“Hello? Jay answered.
“Jay,” Mandy tried to whisper so Ronnie didn’t hear her over his screams. “He’s here. Help me.”
“Hello? Jay said again. “I can’t hear you over the wind.”
“Jay,” she held back a chocked sob. “He’s going to kill me.”
“Mandy?” Jay hollered back over the sound of the rushing wind by his helmet. “Mandy, I’m turning around. I can be there in twenty minutes. Call the cops.”
“I can’t!” she sobbed. “They won’t help me.”
“Twenty minutes,” Jay told her. “Just hold on for twenty minutes.”
It was the longest twenty minutes of her life. In spite of the pain, she kept her feet pressed to the door and her back against the wall to try to keep Ronnie from busting through the door. Despite all his screaming, no one came to her rescue. No one bothered to call the cops. Why would they? They’d heard it all before and if they’d tried to call the cops then, it hadn’t done her any good. No one ever showed up. Some wrestler was the first person to ever get between Mandy and Ronnie’s fists and she didn’t know if he’d get there in time.
Ronnie must have been high. He was never in good shape to begin with, yet somehow he kept beating the door and screaming at her without ever showing signs of slowing down. He even kept punching the door as Mandy heard the sound she’d been waiting for, the low grumble of a motorcycle as it pulled into town.
She’d never told him her apartment number, but Mandy knew Jay would be able to find them by following the sounds of Ronnie’s shouts. The walls were paper thin and there was no way he wouldn’t be able to hear Ronnie as he made his way up the stairs.
“What the hell?” she heard Ronnie ask from the other side of the bathroom door. She didn’t need to open the door to know that Jay had found them. “What are you doing here?” Ronnie screamed.
“You need to get the hell out of here,” she heard Jay growl from somewhere in her apartment.
“Screw you!” Ronnie screamed back. “She’s my bitch, back off.”
“No!” Jay roared and suddenly there was a crash. Mandy covered her ears and tried to hide away inside herself as she heard the two men fighting in her apartment. From beyond the door she heard something shatter, and then something broke. She cringed as the two men fought and she almost unlocked the door to tell them to stop, but the last time she’d tried to pull Ronnie out of a fight he’d choked her so hard she’d blacked out.
A scream pierced the walls of her apartment and Mandy jumped. She didn’t think a man like Jay could make a scream that high pitched, she had to assume it came from Ronnie.
“You broke my arm!” Ronnie screamed, confirming her suspicions. “I’ll kill you!”
“Just get out,” Jay barked at Mandy’s pathetic excuse for a boyfriend. She didn’t think Ronnie would listen, but she heard her door slam and at least one of them had left.
“Mandy?” Jay’s deep, soothing voice called from the other side of the bathroom door. “You okay in there?”
“My foot hurts,” was all she could manage. It was still pressed against the door and when she finally lowered it she saw the streak of blood it had left behind.
“Let me in, baby girl,” Jay told her. “Can you open the door?”
Mandy answered by unlocking the door and Jay did the rest by opening it for her. When she saw her apartment, Mandy almost broke down and cried. It was a mess, an absolute mess. Her coffee table was smashed and there was glass shattered all over the place. It was a complete disaster.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” Jay said as he offered her his hand. “There’s more broken glass laying around, let me carry you.”
“Carry me where?” Mandy sniffed.
“Your boyfriend left,” Jay said as he scooped her up in his muscular, tattooed arms. “But I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay here tonight. Pack a couple things up and I’ll take you somewhere safe. I’ll call the cops while you pack.”
“No!” Mandy shook her head. “I’ll pack, but you can’t call the police.”
“Listen,” Jay tried to explain. “I know what you’re going through. You have to call the cops, it’s for the best.”
“You don’t understand,” Mandy argued. “Ronnie’s dad is the sheriff. It won’t do you any good.”
“Shit,” Jay said as he carried Mandy into her bedroom. “If he charges me with assault I’m screwed.”
“I don’t think he will,” Mandy said when Jay set her down on her bed. “Ronnie’s dealing meth, maybe even making it. His dad knows. He’s not the smartest guy, but I don’t think his dad would want people digging around into Ronnie’s life right now.”
“Okay,” Jay sighed and raised his eyebrow as Mandy grabbed a few things and tucked them into the backpack Jay had found on her living room floor. “But that doesn’t mean your boyfriend isn’t going to come back here. We need to get moving. One guy high on meth I can handle. We might be in trouble if all his friends come back with him though.”
Mandy knew he was right. Ronnie wasn’t the kind of person to just give up, especially not when he was high. He’d be back and he’d bring his stupid friends and god knows what else. It put a new fear in her and she just grabbed at some random clothes and stuffed them into the bag.
“Let’s go,” Mandy nodded when she was ready. The longer they stayed in the apartment, the longer they risked Ronnie coming back. He had access to his father’s guns and ammo, and his temper was getting so much worse that Mandy shuddered to think what he might be capable of.
They stopped at her front door as Jay carried her across the broken glass and shattered memories that laid scattered across the floor of her apartment. He kept one strong arm around her waist to help her balance while she put the sparkly purple and teal running shoes back on before Jay picked her up and made the descent down the stairs.
“Shit,” Jay muttered when they got outside. His bike had been toppled over, by Ronnie no doubt, but thankfully when they got closer it only looked a little scuffed and started up no problem.
“He probably just kicked it on his way by,” Jay assured her as he grabbed the leather jacket and extra helmet out of one of his bike’s saddlebags. “I’ll just need to buff it a little, don’t worry.”
Mandy nodded as she put on the jacket and then her backpack. Once her helmet was on, she finally let herself cry. They were silent tears like she’d trained herself years ago, but with the helmet on, Jay couldn’t see them either.
She slid her hands around his stomach and held on tightly as he kicked the bike to life. The ride back to Montgomery wasn’t near as exciting as the ride from had been. This time she felt hollow, broken, and scared. She knew she was leaving for good, even if it hadn’t been said. Even if Jay was only helping her for the night, she knew returning home was out of the question. Ronnie would kill her if he ever saw her again, and she couldn’t rely on Jay saving her forever. Even as they drove through the starry night, Mandy began to wonder where she’d go from here.
She wasn’t even sad to be leaving the town she’d grown up in. She felt bad to be leaving the diner without notice, but she hadn’t spoken to her parents in two years and Ronnie had cost Mandy her friends years ago. She had nothing to lose, but still she was scared. She was scared of Ronnie hunting her down, she was scared of having no money, but most of all she was scared of what tomorrow would bring.
The ride wasn’t as exhilarating as it once was, and after Jay had come to her rescue she thought she’d feel like a princess being saved by a knight on a noble steed. Instead she felt defeated, shamed, and helpless. All her life she’d been the victim, and tonight was just another example of that.
“If you want,” Jay said as he pulled up to the hotel he and the rest of his wrestling company were staying at. “I can get you your own room. I have a suite though, and I’d feel a lot safer if you spent the night in my room. No funny business, I can sleep on the couch.”
“Okay,” Mandy nodded, still wearing her helmet
. “I don’t think I want to be alone right now anyway.”
“Can you walk?” Jay asked after he’d parked his bike.
“I think so,” Mandy nodded, but he still offered her his arm and she used his strength to help her limp into the hotel and on to the elevator.
“Top floor?” she noted when Jay pressed the button.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Suites are part of my contract. You sell enough merch for the company and you can basically get whatever you want.”
He helped her into the room and Mandy let out a gasp. The hotel suite was bigger than her apartment and much cleaner too. Sure, there were some clothes laying around and a few pairs of very large shoes, but what made Mandy blush was the boxers that were thrown on the couch.
“It’s late,” Jay said as he helped her into the bedroom. “Feel free to use the bed. The couch pulls out and I’ve slept on worse.”
“Okay,” Mandy nodded. Part of her wanted to ask him to get into the bed with her. Not for sex or anything like that, but she wanted to be held. It had been the strangest, worst, and somehow best night of her life and all she wanted was physical comfort, but she got in the bed and watched as Jay turned out the light and left.
She didn’t know when, or even if she’d fallen asleep at all, but when she woke she had no clue where she was or how she’d gotten there. It took her a minute to remember why she was in the hotel bed and why her foot hurt. Even her head was pounding from where Ronnie had ripped out a chunk of her hair. It all came rushing back, especially thoughts of Jay.
Mandy forced herself out of bed and hobbled out of the suite’s bedroom. She expected to see Jay asleep on the couch, but she found herself alone in the hotel room. She almost panicked that somehow Ronnie had found them and done something to the man who’d saved her, but she forced herself to calm down and when she did she saw a scribbled note let on the coffee table.
“Mandy,” his note began. “Down at the gym. Be back by lunch. Call room service if you’re hungry.”
Hungry was one thing she wasn’t. After everything that had happened, the last thing Mandy wanted was a meal. Her stomach was still in knots and she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. It was only eleven and she didn’t know exactly what time Jay’s note meant by lunch.
She settled on a shower to wash off her smeared makeup and bloody foot. The hotel’s bathroom was nicer than her own, but the whole place was just that. Mandy was just going to have a shower, but then she saw the suite’s whirlpool tub and she couldn’t resist it. She’d been through enough that she felt like she just might deserve a relaxing soak and she started to fill the tub.
Mandy didn’t even bother to wait until it was full. She stripped off the clothes she’d slept in and unwound the bloody bandage on her foot before she stepped into the luxuriously hot water. The water swirled around her aching muscles, her throbbing head, and her cluttered mind as she let herself relax in the warm bath. Nothing could trouble her there, nothing could hurt her. She could just relax and think about nothing at all.
“Mandy?” Jay’s deep voice called as he stepped in the door. “You up?”
“I’m in the tub!” she called back as she dipped herself deeper under the bubbly water. She was worried she might be overstepping her welcome, but she heard Jay laugh.
“I’ll wait in the living room,” he told her. “I put your backpack in the bedroom.”
Mandy forced herself from the tub and grabbed a towel. She knew he couldn’t see her if she went straight to the bedroom, but she still half ran and a half hopped as she got back to the room and slammed the door behind herself. She didn’t return until she was fully dressed in a pair of black leggings and a pink t-shirt.
“Hey,” she greeted him as she came out of the room. Jay looked a little more like the guy from the wrestling ring when she met him in the living room. His hair was damp with sweat and he smelled of exercise and exertion as he stood to greet her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her, his green eyes looking her over as he did.
“Better,” she smiled back at him.
“Good,” his deep voice answered. “I’m going to take a shower and then I have to get back to the stadium to get ready for tonight’s show. I want you to come with me, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine,” she nodded. She’d feel a lot safer there than she would alone in his hotel room. Having one big, muscular wrestler with her was good, to have a company of them would be better.
The stadium was a buzz of activity when they got there. There were no ticket holders, there wouldn’t be for a while, but people were running around and doing check after check as they walked through the hall. She was still wearing her borrowed shoes and vowed to find the woman who’d lent them to her. She knew they were ruined, but she could at least thank her and apologize for wrecking what were probably custom sneakers.
Jay led her to the greenroom and helped her to a plush leather couch. “From here,” he told her as he pointed at the large window covering the one side of the room, “you should be able to view the whole show. It’s a lot crazier than last night’s show. That was just a house show. Tonight we’re live on TV, which is always pretty cool. The Starlets will probably hangout here, so you can thank Sapphire for the shoes when she arrives.”
“Cool,” Mandy nodded. “Hey Jay,” she began as he brought over a chair for her to put her foot up on. “Can I asked you a question?”
“Sure thing, baby girl,” he smiled at her.
“Is Viper really your last name?”
He laughed at that, a big booming laugh that filled the room. “No,” he said as he laughed. “That would be pretty great. My real name’s Jason Turner, but I do go by Jay. Only my mom calls me Jason.”
“Cool,” Mandy blushed. “My last name’s Swift, if you’re curious.”
“Okay,” Jay smiled. “Now I have a question for you. What are your plans now? I don’t want to dump this on you, but after today we’re back on the road. What are you going to do?”
“Um,” Mandy mumbled as she felt panic rising in her gut. “I have no clue. I don’t think I can go home. My aunt lives in Mississippi, maybe I could go there.”
“You could,” Jay shrugged. “But we’re always looking for skilled workers who are okay with being on the road most of the year. If you’re up for it, I could see about getting you a job with us. It’s not great money, but your travel expenses would be paid and you’d get to see the whole country.”
“I guess it would depend on what it is,” Mandy told him. “I’ve only ever worked as a waitress.”
“I’ll ask around,” Jay told her. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything and we’ll go from there. I don’t want to pressure you, but I can’t just up and leave tomorrow without knowing you’re going to be okay.”
“Thanks Jay,” Mandy smiled. “I think I will be.”
Jay left Mandy in the greenroom, but she wasn’t alone for long. A few of the Starlets came in and joined her before the show began and she finally got to meet the woman who’d given her the shoes.
“I’m really sorry, Sapphire,” Mandy said to the beautiful raven haired wrestler from her spot on the couch. “I kind of got blood in them. When I can, I’ll pay you back I promise.”
“Oh my god, don’t even think about it,” the Starlet told her. “And call me Sharon, Sapphire’s my ring name.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” a blonde woman with toned arms said. “Jay told us what happened, we’re happy to help.”
“Oh,” Mandy blushed. She didn’t really like a bunch of people knowing about her meth addicted boyfriend, or probably ex-boyfriend now, beating her in the parking lot.
“Honey,” Sharon said as she gave Mandy a hug. “We understand. A few of us have been there ourselves. We take care of our own here.”
“Definitely,” the blonde said before she introduced herself as Caroline. “What are you doing after the show? I mean, rumor is you’re coming with us.”
“I’m not sur
e,” Mandy shrugged. “Jay mentioned something about me working for the company somehow.”
“Like as a Starlet?” Caroline wrinkled her slightly crooked nose.
“No,” Mandy laughed. “I don’t think I’m tough enough. Probably like an assistant or something.”
“Hmm,” Sharon thought about it. “The only person who is actually looking for an assistant right now is Iva, but you’d need to know how to sew.”
“I can sew!” Mandy jumped on that. “I mean, I don’t have a machine anymore, but I know how to sew. I even made my own prom dress in high school.”
“Okay,” Caroline laughed. “I’ll tell Iva. She can never keep an assistant long. Mostly because of the traveling, but the woman has high standards too.”
Before she knew what was happening, Mandy was meeting with the company’s seamstress. She was an older Russian woman with stern eyes and thin lips, but she was at least willing to talk to Mandy and see if the young woman was up to working with her.
“Yes,” Iva said in a thick accent. “You have good fingers. I give you a chance. You start tomorrow, there will be many ripped pants, I am sure. If you are no good, I fire you. Yes?”
“Sure,” Mandy nodded. At least she was getting a chance.
“Hey,” Jay walked in on the four women talking. He had changed into wrestling trunks with high boots, but he was wearing a black t-shirt with a viper on it to cover his chest. His long hair was tied back, but somehow he still looked so sexy. “Colin, he’s our lighting guy, thinks he might have something for you. No guarantees, but at least it’s a maybe.”
“No,” Iva snapped at Jay. She was a tiny woman, but even a big guy like Jay took a step back from her. “She is my new assistant. For now at least. If she is rubbish, then Colin can have her.”
“All right,” Jay laughed. “I’ve got to go do a meet and greet before the show. You still okay up here?”
“Yeah,” Mandy nodded. “I am a little hungry though,” she said. She hated to intrude, but she hadn’t eaten since the day before and she finally had an appetite.
Her Tattooed Savior (New Adult Wrestling Erotic Romance) Page 3
