Sorry for the delay – thanks for sticking with me. This chapter is shorter than the last, but it was a good place to break…plus it gets another chapter to you quicker. Next one should get us to the big night. Enjoy!

Sammy saw Vic's eyes get wide as he glanced past him towards the door. Following his gaze, Sammy shifted around and saw the boss' two goons walk in. His gut had been right.

The men looked at Vic who nodded at the two women about to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?' One of the monster-sized men asked.

"Time to head home boys." Gail insisted as she tried to push past them. "So if you don't mind…"

Apparently they did mind, because they didn't move a muscle.

Sammy turned back to Vic. "What the hell did you do?"

Vic stumbled over his answer. "Um, well…the boss called…and um, asked where you were…you were, uh, occupied with your…uh friend there…and…"

"He said to keep her here." Sammy finished, putting them both out of their misery.

Vic just nodded. If he had had any other choice, he would have let her go. But like the boss reminded, he definitely didn't want to go there.

Sammy's mind went into overdrive trying to figure out how he could play this. Does he just go with the flow and pretend it doesn't bother him? But then Andy would be right in the middle of everything, which is the last place he wanted her. If he could just be sure that she would be able to stay with him…but he knew that was pretty much out of the question. And what about Peck? Could he at least get her out of there? Boss didn't really need her. But he wanted them both out of there and as far away as possible. But how could he do that without digging himself in deep? He was coming up blank and knew the boss wasn't about to take no for an answer, at least when it came to Andy. He decided that the best he could hope for was to get Peck out of there.

Sammy turned his attention back to watching the scene at the door, waiting for any opportunity to make a move.

Gail looked up at the two goons and repeated herself. "Do you mind?"

One of them finally answered. "Not if you let us give you a ride home."

Gail was pretty sure that home was not part of their agenda at least not for Andy anyway. "Some other time." She tried again.

One of the goons looked over top of the girls' heads and rested his eyes on Sammy. Back at the warehouse, he had tuned out any part of the conversation involving the man's love life. "Which one is yours Sammy?" He asked, motioning between the two women.

Ray laughed crudely; he knew damn well which one was Sammy's but he couldn't resist a little taunting. "Maybe you should take a closer look; I'm sure my buddy Sammy here left a little something behind for her to remember him by."

Sammy let his guard drop for a moment as he glared at Ray.

"What?" Ray wondered defensively; Sammy usually laughed at his jokes. Didn't he?

"Shut up." Vic instructed on Sammy's behalf.

"Why don't you come and have another drink with us?" Sammy suggested to the girls hoping the two Neanderthals weren't ordered to bring Andy back right away. If he could buy a little time, maybe they could come up with some way to get both of the ladies out of there.

The two goons exchanged a look trying to come to a consensus on what the actual order was. "Boss sent us to pick you and your girl up, said to bring you back to the apartment."

"One drink." Sammy bartered. "Then the two of us will come with you." He stressed the word two making it perfectly clear to everyone that he would not be bringing the blonde with him. When no one protested, he was hopeful that half the dilemma was solved.

"Am I really your girl Sammy?" Andy purred as she sidled up beside him. "You even told your boss about me?"

Sammy tried to hold in the grin as he pulled out a chair for her. She was getting better at this.

Following closely behind, Gail reached in her pocket for her phone; it was obvious that Andy wasn't getting out of here without a fight and she wasn't about to leave her behind. As she pulled the cell from her pocket, one of the henchmen moved to grab it. "Back off Thor!" She ordered. "If I don't text my boyfriend and tell him we're staying for another, he's going to want to check up on me so…"

The goon gave a curt nod to give her the go ahead. Thank God!

She sent a text to Boyd as quickly as she could before someone felt the need to see what she was doing. 'Can't get away yet. An offer we can't refuse. STUCK here for a bit longer with Andy's man, 4 friends, 2 guards.'

She looked over at Andy then. "Don't you think you should text your brother too? If he finds out we're here…with him..." she tilted her head in Sam's direction. "...you know they'll be hell to pay."

Andy gave her an imperceptible nod, seeing the comment for what it was – she was telling Andy that she had just texted the cavalry and to be prepared.

"Your brother?" Sammy asked, actually confused.

"Yeah…Don." She emphasized. "He called you the other day…"

"He did?"

Andy's face went from zero to pissed in less than a second; she really had gotten better at the façade. "Oh? And how many other guys called you this week to yell at you about leading their sister on?"

Got it! Sammy caught on completely; it was obviously Boyd who called when the boss answered the other day and he had apparently played it off as the protective older brother.

"No one else, sweetheart." He assured her, reaching for her hand and pulling her down into the chair. "Just forgot that's all." He said throwing in the dimples and leaning in for quick kiss which she happily returned.

The guys watched in awe as she seemed to be putty in Sammy's more than capable hands.

"He won't show." She answered confidently to Gail as the blonde moved in to stand beside her. "I told him I was out with you and your man and I promised him I wouldn't go looking for…" She eyed Sammy up and down before finishing, "…trouble."

Sammy almost chuckled at that thought. She didn't need to go looking for trouble; it always came to her.

And although Sammy was able to hold in his laughter, his buddies could not. They shook their heads at her naivete; she clearly had no idea who she was dealing with and what she had gotten herself into.

"I'll get you a chair." Sammy offered to Gail, but Ray was already way ahead of him.

"I got you covered, sweetheart," he leered as motioned for her to sit beside him.

Gail tried to contain her disgust and flashed him her best fake smile before moving towards the seat.

"What can I get you honey?" Ray offered, obviously lacking Sammy's smooth touch with the ladies.

"Some personal space." She retorted to the amusement of the rest of the gang.

"Just trying to be friendly." He assured though his tone implied anything but friendly thoughts.

"Of course you are." She agreed her voice thick with sarcasm.

Before Ray had a chance to try again, the waitress brought over another round. The bartender knew what the two ladies had been drinking and just added them to the order. Gail flashed a sincere smile when the waitress chose to slide her way in beside Ray forcing him to push his chair further away from Gail. She gave Gail a quick 'we girls have to stick together' wink before setting the drinks down and quickly making her way over to another table.

She had taken maybe three steps when she was startled by a loud bang. She turned towards the entrance door that had just been slammed open and saw a man who seemed to be checking out every inch of the crowded club. He had to be looking for someone, and that person was clearly NOT on his good side; he was more than a little pissed off. "Where they hell is she?" He screamed as everyone at Sammy's table took notice.

"Shit!" Andy said, slinking further down into her chair.

"Brother?" Sammy guessed, though he already knew the answer.

"Yep!"

Sammy's buddies shifted their focus between him and the guy at the door. This wasn't going to be pretty.

RJ had been enjoying their first taste of freedom in days, and the amount of alcohol he had already consumed made it virtually impossible for him to employ the filter he seldom used anyway. "Well, I guess we know who got the looks in that family."

It was barely out of his mouth when Boyd had him up against the bar in a death grip. "You, Sammy?"

With the air cut off to his lungs, RJ wasn't able to speak so he simply pointed his finger towards the table.

Boyd stalked over to the table and grabbed Andy by the wrist to yank her away from the man who had just been pointed out . "Get out! Go wait in the car!" He commanded, as he pushed her towards the exit.

He turned his death glare on Gail. "And you…" He started towards her.

The blonde threw her hands in the air. "Hey, I'm just along for the ride." She claimed.

"Leave her alone!" Andy ordered as she stepped back in towards Sammy. "You know what? Better yet…just leave!"

Even though Sammy knew she had to play it up, he still had trouble resisting the urge to want to throttle her. He needed her out of there and he finally had the means; why did she have to make it so difficult? Couldn't she have chosen the role of submissive sister? Just this once?

"Are you kidding me? Can't you see what an asshole this guy is?"

"You're the one acting like the asshole!" She yelled back.

"Well if you had enough sense to…"

"You calling me stupid?" She challenged as every eye at the table alternated between the bickering siblings.

Sammy decided to step in; this wasn't going fast enough for his liking. "Listen…" Sammy started as he began to rise from his chair.

Boyd pivoted quickly on his heel, and his contempt for the man who allegedly wronged his sister was coming off of him in waves. He shoved Sammy back in his seat in an attempt to show dominance. "No one treats my sister like shit and gets away with it."

"Oh…she was treated all right…" Sammy taunted moving to stand again.

Boyd was forced to take a step back, when he felt Andy grip his arm to try and put some distance between him and Sammy. At the same time, Vic was pulling on Sammy to sit him back down. "What the hell are you doing?" He hissed through his teeth as he kept one eye on the bickering brother and sister.

"The guy's an ass." Sammy said loud enough for Boyd to get an earful too. He was hoping to make enough of a spectacle that one of his guys would clue in that they were supposed to be keeping a low profile.

When Vic turned to walk away, Sammy was hopeful; he really was the only other one with half a brain. "Where do you think you're going?" Sammy challenged; knowing the code was they all stick together in a fight. "You started this by calling in…"

"I told you, he called me." Vic argued, quickly lowering his voice. "You really want her to stay? 'Cause I got the impression before that you were a little pissed at me when I said we had to keep her here."

Sammy averted his gaze trying to hide the truth, but they both knew that Vic was right on the money.

"Why are you so hell bent on provoking this guy?" Vic had to wonder.

"You really want me to just let her go then?" Sammy challenged, knowing Vic had strict instructions to make sure she stayed. "I'm good with that." He conceded throwing one hand in the air as he made to address Andy and Boyd.

"Hang on!" Vic ordered as he pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm covering my ass."

Sammy tilted his head in question.

"I'm calling the boss, alright? But you better be ready if he says she's coming with us…no matter what."

Sammy was definitely not ready for that, but he had to play the hand he was dealt. "Do what you gotta do." He shrugged.

As Vic started punching the numbers, Sammy had a thought. He looked around quickly noticing how many people had their phones out. It may be an idle threat, but it was still a distinct possibility and so he put as much panic into his voice as he could. "What if someone calls the cops?"

Vic's eyes widened as he finished the number though this was one call he didn't want to make. The boss was not going to be happy, but Vic was not going to make the choice for him. He had no idea what the boss would want more, and making the wrong decision at a time like this, usually ended up being your last decision. So it was up to the boss: was it more important to keep the girl and risk having the cops called in or to just get the hell out of there. It was all going to depend on how badly the boss wanted the girl and just how much he really doubted Sammy.

As Vic was off trying to get his answers, Boyd had already turned back to let Sammy have it again. And it didn't take long before Sammy's buddies decided it was time to take a stand.

"I knew it." Boyd spit out.

"Knew what?" Sammy shouted back.

"That dogs like you traveled in packs."

"Kinda makes you wish you had your own doesn't it?" Sammy challenged as his group just grinned. The odds were definitely in their favor.

They continued to smirk as Boyd lifted an arm above his head in what looked like some type of signal. It wasn't long before the room appeared to close in around Sammy and his gang; they obviously had not been paying attention to how many times the door had opened and closed over the last few minutes. And that's what Boyd had been banking on when he started the show.

The triumphant looks dropped quickly off of their faces as they realized that the odds were not as good as they originally appeared.

Before either side could make a move that would push them past the point of no return, the bartender cleared his throat and stepped out from behind the bar. He was clearly uncomfortable and not used to being put in this position; Sammy's guys were regulars and because of their reputation, they almost never got challenged. Getting involved was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was getting out of hand fast. He really didn't care what they did as long as it wasn't inside the bar. "Listen I don't want any trouble here; why don't you just take it outside?"

Vic chose that moment to return and quickly took charge of the situation. "That won't be necessary. We all have to get going anyway."

He looked pointedly at Boyd and then at Andy. "You should go."

It was music to Boyd's ears and he didn't have to be told twice. He gave another sign to clear out, but Andy lingered behind. Vic approached her as she looked wistfully at Sammy; she was clearly torn though he was unaware how deep her struggle went. She really hated leaving her…partner behind.

"Don't come back." Vic ordered, shaking his head.

"But….Sammy."

She really seemed to genuinely like him and in any other circumstance Vic could be happy for his friend, but not this time. "Please." He stated sincerely looking her deep in the eyes before turning away.

Sammy watched in relief as Boyd, his entire crew, Gail and finally Andy walked out the door. He felt Vic sit down beside him but his thoughts were still on the woman who had just left; he hadn't missed her last look back and he knew for a fact that she would have stayed if Boyd would have let her. All Sammy could do then was thank God that he didn't.

"You like her." Vic stated without question. "I mean really like her."

Sammy gave up the pretense for a split second. "She's hotter than hell with a temper to match, and she still picked a guy like me." They both knew there was more, but it was left unspoken. It's not just 'like'.

Vic simply nodded. "Let's go." He directed to everyone else.

For a night of lying low, there had been more than enough excitement. Vic felt bad for his friend; but guys like them don't get the happy ending and the quicker Sammy realized that the better. Feelings only got in the way and Sammy's could have cost that girl more than either of them was willing to pay. He watched as Sammy was escorted to another vehicle by the boss' henchmen and offered him a quick wave as they drove off.

When Sammy and his escorts reached the apartment, the door was opened and Sammy was ushered inside. He steeled his nerves as he walked in; if the boss was there, he was going to be in for a rough night.

A.N.: I hope you're not too disappointed that Andy got away. I know a lot of you felt like Andy was going to be taken with Sam, but I always had it planned that Boyd would get her out. I think Sam has enough to worry about.