2 years later
"That bastard better have my money or things are going to get very real for him deal or no deal" Sam heard Gino shouting from the main room. He dare not ask a question about the comment he just made sure he was out the way for all the fall out.
Later that night Rachel was getting ready for yet another deal breaking session, when Sam heard her say "That black bitch you fucked and her crack head man are for the high jump I hear"
Inside Sam's gut churned with fear for Mercy "High jump what they done?" he asked with a laugh even though inside was doing other things and he knew he was taking a risk even asking the question
"That guy's crossed Dad with the money and now he ain't paying him, he's been waiting for 3 months which is the longest he's ever waited so now he's ordering the whole crew dead" she told him laughing
"What literally dead or just hurt a lot?" he asked treading dangerous ground, but he needed to know the danger for Mercy
"I'm talking something like Baby Moms, kids, wife everyone all to die and he's last I hear until he pays" still laughing as she spoke "I'm going to ask Dad to do that Black bitch first fucking with my man" she looked in his eyes saying before kissing his dead lips
Sam went into actual panic mode and it came out as a laugh "Seriously?" he asked he as she looked at him puzzled "jealousy after all the tricks you've been with?" he asked
"There was a point when I did love you Sam despite what you think, somewhere in there that still exists and I never knew it did until for that short time you weren't mine any more" she said walking up to him and kissing him again, he still didn't react, her words were slurred, her body non-existent and he felt nothing for this woman standing in front of him, his only thought was to get Mercy to safety"I must admit I have a new love in my life, have done for some time now and I'd sail you up the river for him" she said holding her bag of snow up for him to see "Get out let me have some deep and meaningful sex" she said nudging her head toward the door "And Sam" she said as she walked into the bathroom, "What I told you, you never heard okay?"
"What did you tell me?" he asked
"Good we understand each other" she said as he left for his study where he stayed all day
At around 10pm that night he got an unusual call from Rachel telling him she wouldn't be in that night, unusual for him because she never told him anything about her whereabouts. Truth usually was, until she got there, she didn't know anything about where she was going to be so he felt a bit uneasy about getting the information.
"Does Gino know where you are?" he asked
"What kind of fucking question is that?" she shouted down the phone "I said I won't be back tonight I don't need a discussion" she said slamming the phone down
Sam put the phone down thinking something was going down but he had no idea what
20thMarch
The next morning he made his way to his study with Mercy seriously on his mind, when he got there he took out his secret mobile and made the call to the radio station and prayed she'd hear the dedication and leave like they had agreed or even remembered to leave "Hello I'd like a dedication please" he said waiting for the responses "Could you dedicate this Nancy Wilson song to Babe please" he said and listened to the person on the other end "Yes The very thought of you" he said and put the phone down with only prayer left to ensure Mercy got the message, remembered and left for a safe place.
"Sam, Gino wants you" Dino came into his private space hurriedly saying
"What's up?" he asked following him
"He said to fetch you that's all I know, but he's not in a good place" Dino said before opening the door to Gino's large study
"Gino" he said as he walked in
"Sam; where's Rachel?" Gino asked
"I don't know I had a call from her last night to say she wasn't coming home, I asked her if you knew and she led me to believe it wouldn't be happening if you didn't"
"Didn't you think that was strange?" Gino asked
"Very that's why I asked her if you knew because she never calls to say anything once she's out" he told him getting a bit nervous for Gino's tone
"Why didn't you let me know that she had called?" Gino asked
"She'd been funny all day saying she was jealous of me sealing that deal with Task or whatever his name was and demanding sex, I refused because we hadn't been cleared and I just thought she was trying to hurt me" he said as he saw movement from the side of his eye and looked to the left to see Dino and Graham coming into the study and dashing to Gino, they whispered something to Gino and Sam watched and the man crumbled to nothing in front of him
"Get him out!" Gino shouted, Dino signalled for Sam to leave which he did. He felt something was wrong and wondered aimlessly around his study, he couldn't sit any more Mercy was in danger, serious danger and he needed to know if she'd gotten his message and if she'd acted on it "Sorry" he said as he bumped into someone as he walked through the house looking up to see it was Dino
"What's your rush?" Dino asked
"No rush just needed to bathroom"
"Just off to do some well-earned Thursday shopping at Macy's see a certain black bitch and gloat before she passes" Dino said
Sam smiled at him as he carried on walking "It's going down then?" he asked touching his nose
"Yep today I hear" Dino replied hurriedly walking towards Gino's study, he knocked and patiently waited to be allowed in. As the door opened Sam heard Gino shouting at someone "You cannot really be asking me this bitch?" he'd said but Sam was not about to go see who he was talking to so he left the scene.
Nothing was getting easier for him he didn't know if Mercy was safe, he didn't know where Rachel was, when Dino was going to Macy's, he didn't know who was in the house or if Gino was hearing about him and Mercy right now from the stranger in his study he remembered she'd asked somebody to do that first dedication all those years ago 'could that be her?' he looked at the door thinking 'Am I at risk is that why she's telling me everything she doesn't usually' he looked around as he walked out the bathroom thinking 'Is this a trick to flush out Mercy and me?' he asked himself 'Calm down and get that text off your phone sloppy Sam sloppy' he told himself while taking his phone out to delete the contact on his pay as you go phone 'In the hall Sam sloppy, think man' he looked around thinking. He sat waiting for word from Mercy about her whereabouts and heard nothing he was at the point of calling Rachel or Dino, which was something he never did, to enquire about an update on the situation when his study door burst open.
"Who are you?" the person asked
"Sam, sorry for being in here I was just waiting for Mr Gravanti for an interview" he said quickly
"Get out and go as far from here as you possibly can, but don't let anyone see you they may not be as nice as me" the elderly man said as he got up taking only his secret mobile and his wallet with him, walking faster as he saw a gun in the man's hip eventually running from the premises.
Meanwhile
Mercy lay still in the closet listening to Tank pleading for his life, asking for a chance to pay the debt and the two gun shots that quietened him eventually
"Man you've had all the chances you're going to get" Gino said "My daughter is dead because of that rotten stuff you gave her, you have to pay with your entire family that's what you took from me" Gino said crying "I've killed every one of your children and their mothers, your houses have been shut down and your precious wife is dead too, you'll pay with your life and the knowledge of knowing that your entire legacy is, like mine dead, might give me some comfort" Then two gun shots were fired ringing through the air, when sound came back to her she heard someone shouting
"Tank, Tank hold on love, oh God hold on Tank" she heard a woman say followed by "don't leave me don't leave me Tank please don't leave me" and then sobbing with some oh Gods in there, she assumed he was dead, a short while after the crying died down there was another gun shot and then silence, she sat in the closet unable to make up her mind what to do next, was it safe to do anything?
Mercy had been shopping that morning instead of the afternoon with the girls because they were going off to look at Universities with their parents that afternoon, she'd brought some nice hand luggage, perfume and shoes for their stay, when they had made their choice, Tank had asked her to have them back for 11am because they needed to travel, the girls had gone straight back to their Mom's house, while Mercy had called Tank and told him she was going to visit Santana her stylist. Sitting in the chair at the stylist she heard the dedication on the radio, she wanted to jump out the chair and run but as Santana was in Tank's pocket too, she thought it best to finish her style and leave normally which she did. She went home to pack some things and had intended on sneaking in and out without Tank seeing or hearing her but she'd heard gun shots and hid in the closet hoping, praying that she got out alive.
Now she sat shaking, she was aware that time was passing, the gun shots will have been reported so she needed to get out of there, and quick, she took the chance that no one was left out there alive and opened the door to see three people on the floor. On close inspection she saw Tank, Gino and her Mom on the floor "Loved him to death did you Mother" she said with venom in her voice. She wanted to wake her mother up and shoot her all over again but, she channelled the rage, got the keys from Tank's body for the safe removed all the money, bank books, the Lexus car keys and with her pull trolley left the scene. She went to a cyber café and took all the funds from their accounts and pooled them into her Mother's account, made a new fake account for herself before putting them into that account, withdrawing the funds from that account closing all the accounts down. The following day she went to the bank opened a new account at another bank in her new name Mrs Mercy Evans for which she'd already got a driver's licence, passport and birth certificate, went to a motel and stayed there "Yes " she punched air saying jumping as high as she could, she'd been planning for this day for over 7 years now and it had finally come.
Sam had been laid up in a motel for 2 days he'd seen on the TV that Rachel had died of a drug overdose, Gino had been shot in a three way shoot out that found Gino, Tank and his wife all dead in the bedroom, Tank a big drug lord dying leaving hardly anything for his family who had also been targets and they were not sure if this was still the case. There was some talk of Rachel Gravanti being married but media footage had never found substance to the alleged marriage. He was scared to use his bank card and food and shelter was running out, in about 3days he would be sleeping on the streets.
Mercy sat on the bed at the Motel wondering what to do next, Sam was dead and apparently she was dead, which was true really because Mercy Gibbs didn't exist any more. She looked at the TV that had just told her that the man of her dreams had died and she cried for a good hour before dragging herself up and running a bath good and hot and getting in it only to start crying again. Eventually she emerged from the bathroom and sat on her bed tuning in the radio and found a light radio station to listen to lay on her bad and eventually fell asleep
Sam woke up on the third morning and called the radio station and did his dedication leaving his contact number, he waited all morning but no call came and he had to assume that was it, Mercy was really dead, he needed to rebuild his life. Using his last $200 he brought a ticket to Texas with a plan to return home to his parent's home in the short term but make himself a home in the long run 9pm that night he got on the red eye and went back home.
11 months later
Mercy had moved up town from central LA to The Hills in an effort to discard her identity in regards to Tank but keep her own roots alive, she's made firm friends in Kurt an Blaine a gay couple that lived in the same block as her and she'd started taking her music seriously, their friend Shay had a studio and Mercy brought some time to put some tracks together it was one of the few things she remembered Sam saying she was good at and she needed to remember him in some way. Her life was very different now she had a boyfriend, David who was in no way Sam but he was good to her and he was okay with the protected sex thing so it worked. She spent a lot of time with Kurt and Blaine when they were in town, Kurt was a fashion designer and Blaine was an up and coming actor, who'd been in a few memorable films. A lot of her friends were gay actually and the local bar she spent her time in was Unique's place. She was unique in every way, with a banging voice and a really big heart, Mercy and Unique had a love for each other, there were times when Unique had brought her Man out to defend Mercy from some frisky drunk. David wasn't a frequent visitor in fact Mercy was convinced he had a family tucked away somewhere, that would at some point come out to bite her but, she wasn't serious about him she couldn't be, in fact she knew there was never going to be anyone to match up to Sam so she wasn't even tripping on what her and David were.
She'd gone into real estate as a job and found out she was really good at it, she sold her first house on the second day of work and it had only gone better from there. Her friend Tina, her hair dresser now, had put her onto the gig in the first place and given her some pointer on selling and stuff but she had watched sales tricks on a video she'd borrowed from Kurt and that had helped no end. She knew she was heading for a promotion the way her sales were going so when Will called her into the office she wasn't fazed by his announcement and now she was in the process of getting her team together and loving it.
Days were covered she kept busy but nights were another battle, if she wasn't thinking about Sam as she walked through every inch of her apartment thinking about the songs, actions or conversations she was feeling them in her dreams and crying herself awake, mirrors were the worst. Sometimes it was a relief for David to turn up and get her out of her funk, sure he thought she could be miserable at times and she let him think that, no way was she ever going to tell anyone she was grieving for lost love because that would mean revealing who she was and what she'd done.
Sam had got off on a slow burn, his parents were pleased to see him and didn't mind him returning home at all, to the rest of the community they pretended that Sam had been overseas and had returned having done his job to completion and now he wanted a new start. His Dad thought he'd done a really good job of talking him into waiting for the right girl to turn up but, if Sam was honest he was under no illusions no way was he getting in that trap again he was being cautious. He worked for his Dad for about 6 months living at home before his Dad actually spent the college funds he had saved for him on a flat in Dallas, Sam moved into the two bed flat and worked in the family business and eventually met Penny a nurse at the local school. He took her out for nice meals, brought her expensive gifts, had sex with her a few times but always at her house, there was no commitment, he'd hoped she didn't ask for it because although he needed physical contact, she needed to understand that was all it was for him his heart had died nearly a year ago in a hotel bedroom in LA, but he would never tell anyone that.
He'd got a few friends who he hung out with he'd known Noah from school, he was a player and one of the guys who had gotten him in trouble with the Gravanti's back then, but Noah had settled down now he had 3 children two boys and a girl with his high school sweetheart Louren and he was doing well with his pool cleaning business. Artie and Sugar where another couple from School days and Rachel was Noah's little sister who had a crush on him back then. Yes she was fit now but he could only see her as Noah's little sister therefore, a no go area. Dani and Brittany had recently gotten married and were looking at adopting a baby, Brittany had approached him to father their baby but, he was not bare backing with anyone except Mercy so he declined the offer not sure he wanted to be tied to Britt and her girlfriend for life like that anyway.
So daytimes were filled with work, play and even sex on occasion but at night when he returned home his flat harboured all thoughts of Mercy her smell, touch, feel and even her voice came to him in his sleep begging him to explode for her and drinking him in. He'd wake up with a wet bed most mornings and a smile then look in the mirror as he entered the bathroom and stand there like a baby crying for his lost love and his lost life as he knew he'd never love anyone like that again.
20thMarch (1 year later)
It was the anniversary of that day when Sam's life was turned upside down, he lost the love of his life. As he sat in his flat remembering the call from Rachel, his request to Mercy, his conversation with Gino, not knowing that was going to be the last one they'd have. He thought about all the things he could have said to him, how he was a bastard for letting his pregnant daughter prostitute herself to the point where their baby died inside her. How he could prostitute his own fucking daughter, kill people, sell drugs to innocent people he really was a rotten bastard and good ridden, he thought getting up to go get a drink from the kitchen. As he passed he couldn't help but look in the mirror and his focus changed to what the day was really about for him; Mercy, had he actually done everything in his power to ensure her safety, why didn't he go to Macy's to find her and take her away from that situation, why hadn't he taken her phone number surely that risk was worth her life, 'if only we hadn't left the hotel that day and told them we loved each other then we'd both be together now' he thought as he poured his drink "I want to do something to remember her" he said drinking down his drink going into the living room and turning on the TV, all that was on was the news he knew going to bed was not an option now Mercy was on his mind. His thoughts were brought back to the present by the mention of a drugs ring recently being busted
Mercy woke up crying she'd relived that day all night, hearing Sam's voice over the radio telling her to get out of there she'd conjured up the scene of him being beaten down by Gino into a pulp because somehow they'd found out that he'd fallen for her or had found the mobile phones or someone had caught on to the requests and told Gino. She pictured the pain he went thought before he died at Gino's hands before she woke up not wet from romance today but from sweat "Sam" she said crying. Mercy shivered as she realised where she was, in her own bed, she got up to get a drink but decided to splash some water over herself instead, she turned on the taps washed her face and felt for the towel to dry her, removing the towel from her face she was looking at herself in the mirror "Sam" she said to it as if calling him through it "it's a year today I want to do something to remember him" she said looking in the mirror one last time before going back to bed. She didn't waste time thinking about the death of the mother and Tank on the same day she had long got over those two, the money helped, but nevertheless she couldn't sleep so she turned on the news channel on the TV to hear about the drugs ring that had recently been busted
They listened, him in Texas, her in LA, as the News casters stated the facts these being that "The investigations have taken over two years to complete this particular investigation which had seen the death of several drug lords including Winchester Radford also known as 'Tank' his wife 'Amber Radford' and the notorious 'Gino Gravanti'. It's thought the trio got into a fight following the discovery of the daughter of Gravanti lying dead in Radford's private pad. The word is that Radford and Rachel had been having an affair for over two years of which drugs was the centre but, the two were seen out regularly although Mrs Gravanti was alleged to be married to a Dino Sparks who dead at the family home on the same day following a shootout with the police"
"What?" Mercy said jumping out of bed "What?" Sam said running over to the TV to rewind it
"Who the fuck is Dino Sparks" Mercy asked the TV "Who the fuck is Amber Radford" Sam said to no one
"So he lied to me about his name? I don't believed it was anything true about that fucking man?" she sat asking herself looking at the TV but not taking anything in until she heard Tank's name again, she was shocked to see his picture along with her mother's picture on screen and turned the TV up to listen
"Radford and his wife Amber started one of the biggest rackets in LA and according to their son Dwayne, his mother introduced him to crack cocaine back in 2001 when he was a mere 13 years old" she heard and sure enough there was a picture of her brother she hadn't seen for over 15 years as far as she was concerned he'd left home a long time before Tank came on the scene. When the real life Dwayne came on the TV Mercy winced at the sight of him he looked nothing like his earlier picture presented on the news, Mercy's heart broke for him.
"My brother Donovan died about 5 years ago and yes our parents knew but they didn't attend the funeral they just paid for everything and left me to carry on with my life I didn't get any handouts from them I might as well have been as dead as my Brother and sister" Dwayne said into the camera
"What happened to your sister?" the news caster asked as the camera stayed on Dwayne's face
"Mercy; that was her name she probably died too after Tank took to raping her when she was just 14 years old I heard, by that time I was no good to anyone not even myself I couldn't save Donovan and Mercy already belonged to them. We; Donavan and I always hoped her real Dad would come and take her away from it all, I pray that happened" Dwayne said
Mercy's head was spinning from what she was hearing apparently she didn't know who her Dad was and immediately some of her childhood questions were answered. She really didn't remember her father and she'd always assumed they had the same fathers she didn't know why, now she really thought about it, nobody had ever told her different until now. Her Mother kept her at arms-length never said anything about the way Tank treated her and accepted the she's mine thing, it seemed silly but she didn't even know her mother's surname until it was announce on TV. She sat wondering about her life with Tank, his frequent visits to crack houses and decided she would go see her mother's crack den, she had to know something about these people she was supposed to call family.
"Mercy's not dead" Sam shouted at the TV jumping up and looking for his phone
"Wait who's that" Mercy said to no one, looking back at the TV at the picture of a Dino Sparks who was not her Sam "Sam's alive" she said almost falling off the bed
"I've got no contact for her" he said throwing his phone back down "Why didn't she answer my request?" he asked himself and surprisingly got no answer Sam went to his radio trying to get the station to make a dedication with a difference but couldn't find it. When eventually he realised he could do nothing at that moment he sat back in the sofa and rewound the news to watch it all again taking everything in.
Mercy grabbed for her phone and dialled the radio station to make a request only to be told that the lines were closed until 8am that morning. She was stupid to believe that Sam could have been watching that news channel at that precise time to see all that unravel and want to make contact with her anyway fuck, she didn't even know who she was. It was 4am and Mercy's mind wondered back onto that crack house she needed to find out she dragged her coat on and called Quinn
"Quinn don't shout it's Mercy" she whispered down the phone
"I knew it, you got away, no way could you have done all that good for us girls over the years and god not shine on you girl, where are you"
"No matter that I need to go look at the house my mothers' house I need someone to come with me will you?" she asked
"Girl I'll come but please, don't ask me to go in there with you okay?" Quinn asked in reply
"Okay deal, I'll pick you up I'm not far right now give me an hour tops, what's your address?"
"Same place I just moved upstairs 4th floor just say my name they'll let you in" Quinn said
"I'll call when I get there just come down the less people see me the better"
"Oh yeah right in a bit" Quinn said putting the phone down
Mercy jumped in her car and made the 60 minute journey in 40 minutes, called Quinn, filled her in and, was sitting outside her mothers' crack den within 15 minutes
"So this is the crack house?"
"Girl the only crack gone through this house is Tank's and I do mean his ass" Quinn laughed "This is like the Beverley without the Hills girl, they ain't even got shutters up in here"
"Who's that on the porch?" Mercy asked hiding in the car
"I'm gonna go buy some blow" Quinn said getting out the car and walking over to the guy on the porch "Got anything" she asked
"Sorry no trade at this address, never had been never will be, my Mom passed recently and I just moved in, this house is clean"
"Okay stranger sorry" Quinn waved walking away back to the car
"Names Dwayne" he shouted "And when you stop sucking on that stuff come check me" she looked round at him smiling before she turned tail to return to the car
"It's your brother" she told Mercy when she got back to the car
"He can't see me" she told her pulling her coat collar up and driving off "He didn't give you anything did he?"
"House is clean apparently always has been"
Mercy dropped Quinn off, got outside central lines, found a pump station, sat in the car and cried for the life she lived with Tank, for the reason why that was never going to be revealed to her now they had both died, she cried for having a mother who would see her only daughter used like a commodity, by a monster, a 40 year old man who had taken advantage, no raped her 15 year old daughter, and still she saw fit to set up home and marry the animal. "I hate them" she screamed banging on the wheel and crying even harder than she did before, some time later she turned the engine back on and set off home vowing never to think about them again and to live her life to the full.
Mercy's Conversation with David
6.15am and no way was she getting any sleep tonight not knowing that Sam was out there somewhere trying to get to her she was confident of that, she sat playing some of the songs he had named during their 48 hours when her door knocked she got up to go an open it
"David" she said when she looked through the spyhole
"Baby; thought I'd treat you tonight and stay" he came in offering a kiss, which she took quickly
"Its nearly 7am David call it morning how did you get out of your house at this hour" she said shutting the door and looking at him clean shaved and smelling good
"I'm out of town today, you got me all day" he smiled, not realising he'd just put his foot in it
"Okay" she stepped back from him saying as his hands threatened to start wondering "Shit just got real" she rolled here eyes thinking 'am I really dealing with this shit this time in the morning' before telling him "You just told me you got a woman David are there any kids in this relationship?"
"Surely you already knew that, I hardly ever stay over I mean that says it all don't you think and yes we have 3 children two girls and a boy" he told her like she should have known it
"Are you happy David, I mean does she make you happy?"
"What kind of question is that? she's my wife I love her"
"Okay that's good, so what's happening here?" she asked pointing between the two of them
"Look Mercy we never discussed anything serious I thought you were having fun, just like me, I'm not leaving my wife if that's what you're asking" he looked at her unable to read her face right now "I took a day out for this and now you're chewing my tail about some shit that don't even concern you" he said cutting his eye
"Have you really got something to do out of town?" she asked, having made her mind up this shit was not happening for her right now
"No" David smiled walking towards her
"I really wish you had got something David because now you're going to find yourself at a loose end all day. You see I'm in love and before you burst a vessel, it's not with you, I've been in love with the same man for over 8 years now and shits just come back up for us. I know I can get my happy ever after with him so I'm going back" she said staring in his eyes all the time "I've never took this, whatever it is serious because I always hoped he was there waiting and now I know he is I'm leaving, I'm going to him tomorrow" she said waiting for him to respond
"So you're seeing someone else?"
"No not yet but he's going to contact me this morning, and when he does, I'm going to leave everything and run to him, it's only fair to let you know"
"I wished I could find something hurtful to say to you right now Mercy, but I can't you've been a good friend to me you've let me get away with shit and you've always treated me right, I respect you for letting me know. Truthfully; I don't believe in going backwards but if it works for you go for it, all the best" he said giving her a kiss on her forehead and turning to leave the flat "is he good enough to have unprotected sex with?"
"Honestly; he's the only person I have ever done that with" she smiled as David walked through the door and closed it after himself
Sam's conversation with Penny
"Sam sat looking at the TV wondering what Mercy would be doing, did she watch that news, had she just found out that her family was not her family and God, she's all alone in that, he was scared for her coping with all this new information. On top of all of that to then find out that he wasn't dead like she'd originally thought, would it all be too much for her, he was definitely waiting up to make that call. As far as he was concerned she was going to be in his bed tonight and that was the end of it.
He sat imagining her in his flat, meeting his family, getting married, having babies everything was possible now that Gino and Tank were no longer key players in their life, he was going to see to it that all those possibilities happened. He got dressed and went to the grocery store to stock up on food and fresh stuff get some female freshen up stuff condoms, wine, sticky stuff and chocolate they loved chocolate, smiling as he walked around the shop at the memories they were recreating for him.
He was on his way home when he remembered Penny and looked at his watch 'She'll be getting up in about 10 minutes' he said to himself as he turned the corner onto his street 'It'll be 7am by the time I get there' he said as he opened his building door. He took his shopping upstairs grabbed his coat and went out to fetch his car to make the 15 minute journey to Penny's house.
"Penny it's me" he said into the intercom as he walked into the building on her buzz
"Sam what's up" she said as he walked in as usual straight into her living room and sat down "I don't like that face what you done?"
"Nothing yet but I need to explain myself before I do what I'm about to do" he said rubbing the back of his neck as he became anxious "Sit down please Penny" he said tapping the seat beside him
"Frisky Sam, good look" she said sitting down close to him but he pulled away "What's up" she said pulling away too
"Penny I know you know this hasn't been a conventional relationship I mean things haven't progressed as maybe you'd like, there's been a reason for that which I want to explain to you"
"Hold up" she sat forward on the couch saying "Why have you never been able to tell me what the block is, but now you're leaving your house and God past Christ time to come tell me what?" she looked at him asking
"I'm not going to shit you Penny, I'm in love with someone else, I have been for over 8 years now and tonight I learned that it's possible for them to come back into my life and I need to see where that goes" he said looking at her "I'm sorry if I've hurt you, I don't feel like I've led you on in any way but if you feel I have I'm sorry about that too" he said genuinely sorry for hurting her
"So you're finishing with me is that it?"
"Yes that much I'm sure of and I'm sorry"
"I sure hope she's fucking worth it Sam, are you sure about this because you let me go now and there is no way back"
"Penny I'm sorry I love her, that's all I can say" he got up saying "Bye Penny, I do hope we can be friends one day" he said before he walked out got outside and leaned on the wall for a short while 'that was a horrible thing to do Sam I am' he thought "But necessary" he told himself before getting back into his car and going home
Home
8.45am he said as he walked back into his flat and tried again to tune into the radio station, this time he found Star Radio and done a fist punch in the air "Game on" he shouted, he'd packed the rest of the food away that he'd not bothered to put away before he went to see Penny then had a shower before doing a once over on his flat and even doing his breakfast, irritated when it was still only 9.15am, he had 45 minutes left to go before he could make his dedication and get his girl back in his arms, he sat listening to the radio while, watching a mute TV station
Mercy had been that touchy she'd made cookies for her journey, and sat wondering what it would be like to live outside LA maybe in Texas where he came from and how she would cope. She came to the conclusion that she didn't mind leaving LA not one bit as long as she left the old life she had right there too, if fact she hoped that would be the case now.
9.55am and he was on the phone "Hi I just want to ask if you could play this song to the one I love and tell her I'll see her at home, it's to Babe, could you tell her to be on the 3.30pm today please" he said pausing before adding " The song's called 'As we lay' sorry" he laughed nervously before putting the phone down and taking a breath.
Mercy sat listening to the radio as the DJ announced the song that was being requested, he played it all the way through as she sat remembering how they lay, crying and laughing at the same time until the song finished, the DJ said "That's to the one I love and he'll see you at home Babe, be on the 3.30pm how romantic"
"I'm on the 11.15am out of here" she said after looking up the flight schedules and booking to get to Dallas for as close to 3.30pm as possible where he'd be waiting for her, she threw the minimum things she could into the case and decided to camp out at the airport until her plane was ready for fear of not making it in time. She dragged the case to the front door put a picture of her mother in her case, against her better judgement, and opened the door to leave to find a man standing there
"Who are you?" she asked more from shock than the need to know
"Dwayne, Dwayne Radford I'm your brother" he said as Mercy dropped her bags, eyes wide and frozen to the spot
"Who?"
"I'm your brother Tank's son, I believe you were his like girlfriend or something whatever Mom did to you was nasty and I understand you not wanting anything to do with her but Dad got rid of us first and we were his flesh and blood" he said as Mercy stood there not understanding what he wanted her to do with that information
"Dwayne is it?" she finally asked as he nodded "I'm going to miss my flight, I need to go but we can talk when I come back in about a week" she told him grabbing for her cases again as she spoke
"Really I'd prefer to do it now especially as I don't think you'll come back" he said with something evil in his eye
"What do you want Dwayne?" she asked
"There was some money dad left in the house that's gone missing do you know anything about it?"
"The only money I know about was the money that was at the crack houses to collect and if I remember rightly money was supposed to have been collected that same day" she said looking him straight in the eye
"And you didn't see any money?"
"I didn't go back to the house after I went to the hair dressers and then I heard people shouting, assumed the house was under attack so I went straight to a motel, just like Tank had told me to in an emergency, he said he'd find me, I'm still waiting" she finished
"You do know he got killed yeah?"
"Yeah look Dwayne I really need to go, I'll be back, put your contact details in here" she said giving him her phone and watching him put his details in
"Make sure you do Mercy please we need to talk" he said moving to the side to let her out before grabbing her bags and taking them outside for her. "Where you going anyway?" he asked as he put her bags in the taxi
"I'm taking a well-earned vacation for a week, going to Florida"
"Call me when you get back" he said opening the door for her to get in and watching as she drove off
"Shit I forget to take her number" He said as he watched her drive out of sight
Mercy assumed she was being followed, all the way to the airport and while she was there she sat in secluded places so she could see if anyone was actually following her, on the plane she watched who sat around her taking memory pictures of faces, she was scared if Dwayne had found her who else was looking for her, someone knew Tank's business
Dallas Day 1
2.55pm and she was standing at the arrivals doorway of Dallas airport, waiting for the man of her dreams. "This is like a fucking love story" she said to herself out loud
"Except Dallas isn't Florida is it Mercy" she heard making her spin round to find Dwayne standing there looking at her suspiciously
"Why are you following me?" she asked quite angry
"Because I know the money went missing, and I know you were there so you're lying to me, I need to know why" Dwayne said looking at her hard "All roads lead to Mom taking that money out but we both know she was lying dead with Dad and the only other person close enough to know that kind of information is you"
"I obviously wasn't that close, he was married legally to my fucking Mother and I knew nothing, they led me to believe I was married to him I was sleeping with him for god sake what mother does that to her child?" she asked crying at him
"We both have questions Mercy but they're gone now so we'll never get them, I can't answer that or any other for you but what I do know is that everything Dad had should be ours and I don't think I've been treated right about this" he voice angry "And I don't mean to make you cry you're the only family I have of my mothers in this world" he said hugging her.
Mercy looked over his shoulder to see Sam coming towards them at speed and held her hand up telling him not to approach, he saw it and went to a nearby news stand, watching the interaction between Mercy and this man. She was clearly agitated with whatever he was saying and he was almost pleading with her about something but whatever it was she was holding her own and Sam couldn't help but notice how sexy she looked angry, sassy and totally in control of herself and the situation. He smiled as she showed attitude to this man, she wasn't scared of him she was having an adult conversation and it seemed like she was winning, he'd be putty in her hand soon he thought smiling to himself. He stood watching for about another five minutes before they both walked off towards the exit, Mercy got in a taxi and the guy got in his taxi as she waited for the bags to be loaded in her taxi she signalled to Sam to get in his car and lead. For a short while it seemed like the guy was following but he turned off on the intersection and after another five minutes Sam stopped his car and Mercy paid the taxi and got in with Sam. They said nothing to each other as they quickly moved things around and started on their journey, Mercy conscious that Dwayne was in the vicinity
"Who was that guy, he looked familiar?" Sam asked as they drove down the highway, finally relaxing
"Dwayne my brother on my mother's side" she told him "He apparently was fathered by Tank along with his dead brother and …."
"Oh I saw him on the news babe, he just looked different in the flesh" he said not wanting her to go full throttle in the car "So what did he want?"
"Tank's money that I took, I took the money from the safe in the house and I cleaned the accounts out through Mom's account and walked away with the lot" she said without any emotion
"Is that a safe thing to do?"
"Maybe not safe but it's what I did, I can't take it back now I've spent it all so I have to keep up the lie only he just sent me on a massive guilt trip talking about our inheritance, bad parenting and stuff. I've got to see him tomorrow to discuss money I don't know what I'm going to tell him"
"We'll figure it out" he assured her "Anyway apart from all that how are you and how did you manage to survive?" he asked as Mercy filled him in on the events of that day "Our plan worked then" he said laughing
"So what happened with you, how did you get out?" she asked as Sam told her his story up until he returned to Dallas to his parents "So... have you been seeing anyone?" she asked cautiously
"I was seeing Penny up until very recently when I heard the news about you not being the wife and body found with Tank and I didn't even know Rachel and he were at it like rabbits" he said still laughing
"Snap" she laughed "And I was seeing David on but off nothing serious and I finished with him this morning" she finished neither of them looking at the other while passing the information over
"Okay we're here" he announced as they pulled up at a large white three story villa with picket fencing and garden, going through the front door they were faced with a double staircase and music playing through out the house
"Love it" she said as he took her to the kitchen
"It has the usual living room, music room two bedrooms both en-suite and of course the kitchen" he said as they stood in the middle of it.
"Wow" she said as she looked around the apartment "Is this where you live?" she asked as he took her bags and mounted the stairs as she followed him
"No this is where we live unless you don't like it" he sat on the bed saying
"I love it" she said kissing him for the first time since they had met up again, he sunk into the kiss easily as he fell back on the bed
"We need to have a conversation" he told her pulling himself out of the kiss
"I never like these conversations"
"Coffee?" he asked as he led her back to the kitchen, she nodded as she followed him. They got to the kitchen, he made the drinks joining her at the table, smiling as he realised she'd been watching him "We have some serious things to talk about Mercy, firstly about what went down with Tank and your Mom and how you really feel about that" he asked
"I am so over that shit you don't even know I'm not wasting any more of my life thinking about those fools" she said looking at him for the last word
"I know you're not over it and, even if you think you are, your brothers turned up now wanting money, how are you going to deal with that? he looked at her asking seriously "if he found you in LA he'll find you here how much do you owe him?"
"I'm dealing with it Sam" she shouted at him
"We'll deal with it babe and I'd thank you not to use that tone with me, I've had enough of that to last a life time" he shouted back at her
"I'm sorry Sam, I really am, he's got me in a bind and it's stressful"
"How much do you owe him?" he asked again
"About 150K his half I suppose"
"When are you going to see him again?"
"Tomorrow afternoon 2pm
"Okay come on let's see what we can do" he said jumping up and grabbing her hand, leaving the kettle boiling and the coffee in the cups "Baptism by fire I'm afraid you're meeting the in-laws" he informed her as they left the apartment and headed towards the car for the 40 minute journey to a gated community type barrier, to the ranch his parents lived on.
"Sam this is like really posh is this where your parents live for real?"
"Yeah and their really cool people so please look past the money thing" he asked, turning to the guard to say "If anyone, not on the list, asks for my parent's house please let us know
"I love you not money Evans" she said going in to kiss him again
"Come on" he jumped out the car, going round to let her out saying, grabbing her hand and running to the front door opened it and ran in shouting for his parents
"What's the emergency?" a woman with grey hair come running out of a room on the left shouting "Sam I thought something was wrong" she carried on coming forward saying as she slapped him on the arm playfully "Who's this?" she asked as she neared
"Hi Mom" he said going in for a hug as he continued to say "This is Mercy my only friend and dare I say lover from LA" he laughed
"Hello Mercy" she said as she gave her a hug as big as Sam's was which surprised her but she hugged back anyway
"I'd love to say this was a social call but it's not is Dad around at all?" he asked "I need to act fast I need you too Mom"
"Don't tell me we're talking money" she laughed "he's in the study let's go and get this over with, he's in a good mood today" she said laughing even harder as she grabbed Mercy and walked towards the study "Let's get this over with and then we can get to knowing each other and maybe cook something for dinner" she said as they walked
Sam's Mom didn't knock she just walked into the study with Sam and Mercy in tow "Sweetheart our child is here with his lady stop everything because he wants to talk money" she said showing Mercy an armchair to the right of the large desk as she sat in the identical chair on the left smiling at her husband.
"Sam" his Dad got up walking towards him saying with a smile on his face "Not sure how I feel about all this money talk but it's great to see you son"
"Dad" he hugged him saying "this is Mercy the love of my life" he said pulling away from his Dad and grabbing Mercy's hand just before she could sit down to present her to his Dad
"Hello Mercy" his Dad said giving her a hug
"Dad I'm not going to beat about the bush I came for money a substantial amount and it's to make sure that Mercy and I can leave the life we had for good and, start a life we want to start with each other
"Okay so I'm guessing Mercy was what one of Gino's girls or something?" his Dad said
"No she was married to another drug lord Tank, well she thought she was married to him, and we met a couple of times during that life and fell in love" he said before going on to inform his Dad that "her husband came to his demise by Gino and our partners were apparently having an affair behind our backs"
"As were you?" his Dad asked
"Well I wouldn't have really called it an affair but I don't really want to get into all that, it's depressing, I think all I can safely say at the moment is that our paths crossed" he informed him "Anyway; she's in trouble because she's spent her brother's inheritance money and she needs to pay him his half back pronto"
"How did you manage to spend your brother's inheritance?" his Dad asked her
She looked at Sam almost for permission to speak and took his smile as a go ahead "Well I only found out he existed like 48 hours ago, by that time I'd brought myself a flat and furnished it and everything. I have some savings but nothing like what I need"
"How much do you have?" his Dad asked her
"Dad!" Sam shouted to his Dad for the intrusion
"It's okay Sam I'd want to know too" she told him before turning back to his Dad to say "25K I can maybe find more if I have the time to sell the property and everything in it" she replied
"I've got about 100K so I guess we're asking for 25K" Sam said
"So between us this is doable?" his Mom piped in saying "But" she said looking around the room "That leaves Sam broke and Mercy selling her home"
"I have all intention of selling my home Mrs Evans" she said "I came to make a life with Sam"
"Already!" his Mom said "We only met you today and you're moving in?" she asked Sam didn't know if that was a question or a comment
"Actually we've known each other in that sense for over 9 years now" Mercy added "And our plan has always been that if we ever got away we'd be together"
"You're very quiet Sam" his Dad noted
"Mercy's managing okay, if I need to I'll jump in"
"So are we expecting a wedding then?" his Mom asked
"Yes but very low key" he replied
"And maybe a long time off once I've paid my debt" Mercy laughed
"Is this serious Sam?" his Dad asked
"Very" he replied
"Okay so if Mercy's a family member then there is no debt is there" his Dad said walking back round his desk to get his cheque book to sign off a cheque for the full amount "Here you go just start planning your wedding" he said giving the cheque to her
"I'm sorry Mr Evans I just can't accept this it's too much" she said
"Well would you accept it from Sam?" he asked as she looked at Sam and smiled
"I've known him longer so I guess I would" she laughed
"Well everything we have belongs to Sam, he's an only child so in essence it's his money" his Dad said "So if you don't want it give it back to him"
"I'm sorry Mr Evans I was rude I guess my response should have been thank you very much and I will pay it back" she said her face would have been beetroot red if she had been of a different race
"Wrong again" Sam's Dad said looking at her and then at Sam "I think that's Dad" he said laughing as he got up and went around the desk to hug her making Sam smile
"God I finally have a daughter" his Mom shouted before getting up to hug Sam
"Low key Mom and we have to deal with her brother first" he said as he hugged his Mom
"Dad could I get this as a bankers cheque save them tracing it back?" he asked looking at the cheque in Mercy's hand
"You can do that in the morning Son" his Dad said patting him on the back
"Let's go cook up a storm Mercy and the names Mom" Sam's Mom said as she guided her out of the study "any ideas?"
"Whatever it is I can do the cookies" she said laughing "I've not had much to do with cooking these past years" she said through her laugh
"Come to my master classes" Mom said laughing with her
So they cooked up a storm and had a very interactive meal before Sam said it was time for them to go taking in travel for Mercy today and things they had to get done the following day as well as them trying to fit a wedding in for the weekend. In truth Sam couldn't keep his hands off her any longer, and judging from the looks she was giving him she felt the same, so it was only right he make the move, they said their goodbyes, got in Sam's car and made the 40 minute journey back to Sam's house