Chapter 4
Nick sat down at his favorite booth in the diner near the lab. It wasn't too long before Mandy walked through the door and found him.
"Hey!" he said flashing his million-dollar grin.
"Hey yourself" she said sliding into the seat across from him.
"How was the rest of your shift?" he asked hoping it was better after they had talked.
"Much better"
"Good, I'm glad. I'm not that type of guy you know"
"I'm sorry again" she said to him sincerely, "I know you are good guy. But I guess, I didn't know what else to think"
They enjoyed breakfast and getting to know each other better. This time it was without the aide of alcohol. She insisted on paying this time, she didn't like the imbalance from earlier. He had protested, "It's the polite thing to do. I'm a gentleman!"
"And I'm not a 19th century damsel, I'm a 21st century woman, who likes to carry her end of the bargain. I'm perfectly well and able to take care of myself, thank you very much."
"Fair enough, although I know you can take of yourself" he added. She paid and they left to go to the theater. They found nothing showing that fancied their tastes.
"How about a movie at my place? I have a large collection of old movies," she told him, which caused him to wrinkle his nose.
"C'mon" Mandy said giving him a little pout, "I have a few good ones. I know you will like them. Ever seen Casablanca?"
"Nope, isn't in black and white?"
"Yup, and that's the way it should be."
"Hmmm OK, but only because nothing else is playing at the theater."
"Fair enough. Although I bet I can make you in a Bogey fan"
"Yeah right! I like action. You know Stallone, Willis!"
"Yeah, I got you but trust me Bogey, Mitchum, Cagney. They are more bad ass then those guys."
"We will see," he said skeptically. They drove up to Mandy's condo and he followed her up to her stoop to find a guy sitting waiting for her.
"Uh… Brad?" she asked annoyed, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to see you. You never returned any my calls."
"What part of don't talk to me ever again, do you not understand?" she asked. She was so embarrassed that Nick was there to see this loser on her stoop. Nick's brow furrowed with in trepidation, ready to pounce if necessary.
"Ah come on Mandy. You have got to get over this, we were meant to be together. Remember the good time we had together?"
"No! We didn't have a good time. Nothing about our two dates was pleasant. Please leave. Don't ever come back here." Mandy said as calmly but firm as possible.
"Oh please, you don't think that. Ah, and now I know who owns the Denali" Brad said finally acknowledging Nick's presence.
"Have you been stalking me?" Mandy said disgusted.
"Look man, I don't want any trouble, but you need to leave" Nick said to him as he stepped between Mandy and Brad. He wanted to stay out of it, but when Brad mentioned seeing his car yesterday a red flag instantly went off. Stalking someone is a gateway to other crimes. Usually things like this escalate, and from what he could tell, he wasn't getting the message.
"Hey man, you're new here. You don't get to call the shots," Brad answered back standing up closer to Nick. Unfortunately for Brad, Nick was at least 4 inches taller than him. Nick grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Mandy's door.
"Brad, go home" Mandy said before unlocking her door and letting herself and Nick. She closed the door and locked it quickly.
"Hey man, go away!" Nick said on the other side of the door when he didn't hear footsteps. He waited a few more minutes and heard an eventual pitter- ‐patter of feet going down the stairs. Mandy looked at Nick unsure of how to explain.
"I had no idea he was coming around," Mandy told him, "I'm really sorry that you had to see that"
"Has this happened before?" Nick said concerned.
"No! Well at least not as far as I can tell. We broke up over a year ago. If you call going out on two dates sufficient for a break up."
"Wow. Well I mean I can't blame him, he has good taste. But stalking that is serious. I had a stalker once, it was not cool or safe. Should I call in a TRO on him? Brass can get it done pretty quickly"
"No! I don't want to give him the satisfaction of it. Maybe since he saw you he will stop coming around."
"I'm not convinced, just say the word"
"Thanks. But I don't think its necessary… want a glass of wine? Sorry no beer still… I wasn't really expecting company"
"Nah, I'm good, lets just pop that movie in" he said to her as he found a spot on the couch. She put in the movie and plopped down next to him. His hand quickly found hers and they began watching the old classic movie. It was only thirty minutes in, but Mandy had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He smiled and continued to watch the rest of them movie. He didn't want to admit it but he enjoyed it. It had everything you could want in a movie. Drama, war, fighting, love, drinking. When the movie finished, he turned off the TV and nudged her awake.
"Bed" he stated as he took her hand and led her to her room. Normally he would have called it night and head home, since he hadn't the day before. But with what happened with Brad, he wanted to stay close. Just in case. He swore he still saw his car across the street, and he wasn't going to leave her alone.
"Mmm," she responded as she sleepily walked into her bedroom, Nick following her turning off lights. She changed into her pajamas and laid down next to him. He pulled her into his arms, keeping her close to him. He knew it was a little presumptuous to just join her in bed, and hoped that she wouldn't be upset. "You stayed," she stated happily before falling back asleep.
"Of course" he whispered before falling asleep soon after holding her close to him. It wasn't until after 2PM, when she woke up and felt his warm body next to his. Relieved that he was still there she snuggled up next to him, which made him stir.
"Morning Mandy pandy." He said as he stroked her hair. He could get used to this very quickly.
"Morning" she said smiling at him.
"Hungry?" he asked her.
"Mmm. Always"
"Me too. Want to come over to my place and we can have lunch? I haven't been home for two days now."
"Sure that sounds good to me. I have the night off."
"Lucky duck. But who is going to get my finger prints now?" he asked.
"You'll survive" she rolled her eyes as she walked to the bathroom. She showered while he checked his phone for any work emails. He got one from Hodges about fibers and Archie about some traffic camera footage from the 419 yesterday. Nothing too earth shattering. It wasn't long before Mandy was out of the shower and ready. She didn't really wear makeup and Nick liked that about her. She really didn't need to wear it.
"Ready whenever you are dude," she said to him as she put on her shoes.
"How about I drive, I can drop you off before my shift"
"Sounds perfect"
She locked up and he saw that the same car was parked across the street. He shook his head. He was going to tell Brass as soon as he got into work that night. They got to his townhouse, which wasn't far from hers. She happily noted it for future reference. It was less than 10 minutes door to door.
"Welcome to my humble abode!" he said opening the garage door.
"Wow… let me guess… You like Texas?" Mandy said when she saw the Texas paraphernalia everywhere.
"How'd you guess?" he asked smirking. "I can make us some turkey sandwiches, how does that sound?"
"Great, why don't I make them and you can shower"
"Are you giving me a hint?"
"No, I just thought it would be more efficient" Mandy said rolling her eyes and kissed him on the cheek.
"Fair enough" he said kissing her back on the forehead.
"I'm sure I can find everything," she said ushering him up to shower. He smiled and walked upstairs to shower and change. It felt good to come home and shower. A good ten minutes later, Nick sauntered down the stairs wearing only running shorts. He had left all of his laundry downstairs. He heard a cat call from the kitchen,
"I bet Catherine would love that look on you tonight at work," Mandy called out to him as he walked towards his laundry room.
"Ha ha ha" he said, "I forgot to bring up laundry from two days ago. I've been distracted you know."
"True. Guilty party right here" Mandy said as she carried two plates to the table in his breakfast nook. He decided that his clothes could wait when his stomach started to growl. He sat down next to her and grabbed his sandwich to take a bite. He stopped when he found her staring at him.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" he asked seriously.
"Dude, how am I supposed to concentrate on food when you are dressed like that."
"What do you mean?" he asked slyly realizing the reason for her lack of focus. He took one bite of his turkey sandwich before grabbing her hand.
"You are going to kill me," he said to her as he rolled on his side after a heavy love making session.
"It's all your fault" she replied.
"How!"
"You can't sit there all shirtless and expect me to just ignore it, I mean what if I just walked up with no clothes on"
"Hmm" he said looking at her, "I see your point"
"Exactly. Cruel and unusual."
"You weren't complaining though."
She just shook her head in response. She couldn't deny what he said, but at that moment her stomach growled.
"Nature…" she said as she started putting on her clothes. They wandered back to the kitchen and starting eating the abandoned sandwich's. They talked about recent cases and news around the lab. It was comfortable, and Nick really enjoyed this Mandy. The more outgoing and talkative one, the more they hung out the more he really liked her. His shift came quickly and he was driving her back to her condo. He sighed in relief when he saw the car gone from across the street.
"Do you have an alarm system?" he asked her when he pulled into her drive.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Can you turn it on when you get in? I would feel a lot better"
"Oh. Yeah Brad. Don't worry, I'm going out with Wendy in a few hours. I'm sure its fine"
"Please, it would make me feel a lot better"
"Fine. I will"
"Thanks" he said before leaning over to kiss her. She kissed him back before hoping out of the truck, "Have a good shift! I hope you figure out your cases."
"Thanks!" he said before she closed the door. He waited until she was inside, and then backed out of the drive. She called Wendy and soon was driving out to meet her for dinner and drinks. Sometimes you need to go out with the girls. Nick's shift turned into a double. It was grueling, but he was glad that he spent that time with Mandy when he could. He texted her telling her that he wouldn't be getting out anytime soon, and she understood. It was the nature of the beast. From what it sounded like she would be working a double the next day too.
Driving out to another 419 with Catherine, she asked him about Mandy.
"So how is it going with our lovely print girl?"
"Oh. Good I mean it's only been a few days now. Nothing too serious, but I really like her. Which reminds me I have to talk to Brass. When we went to watch a movie at her place yesterday, her ex was waiting for her. I think he is stalking her. I was hoping Brass could check up on that"
"Her ex. Yikes that is never good, wait was this Brad?" Catherine asked. She knew the print tech well enough to know that name.
"Yeah how did you know?"
"Oh girls talk Nicky. She said they went out on a few times but he was a real jerk. I think she said she went out with him out of pity? Or her family? I couldn't remember. Wasn't that a long time ago though?"
"That's what she said, but when I left his car wasn't there so I hope he got the message"
"Yeah, men. So clueless sometimes."
"Hey! We aren't all bad"
"I know there are a few good ones out there"
"Like Grissom?" Nick asked. He felt it only fair since she was grilling him on his love life.
"Wha?" she said surprised.
"C'mon how long have we all been working together. We all know"
"Man, I thought we were pulling a fast one on all ya'll."
"Nah, but no one cares. C'mon though, no one can get away with busting his chops like you can."
"True, he does let me get away with almost anything. Yeah he's a good one."
"He is."
When they made it back to the lab he made an excuse to bring the prints to Mandy's station.
"Hey there!" he said brightly to her and she smiled back at him.
"Hey there Nick, what do you have for me?"
"A few partials, a hand print and lots of full prints." He told her.
"Sorry for bogging you down" he added.
"It's my job. Thanks though" she said as she took his stack of prints.
He leaned a little towards her, "I've missed you Mandy," he said before walking out. Her heart skipped a beat and looked over at Wendy who was giving her the thumbs up.
"My god Wendy. I'm a goner"
"I can tell"
The next few weeks they had found a routine that worked for them. He came over after shifts, and they watched a movie or just had a long breakfast before going to sleep. Their off days hadn't lined up yet, but he had planned a day off in a few days that coincided with hers. He was hoping to take her out on a real date. As much as they saw each other, they hadn't been on a real date yet. He didn't like that. But the nature of their jobs didn't allow much wiggle room. The other thing that bothered him was car parked outside of her condo on too many occasions. She shrugged it off when he mentioned it.
Brass told him Brad had no priors, not even a parking ticket. He still didn't like it. He would prefer that he was around whenever she was home, but it didn't always happen. He started spending so much time there, most of his clothes started to find his way into her laundry. One off day she found that her laundry had doubled in size, not that she minded at all. She liked that he was all over her place. He left a toothbrush and a razor in her bathroom. Her desk had his phone charger attached to it. Papers from some of his cases were strewn on her coffee table. He already got a key to her place and she got one to his, although it wasn't really necessary since they spent most of their time at her place. One afternoon she woke up to find him shaving and it just felt so right. They were moving fast but she didn't mind at all. She wasn't going to kid herself either; she wasn't getting any younger. And sometimes when it is feels right, it is. She found that everything about him that she used to crush on was better than she could ever imagine. He held her every night, and called her when he said he would. He sent her lots of little texts during the day just saying Hi or that he missed her. He always remembered to tell her if he was running late. On more than one occasion he made breakfast for her, and even cleaned up afterwards. Usually they didn't drive into work together, but every once in awhile if they were running late doing other things, they would drive in together. It wasn't against the rules, and a lot of people in the lab knew something was going on. Wendy, Hodges, Catherine, and Sara all knew what was going on. She felt so alive for the first time with him.
Nick never moved fast in relationships. He could count on maybe one-hand relationships that lasted more than a week. He couldn't think of any other relationship where he was so attentive, interested, excited, and comfortable. He just couldn't wait to talk to her, text her, see her. He relished all the time they spent together, and just never wanted it to end. He was grateful that they worked together although sometimes he did get a little jealous when the lab rats would go out together. Obviously he couldn't go, but he wanted to. He knew that both Henry and Archie had a little thing for her. He didn't realize, or didn't pay attention until he was in the break room talking to Catherine. He heard Archie and Henry talking about Mandy's new secret boyfriend.
"I bet he's a cop" Archie said, "I mean who gets out in this lab"
"Yeah I bet you are right. They better treat her right, or I might"
"What? Spray them with saline?" Archie asked. "Man I should have asked her out when I had the chance"
"What? No way I wanted to do that," Henry said and they continued to squabble about who would have asked her out first.
Nick laughed when Catherine said quietly, "Sounds like you got some competition, you better watch out Nicky"
"I'm not worried"
"Yeah, just get used to it. I have had to hold my tongue a few times around here. Better to keep it on the down low if you know what I mean."
"I'll keep that in mind"
He was looking forward to their date the next night, hopefully if all went well, he would be able to get off work on time. He texted her cell, "Can't wait for tomorrow!" Usually she responded right away. He checked his phone an hour later, with still no response. He headed down to her station to see what she was doing. Maybe she had a lot of prints to go through, and was unable to respond. He found her station empty and looked over at Wendy's. She was in a deep conversation with Hodges, and Nick knew he didn't want any part of it. Maybe she was in the bathroom.
He went back to one of the evidence tables hoping to piece together some clues to the case that he was working on. Another hour passed, and still no word from Mandy. He frowned slightly. He didn't want to be a crazy boyfriend, but it really was unlike her not to answer.
He went back to her lab and she still wasn't there. This time Wendy wasn't busy,
"Hey Wendy! Have you seen Mandy?"
"No, she got a phone call, and then I haven't seen her since." Nick had a funny feeling. That wasn't like her. They had gotten to the point where they let each other know when they left work. He called her landline and got her machine, he then went to the parking lot to see if her car was there. It was gone.
He went to see Grissom. Normally he wouldn't do this, but he was worried. He had seen Brad's car at her house for the past three nights. Everyday when he left, he saw him watching them. She had still refused to get a TRO, even though he had asked her again.
"Griss" Nick said knocking on his door.
"What's up Nicky"
"Do know where Mandy is?"
"Yeah, she told me she had an emergency at her house? Something about a gas leak. Why?"
"No reason, just hadn't heard… about the prints I sent her" he covered himself, not sure if Grissom knew about the two of them.
"Why don't you go and check to see if everything is OK," Grissom told him giving him a knowing look, "You can call it a day, I know you have tomorrow off"
"Thanks Griss" he said gratefully before heading to the lockers to grab his stuff. He would take some case stuff home before he left, so he could work on a few things.
He drove up to her condo, and saw that Brad's car was gone. That was a good sign and he also saw that Mandy's car was there. Walking up the stairs to her condo he saw that her door was ajar. He quickly was on high alert. What the hell was going on in there? He grabbed his service gun from his bag and placed it behind his back. He didn't want to scare her if nothing was going on. He slowly opened the door to find the place completely trashed.
"Mandy!" he called out, hoping to hear her respond, but didn't get one.
"Mandy!" he said again louder than last time. No response still. He walked up to the bedroom, and found her purse and phone strewn all over the room. This was not good. He searched high and low for her in the condo but found nothing.
"Brass, its Nick"
"Hey Nicky, any leads on that 419?"
"The what?"
"You know the case that you are on with Cath."
"Oh. Right, I'm not calling about that. Listen. I need you to come down to Mandy's condo right away. I think she is missing."
"Mandy? Mandy who?"
"Mandy Webster. Her condo is trashed, and her purse and phone are here. I really worried. I think it might be that Brad guy. I need to find her now"
"OK, Nick. I'm on my way. I'll call Warrick"
Nick told him the address and closed his phone before he began looking around himself. He knew that nothing he found would be useable, but he couldn't just sit and wait. He found his stuff in the bathroom in the trash, and he knew Brad was involved. Mandy wouldn't have thrown his stuff away, and nothing else was touched in the bathroom. He must have gone in there and saw Nick's stuff. It wasn't long before Brass, Warrick and Catherine showed up at Mandy's condo.
"Hey Nicky, we have a APB on Brad already. I remember you asking me about him. He has a house out in Henderson. We have cops on their way there as well. Do you know anything else about this guy? Where he frequents?"
"No idea. I haven't found a note, or a message or anything. I'm starting to freak out here Brass." Nick said as he sat down on the couch, and that's when he saw it. It was just a tiny note from Mandy that she left one day.
Just wanted to tell you I'm getting some food. See you soon Mr. Texas!
He sighed holding that note. It was a running joke between them, leaving notes all the time after the first time he failed to.
"Is that note from Brad?" Warrick asked as he was canvasing the condo.
"No. Its from Mandy to me"
"We found Brad's car abandoned under the highway. I have Greg and Sara on it now" Brass told Nick and Warrick.
Nick jumped and walked towards the door, "Where do you think you are going?" Warrick asked him.
"I'm going my truck, I'm going to find her. I should have made her get that TRO"
"Listen Nicky, no TRO would have stopped him"
"We don't know that"
"I need a job Warrick, I need something to do, I'll go crazy if I am just held up here"
"Why don't you go and talk to Wendy. She may know more about this Brad guy" Nick nodded and walked out the door.
"We are going to find her Nicky" Warrick called out to him. He began to process a window smudge he had found.
Nick sped to the lab with his lights blaring.
"Wendy!" he yelled as he got inside.
"What's up Nick? Did you find Mandy? Is her apartment OK?"
"What? No. I need your help. I think Brad took Mandy"
"What!" Wendy said scared, "When? How did I not hear about this?"
"I have no idea. I went over there over an hour ago cause I was worried. She always responds to my messages, and her door was open. She was gone, and her condo was tossed."
"Oh my god Nick."
"I know. Listen what do you know about Brad? Do you know anything at all that could help?"
"I know he works at the MGM as a valet. He used to be friends with Mandy's brother. I think that is how they got set up. Her brother said he was a nice guy. Which obviously turned out to be a lie. He likes to go fishing a lot."
"Wow you know a lot."
"Yeah I know. Its because the two times they went out, he talked and talked and talked"
"OK… well do you know where he went fishing? Somewhere on Lake Mead?" he asked.
"Actually I think his family have a house on Lake Mead, he wanted her to go with him there…" she didn't even finish before Nick left to go find a computer.
He looked up Brad's family and any houses associated to them on Lake Mead. He found himself calling Brass, and running back to his truck. The sensible part of him said to wait for back up but the other part of him said otherwise. He sped out to the house that he found and parked a few yards away. He found Brad's car parked in the driveway and the lights on. He knew someone was home. He peeked in the window and saw Brad pacing back and forth. He seemed frantic and out of sorts. Nick had a bad feeling about it. There was no sign of Mandy but he knew that she could be somewhere else in the house. Nick heard sirens in the background and saw that Brad heard them too. With the distraction Nick went behind back and found the backdoor unlocked. Slowly he opened the door and found himself in the kitch. There he found some bloody towels and some rope. He heard Brad running up the stairs and knew that was where Mandy was. This was too much for him to handle. He wasn't going to wait for Brass to show up. He needed to do something. He went up the stairs with his gun drawn. His phone rang, but it was on silent. He knew it was Brass telling him to back down but he wasn't going to do it. He had to get her out of there. He slunk across the hall where he heard talking.
"Seems like your little boyfriend is smarter than I thought. The cops are on the way. Looks like we need to get moving"
"Just let me go!" Mandy said tears streaming down her face. Her hands where bound behind her, and besides a bruise on her left cheek, she was OK.
"I don't think so. You just don't get it. You are mine"
"No I'm not!" she said defiantly, he hit her across the face. At that point Nick jumped into the room.
"Just let her go!" Nick said as he pointed his gun at Brad, Nick saw him lung towards something but he tackled him before he could get it. He pinned him down, but with that he lost his gun. It had hit the floor. Mandy saw it and scrambled to get it. It was hard to get with her hands tied behind her back but she scooted towards it. Brad was too busy trying to fight off Nick that he didn't notice Mandy moving. Nick saw her though and was distracted enough to get smacked in the face by Brad. As they struggled, Brad continued to hit Nick. Nick was strong but he was surprised by Brad's strength, he must have been working out since he last met him.
Mandy finally got the gun and was trying to aim it. She really didn't want to hit Nick, and her hands were still tied. She aimed and shot one bullet. She closed her eyes hoping that she had hit Brad and not Nick. When she opened them she saw Nick covered in blood.
"Nick? Nick?" Mandy started screaming in a panic. She hit him. She killed him. Oh my god, Oh my god! She thought panicking.
"Mandy!" Nick yelled after he got his senses back and pushing Brad off of him. His bruises didn't seem like anything at that moment he had to get over to her.
"Mandy I'm OK. I'm OK." He told her as he untied her hands and wrapped his arms around her. Just then Brass and Warrick stormed into the room.
"Nick! Mandy! Are you OK?" Warrick asked as he saw Brad's bleeding body.
"Yeah I'm OK" Nick said gingerly as he started to feel the pain of the fight. "Are you OK?" he asked her concerned, "did he hurt you?"
"No, I'm fine."
"He hit you." Nick said to her, "I saw him". He touched her bruises softly, and ran his hands over her wrists. They were red from the rope that had tied them together, "I'm so sorry baby. I should have gotten here faster."
"Its OK, I'll heal."
They watched as the paramedics wheeled Brad off on a gurney. She had hit him in the shoulder. The shot hit him enough to stun him, but not enough to kill him.
"Now." Brass came up to them, "we need your statement. After you go to the hospital, I want your statement. "
"I'm fine I don't need to go." Nick said to Brass, "its just some bruises and cuts. Mandy is the only one that needs to go."
"That was an order. If you don't go then we can't have it on record. This is self-defense, but we need to prove it.
"Fine, that is fine" Nick said as he stood up, he put out his arm so that he could help her up.
"I don't want to go to the hospital," Mandy said sitting down on the bed. "I just want to go home, and have this whole thing go away."
"I'll go with and be with you the entire time, " Warrick said to her. "If you feel more comfortable, Sara can go with you."
"I just want this to be over with, I'm fine Warrick. Don't bother Sara"
"I know baby, but we have to go, and it would be no bother to Sara if you wanted her to go with you. We have the whole department looking for you, you know," Nicky said to her.
They got to the hospital and received a few painkillers and stitches, nothing life shattering before going to the station to give their statement.
They were welcomed by all the night shit CSIs and the Lab techs. Nick put a protective arm around her making sure she felt safe. Archie and Henry looked at each other. How did they miss that before?
"Can I be in the room when she talks to Warrick and Brass?" Nick asked.
"No," Grissom told him as he stood next to Nick in the observation room.
"Why not?"
"We don't want anything to be compromised" Warrick told him from behind.
"But what if she gets upset or scared. I want to be there for her."
"I know you do but you will only hurt this investigation, and I know you want to help"
"I know but I don't know what to do. I feel so helpless."
"Stand behind the glass and listen. You will be able to help her later. She won't have to tell you the story again. She will have said it once and that is all she will need to do."
"This sucks"
"I know it does Buddy" Warrick said placing a hand on his shoulder before he entered into the interrogation room.
"Hi Mandy, Captain Brass and I have a few questions about what happened today. Just relax. It'll be over before you know it." Warrick said as he sat down in the interview room.
"Start with when you got the call at the lab," Brass told her.
"Yeah I got a call from who I thought was my HOA. They said that there was a leak in my condo building, and they needed me to come down. When I got there I found no trucks or people outside. Which is what I would have assumed would happen if there was a gas leak. I called my HOA again on the number I have on my cell, and they had no idea what I was talking about. I then went to my condo to see what was going on. And that's when it happened. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I got hit in the back of the head with something and passed out. The next thing I knew my wrists were bound, and Brad was standing over me. He dragged me to his car and put me in the back. I kept begging him to let me go but he wouldn't listen. He kept saying he was taking what was his. Which I didn't really understand, considering we only went out on two dates. And he had seen Nick and me together. He should have gotten the message. Anyways. We got to that house out by Lake Mead and he dragged me up to the bedroom. I wasn't sure what he was going to do so I started to fight as much as I could. Yelling kicking, anything I could do but I was pretty useless. He hit me a few times to try to shut me up. It didn't work I kept fighting. He went downstairs and I'm not sure what he did. But when he came up he seemed frazzled. That is when Nick came through the door. They got into a fight, and Nick's gun fell to the floor, while they were fighting I got the gun and shot him out of self-defense. He was going to kill Nick if I didn't. I don't regret that."
"OK. Thank you" Brass said to her. "Now why do you think Brad wanted to kidnap you?"
"I have no idea!" Mandy told him, " I really really don't. Two terrible dates, that is all the time we spent together. I don't know when he started stalking me, but I knew that he was when I started seeing Nick. He was outside my house almost every day. I should have gotten a TRO like Nick said, but I thought that it would make it worse"
"It's not your fault Mandy, although, you should have listened to Nick" Warrick said smiling at her, "he knows what he's talking about"
"Yeah I know" Mandy said smiling slightly.
"Ok. I don't have any more questions, you can go"
"Do you think I will get charged with anything?" Mandy asked Brass before standing up.
"Self-defense. No way the DA will want to do anything. Go home, I'll clear it with your boss to let you get at least a week off. You and Nicky deserve a holiday"
"Thanks Jim" Mandy said gratefully before the officer let her out of the room. She found a pair of warm arms greeting her when she walked out the door.
"Hey there baby," Nick said hugging her, "you did great"
"Thanks" she said as she held on to his arm once she pulled away. She saw Wendy and Hodges huddled in the hallway waiting for her.
"I guess keeping our relationship a secret is a bust," Mandy said as they walked down to greet her best friend.
"Oh well. I'm glad, now I don't have to pummel Henry and Archie for flirting with you"
"What are you talking about?" she asked dumbfounded.
"I'll tell you later" he said before they started talking to Wendy and Hodges.
"Hey girl, I'm so glad you are OK. I was so worried. Did you get those cuts checked out?" she asked concerned
"Yeah they are just superficial," she told her.
"OK Good, now go enjoy your time off with your man" Wendy told her shooing her away.
"Can we go to your place?" she asked Nick. "I really really don't want to go to mine"
"Absolutely. I'll take you there now."
"Thanks" she said gratefully. He opened the door for her and helped her into his truck. She seemed so fragile to him now. He didn't want to leave her side, and he was determined make the next five days as enjoyable and relaxing as possible.
"You don't have to help, you are in more pain than me," she said to him when he hoped into the driver's seat.
"I'm fine you're the one I'm worried about"
"I'll be fine"
"I know you will"