“What, you two best friends now?” he scowled. “He ain’t gonna fucking help you, bitch. You owe Leo a shit-ton of money, and he ain’t going to let you get away without paying him back.”
That wasn’t what Greer had told me. And though Apollo didn’t say exactly what Greer had, he gave me the feeling that things were going to be okay. Hopefully.
I walked to the door and skirted around Bobby. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close. His lips were close to my ear, and his slimy tongue licked my lobe. “Carnie didn’t think she was too good for me, not sure what makes you think you’re better than me.” I tried to yank my arm from his hold, but his fingers dug into my skin.
“Please, just let me go,” I pleaded.
“You’re a pain in the fucking ass, and I can’t wait ‘til Leo puts you in your place.” He yanked me through the door and down a long hallway. My feet struggled to keep up with him, and I stumbled the whole way.
He threw open a door and pushed me through. I landed on my knees and put my hands out to brace my fall.
“Mayra!”
It was Boink.
Boink was here.
“Bobby, what in the hell is wrong with you? You got a fucking screw loose or something?” Apollo came to my side and helped me up. My eyes instantly went to Boink, who was standing beside Wrecker who had an arm out holding him back. “I apologize for my knucklehead of a cousin. He thinks he’s some mob boss, when in reality, he’s just a lackey who didn’t have the brains enough to go to college,” Apollo went on.
“M-baby, are you okay?” Boink asked.
I nodded and wiped my hands on my jeans. “I’m all right,” I promised.
“It’s so hard to find good help these days. You think you can trust family, and then you get a numbskull like Bobby who falls from the tree and hit his head the whole way down,” a man sitting behind an elaborate desk stated. He rocked back in his chair and nodded at Apollo.
Apollo moved to a chair that was right in front of the desk. I sat down and looked over at Boink.
“Miss Zinker.” I looked over at the man behind the desk even though I didn’t want to take my eyes off Boink. I missed his handsome face and wanted to stare at it ‘til I died.
Hopefully dying didn’t happen soon, though.
“My name is Leo Banachi. I know you’ve heard of me, but we’ve never had the honor of meeting.”
He looked like a Leo.
He also looked like a mob boss who knew how to do his job well.
His dark brown hair was combed neatly, his suit was pressed perfectly, and his pale blue tie was pin straight. He was handsome enough, but he also looked as though he had seen a lot of things in life.
I didn’t know what to say. Engaging in conversation with a man who possibly wanted you dead wasn’t anything I was experienced with. “Uh, nice to meet you.” My mother had drilled manners into me pretty well.
The Fallen Lords, who were standing off to the side, all chuckled. A grin spread across Leo’s face. “If only all of the people I talked to were as nice as you, Mayra.”
“My mom raised me right,” I explained.
“That she did,” Leo agreed. “Is it okay if Wrecker sits by you while we talk? He is going to be part of our deal today.”
I bit my lip and nodded. I would have preferred to have Boink next to me, but I knew Boink trusted Wrecker so I was good with it.
“Relax, darlin’,” Wrecker whispered as he sat down.
I glanced over at the intimidating man. It was crazy to think the crazy Alice had somehow fallen in love with him. He always looked grumpy while Alice normally had a smile on her face. Opposites really did attract. “‘Kay.” Not like I actually was going to relax, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“Your father borrowed a large sum of money from me, Miss Zinker,” Leo began.
“My father, not me,” I butted in.
Wrecker put his hand on my arm and shook his head.
I clamped my lips shut.
“A large sum he never tried to repay except for a few hundred dollars here and there,” Leo continued.
If my dad wasn’t already dead, I would have killed him for putting me and my mom through what he did.
“Your mom paid me close to fifty thousand dollars over the course of the past ten years.” Leo picked up a stack of papers and slid them across the desk. “Here are the receipts for each and every payment that she made on time without delay.”
Wrecker grabbed the papers and leafed through them.
My mother would make sure to pay back money that she didn’t borrow. If only some of my mom’s sense of responsibility had rubbed off on my father, I wouldn’t be here right now.
“If only everyone repaid you this well,” Wrecker mumbled.
“My thoughts exactly, Wrecker. Miss Zinker’s mother was a good woman who was just trying to fix her husband’s mistakes.”
My mother had gone hungry some days because instead of buying groceries, she paid Leo. She paid him money she needed to survive, while he was sitting in his mansion on a pile of money.
Life truly wasn’t fair.
“There is still an outstanding balance of fifty-three-thousand forty-nine dollars and twelve cents,” Leo said slowly.
“I don’t have the money. I don’t even have money to live. I can’t pay you something I don’t have,” I insisted.
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 aroun
d 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 shot 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.”
Boink (Fallen Lords MC Book 5) Page 15
