Chapter 32: Chapter 10: Going In

NATE

My guys and I haul down the stairs from the VIP section, across the dance floor, past the bar, to the back hallway. We pull out our guns and slowly make our way down the dark hallway.

I can hear commotion coming from the back, and we are ready to storm in. Right when we get to the door, it swings open and there is Craig. He just stands there, looking at me.

“I told you, Craig, I was the last person you wanted to piss off, right?”

“Fuck you, asshole. You can’t be back here. You need to get out of my fucking club.”

I raise my gun and point it straight at his head. The look he has now is priceless.

“Wrong answer. Now you are going to back the fuck up and have a seat.”

He backs up into the room with his hands raised. When we enter, it looks like a kitchen area with a table in the center. Looks like an older retro kitchen that could seriously use updating.

He sits down as my guys surround him. I look around and see a door to another room, but the door is shut.

“Is Mandy in there?”

He just looks at the door and turns away. I motion to Kyle and he smacks him in the side of the head with his gun. Craig’s head whips to the side and his lip busts, and starts spilling blood down his front. He spits on the floor and looks down at his feet. I walk over, grabbing his hair and pulling his head back to face me.

“Is Mandy in that fucking room?”

He nods his head. I quickly stride over to the door and throw it open. I step inside and drop to my knees. I see her motionless, battered body spread across the bed.

My anger is rising fast, and I quickly take out my phone and call for an ambulance to meet me out front. I gather her up and tell my boys to take the trash to the basement.

“She’s my girlfriend. Don’t you fucking touch her.”

“No, Craig. She ~was~ your girlfriend. She is my goddess, and she is mine now.”

I quickly walk with her through the club to the front to meet the ambulance. They open the back and I jump up in with her, setting her down on the gurney. I take a seat, holding her hand while we race toward the hospital.

I have so many thoughts running through my head, praying she will be okay. Please let her be okay. I hold onto her hand and jump on the phone to my dad.

“Nate, what’s up, son?”

“He beat the shit out of her, Dad. She’s unconscious and we are headed to the hospital. Can you and Mom come?”

“Yeah, son, we are on our way.”

I quickly hang up right when we pull up to the hospital and get ready to unload. They unload the gurney, and I follow closely behind to go in with her. We get settled in as the doctor comes in wanting to run a bunch of tests.

I wait till they are done and just sit holding her hand. I place it against my forehead and start letting the tears fall. I should have been quicker. I heard the commotion but didn’t think it was him beating the shit out of her.

She suffered and the pain she must be in, and the fear she must have felt… Wondering if I was coming or if I was going to leave her.

I’m sitting there in my thoughts when I feel a hand rubbing my head. When I look up, I see the most gorgeous blue eyes. Well, one, since the other is swollen shut.

At least she’s alive and awake. Her face is so swollen and she has a busted lip. Fingerprints on her neck. Bruises everywhere and red marks that will no doubt become bruises.

“God, Mandy, love, I am so sorry I wasn’t quicker.”

“Nate, it’s okay. You came.”

I smile at her, kissing her hand as my parents come flying in.

“Oh, Mandy, sweetheart, you poor thing.”

My dad just stands there and is having a moment. It’s like a flashback to me and my mom. The look, the thoughts, the fear, the anger, and everything associated with it. We sit there until the doctor comes in.

“Mandy, we got some results back. Everything looks okay, but I do want to discuss something privately with you.”

We nod as my parents and I leave to give her some space. After this, I will take her to the park and talk to her, then bring her home, hopefully where she will live with me. She will love Jocelyn and will always have people around.

“Will you be okay from here?” Dad asks. “I’ll take your mom and go pick up all the clothes we ordered for Mandy. We will have them at home for her.”

“Okay. I will see you in a bit.”

As they leave, the doctor comes out.

“She is fine and can be discharged. I will go get the papers.”

I nod at him and head back to Mandy. We wait for all her papers so we can head out.

From the hospital, my guys drive us to the park and when we unload, I have her sit on a bench and sit next to her. There is no one here as it’s close to ten, which makes this easier to do.

“Mandy, I want you to make an informed decision. I am a very dangerous man. I have an empire and will kill to protect it. I will kill to protect what is mine. I will kill to protect who is in my life. No hesitations.

“If you choose to go home with me, you will be my goddess, my queen, and my partner. You will never have to worry about anything. You will always have people around and will never want for anything.”

“It all sounds great, Nate, but there is an issue.”

“Mandy, love, what is the issue?”

She starts crying with her head in her hands. I slide over, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her into my chest. I sit and wait for her to tell me what’s on her mind. No matter what, we can deal with it.

“Mandy, please tell me.”

“I don’t know if you will want me after you find out.”

“Mandy, there is nothing that would make me not want you.”

Mandy pulls away, looking at me then looking down at her hands.

“I’m pregnant. That’s what the doctor wanted to talk to me about. I’m about six weeks along. I can get rid of it. It is still early enough.”

I put my hand on her cheek and try to understand why she would think that way. Why would I want her to get rid of it? Just because it isn’t mine? I don’t want her to think that a pregnancy is something that would stop me.

“Mandy, look at me.”

She slowly raises her eyes and looks at me. I can see the uncertainty about the situation and not knowing how I would react.

“Mandy, I don’t care. That will be my child. MY CHILD! It doesn’t change anything for one minute! You are mine! You don’t need to get rid of it. I will take you and the baby.

“The question is, given the information that you have, you will have a choice to make. I can drop you off somewhere safe and walk away, or you can come home with me.”

She nods her head and I pull her in for a hug. I lean down and kiss her lips ever so softly as to not hurt her and wait for an answer.

“I will go home with you, Nate.”

“All right, Mandy. Let’s go home then, okay?”

She nods her head and we walk back to the SUV to make our way home to the estate. While we drive, she snuggles against me into my chest, and I can feel her breathing level out since she has fallen asleep.

I am beyond excited and nervous. Here I am, twenty-one, and will be a father in less than nine months.

I know, though, that we will be just fine with all the women in the house. Aunt Rita will help and so will Mom. She will be excited about having a grandbaby.

I watch Mandy sleeping so peacefully and wonder when the last time was she’d gotten some good sleep. It’s around midnight when we pull up, and I see my mom, my dad, and Jocelyn standing there.

I carry Mandy in my arms and walk up to them. Jocelyn covers her mouth in shock at the sight of Mandy. My mom just watches her while my dad looks at me. He pats me on the back and motions for everyone to get inside.

I slowly head up with her to my room, laying her on the bed. I try to pull away when I hear her start to whimper. She grabs at me.

“Mandy, love, I am going to take a quick shower. Did you want a bath?”

She nods her head, so I quickly get clothes for her and start the bath so she can soak in it. I look around and, man, did my mom go all out on shit. There’s bath crap everywhere. Do girls seriously use all this?

I find a lavender bath bomb and throw that in. When the tub finishes filling up, I turn the water off and walk back out to my room.

“Will you be okay by yourself? I’m going to go chat with my parents for a few minutes.”

“I will be okay getting in but may need help getting out. If I do, I will call you.”

I nod as I walk out the bedroom door and go down the hall to my parents’ room. I see their door open with them standing there with Jocelyn.

“How is she? I see she came home with you,” Mom says.

“She is good, just hurting. We do have a change of plans, though.”

“Oh? What’s the change?” Mom asks.

“Well, Mom, I didn’t just bring one person with me, I brought two.”

I can see the wheels turning in my parents' heads because this has clearly not clicked.

Jocelyn gets it and she blurts it out. “No way! She’s pregnant? I’m going to be an auntie!”

“Yeah, about six weeks.”

“Nate, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean? That’s my kid now. Nothing changes. I will deal with the boyfriend tomorrow. Also, can you cover work for two weeks? So I can get her comfortable. I will be moving us to the apartment with my guys.

“Also, have Tania from Human Resources come up and take her old position. I am going to have her in my office helping with paperwork. Then she can go with me to work if she wants to keep working.”

I see my mom tearing up when my dad pats me on the back and nods. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I found my goddess and I got a bonus. I smile at my parents then I hear my name from down the hall.

I take my leave, running into my room and closing the door behind me. I make my way into the bathroom and, sure enough, she can’t get out. I quickly set the towels on the sink counter and pull her up to a standing position in the tub.

Once she’s standing, I look at her and I am about to lose my shit. The bruises covering her back are everywhere. I slowly walk around to her front, and I can see almost every one of her ribs. She is so thin.

She sees me staring and nervously covers herself, looking down. I grab her arms lightly.

“Mandy, look at me, please!”

One tear escapes and falls down my face. I’m having the hardest time keeping my cool.

“Do not ever be ashamed and cover yourself in front of me.”

“I look disgusting. I am so ugly. Why do you want me? I’m a mess and I’m pregnant.”

“Mandy, love, you are my goddess and queen. You are strong and fucking gorgeous. Do not ever think otherwise.”

I hand her a towel which she wraps around herself. I wrap my arms around her waist, carefully lift her out of the tub, and carry her into my room. I grab her a shirt to sleep in and help her put it on along with some underwear.

Once she is dressed, I help her back into bed, kissing her head. I smile and grab my clothes. I strip down to my boxers and, out of the corner of my eye, I see her watching. I look over. When I lock eyes with her, I smile.

“Mandy, my queen, do you like what you see? It’s all yours and only yours.”

She slowly gets out of bed and walks over to me. She stands in front of me, and I can tell she is nervous. I reach down and take her hand in mine and watch her, looking at her hand.

I take it and move it over my chest, letting her feel the muscles moving under her hand. I move her hand down my stomach across my abs and hear her take in a sharp breath. She watches my muscles move and looks up to my face.

“It’s all yours, my queen. No one else’s. I will always be here and protect you with my life. I will protect our child with my life. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

“What about Craig?”

“I will take care of him tomorrow. If you want to go with me, you can.”

She nods, and I lean over and kiss her head. She walks back over toward the bed when I turn to make my way to the shower. Or, at least, so I think.

At one point, I see her peeking around the corner while I am showering. I act like I don’t see her, but I know she was looking.

I finish my shower and get out, drying off and throwing on some boxers and gym shorts. I walk over, climbing in on my side, pull her back to my front, and quickly fall asleep.