Fallen Lords MC: Books 7-9 Page 5

  A huge smile spread across his lips.

  “Why are you smiling at me like that?” I was trying to make this less awkward.

  “‘Cause one of the biggest mob bosses just walked into the clubhouse and you’re talking about making enchiladas for dinner.”

  Oh, well. I guess he had a point. “Internally, I’m freaking a bit, but I have to remember you guys know what you’re doing. Cooking helps take my mind off of everything.”

  He nodded and reached up to brush my hair back from my face. “And that right there is what makes it so easy to be around you.”

  My cheeks heated. “Uh, thank you.”

  Freak chuckled, and he shook his head. “You’re a nut, doll.”

  I leaned into his hand holding my hair back. “I like to cook.” These past few days have definitely shown that. There was also something else I was seeing.

  I liked Freak, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he liked me, too.

  “I know you do, but you don’t have to cook all of the time. You’re gonna get these guys spoiled thinking there is a chef working around the clock here.”

  I scoffed and shook my head. “I’m hardly cooking food worthy of a chef.” Most everything I had been making were things my mom and aunt had shown me. Simple, yet delicious.

  “What if—”

  “Yo, Freak!” Someone pounded on the door, cutting off Freak’s words.

  “What?” Freak hollered back.

  “Church, asshole. You can’t pull a Brinks and try to lock yourself in your room with a chick.”

  “Have I mentioned I hate Slayer?” Freak shook his head and dropped his hand. “Stick with the rest of the girls and no leaving the clubhouse, yeah?”

  I nodded and took a step back. “I’ll just hang in the kitchen.”

  Freak chuckled. “Only if that’s where you want to be, doll.”

  He slipped out the door, and I flopped back onto the bed.

  “What the hell are you so sigh-y about?”

  I clutched my hand to my chest, and my eyes snapped to the door. “Jesus, Wendy. Why the hell are you sneaking up on me like that?”

  “It’s hardly sneaking when your door is open. Now, if I had been hiding behind the couch trying to listen to you and Freak, then that would be sneaking.”

  I dropped my head back to the bed. “You finally decided to join the land of the living?”

  Wendy flung herself onto the bed next to me and laid on her side with her head in her hand. “You know I hate mornings, Carn. You think staying here was going to change that?”

  I hadn’t, but I had hoped maybe she would wake up a little bit earlier than sleeping ‘til almost noon every day. “You missed another amazing breakfast today.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there are leftovers in the fridge. I’ll have it for lunch just like I did the past three days.”

  “You been out there?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope. I saw Freaky Deaky walk out of your room and decided to stop here before foraging for breakfast.”

  “You know it’s just Freak, right?”

  She waved her hand. “Freaky Deaky sounds better.”

  She may think it sounded better, but I really doubt Freak would have appreciated it. “While you were sleeping, a new mystery man showed up. Well, a mystery man with three other men protecting him.”

  Wendy’s eyes lit up. “Some excitement. It’s about damn time. I thought we were just going to hang out ‘til Bobby wound up buried in the woods and we got sent home.”

  I rolled my eyes. That wasn’t at all what I thought was going to happen. “Leo Banachi is here. Bobby’s old boss. Mob boss.”

  Wendy sucked in a quick breath. “Hot damn. He hot mobby or was he old, crusty mobby?”

  “I tell you the mob is here and you wonder if they are hot or not?”

  Wendy fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Come on, Carnie. You have to know I’m picturing dark blue or black suits with white pin striping and shoes polished so bright I can see my face in them.”

  “You’re crazy, Wendy.”

  “Don’t be mad at me because I’m making the most of the Bobby situation.”

  I sighed. “A situation that is all my fault.”

  “It is, but it’s not. How were you supposed to know that he was a complete psycho? Live and learn.”

  I slapped my hand on her forehead “Are you feeling all right? I could have sworn you just said this really wasn’t my fault.”

  She pushed my arm away. “Feeling great and you know I just like to give you shit. Bobby could have turned his creepy gaze on me, and you know I would have fallen for it, too. The dating pool in Pines Peak is nonexistent.”

  “Unless you want to fight over the same guy as four other girls,” I laughed. There had even been a point in high school where Wendy and I had a crush on the same guy.

  In the end, he had chosen Betsy Frank, but it had been a valuable lesson for Wendy and me. Liking the same guy was something that did not work.

  “So, how are you and Freak?”

  “I didn’t know there was a me and Freak to talk about?”

  She bumped my arm. “Girl, please. I can tell you and Freak have the hots for each other. The only thing I wonder is what is taking you so long ask him to sleep in the bed with you and not on the couch.”

  “The fact some crazy guy is stalking me kind of puts the kibosh on a new romance.”

  Freak was super nice to me, and him brushing my hair back from my face sent my heart into overdrive, but maybe that was just him being nice again.

  “Pfft,” she scoffed. “You should be thanking Bobby for helping to put that handsome guy in your path.”

  “And for your hot biker.”

  She curled her lip. “As hot as Slick is, I don’t think I’m his type. I try to talk to the guy and he gives me one-word answers and is always ten feet away from me unless it’s time to sleep.”

  “Slayer.”

  “Huh?”

  I rolled my eyes. “His name is Slayer, Wendy.”

  She waved her hand at me. “Whatever. That doesn’t change the fact I could probably walk around naked in front of this guy and he wouldn’t bat an eye.”

  “These bikers sure are blowing all of the preconceived notions we have about them out of the water.”

  “Yours is nice and mine is possibly into guys.” She held up her hand. “Which I’m okay with, but if I could have gotten a biker that liked my girly bits and not boy junk, that would have been much better for my nonexistent dating life.”

  I think Wendy was way off when it came to Slayer. “Maybe if you actually learned his name, he might be friendlier.”

  “That goes both ways. Once he starts calling me the right name, I’ll do the same.”

  It seemed Wendy and Slayer were on different wave-lengths and neither wanted to stop and hear the other out. “You want to have lunch and see if we can sneak some looks of the mobsters?”

  Wendy shot up off the bed. “Hells to the yeah. Seeing as I can’t get me a biker, I might as well move onto my next favorite reading genre.” She pulled me off the bed and hauled me down the hallway.

  “But they are in Church.”

  We skidded to a stop in the common room, and Wendy’s face fell. “Well, hell. How am I supposed to become a mobster princess if I can’t even see them?”

  “Did she just say mobster princess?” Cora laughed.

  I wandered into the kitchen, and Wendy plopped down on the couch next to Cora.

  “I missed the hot mobster,” she whined.

  Cora patted her on the head. “That mobster is off-limits. He’s been in love with the same woman for ten years.”

  Wendy threw her hands up in the air. “Of course. I can’t catch a damn break. Gay or married seems to be my type.”

  “I don’t know about the gay, but Leo isn’t married. He’s just been hung up on the same girl since I’ve known him. She dodges him no matter what.”

  “Maybe we should
try to find you a cowboy,” I hollered to Wendy. I grabbed a loaf of bread and set it on the cutting board. “If that doesn’t work, I think we might have to go back in time to find you an actual knight in shining armor.”

  “You going through all the romance book genres?” Cora laughed.

  I grabbed the mayo and cheese. “She’s trying to,” I chuckled.

  Wendy was an avid reader and was always looking for her prince charming. She learned quickly that Pines Peak was lacking in the man department, so she got her romance from her e-reader and hundreds of paperbacks.

  Cora rattled off four names.

  Wendy didn’t say anything, and I turned around to see her jaw dropped and her eyes were bugged out.

  “Uh, do those names mean something?”

  Cora held up her hand. “I work for all of them.”

  “Oh, my God,” Wendy gasped. “You work for them?”

  I was still missing something. How did Wendy know who Cora worked for. “Can I get another clue?”

  “I’m a freelance editor.”

  Everything clicked into place, and I smiled. “So you help make all of those fantasies Wendy has come true.”

  Cora nodded. “Sure do. I just finished working on Brenda’s latest.”

  Wendy scooted closer to Cora and demanded to know everything.

  Karmen walked into the clubhouse and beelined straight to the fridge. She grabbed a container of yogurt and ripped the lid off. She nodded toward Wendy and Cora. “What are those two going on about?”

  “Books.” I started slathering the bread with mayo and grabbed the griddle.

  “I’ve never seen someone talk excitedly about books.”

  Wendy was talking animatedly, and I hadn’t seen her that excited about something since we walked into the clubhouse.

  She had always been a lover of books, and it was good that she found someone as excited. I would read some of her books when the mood struck me, but I wasn’t into them as much as she was.

  “Whatcha cooking?” Karmen grabbed a spoon and leaned against the counter.

  “Grilled cheese. You want one?”

  She nodded. “Hell to the yeah. If there is anything I have learned, it’s if you’re cooking, then I’m eating.”

  That seemed to be the consensus of the rest of the clubhouse, too. “Tomato soup?”

  Karmen’s mouth opened, and she nodded. “The Captain approves.”

  “What does the Captain approve?” Alice walked into the kitchen rubbing her stomach. That was what she always seemed to be doing.

  “Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Karmen answered.

  Alice looked over my shoulder. “I’ll take two and a huge bowl of soup. Do you know how to make hot chocolate? From scratch. Not the stuff from a can or envelope.”

  Karmen laughed. “Is this the Carnie Diner now?”

  Alice rested her head on my shoulder. “My baby likes your food. I don’t throw up after I eat it,” she whined.

  “Laying it on pretty thick there, aren’t you Alice?” Karmen stood on the other side of me. “Is that mayo?”

  I nodded. “Yup.”

  “Well, I’ll also have what Alice is having. I can’t not eat grilled cheese made with mayo. I’ve never seen it made that way.” Karmen grabbed the new loaf of bread that was sitting on the microwave. “You might as well make a shit-ton ‘cause you know everyone else is going to want in on that.”

  “Wrecker will have at least three.”

  “Same for Nickel and probably all of the other guys,” Karmen laughed.

  “Uh, I’m pretty sure I’m going to need the frozen loaf of bread in the freezer.” I didn’t expect grilled cheese and soup to be so popular. I figured Wendy and I were going to be the only ones eating.

  “Got it,” Karmen chirped.

  Alice wandered over to the couch and plopped down next to Cora.

  “You do know you don’t need to make hot chocolate, right?” Karmen whispered when she set the frozen loaf of bread next to me.

  I laughed and nodded.

  “You don’t have to do any of this if you don’t want to.”

  I grabbed the next slice of bread and slathered it with mayo. “I know. I do actually like doing this.”

  Maybe this would be the test I needed to see if cooking for a living was something I wanted to do.

  “Well, in that case, cook on, girl. We’re all here for the feast.” She wandered over by the other girls, and I was left to make a mountain of grilled cheese and a vat of soup.

  Not how I expected my day to go, but I came to find out that staying with the Fallen Lords was anything but normal.

  I liked it.

  *

  Chapter Seven

  Freak

  Leo tapped his fingers on the table. “Nothing.”

  “How can there be nothing?” Wrecker asked.

  Leo shrugged. “Because that is what it is. I have my guys tracing every lead that could point to Bobby, and all of them are coming up empty.”

  This was not the news I wanted to hear. The guy who had sent Carnie a threatening letter and broken into her house had somehow disappeared into thin air. “So, what is the plan now?” I asked.

  “We wait. Bobby may have disappeared now, but I know he will be back. He doesn’t have patience and believes people who wrong him deserve to die.” Leo leaned back in his chair and rested his hand on the table. “He’ll mess up, and we’ll be there when he does.”

  I knew that was the only thing we could do, but it pissed me off we couldn’t find him.

  “Four of my guys will be staying ‘til we get this thing put to bed. I know you’re worried about the woman he is after, but I’m worried about the fact that Bobby is making me look like a fool after years of dealing with his dumbass.” Leo nodded to the guys sitting behind me. “You can have your men off of surveillance. My guys can take that over.”

  Wrecker cleared his throat. “Uh, we’ve only been using one of my guys at a time. Oakley has been helping with the rest.”

  Leo’s eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists. “You don’t think that was something you should have mentioned to me before?” he growled.

  Oakley Mykel and Leo Banachi were two guys who did not get along. At all.

  “We’re a small club, and I needed the help, Leo.”

  “Then recruit some new guys and don’t use Oakley,” Leo reasoned.

  “Easier said than done.” Wrecker pointed at me. “Freak was our last prospect that was actually worth a damn.”

  Pipe cleared his throat. “I might know a couple of guys who would be interested in prospecting. Not saying that they’ll actually make the cut, but at least we could try. Maybe just get the word out on the street and see what happens.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, too,” Nickel added.

  “I get that you are in business with Oakley, but I thought I made it clear during the Miss Zinker situation that keeping Oakley out of things that had to deal with the Banachis was appreciated.” Leo nodded to the guy standing behind him. “Get out there. Tell Oakley’s men they can go back to cooking and leave the real shit to the professionals.”

  The man nodded and walked out of the room with the rest of Leo’s guys following him.

  Wrecker pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll send word to Oakley that his help is no longer needed.”

  “Wise,” Leo said quietly. “Once we take care of this Bobby bullshit, I hope to never have to come to your clubhouse again, Wrecker.”

  “This one?” The door flung open and an older woman stood there. “This isn’t the bathroom.”

  Everyone stared at the woman. She had white hair and was wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and white shorts that hung past her knees. “Looking for the bathroom, boys. It was a long ride from Pines Peak, and the tank is full right now.”

  “What the fuck is this?” Leo growled.

  “Mother!” Carnie came skidding into view behind the woman.

  Oh, shit.

  “I told
you to wait until I flipped that last batch of sandwiches,” Carnie scolded the older woman.

  “Elle was talking your ear off, and I didn’t have time to wait.”

  “Carnie,” Wrecker called. “What the hell is going on?”

  Carnie stepped around her mom and tried to push her out of the room. “Uh, well, you see, my mom and aunt came for a visit.” She cleared her throat. “And my dad. No big deal.”

  “Oh, hell!” Wendy called from the hallway. “What the heck are you doing, Mom?”

  “She was just trying to find the bathroom. Sorry she barged in on you.” Carnie walked backward, bumped into her mom, and managed to push her out of the room. “Carry on with your churchy, uh, stuff.”

  “Church?” Carnie’s mom hollered. “That ain’t no kind of Church I’ve been to before. Hotties all over and not a smile in the room. Who are they praying to? Lord Zeppelin?”

  “It’s Led Zeppelin,” Wendy hissed.

  Carnie plastered a smile on her face and pulled the door shut.

  The room was quiet, and honestly, I think we were all just shocked.

  “I feel like I’m in the Devil’s Knights’ clubhouse. You never know what the hell is going to happen there.” Leo stood up. “I’ll be in town for a couple of days.”

  “You need a place to stay?” Wrecker asked.

  Leo laughed. “We’re good. Besides, it seems you have a full clubhouse with the three new surprise additions. Maybe they can be your new prospects.”

  He walked out of the room with a scowl on his lips.

  Slayer and I shifted uncomfortably in our chairs. We both knew that whatever hell Wrecker was about to rain down, that it was going to be directed at us since we were the ones in charge of Carnie and Wendy.

  “You two know about this?” Wrecker thundered.

  We both shook our heads.

  I had no damn clue that Carnie’s family was coming. It seemed she didn’t even know. “No clue.”

  Slayer splayed his hands out. “I don’t even talk to my chick so I couldn’t tell you.”

  “How the hell do you not talk to her?” Pipe asked.

  Slayer rolled his eyes. “I’m not all about that falling in love with the chick I’m protecting bullshit. I make sure she is safe and that’s it.”