't trust someone who is not Family; she's just bitter. I didn't want her."

"It's me who doesn't want you, you ass." Quinn spat. "He also has a history of pushing himself on women who do not want him, and I have twelve phone numbers of his victims."

Stacey sighed, standing. "Sam, it's not just her word against his either. I wanted to talk to you about this in person so that we could verify it, but it seems that it's already been verified by all the information Quinn found."

Sam looked at her. "What do you mean, Stace?"

"I mean, we should thank God Sergei isn't an idiot. He called me last night to tell me that he thought Seth was trying something and put all dealings on hold."

"That's a lie!" Seth screamed, standing from his seat.

Sam stood, taking a breath before he turned to Puck. "I have heard enough. Take him to the basement. I'll be down soon."

"That's all you are gonna say?! You owe me more than that!" Seth yelled as Puck and Biff grabbed him.

Sam shook his head and took Mercedes's hand as he walked her out of the room. She looked at him sadly. "Sam…are you okay?"

"When I asked you to meet my family, I didn't think all this would happen." He said.

Mercedes put her arms around him. "I know. I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

"Sorry, my brother betrayed me, and now I have to dish out a punishment? One that doesn't make me look weak and pathetic?" He said bitterly.

Mercedes nodded. "Sam, I may not know about all of this, but I know about you, and I am here for you."

"I just need a minute. Okay?" He asked, removing her hands from his neck and kissing her palms.

"Okay, Sam." She said softly.

She turned to walk away, but Sam pulled her back; raising his hand to her cheek, he caressed her face softly as he leaned in to kiss her gently. "Just a few minutes, and then we will talk. I need to talk to Stevie and Stacey about this."

"I am going to our room, okay?" She said, pecking his lips, and he nodded as he walked away from her, and she sighed heavily, running her hands through her hair.

Walking to their room, Mercedes let her mind reel; Quinn was there, she was alive…

"What the hell are you doing here?! And on Sam's arm? His room!?" Quinn hissed, walking into the room, and Mercedes ran to her, holding her close.

"You're alive…girl, you scared the hell out of me!"

Quinn held her close. "I missed you too, sorry I couldn't call you, but Seth is ridiculous. He monitored all of my calls and texts. Sam calling this meeting was a perfect chance for me to get back here and tell them what I know."

"Quinn, you have been gone for six months! First, I hear you went to see your bastard father, and then after that voicemail telling me that Sam is dangerous…."

"Cedes, I knew if I told you that, you would at least go to Sam, and maybe he could protect you. I just didn't think you would be in his bed this quick." Quinn said, teasing her.

"I didn't plan it." Mercedes pulled Quinn to the bed, and they both sat down. "I went to his hotel in search of you, I knew he had something to do with your disappearance, but to get close to him, well, he saw me and…" Mercedes trailed off, and Quinn sighed.

"I can guess. I knew that you would be someone Sam couldn't resist. I knew that if you came looking for me and Sam saw you, he would want you, he would protect you, and I needed you to be protected."

Mercedes closed her eyes holding the necklace Sam gave her; Quinn looked at it. "That's beautiful. Is it new?"

Mercedes looked down and nodded. "Sam gave it to me; it was his mothers."

Quinn's eyes widened. "Wait, he gave you something that belonged to his mother?"

Mercedes nodded. "He said that it meant a lot to him and wanted me to have it."

Quinn shook her head, amazed. "Wow, Sam really cares about you, doesn't he?"

Mercedes sighed. "I care about him…Q, what happened? Why did you just disappear without a word other than that voicemail?"

"I had every intention of coming back. I finally got the courage to confront the bastard, and after I did, it pissed me off. He turned everything around and made it seem like we asked for what he did. So after that meeting, I needed a drink. Sam and I met at the club I went to, I saw him and well you know I like what I like. He was great but not… life-altering great."

She sighed as she continued. "We dated for a while because he bought me things, and I looked good on his arm, and the day he and I were slated to have our first time, Puck came onto me. I am not proud of the fact I let that handsome face and those perfect abs seduce me. Sam found out, and he was going to kick me out, but Puck stopped him. We had a real connection, and I didn't see it coming at all."

Mercedes's eyes widened. "Puck came onto you while you were with Sam?"

"Yeah, and I don't even know how Sam would have found out; he wasn't even in town."

Mercedes laughed bitterly. "Those jackasses, are you telling me Puck coming onto me was a test?" Mercedes stewed.

"He came onto you?"

"Yes, and I almost broke his arm…I can't…you know what, forget it, it's not the time. Keep going. Tell me everything."

She nodded. "Sam said in order to stay, I had to prove myself worthy of the Family of Puck; it was that or have Sam punish me for betraying him. And if he punished me, Puck and I couldn't be together." Quinn laid on Mercedes's shoulder. "I love Puck. It happened so fast…so I offered my help to Seth. He has always wanted anything Sam wanted, so I made him think that Sam and I were still together, and he came onto me. I threw a huge tantrum telling Sam he was weak, and Seth loved it just like we knew he would."

"Badass." Mercedes laughed.

"Yeah, well, I heard the way you handled Seth. Had him lying on the floor crying like a punk. I wish I was in that room."

Mercedes nodded. "Used that move Artie taught us."

"Now that's badass! And it's not easy to impress Santana and especially Stacey. And you did."

"I was really worried about his family liking me, though, Seth; I just want to cut him!"

Quinn closed her eyes. "I know after what my dad did to you for defending me, we both had a lot of anger, and I just wanted to face him and ended up making things worse. He threatened to kill me if he ever saw me again, same with you. I was so scared you hated me for what he did."

Mercedes reached for Quinn's hand. "What that man did to both of us didn't change my opinion of you, Quinn; it wasn't your fault. Your father is a sadistic bastard, and I wish we could make him pay."

Quinn nodded. "Me too."

"Well, this looks cozy. So, does anyone care to tell me what the hell is happening here?" Sam asked, and Mercedes and Quinn jumped.

Mercedes sighed heavily, standing from the bed, "Quinn, go find Puck. I know you want to see him after all you went through."

She nodded. "We can catch up more after you and Sam talk."

Mercedes hugged her again before Quinn walked towards the door but stopped in front of Sam. "Don't you hurt her?" She warned and walked out of the room.

"I take it, you know, Quinn?" Sam asked, arms folded across his chest.

"She's my best friend, my sister, the one I told you about." Mercedes said softly. "I know you have a lot going on, and dealing with me isn't something you want to do, but I need to tell you the truth."

Sam stared at her for a moment before moving closer to her, gripping her arm. "Are you a spy? A cop? Is Quinn?!" He pushed her against the wall. "Tell me!"

"NO!" Mercedes cried out, trying to move from his hold. "Let me go!" She said, pushing him away from her and stepping away from the wall. "Quinn is my person, and when I couldn't find her, all the clues led to you. She wanted me to find you in case…."

"What are you talking about?" He growled, pushing her into the wall again and placing both of her hands over her head.

"Quinn's dad is a bastard, and he attacked me for protecting her! Before she met you, she met with him, and he threatened both of us, so when she went under for you, she put me in your path… I didn't know at the time."

Sam squeezed her hands tighter as she continued. "I just found out myself. She just wanted to protect me, and I guess she knew you'd like me."

Sam nodded, understanding her and pressing himself against her. "So you were on my roof to get information about Quinn? But we never talked about her."

Mercedes stared at him. "Because I fell for you. And the moment I fell, I knew you could never hurt her."

Sam sighed. "What am I gonna do with you…you lied and manipulated me. And so did Quinn; all she had to do was ask me to protect you!"

"I would have never allowed it." Mercedes said. "I wouldn't want you to protect me from him and get hurt."

Sam leaned into her and placed his knee between her thighs. "Of course, you wouldn't." He said, pushing into her clit harder. "You made me want you. Now that you have found her, what are you gonna do? Leave?"

Mercedes stared at him. "Sam, I never thought we would be like this. I don't want to leave. But if you want me to, then I will." She said, letting off a soft moan as his knee put pressure on her clit.

Sam stared at her for a long time, watching her moan as she rode his knee. "Why should I trust you?"

Mercedes held onto his shoulders, letting her head fall back as he moved faster. "Sam!" She cried out as she came against him.

Sam held her close as she hugged him. "Why should I trust you, Mercedes?" he asked softly.

"Sam, you have to know I wasn't trying to use or hurt you. I would never do that to you, and I just wanted to know she was okay."

Sam pulled away from her, he didn't know what to think, but he did need to see if she would stay or walk away. "My own brother betrayed the Family, and now I find out you used me." Sam turned from her. "Pack your shit; I am gonna have Puck take you to the airport. You need to go home."

"No." She said, standing firm.

Sam turned back around. "What? I didn't stutter. I can't have someone I don't trust around here."

"Oh, but I can trust you?!"

"And what does that mean? You are the one who tricked me because you thought that I was gonna hurt or I did hurt Quinn!"

"Sam, maybe my reasons for getting close to you weren't honest, but what I feel for you. It's more real than anything I have ever felt."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, okay, and what is it you feel for me? Sorry? Lust?"

"Love." She breathed.

Sam stalked closer to her. "Don't you dare say something you don't mean?"

Mercedes stared at him with tears in her eyes. "I love you; I am in love with you. And it scares the hell out of me because I could lose you, but dammit, Sam, you stole my heart. And I don't even know if you love me back."

Sam cupped her face with his hands. "Of course, I love you back, Mercedes. I love you more than I ever thought possible."

"I am sorry for not coming clean with you while trying to save my best friend, but I am not sorry for meeting you, Sam, not for falling in love with you. Now you can punish me, I can take it, and then love me. Or drag me out of here. But I am not leaving on my own."

Sam stared at her for a long moment, then he sat on the bed. "Mercedes." He said, still contemplating his next move.

"Sam, I admit I was wrong, but you know I am not the only one who lied here." She said, looking at him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm talking about you and Puck! You made him come onto me because you didn't trust me." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam sighed and pulled her down to his lap. "It's not that I didn't trust you fully, but everyone has ulterior motives. I needed to know you really wanted me."

"By shoving his perverted ass in my face? Why would you send him back to try again when he failed the first time?"

Sam wrapped his arms around her waist. "Because of Quinn, She and I were no love connection, but I liked her, And she just gave in to Puck so fast that you would have thought she picked him up at the club and not me. So because of how we met, I wasn't sure of your intentions, and Puck meeting you when we first met was one thing, but I needed to know if you would be with him after you and I got close."

"Sam, are you telling me that after we confessed real feelings for each other. After I told you I was in this with you, you just let that man loose on me to what? Catch me slip up? Prove I didn't care for you? Wow, you just don't trust me at all, which is pretty insulting."

Mercedes tried to move from his lap, but he held her closer. "This is scary for both of us, and we both made mistakes; you lied to protect and find Quinn, and I lied to protect my Family. If your intentions weren't pure, all of them would suffer."

Mercedes shook her head and looked away from him, but Sam turned her face back to his, kissing away her tears. "I love you and am so sorry I hurt you." He said, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. "I am so in love with you that I would do just about anything you asked of me."

Mercedes wrapped her arms around his neck. "Anything?"

"Anything." he breathed. "I need you, Mercedes."

Mercedes looked at him. "Do you trust me now, Sam? Or am I gonna walk out that door and have Puck accost me again?

"Mercedes, I trust you. I want you by my side. I want you to stand with me. But you have to know what you are getting into."

"Meaning what, Sam?"

Sam sighed, nipping at her neck. "Come with me while I deal with Seth; it's going to give you an idea of what I do. And if you can handle it."

"And if I can't?"

"I don't believe that for a second, but if you can't, then we will figure it out."

Okay." She said softly, kissing him deeply. "But first, we should make up."

"Now?" Sam questioned.

"You did say anything."

Sam smirked, carrying her as he stood. "You are right; I did."