Chapter 30: Chapter 8: Bar Time

NATE

Later that afternoon, my boys walk in, and I see papers in their hands, so it looks like they dug up some info.

“Boss, we got info,” Carlos says.

“Perfect, Carlos. What do we know? Kyle, you go first.”

“Okay, so Mandy was born Mandy Rae Conner. We found her parents, but they are drug addicts who put her up for adoption when she was a kid. She has been in the system her whole life, never being adopted and aging out when she turned eighteen. Luis dug up info on the boyfriend.”

“She has a boyfriend named Craig Jonas Everett. He owns the club The Striker here in town. She also works there waitressing,” Luis says. “They live in an apartment in the back of the bar.

“She has no kids. Women claim they have his, but it’s never been proven. They range in age from six to a few months old. Carlos got a call about her from someone here in the office.”

“I found out from Tania in Human Resources that Mandy asked for a small pay advance to get proper business attire because dipshit takes all her money. She also said she has even seen her skipping meals at lunch because she didn’t have food to eat,” Carlos says.

My heart just sinks. No wonder she looks so fucking thin. I wonder how long she has been without proper food because it’s taken its toll.

“Wow, okay. First things first. Call the club, book the VIP section for tonight and ask for Mandy to be our waitress. Only Mandy, no one else.

“Second, we will give her money for clothes. If she is going to be my assistant, she needs decent attire. Lastly, get the fridge stocked with food. I don’t ever want to hear about employees going without due to a lack of funds.”

They all nod their heads and head out to go make phone calls. I walk back over to my desk and sit in my chair looking out the window over the town. I am already excited for this evening, and it isn’t even here yet.

***

As the evening draws near, we all hang at the office waiting for the night to come so we can head over to the club. We get changed into black suits as my guys put earpieces in and we make sure our guns are ready to go.

I have a feeling tonight’s going to be the night that changes Mandy’s and my life. Dad said I would get the feeling just like he did with my mom. If shit goes down, I will take over the fucking club and make sure it’s run by a real man.

We all look fucking sharp as we head downstairs to load up in the SUV. We slowly pull away and head toward the club. Luis says that they will have the upper floor roped off just for us, and Mandy will be our server.

When we arrive, they have even roped off a parking spot up front just for us. After we park, we slowly unload and everyone stops to stare. The girls are all chatting and giggling, while the men wonder who we are.

When we walk up, the bouncers pull the ropes aside to let us enter. We can hear the music from outside and when we walk in, we are quickly ushered upstairs to the VIP section which has three red, curved velvet benches around a table in the center.

You can see the entire club downstairs from this area, so we will have a good view of everything going on. I sit by myself as Jessie is on the other couch while Kyle and Carlos stand watching over the club.

After a few minutes, Kyle and Carlos are pointing at something and motion for me to come over to look. I look down to where they are pointing.

I see Craig grabbing Mandy’s arm roughly and yelling about something. She looks down and nods then starts walking our way. I can see my guys are beyond pissed and are ready to take care of business.

I understand their frustration but it’s in her court. I sit back down, then I see Mandy starting to come up the stairs, walking slowly toward us. She walks up, looking down at the ground, and offers to take our order.

I stand up and walk over to her, stopping right in front of her. I lean over and whisper in her ear.

“Mandy, love, don’t ever look down at the ground. You are my goddess and you should always look straight ahead with your head held high.”

She slowly lifts her head in shock to look at me, and I can see she has another bruise starting to form on her face. I clench my jaw and stare at her, and she knows I can see it. I place my hand on her face, and she flinches from the pain.

Man, I really want to deal with this right now. Fuck this dude, man. She hasn’t been off work for four hours. What could she have possibly done during that time to deserve this shit?

Reading my questioning face, she responds with the answer, and it breaks my heart.

“He found the money for my clothes. When I wouldn’t give it to him, he got mad.”

That piece of shit took the money I gave her to get clothes. I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes, tipping my head back.

“Okay, Mandy. What size do you wear? I will have someone get clothes.”

“I wear a size eight, normally, but right now, I’m in a size four. But it’s okay. I will figure something out.”

“Mandy, love, just bring us some beers. Don’t worry about anything, okay?”

She slowly nods then heads back down to get us our beers. I give the look to Kyle, who is already on his phone making the arrangements with my mom for clothes. I go to the railing where I watch Mandy put the order in.

Craig looks at us and starts talking to her. I can see she is trying to talk but keeps getting cut off by this asshole. He yells at her, pointing, and she heads toward a back room. Wondering where she is going, I see Craig leave the bar with four beers, headed my way.

I sit back down when he comes up the stairs and delivers our beers personally. When he sets them down, he starts talking, and everyone is ready just to end this and blow his head off right here.

“Hey, man, I’m sorry about my girlfriend. She can have an attitude sometimes.”

“Who said she had an attitude? Have a seat!” I say.

“Well, I gotta get back.”

“I said sit the fuck down!”

He looks around at all my men who have now cornered him. I watch him slowly lower himself onto the couch I am sitting on. I can tell he’s nervous, and he fucking should be.

“So, you know I am Mandy’s employer, right?” I ask.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“You know that the money I gave her to get clothes was for her job. Well, apparently, it’s now missing?”

“I don’t know which money you are talking about.”

“Really? Well, just so you know, I am not the person you want to piss off.”

“I understand.”

He quickly gets up and leaves as my boys watch him walk away. They see him head toward the back room and know he is headed to where Mandy is.

I can see my boys are getting anxious and keep looking at me, waiting to see what I’m going to do. I told her if she wants out, I will get her out. It’s her decision.

We’re sitting and waiting when my phone buzzes and everyone stares at me. I just look at my phone, then up at my boys with a smirk.

“Let’s go, boys. We have a goddess to save!”