Boink (Fallen Lords MC Book 5) Read online

  “You never came across as a Bertha to me anyway,” she said lamely.

  I smiled sadly. “I didn’t want to lie to you guys, but you now see the reason why I needed to. I have some not so nice guys after me.”

  We slowly drove around a bend and stopped in front a of a run-down shed. “Uh, this is it. He said he would be waiting inside for us.”

  There was a black SUV parked on the side if the shed and a rusty truck parked by the door.

  “I’m assuming that is the truck Bobby drove,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah. I don’t know who is in the SUV, though. There aren’t cars like that around here,” Carnie pondered.

  The car wasn’t from anyone around here. It was the Banachi’s. “Let’s go.” I opened my door, but Carnie grabbed my arm.

  “Wait,” she called. “I’m really sorry about this, Ber—, ah, I mean Mayra. If I had known Bobby was a douche, I never would have given him the time of day.”

  This really wasn’t her fault. If she hadn’t fallen for Bobby’s load of crap, then the Banachi's would have found another way to get to me. As long as I got her and Wendy out of here without either of them getting hurt, I would be happy. “You’re fine, Carnie. I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  She let go of my arm, and I put one foot on the leaf-covered ground. “I’ll send Wendy out. Just stay here.”

  Carnie shook her head. “No, I’m coming in with you.”

  “Carnie, you ca—” She opened her door, slipped from the car, and slammed it on my words. “Whelp, alrighty then,” I mumbled.

  I got out of the car and shut the door. “You come in with me, get Wendy, and then you leave.”

  “Nobody’s leaving before you, Mayra.” Bobby walked out from behind the SUV with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. “You almost didn’t make it in time, Carnie.”

  Carnie moved next to me, and I grabbed her hand. “Don’t move,” I whispered. I needed to figure out where Wendy was and how I was going to get her and Carnie out of here.

  “You know, you had me going for a second. Almost didn’t think it was you, but then the Fallen Lord bitch showed up, and I knew you were her.” Bobby stood in front of Carnie and me. “Get inside. Don’t say a fucking word. Apollo doesn’t like talking.”

  I squeezed Carnie’s hand and nodded. I stepped around Bobby and moved to the shed. I couldn’t be afraid of Bobby when I knew there was someone else inside to fear. Bobby was just the messenger of what was to come.

  Carnie pulled open the door, and I stepped inside.

  “Bertha! Help me!” Wendy screamed.

  My eyes adjusted to the bright light in the shed, and I saw Wendy tied to a chair in the middle of the floor.

  “Wendy,” Carnie shouted. She darted out, but Bobby grabbed her by the arm and put her in a choke hold.

  “I wouldn’t move so fast, pretty. That could get you hurt,” he growled in her ear.

  All the bad feelings I had about Bobby were dead-on. His tongue snaked out, and he licked Carnie’s earlobe.

  “Please don’t,” she cried.

  “I did like the way you screamed my name,” he whispered.

  Carnie gagged and shook her head. “Never again,” she vowed.

  Jesus Christ. I wanted to get Carnie and out of here to safety, but I had a feeling getting out of here wasn’t going to make everything back to normal for Carnie. A tear leaked from her eye, and Bobby licked it from her face. “So sweet,” he whispered.

  “Bobby, quit being creepy.”

  I looked around the shed, trying to figure out where the voice had come from.

  “I’ll have you again,” Bobby whispered to Carnie. Carnie struggled against his hold, and he finally let her go.

  “Creep,” she hissed at him. She spit in his direction, and he put his fingers into the shape of a V and pressed them to his lips. He stuck his tongue out and wiggled it around.

  “Bobby, now you’re making me uncomfortable,” the voice said again.

  “Just please untie Wendy and let them go,” I pleaded.

  A man stepped out from the corner of the shed. He was dressed in a dark suit with a blood red tie. “I apologize for Bobby. You can see why he was the man for the job to send to the wilderness to blend in with the natives.”

  I grabbed Carnie’s arm and pulled her close to me again. “I’m here. Please just let Carnie and Wendy go.”

  The man shook his head. “We don’t even get to do introductions?” He moved next to Wendy and looked down at her. “Wendy and I got to know each other, so why don’t you two get to know me too.”

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with them. Just please, don’t hurt them,” I pleaded.

  The man nodded at Bobby. “Bring us some chairs.”

  Bobby grunted. He didn’t seem too happy to be taking orders from this guy, but even I could tell that no one fucked with him.

  “I’m Apollo. I’m here on behalf of Leo Banachi.” Bobby gave Apollo a chair first, then shoved two in the direction of Carnie and me. “Please sit,” he said, gesturing at the chairs.

  I racked my brain trying to figure out how to get Carnie, Wendy, and I out of there. From what I could tell, neither of them had a gun, though they both looked like they could take us all at once without breaking a sweat. I nodded to Carnie to let her know to sit. The opportunity to get out of here was not presenting itself to me at the moment.

  We sat down in front of Apollo and Wendy.

  “Was your drive here okay?”

  I didn’t know what was going on. This guy was here to collect a shit-ton of money from me, but he was being nice to me. Well, as nice as he could be with Wendy tied to a chair.

  “Uh, it was good. I thought we were going to shopping, so you can imagine my surprise coming here.”

  Apollo chuckled. “I can only imagine.”

  “Am I the only one wondering how we went from Bobby licking Carnie’s face to having a little chat with suit here?” Wendy asked.

  She apparently wasn’t too distraught by being kidnapped. “Shut it,” Carnie hissed.

  Wendy rolled her eyes. “Says the chick who managed to bring a kidnapper right to our door.”

  Apollo watched the exchange back and forth with amusement. “My wife and her sister argue like you two. Drives me crazy when I’m there, but since she’s not with me, I miss it.”

  Carnie and Wendy snapped their mouths shut.

  These two were the younger version of Elle and Agnes. Ten minutes ago, Carnie was willing to feed me to the wolves to save Wendy, and now they were bickering like they were possibly going to die.

  “Let’s get down to business so I can get back to my Greer.”

  “Pretty name,” Wendy whispered.

  If we managed to get out of here alive, I was going to have a talk with Wendy and Carnie about knowing when to keep their mouths shut.

  Apollo tilted his head to the side and smiled. “A pretty name for a gorgeous woman,” he retorted.

  “Am I the only getting turned on by the fact Apollo is completely in love with his wife?” Wendy whispered.

  Jesus Christ.

  “I think there was a compliment…somewhere in there,” Apollo pondered.

  “Totally,” Wendy assured him.

  Bobby cleared his throat, and Apollo looked over at him. “Impatient?” he asked.

  “Just thought we would get this over with so we can head back to Chicago.” Bobby shrugged.

  “You’re right. We do need to get back to Chicago so I can have a talk with Leo about personnel.” A slick smile spread across Apollo’s lips.

  Uh oh, looked like Bobby had opened his mouth one too many times. Carnie snickered and Wendy snorted.

  “We will just cut straight to the point now that Bobby thinks he has a stopwatch timing me.” Apollo crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. “Your father owes Mr. Banachi a lot of money, Miss Zinker.”

  “Thank God your name really isn’t Bertha Norman,” Wendy sighed. “That was the w
orst name I had ever heard before.”

  “Would you shut up, Wendy,” Carnie hissed.

  I made a mental note to never get kidnapped with Carnie and Wendy. They really didn’t know when to shut up.

  “Mayra really does suit you much better,” Apollo agreed.

  I blinked slowly. It was like I was in the twilight zone where kidnappers were nice and complimented you on your name. Next, he was going to tell me I was pretty and free to go.

  “Back to your father,” Apollo continued.

  “My father is dead,” I pointed out.

  “I know. As is your mother who had been paying his debt for the past ten years after he died.”

  “But now my mother is dead.”

  Apollo tilted his head to the side. “So now the debt is yours Mayra.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t have that kind of money. I don’t even have a job or a place to live.”

  “You have the cabin,” Wendy pointed out.

  “The cabin does not belong to Miss Zinker. It belongs to the Fallen Lords.”

  “The who?” Carnie squeaked.

  “They really don’t know anything about you,” Apollo laughed.

  I shook my head. “No. They know nothing so that is why you should just let them go. I promise they won’t speak a word of this to anyone.”

  Apollo took it upon himself to clue them in. “Miss Zinker took refuge with the Fallen Lords in Ohio. The Fallen Lords is a motorcycle club that had not been on the radar of the Banachi’s.” He splayed his hands out in front of him. “Until of late.”

  “I have so many questions,” Carnie muttered. “So, you and your husband went to some motorcycle club to hide?”

  Apollo shook his head. “Boink is a member of the club.”

  “Boink?” Wendy squeaked. “Who the heck is that and what kind of name is that?”

  “Is that Melvin?” Carnie asked at the same time.

  I dropped my head and pressed my chin to my chest.

  “Boink is Melvin,” Apollo clarified.

  “So, you married a guy named Boink?” Wendy asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Miss Zinker and Boink are not married. It was all part of the rouse to hide in plain sight,” Apollo explained. “It worked quite well for a while.”

  Carnie pressed a hand to her chest. “I feel so betrayed,” she said dramatically.

  “So, what happens now?” Wendy asked.

  “Now Miss Zinker pays Mr. Banachi.”

  I raised my head. “I don’t have fifty thousand dollars just laying around, Mr. Apollo.”

  “We figured as much when you decided to run.” He splayed his hands out in front of him. “Unfortunately, now there are consequences.” He nodded to Bobby. “Start the truck.”

  “Wait, what?” Wendy yelled. She struggled against the ties on her arms and tried to get out of her chair.

  “Please, don’t get up,” Apollo smirked. He was a nice guy, but I could tell that he also had quite the asshole streak. Luckily, I had seen mostly the nice side.

  “We’re not going anywhere with you,” Carnie spat.

  Apollo stood up and tugged the sleeves of his suit down. He looked down at Carnie. “You’re not.” He looked over at Wendy. “And neither are you.”

  “But…you’re not taking Bertha either,” Wendy sputtered.

  “Mayra, Wendy,” Carnie corrected her as if it really mattered.

  “It doesn’t matter what the hell her name is, Carnie. He’s not taking her.” Wendy struggled against her holds again but couldn’t get out of them.

  “What happens if I don’t come with you?” I asked.

  The click of the safety of a gun sounded loudly. “Unfortunately, these will take a turn if you decide not to come with us.”

  Wendy and Carnie both gasped when Bobby walked back into the shed with a gun pointed at us. There went my thinking about neither of them having guns.

  “You’re going to get in the truck, Mayra, and your friends are going to sit in this shed ‘til we are gone.” He snapped his fingers at Bobby. “Tie the other one up.”

  “Wait, what?” I gasped. “Please don’t do this. There has to be something I can do.”

  Apollo tilted his head to the side. “You had the time to figure out something to do. You ran instead. Now it’s time for Leo to figure out what do.” He nodded at Bobby and strolled out the door.

  Carnie lunged at Bobby, but he caught her wrists and forced her back in to the chair. “Don’t fight me, Carnie. I know what you like, pretty.”

  Jesus Christ, this guy was beyond creepy.

  I could have ran.

  I could have gotten up and tried to get back to Boink.

  I didn’t.

  Bobby tied up Carnie, took her keys out of her pocket, made sure Wendy was still tied up tightly, then he grabbed me by the arm and hoisted me up. “Say goodbye to your friends,” he growled.

  “Apollo plays a much more convincing mafia guy than you do,” I snapped

  He twisted my arm behind my back, and I yelped. “Keep it up, pretty. I’ll show you just what the Banachi’s do with people who decide not to pay what is owed.” He hauled me toward the door.

  “Mayra,” Carnie called.

  “I’m fine. Just stay here.” It wasn’t like they had much choice, but at least I knew they were going to be safe

  “If I see any trace of you following us, I will end her.” Bobby pushed me out of the shed, and I fell on my knees in the dirt.

  “Bobby. Do you really need to be such a dick?” Apollo called.

  I got off my knees, and Bobby grabbed me by the arm again. “Can’t help it that she’s clumsy,” he grumbled.

  Apollo rolled his eyes. “Put her in the backseat with me.”

  “I was going to tie her up and put her in the cargo area.”

  Apollo started at Bobby. “Pretty sure I just said to put her in the backseat with me. You got a problem with that? Better idea of what we should be doing?”

  Bobby curled his lip but didn’t disagree with Apollo. There was an obvious struggle going on between the two, though it seemed to be completely one-sided. Bobby had a problem taking orders from Apollo.

  Apollo got into the truck, and Bobby put me in on the other side. I rubbed my arm he had squeezed and twisted. I pulled my seat belt over my chest and was surprised when Apollo spoke.

  “My apologies for whatever he did to you or your friends. I left because I can’t stand to be around the guy more than I need to.”

  I looked over at him and frowned. “And yet he still works for you.”

  “He doesn’t work for me.” He looked out the windshield. “He works for Leo, and when Leo isn’t here, I’m in charge.”

  “Same difference.”

  Apollo glanced at me. “It is, but it’s not. Things are much more complicated than you would know, Miss Zinker.”

  I had heard the same words from Boink numerous times before. It made me wonder if the mafia wasn’t much different from an MC.

  Bobby climbed into the truck and turned it around.

  “What happens now?” I asked as we bumped back down the driveway.

  Apollo pulled out his phone. “Now I make a phone call to Leo to let him know I’ve secured the package.”

  “And then?”

  “And then I kick over the first domino to start things moving.”

  “Taking me wasn’t that first domino?”

  He shook his head. “The first domino is letting your man know I have you. Then things will get moving.”

  He turned to look out the window and pressed his phone to his ear.

  Boink was going to freak out once he found out the Banachi’s had me. I had convinced him to let me go shopping with Carnie because I thought I was safe. There hadn’t been any indication that the Banachi's were near, and yet I was in an expensive SUV headed to God knows where.

  I had to come up with a plan.

  Boink might not be able to make it to save me, so I was going to have to sav
e myself.

  If only I knew how to do that.

  *

  Chapter Twenty

  Boink

  “Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the one checking in on you, not the other way around.”

  “Hello, Mr. Wynn.”

  My feet dropped to the floor, and I sat forward. “Who is this?” I demanded. Whoever it was, they had Mayra’s phone and they knew my real name.

  “Apollo Banachi. I believe you might know why I’m calling.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face and stood up. “Where is Mayra?”

  “Sitting next to me,” he said simply.

  “You better not have touched a single hair on her head.”

  “I haven’t, though I can’t say the same for Bobby. He seems to have some anger issues that I think I’ll have to tell Leo that he needs to work through.”

  Fucking Bobby. I should have known. My first instinct about him had been right. “What are you doing with her?” This guy sounded too chill and calm.

  “I wouldn’t worry about that, Mr. Wynn. Right now, you need to get in touch with Wrecker.”

  Wrecker was over seventeen hundred miles away. There wouldn’t be a damn thing he would be able to do. “You don’t need to talk to Wrecker. Whatever you want, I can get it for you.”

  “As much I appreciate your white-knight attitude, this is bigger than you or I. Leo wanted me to grab Mayra, call you, and then head back to Chicago.”

  They were going to Chicago. “Wrecker isn’t here. There’s nothing he can do.”

  “We know he’s not here, Mr. Wynn. That’s not why I want you to call him. Listen very carefully to me.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair and paced in front of the TV. “I’m listening.”

  “Miss Zinker will be in Chicago. Call Wrecker. Tell him Mr. Banachi is ready to have a meeting with him. In the meeting, he is going to discuss the options of Miss Zinker.”

  “But I—”

  He cut me off. “Call him. That’s all you need to know.”

  The line went dead, and I looked down at the phone.

  This wasn’t happening. I didn’t just talk to the guy who had kidnapped Mayra.

  I had not just fucked everything up again.

  I scrolled through the numbers in my phone, swiped over Wrecker’s name, and put the phone to my ear.