Chapter 33: Chapter 11: Reality

NATE

When I wake up, I see Mandy still sound asleep. I am usually up early to head to work, but since Dad is covering, I will be hanging here with her to get her settled in.

She is absolutely gorgeous, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. She looks like an angel sleeping. How could anyone ever treat someone like trash, let alone a woman?

Once she feels better and starts healing, I will send her with Mom and Sis for a major spa day. Massages, hair, nails—the works. She should be pampered and deserves to be.

I slowly slip my arm out when she starts to stir. I hug her, whispering about getting her food. She moans, nodding her head, and is back asleep. This girl needs some fucking groceries, man.

I quickly throw on a shirt and head downstairs to make myself some coffee. I see Dad sitting there, and I grab my cup and sit down next to him.

“Nate, my boy, I cannot say how proud I am that you didn’t think twice.”

“Dad, I remember that day you rescued us. You didn’t have to accept me, let alone adopt me. But you did without a second thought.

“I knew she was mine from the moment I saw her. I will admit I am nervous but didn’t even think twice. I will take care of the boyfriend today, and Mandy wants to go with me.”

“Let her confront him. She will need closure also. Don’t be afraid of doing stuff in front of her. She is stronger than you think and will see you are, and will be, her rock.

“I freaked inside when I killed your mom’s boyfriend, but she stuck around. She also saw me scream at him that you were my son. That made it real for her that I wasn’t going anywhere and was true to my word.”

“Thanks for covering for me. I owe you big time.”

“Don’t worry about it. Take care of her. She needs you right now for support.”

He gets up and quickly heads out the door. I sit for a few minutes then Jocelyn comes running up.

“How is she?”

“She is still sleeping. I’m sure she will be sleeping for a while. I don’t know when she got a good night’s sleep last but can’t imagine it was recently.”

I see Frankie come in, tapping his watch, and I just laugh—been there. Jocelyn rolls her eyes, grabs a muffin, and heads out to school. I sit and take a deep breath as Rita comes walking in.

“Hey, Aunt Rita, can you help me whip up some breakfast for Mandy? If you get fruit together, I can make some eggs, bacon, and potatoes.”

Rita says, “Since I’m making a big breakfast for everyone heading out, how about you cut up the fruit? Also, tell me about your girl!”

“Deal.”

I gather all the fruit and start cutting it up and tossing it in a bowl.

“Well, her name is Mandy. She is twenty years old and my girl. She is a foster kid that aged out, with druggie parents. Her boyfriend was beating on her and left her unconscious. She found out last night she is six weeks pregnant and is underweight.”

I look up at Rita who has apparently stopped cooking and started just staring at me somewhere along the way. I think she is in shock.

“Aunt Rita, you okay?”

“Yeah, sweetie, just a little shocked. We don’t want to overload her system if she isn’t used to a lot of food. We will have to take it slow. So, take up food and see how much she eats. If it’s not a lot, don’t get stressed out. We will slowly get her feeling better within the next few days.”

I smile, grabbing what food is done and head upstairs. When I approach the door, I can hear sobbing, so I open the door.

She is sitting up in bed and crying. I quickly set the food down on the dresser and rush over to the side of the bed.

“Mandy, baby, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Baby, don’t cry. Do you need pain meds? We have them here. Here is some water. I can get them really quick.”

Mandy wipes away her tears. “No, no, I am okay, just sore. Nate, why aren’t you at work?”

“My dad will cover for me for the next two weeks. So I can be here with you.”

Mandy starts bawling again, and I have a feeling this isn’t just being sore.

“Nate, but why? I am a mess. I’m pregnant. I’ve had the shit beat out of me.”

“Mandy, just stop and look at me!”

She slowly looks up as I wipe away her tears.

“I don’t care. You are gorgeous. You are mine and I am yours. That baby in there is mine. Put me down as the father. I do not care. It will have the Maxwell name.

“Today we will deal with Craig, and I want you to get everything off your chest. Scream at him, yell, punch, kick—do whatever you need to do. I will be right there. He will not be able to touch you or threaten you ever again.”

She nods her head, and I bring over the food and set it in front of her. She looks nervously at it, then up at me.

“Mandy, it’s for you, eat what you want. I am going to get dressed.”

I walk over to the closet, and I see her start shoveling the food in her mouth like it’s going to run away.

“Mandy, stop for a minute.”

She looks up at me mid-chew with huge eyes.

“I am not taking back the food, so slow down please. Don’t make yourself sick.”

She nods and starts eating slowly, watching while I throw on my suit pants, shirt, and holsters. I pull out my guns, making sure they are loaded before tucking them into the holsters.

I grab my suit jacket, leaving the closet open. I sit in a chair next to the dresser and watch her eyes while she stays focused on the closet. She looks at me and points to the closet while still eating.

“All those women’s clothes in there are for you. There’s shoes, also, and purses. My mom went shopping online for you with my sister. You have a whole new wardrobe. Also, we got you a new phone with all our numbers preloaded.

“I will be here for two weeks, then we will be headed back to work. You can keep coming to work or choose not to. If you choose to, you will be moved into my office.”

She looks back at the closet, slowly getting up and walking toward it. I see her disappear inside and moments later hear crying. I quickly stand up and walk to the doorway, confused.

I watch her with her face in her hands, crying. She looks back up at me, then she quickly runs over, launching herself into my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

I rub her back while kissing her head.

“You are my queen now. You will never need anything ever again.”

She slowly slides off of me, and I set her down.

“Get dressed so we can get stuff dealt with.”

She nods, then she goes into the closet and changes. I am standing there when I get a call on my cell. I look at the caller identification, and it’s Vinny.

“What’s up, Vinny?”

“Two of my men were killed. We just found the bodies. They were newer, and we knew they went missing but didn’t find them till now. They washed up in the port.”

“Shit, Vinny. Do you know who it could have been?”

“No, we are still working on it. We think it might have been Ricardo. They were going after one of his shipments to try and prove themselves.”

“Well, word is he has a thing for Jocelyn. So we are going to suck him in.”

“Sounds good.”

I quickly hang up. I see Mandy walk out and, fuck, she is gorgeous! She is wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with some black, fuzzy boots and a warm, baby-pink sweater.

I walk up to her, pulling her to me, and can tell she feels what she does to me. She looks at me with wide eyes.

“Mandy, baby, you have no clue how fucking sexy you are. Just looking at you in these clothes makes me wanna take them back off and fuck you till you scream my name.

“That will be only on your time and when you are ready. I also want to move us and my guys to our own house. So we can have our space. So, for sure, not till after that.”

She nods her head as I grab her hand in mine, kissing it. I adjust my pants, throw on my suit jacket, and walk out.

Jessie gets to stay as he is a babysitter now, so I take Luis, Carlos, and Kyle. We walk out to the SUV. Kyle opens our door, and we slide in. We finish loading up and start down the driveway, headed to the old building.

Maybe that’s where I will move us. The apartment on the top floors. I pull my phone out, calling some of the guards and asking them to grab our clothes from the estate and move them to the apartment in the old building.

I hang up and call the jeweler next, asking him to meet me in the apartment in an hour with necklaces with a double heart. I want to get Mandy something special. When I hang up, she is staring at me. I smile and just kiss her forehead.