Leo nodded. “I figured that out when you ran, Miss Zinker. Not the smartest move you could have made.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” I snapped. “I had just lost my mother, and then your goons show up on the doorstep of the apartment I was being evicted from. My options were few and scarce.”
Leo looked at Wrecker then back at me. “But you still had options. For some of us, a day came where there weren’t any options, be thankful you had some.”
An eerie silence settled over the room. Leo had just laid a heavy truth that the men in the room could obviously relate to.
“Wrecker has told me he is willing to step in and help you.”
My head snapped over to look at Wrecker. “You hate me,” I whispered.
He slowly turned his head to look at me. “Never said that. You just caused a shit storm I didn’t want to deal with. It happens from time to time. Especially when one of those fuckers over there decide to fall in love.”
A low rumble of laughter sounded from the wall where the rest of the Lords were standing.
Wrecker turned back to Leo. “Although, I’m not the one who will be paying off Miss Zinker’s debt.” Wrecker nodded, and I turned my head to see Nickel leave the room.
“A change of plans?” Leo asked, surprised.
“Some new information came to light before we came here, and I decided to play it to my advantage,” Wrecker explained.
The door opened, and I turned to watch Nickel walk back in. “He’s coming.”
What in the hell was going on? Who could Wrecker have found to help me? I looked over at Boink, and he nodded at me.
Was I the only one wondering what the hell was going on? Even Leo seemed chill, and I think he was in the dark as much as I was.
I turned back to ask Wrecker what was going on.
Leo’s eyes snapped to the door, and his lips tightened. “This is who is going to help you?” he growled.
“Hello, Leo.”
The blood rushed from my face, and I slowly turned back to the door. What in the hell was Oakley Mykel doing here?
*
Boink
This was a bad fucking idea.
Mayra’s face turned pale, and she gripped the seat of her chair.
“You don’t seem happy to see me, Leo. Were you expecting someone else?” Oakley drawled.
“I knew you were in bed with Oakley, Wrecker, but I didn’t think you would insult me by bringing him to my home.” Leo sat back in his chair and glared at Oakley.
“You always were dramatic, Leo,” Oakley laughed. He stepped further into the room and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “Some information was brought to my attention today.”
“And that has to do with what I’m discussing privately?”
Oakley looked at Mayra and smiled. Mayra shrank back into her chair and quickly turned around. “Yes, it directly deals with what you are dealing with.”
“Cut to the fucking chase, Oakley. The only reason you talk so much is because you love to hear your voice.” Leo stood up, and his four goons stationed in each corner of the room came to attention. Bobby moved next to Wrecker, and Wrecker turned to look up at him. Bobby was out of his fucking mind if he thought he was going to be able to take Wrecker if it came to it.
“Two kingpins about to go at it, and we have front row seats,” Pipe whispered next to me.
He would think this was exciting, when all I wanted to do was grab Mayra and make a run for it.
“The Fallen Lords came to me today and gave me a piece of paper. A piece of paper that I thought didn’t exist anymore.” Oakley moved to the desk and held up the paper. “It seems I need to have a conversation with Miss Zinker.”
Mayra’s eyes shot to me. “You didn’t,” she whispered.
“He didn’t have a choice,” Wrecker said. “He knew you were in danger and the more secrets you have, Mayra, the more things you have to come back and haunt you. Your mother kept your father’s debts a secret and look where that has you right now.”
Leo leaned forward and tried snatched up the paper.
“Tut, tut,” Oakley tsked. “This is a piece of paper you don’t need to know about. I need five minutes with you out of the room, and then we can discuss the money owed to you.”
Leo leaned back in his chair and glared at Wrecker. “You bring in a man I can’t stand, and then he asks me to leave my own office?”
Wrecker shrugged. “This thing is already a shit show.”
Leo flicked his hand at Oakley. “Two minutes. Make whatever bullshit you need to discuss quick.” Leo stalked out of the room with his four men following close behind.
The door shut behind them and Oakley smiled. “I’ve always wanted to tell Leo what to do. At least one good thing came out of this.” He moved around Leo’s desk and sat in his chair. “Hello, Mayra.”
Mayra clasped her hands together and leaned closer to Wrecker. I wasn’t able to be next to her, but she knew Wrecker wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“It seems you and I have a connection that only you knew about.”
“I don’t want anything from you,” she whispered.
“But there is something I need from you.” He held up the piece of paper. “I’m going to make this disappear, but I need to know there aren’t going to be any more popping up.”
She shook her head. “My mother said that was the only one she knew of.”
“Mother,” he said slowly.
Mayra gulped.
“Such a strange word for me. My first mother didn’t want me, and the whore my father tried to make my mother turned out to be just that, a whore who spread her legs for any willing man.” He shook his head. “Mother,” he spat. “The word means nothing.”
“She didn’t want your father, not you,” Mayra cried. “She wanted you, but he refused to let her have you.”
Oakley stared at Mayra. “Which means I don’t want to be associated with her because she wasn’t strong enough to fight for me.”
“You’ll never understand,” Mayra whispered. “He would have bankrupt or killed her. Probably both.”
“While that may be true, it doesn’t change the fact she never fought for me.” Oakley turned to one of his men who was standing behind him. The man placed a large yellow envelope into his hand. “I’ve lived the past thirty-seven years of my life without knowing a thing about the woman. I’d like to continue that.” Oakley held the envelope in his hand and dropped it on the desk. “Fifty-four thousand dollars. I understand that's a bit more than what you owe Leo Banachi, but I hate odd numbers.”
Mayra’s jaw dropped and she stared at the envelope. “I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“Allow me to help you understand.” He leaned back in the chair and pointed at the envelope. “That makes you and your mother disappear. I burn that birth certificate and you forget who I am.”
“But, why? You have the birth certificate. You could burn it right now and leave.”
He nodded his head. “I could, but I like to make sure when I bury something, it stays where it belongs. I pay off your debt, and you feel obligated to keep our secret between us.”
“You so easily get rid of family with a pile of cash?” I asked.
He turned to look at me. “Family is another foreign word to me. One that holds no meaning.”
“Must be a lonely life,” I remarked.
“The state of whether or not my life is lonely has nothing to do with you. It has nothing to do with anyone in this room.” He stabbed his finger into the envelope full of money. “I pay your debt, and I never see you again.”
“I…I don’t…I’m worried you’ll change your mind later and want me to pay you off.”
Oakley shook his head. “This is loose change for me.”
Wrecker grabbed her hand and nodded toward Oakley. “Oakley and I discussed this before coming here, Mayra. He pays, he leaves, and you never see him again.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m
okay with that.”
Oakley nodded to one of his men standing by the door. He opened it and stood to the side as Leo and his men walked back in.
“You would sit behind my desk,” Leo sneered.
Oakley shrugged. “It’s not every day I get invited into your house, Leo. I had to take as many liberties as I could.”
“You have ten seconds to tell me what the hell is going on, Wrecker,” Leo growled.
“Allow me,” Oakley drawled. He stood up with the birth certificate in his hand and strolled over to the fire place. He tossed in the paper and watched it burn ‘til there was nothing left of it. “There is fifty four thousand dollars on your desk. Mayra’s debt is paid, and I was never here. This day never happened,” he said quietly.
Oakley walked out of the room, his man following behind him.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
“He’s really not a good man, is he?” Mayra mumbled. “Definitely a bad man who does bad things.”
That was exactly what Oakley was.
Leo walked over to the desk and opened the envelope. “Your debt is paid, Mayra. The Banachi’s won’t bother you anymore as long as you don’t plan to take up gambling.” Leo smiled at her. “Though if you do, I know someone who could float you a loan.”
I couldn’t stay away from her anymore. She was hurting, and I needed to be the person to help her. I needed to be her soft place to land.
I took three steps and stopped dead in my tracks.
“Whoa, where the hell do you think you’re going?” Bobby leveled his gun at my head.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked. “She paid her debt. It’s done.”
“Bobby,” Apollo called. “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
I could feel all of the Lords go on alert. Wrecker moved slightly closer to Mayra, and his hand crept around his back.
“You’re really going to just let her go, Leo? This is how you are going to handle things? Your dad would be laughing in your face right now.” Bobby waved the gun erratically at me. “They should all be dead right now for bringing that piece of trash in here.”
“And that’s why you’re not in charge, Bobby,” Leo said quietly. “Put your gun down, and we’ll have a talk.”
Bobby laughed. “A talk,” he scoffed. “What a load of shit. You all treat me like I’m an idiot while you’re a bunch of pussies. We let her run for over a month, where back when your father was in charge, we never would have let her escape in the first place. She deserves a bullet in her head and so does this piece of shit.” Bobby clicked the safety off the gun and swung around to point it at Mayra.
Wrecker quickly moved in front of her and shielded her with his body. “You pull that trigger, you’ll be dead before your body even hits the floor,” Wrecker said lowly.
“Move!” Bobby yelled.
Bobby’s back was now to me, and I grabbed my gun out of the waistband of my pants. I didn’t want to move quickly to startle him into shooting.
“I’m not moving. You’re gonna have to shoot me if you want to get to her.” Wrecker planted his feet wide, and I couldn’t even see Mayra behind him. He had her completely covered so Bobby wouldn’t be able to hurt her.
Bobby swung back around and pointed his gun at me, except this time, I already had mine pointed at his head. “You shoot me, I’ll shoot you.”
“Us too,” Nickel said. They all had their guns pointed at Bobby. There wasn’t any way he was going to be able to make it out of here alive if he decided to pull the trigger.
“Put the gun down, Bobby. We can talk this shit out. You aren’t happy with the way Leo is running things?” Apollo asked. “Let us know, and we’ll see what we can do to make things better for you.”
Bobby’s eyes darted to Apollo. “Like you aren’t going to kill me as soon as they leave,” he sneered.
Apollo held up his hands. “From where I’m standing, you haven’t done a damn thing wrong. Just having a bit of a disgruntled moment cause you aren’t happy. All shit we can work with, right, Leo?”
Leo was still sitting behind the desk with his hands pressed to the top of it. “Put it down, and we’ll figure shit out. You know Greer will kill me if I get blood on this rug.”
It seemed Leo was more afraid of whoever Greer was than Bobby standing there with a gun pointed at me. “I’m gonna put my gun down,” I said slowly.
Bobby’s eyes darted around. He was trying to figure out if he had a chance. I counted at least ten guns pointed at him with nowhere to run.
He slowly lowered his arm and dropped the gun to his side. “I just…things ain’t like they used to be, Leo,” he said sadly.
We all lowered our guns, and Leo nodded to the guy who had been standing next to me. “Prince, take him to the meeting room.”
The guy grabbed Bobby by the arm and pulled him out of the room.
“My apologies, gentlemen. It appears Bobby misses the days of shooting first and asking questions later.” Leo sat back down and sighed heavily.
I re-holstered my gun and watched Wrecker step to the side. Mayra was standing behind him with tears streaming down her face and fear still in her eyes. “I thought he was going to shoot you,” she cried.
“Come get your girl before she cries all over me,” Wrecker grumbled.
I was within arm’s reach of her when a loud gunshot rang out from the hallway. Wrecker dove in front of Mayra again, taking her down to the floor, and I felt a raging fire rip through my arm after a second shot fired.
“Everyone down!” Pipe called.
Maniac dove, caught me by the shoulders, and pulled me onto the ground. We landed next to Mayra who was crying uncontrollably. “Boink,” she called. “Boink!” She wiggled her way out from Wrecker and placed her hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t really tell. My arm hurt like a son of a bitch, and I couldn’t move it.
“Keep pressure on it. Don’t move,” Wrecker ordered.
The gunshots had stopped, but we were all still on the floor. “Lords good?” he hollered.
A chorus of “yes” and “yeahs” went up from Pipe, Nickel, and Brinks.
A strangled cry sounded from the hallway. “Leo!”
“That’s Princeton,” I heard Leo bark. “Someone get to him.”
Wrecker didn’t hesitate. He crawled to the door with Pipe behind.
“Are you okay?” Mayra hiccupped. She couldn’t stop crying, but she was doing a good job of pressing down on my arm.
“I will be, M. Don’t cry.”
“He…he sh—” She gulped and closed her eyes. “He shot you,” she strangled out in between sobs.
“He did, but I’ll be okay, M-baby. It’s all over now.” I didn’t know if that was true or not, but at least I had Mayra within arm’s reach.
“Clear,” Wrecker yelled. “He’s gone.”
Mayra got up on her knees and covered my body with hers while still keeping her hand on the blood leaking out of my arm. “He shot you,” she said again.
“I know. I can feel it,” I chuckled
She pressed her forehead to mine, and I felt her tears drip onto my cheek. “He shot you,” she repeated again.
“You keep saying it, M, it’s gonna make it worse.”
Her eyes popped open. Her mouth opened to yell at me, but instead, I pressed my lips to hers. I may have been shot and in a shit-ton of pain, but I knew when I had Mayra this close to me, I couldn’t not kiss her.
She instantly kissed me back, and I died a little bit knowing she was safe and back in my arms.
“I think he’s shot, but I can’t tell ‘cause Mayra is trying to have sex with him right now.”
Leave it to my asshole friends to kill the moment right before I was going to tell Mayra I loved her. I opened my eyes to see Brinks and Nickel standing over us.
“Nah, she’s still got her clothes on, but at least she’s stopped crying. I hate when chicks cry ‘cause you’re trying to figure out how
to make it stop when you don’t even know what started it in the first place.” Nickel kicked my foot. “Lucky fucker, though.”
I was lucky. If I would have been turned a little bit more to the left, the bullet would have went right through my chest.
“Can one of you guys help and stop with the commentary?” Mayra asked. She moved off to the side that wasn’t bleeding and looked up at Nickel.
Nickel kneeled down and pushed down on my arm.
“Fucking Christ, brother. I just got shot there,” I moaned.
He pressed down even harder and smiled broad. “Just making sure to put enough pressure on it.”
“He’s going to be okay?” Leo moved into view.
“He should be fine.” Pipe lifted his hands and cringed. “Looks like it went straight through and didn’t hit anything important.”
“His arm is important,” Mayra snapped.
“You know what I mean, doll,” Nickel laughed.
“He got away.”
I lifted my head and watched Wrecker and Pipe walk back in. “Your guy was shot in the shoulder. He should be okay. He said Bobby got a shot off at him, then aimed wildly into here and took off down the hallway. He managed to get one of your vehicles to escape in.”
Leo grimaced. “He got away because no one probably knew he just shot two people.” Leo turned to his men and started barking orders about tracking him down.
“Are you really okay?” Mayra asked softly.
I lifted my good arm and swept her hair from her face. “I got you back, M. I’ve never been better.”
“I’m sorry you got shot,” she sobbed.
Oh hell, she was gearing up to let the waterworks go again. “Shh, baby. You don’t need to cry. I’ll be okay, and you didn’t get hurt.”
“I…I…la….I love you,” she gushed out.
She buried her face in my neck and cried her eyes out.
“I would probably react the same way if I realized I’d fallen in love with a guy named Boink.” Pipe shook his head and frowned. “Didn’t really think that one through good, did we?”
They guys all laughed, and Mayra pursed her lips. “I really don’t care what you are called as long as you don’t die. I love you, Boink.”
Fallen Lords MC: Books 4-6 Page 31
