11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Michael

M ayor Douchebag does not know what he's getting into, baiting us like this. He might know some of Mandy's secrets, but he's unreliable at best. Whatever trash he spews, I'm sure there's an explanation. I try and shut his mouth with my fist, but he's learned how to duck since my brother Ben broke his nose this past Christmas.

"Stay away from Mandy, Gene. I'll only tell you once."

"You wouldn't be so keen to defend her if you knew what she had to do to keep herself fed back in New York. I've seen you the past few weeks following her like a lost puppy. You're pathetic."

I don't care what this stupid man says about me, but I look next to me, and Mandy's face is a waterfall of tears. I turn to her and cup my palms on her face.

"Whatever it is, Mandy, we'll deal with it together. Don't listen to this jackass. He's a bad man, and soon he'll be run out of office. You'll see."

"He knows the truth about me, Michael."

"Those are crocodile tears, Hoffer. Don't let her grab at your heartstrings. She owes a lot of money to a very powerful man back in New York. If she doesn't agree to be my mistress, he'll come for her and take everything she owns. She'll be indebted to him forever."

My vision is practically red when I hear the word 'mistress,' and I jump on top of Gene Mitchell and start swinging. One of my punches gets his nose again, and he starts bleeding like a stuck pig, but I don't stop punching him.

Mandy is screaming behind me, but this man has said the last bad word about the woman I love. So I punch and punch until I feel strong hands pulling me off him. I still see red, but Mandy's and my brother Ben's voices reach me somehow.

The mayor is knocked out on the snow-covered ground—at least, I hope he's only knocked out—and there are sirens coming our way. I'm breathing heavily, and my hands are all bloody. I can't touch Mandy like this, but I need to calm her down.

She looks so defeated, a look I never thought to see on her face. The sirens finally come close enough that I know the Sheriff is here. He gets out of his car, kneels, and checks the mayor's vitals.

"What happened here, Hoffer?"

"Mitchell came here trying to blackmail Mandy. Said he knew all her secrets. When he accused her one time too many times, I got so enraged that I just started throwing punches. I only stopped once my brother pulled me off him. He's scum, Sheriff. He's not fit to be this town's mayor."

"Miss Schmidt, are you okay?"

"I…"

"Ben, maybe you can put Miss Schmidt in your car, where it's warm."

"Sure thing, Sheriff."

I watch as my brother takes Mandy by the arm and leads her to his car. She's visibly shaking, but I don't think it's the cold. She owes money? Was she going to be the mayor's mistress? I can't wrap my head around all the garbage Mitchell spewed and the things that could be true.

Is this why Mandy has been keeping me at arm's length emotion-wise? She's got debts that tie her back to New York? Will she have to go back to repay those debts? I'm still all up in my head when I feel cold metal around my wrists.

I guess I'm going to jail.

You know what, I regret nothing, but I need to have a deep and honest conversation with the woman I love, because I'm not letting her go back to New York, especially if there's danger waiting back there for her.

"Come on, Michael. You'll have to wait until they get the mayor stabilized at the hospital. This doesn't look good, son."

I follow the Sheriff into his car, and he drives me to jail. It's not until later that Ben visits me in the cell and tells me he's lost track of Mandy. I'm going out of my mind, but I can't really do anything from behind bars. My brother's got my back, though. They've been looking for her everywhere, and finally, there's something to report.

"She's at the hospital, waiting for word on the mayor," Danny says.

"I don't want her anywhere near that man. What did she tell you?"

"That she's going to plead for him not to press charges."

"He's just going to ask her for something indecent again."

"Is that what happened?" Ben asks.

I look around at the police officers around us. They're all turning a blind eye to my visitors. They know Mitchell is dirty and deserves what he got.

"He told her to become his mistress or else he would send her back to New York to some unsavory characters that she owes money to. At least that's what I understood from all the shit he was spewing back there."

"This is not good, Michael. Sam had an in with the judge when I hit the douchebag during Christmas, but I don't know how things will turn out for you." Ben says.

"Let's all stay positive. All I want to know is how Mandy is doing. Can you call her friend Ana so she can wait with her at the hospital?"

"You got it," Ben says. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, but thanks. Tell mom and dad not to worry."

"That ship has sailed," Danny says while waving goodbye.

Once they're gone, I can't help but feel abandoned, especially by Mandy. I wish I could call her and get her to go home or come here and tell me all the secrets she's been keeping from me. I lie down on the cot and somehow manage to sleep.

I wake up to a cup of coffee being waved in front of my face. It's the Sheriff. I sit up and take the cup from him.

"Good news and bad news. The mayor is awake and is mad as a hornet. Wants to sue all of you Hoffers. In the meantime, though, he's pressing charges. Assault."

I was expecting that. I'll need to get a lawyer. I'm at a loss as to what to do regarding Mandy. I don't want the entire town to find out her secrets. I'll just plead guilty. Do jail time. Will she wait for me? I'm up in my head pondering what to do when in walks the woman herself.

The Sheriff opens the jail cell, and she nods at him before approaching me.

"Can I join you for a minute?" She asks.

I give her a small smile, and she sits down beside me on the cot. She's all bundled up in winter gear, but I feel the warmth of her body when her thigh presses against mine. I lean over and am able to get a sniff of her peaches and vanilla scent.

That was the wrong thing to do. My cock immediately responds. I don't need to be sporting a boner in the middle of a jail cell.

"I couldn't get him to drop the charges. I'm sorry, Michael."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I knew what I was doing, and I'll accept the punishment."

"Michael…"

"Will you tell me what happened? In your own time, I mean. But will you share it with me?"

"I'm so ashamed, Michael.” She stares down at her feet. “You'll never look at me the same way again."

"Let me worry about that."

I start to take her hand in mine, but I remember I'm in a jail cell. They are already being very lenient, letting Mandy sit here with me. I don't need to push it.

"Did he threaten you again?"

"That's all he seems able to do."

"It's good I'm in this cell. I don't think I could keep myself from beating him up all over again. I've never lost my temper this way in my life. You know me, Mandy, I'm not a violent person."

"I know, Michael."

A man I don't recognize enters the cell. We're getting a little crowded in here, but I need to know who this is.

"Hey Michael, I'm Henry Gilmore. Your parents hired me to defend you."

"There's nothing to defend, I'm guilty."

"Now, don't you go saying that out loud until we've talked things through. And who might this be?"

Mandy gets up and thrusts her hand out to greet the lawyer.

"I'm Mandy Schmidt. I'm the reason for the assault. You need to hear what I have to say."

They shake hands, and the lawyer smiles at us. He asks me to tell him my side of things first, and I lay it all out, being careful about what I say regarding Mandy. After I'm finished, he asks Mandy for her side of the story. She tells him how the mayor propositioned her and threatened her. The lawyer now has everything in a voice recording and will give us written statements later to sign.

I thank him for his help, and he leaves us alone once again. Mandy is next to me, wringing her hands on her lap.

"I don't want to pressure you…" I say.

"I'll tell you. I just don't know where to start."

"Start when you got to New York—five years ago."

She wraps her arms across her stomach and trembles. I want to hold her, but I'm not sure if I should with all the police officers out there, so I just sit next to her, our thighs touching.

"I had stars in my eyes. I thought it would be this big adventure and that I would come out winning. Instead, it was crappy apartments, jealous competitors, and endless uncertainty. I went to all the auditions, but they needed headshots, and I had to look a certain way."

She takes a deep breath and continues, “Everything cost money, and my meager savings went down the drain in the first six months I was there. By then, I was desperate to get a job, any job. One of the girls that I would see often at the auditions took pity on me—or, at least, I thought she did—and said there was this job: dancing. And that if I needed money for headshots or beauty treatments, I could ask my employer for an advance."

"Who was it? The employer?"

"A man named Jensen Buchanan. I was clueless, and he told me he'd support my dream of going on Broadway, but during the evenings, I needed to be one of his dancers. There was room and board included. All I had to do was be there at night. My tips, though, would have to go towards my debt."

"Bastard." My hands are fisted, and my knuckles are white with how much I want to hurt this guy.

"I thought I could do it. Dancing is dancing, right? I'm good at that. The girls backstage were friendly, and it was relatively easy work for me. I just didn't know how the dancing and the stress from the debt were going to affect me. I was tired all day and most times missed my auditions."

"Why didn't you call home for help?" I ask.

"I was a stripper in a seedy nightclub. I'd lost all my savings, and I hadn't gotten one job on Broadway or dancing in any theater. I was at my lowest point, and I just didn't see any way out of it. Besides, the way I left things between us was less than ideal."

"My love for you is deeper than that, Mandy."

I flinch at having said the words here in this jail cell, but I need her to understand my feelings for her have not changed but increased in intensity.

"I guess I know that now."

"How were you able to get away?"

"I told him the truth.” She shrugged. “I had an inheritance that would cover most of my debt to him, but I needed a couple of months to be able to get that money to him."

"You couldn't know how long it would take to sell the house."

"I was trying to be optimistic."

"How much do you owe him?"

"Back at Christmas, it was around seventy-five thousand. Now, it’s probably up to one hundred. I'm sorry, Michael."

She covers her eyes with her hands and starts crying earnestly.

"You did what you thought was right with the resources you had available to you. Stop apologizing and stop feeling that you're a failure. You're not. You made a mistake. Now, it's time to move on from it. And I'm hoping that you'll want to do it by my side."

She falls into my arms and hugs me tight. I hear someone clear their throat in the office next to the jail cell, and I let go of my beautiful girl. We say our goodbyes, and I lie back down on the cot until someone tells me my brothers have posted bail for me.

Mayor Douchebag is pushing for the hearing to be as soon as possible, but I've got more important things to do right now. I'm going to look for my girl and make her mine.