Everyday, Boink did come in to check on me, but most times, he asked me if I was okay and if I needed anything then he was gone. Today was different, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
From what I had gathered about him from Raven and the couple conversations I had walked in on when trying to get coffee or food, the guy was harmless. He was the goofy one of the club who was more times than not the butt of most jokes. He was friendly enough, but I had barely any interaction with him even though he was in charge of watching Raven and me. I assumed he spent most of the day keeping track of Raven because while I stayed in my room ninety percent of the time, Raven did not.
Now today, he came into my room, and he talked a hell of a lot more than ever.
I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my back pocket. I could just stay here and ignore him, but as much as I hated to admit it, I was getting sick of these four dingy walls.
Before I changed my mind and barred myself in my room, I headed down the hallway. The sound of voices drifted to me, but before I could change my mind and hightail it back, Nikki spotted me.
“Mayra! Girl, where in the hell have you been?” she shouted.
I plastered a fake smile on my face and folded my arms over my chest. “Hey,” I called meekly. Karmen was sitting at one of the tables with Cole in her arms with Cora and Wren seated across from her. It was apparently an ol’ ladies get together I had just walked in on.
“Hot damn. You actually out of your room or just coming for coffee?” Cora teased.
I looked around for Boink, but I didn’t see him. It had been a trap. He knew if I came out of my room and all of the girls were here, I wouldn’t be able to run and hide. Damn him. “Uh, I just…Boink said…”
“Boink is out in the garage, I think. Pipe said he needed help with his bike or something.” Nikki put her arm around my shoulders and steered me over to the table. It was like she knew I was likely to make my escape if someone didn’t keep a hold on me. “Have you had breakfast yet?”
I wasn’t a breakfast person. I would have about three cups of coffee and then by noon, I was ready to have something of more sustenance. “Not hungry, but I could go for some coffee.”
“Coffee we can do, but you’re also going to get breakfast. Alice is cooking up a skillet of eggs and a shit-ton of bacon.”
“It’s only three pounds,” Alice hollered from the kitchen.
“She acts like three pounds of bacon isn’t a lot,” Cora laughed.
“If all of the guys manage to make it back in here before she finishes it, it really isn’t going to be a lot. I’ll be surprised if we even get any.” Karmen lifted Cole and propped him on her shoulder. His eyes were closed, and he had a blissful smile on his face. “He’s in a milk coma,” she murmured when she noticed me looking at him.
I had never been around babies much, and little Cole fascinated me. He was so tiny and fragile but still commanded the attention of anyone in the room. “He’s so tiny,” I whispered.
“Wanna hold him?” she asked.
I shook my head and took a step back. “No, no. I don’t want to wake him up or anything.”
“Cole sleeps like a rock. Of course, Karmen and Nickel would have the most well-behaved baby ever.” Nikki shook her head. “Lucky bitch.”
Karmen managed to flip her off without waking up Cole. “Don’t bad mouth my baby or you’re gonna put bad juju on you when Pipe finally gets you pregnant.”
Nikki shook her head. “Oh, hell no, girl. Don’t put that whole pregnancy thing on us. I am not ready for a baby right now, and I don’t even know when the hell I will be. I’m a fan of having my dirty-talking biker to myself.”
Karmen pressed a kiss to Cole’s temple. “I still have time with Nickel,” she pouted.
Cora laughed. “Riiight. When you manage to be in the bed sleeping for the two hours in between feedings?”
Karmen glared at her.
Cora held up her hands. “But I bet those two hours are amazing.”
“Who wants bacon?” Alice walked out of the kitchen with a large plate piled high with bacon and a coffee cup in her hand. “Someone go grab the pan of eggs and the toast.”
Nikki pulled me toward the kitchen and pushed the plate of toast into my hands. “You take that. I’ll grab the pan and a cup for you.”
I wanted to tell her no and run back to my room, but I figured one of them would chase me down and haul me back to the table.
Cora was sliding plates to each open spot at the table while Wren had a handful of forks. “I won’t toss these around like Cora is tossing plates like frisbees,” she laughed.
I sat down next to Cora and spotted the full pot of coffee which happened to be sitting right in front of me. The cup Nikki had promised appeared in front of my face, and I snatched it out of her hand. Alice tossed two pieces of bacon onto the plate to my left, but I only had eyes for the coffee pot.
“Pretty sure you’re going to fit in just fine around here,” Karmen laughed.
I grabbed the coffee pot and looked up to see everyone staring at me. “Uh, why?” I looked back down at the coffee pot and filled my cup to the brim.
“Coffee, girlfriend. You’ve got the same affection for it as most of us.” Cora grabbed the pot from me and topped of her cup. “I live off this shit when I’m on a deadline.”
“Deadline?” I asked.
Nikki sat down next to me, and Alice sat on one of the stools by the bar. “Our Cora edits amazingly smutty books,” Alice explained. “Last week, she left her computer open when she ran to the bathroom, and Wrecker read a little bit of what she was going over.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I have never seen that man rush me to the bedroom before. My shirt was off before we even hit the door.”
“Is that what that was?” Nikki asked. “I saw you two fumble past Pipe’s door. You two were all legs, arms, and butts.”
Alice fanned her face. “Girl, let me tell you right now. I don’t know what Wrecker read, but I am going to have to ask you what it was, Cora, cause I’m going to buy that book and read it to him every night.”
Cora shook her head and laughed. “I’ll send you the link when it’s live.”
“You’re really an editor?” I asked.
Cora nodded. “Yeah. I needed to find a job that I could do without anyone really knowing who I was or where I lived. As long as I send back a clean manuscript, no one really wonders who I am or who I’m related to.”
That raised so many questions in my mind but I didn’t want to ask them. “That’s cool,” I mumbled.
“What does Raven do?” Nikki asked. “I see her on the computer all of the time but she’s so prickly that I’m afraid to ask.”
“Prickly is a great word to describe her cranky ass,” Alice laughed. “I try every day to get her to talk to me but she barely gives me the time of day.”
“That’s because you’re dating her brother, who she hates,” Karmen pointed out. “I’d hate you too.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Thank you so much for agreeing with her irrational behavior.”
Karmen nodded. “That’s what I’m here for. If you want rational, hit up Wren or Cora.”
Wren nodded at me. “You know what Raven does on her computer?”
“I bet she’s a spy for the Russians and is gathering intel to send back to them,” Nikki said around a mouthful of bacon.
Now that made me giggle. “She’s actually a graphic designer. She has a long list of clients she works for.”
Alice threw her arms up in the air. “Well, there goes the Russian spy theory. I really thought it was a possibility.”
I didn’t know if she was being sarcastic or not. It was really hard to tell with her if she really was crazy or just witty as hell. “Uh, I promise she’s not a spy. Just doing stuff on her computer that I could never do.” I had zero talent at all. I had always been floundering around trying to figure out where I fit in. At twenty-nine, I still didn’t have that answer.
“That explains why she told
Wrecker to fuck off when he offered her money.” Alice tapped her chin. “He was quite offended by that, which surprised me, but the guy is still trying to make up for shit that he couldn’t have fixed before.”
I may be staying in the same room with Raven, but I didn’t really know much more about her than she was a graphic designer, she was working at the club to help her brother, and she took me under her wing when I started working at the club.
“Wrecker being offended by anything seems odd to me,” Nikki laughed. “Whenever I see him smile at you, my jaw drops. That mountain of a man smiling is enough to make any woman’s panties melt.”
“Better not have Pipe hear you say that,” Karmen warned.
Nikki looked around. “He’s not here, and I know none of you bitches will tell him, so I’m not worried.”
“What aren’t you worried about, sugar?”
Nikki’s mouth dropped open, and Cora busted out laughing. Pipe walked into the common room with Boink, Nickel, and Maniac following behind him.
“Oh, sweet heavens,” Wren whispered.
“Fog,” Nikki croaked.
“Fog?” Pipe questioned.
“It’s clear out there,” Maniac pointed out.
“Pretty sure we just walked in on a conversation we’re supposed to not hear,” Nickel chuckled.
“Total Girl Gang talk. Nothing important for you guys,” Alice said reassuringly. “Wrecker come in with you?” A sly smile spread across her lips, and Nikki choked.
Her eyes bugged out of her head, and she turned to glare at Alice.
“Uh, he’s on the phone.” Pipe hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “Club business.”
“You still going on with this Girl Gang shit?” Nickel asked Karmen. He stood behind her and peeked down at Cole. “He’s still out?” he whispered.
“He’s in a boob milk coma right now.” She smoothed her hand over his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Hmph, I remember when I would fall into a boob coma too, but it’s been awhile,” Nickel muttered.
Cora snorted, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Told ya,” Nikki sang out. “I’m not having a baby ‘til Pipe gets sick of me.”
“Guess we’re never having a baby then, sugar.” Pipe reached for the bacon and snagged four pieces in his huge hand.
Nikki elbowed him in the gut. “Uh, yeah we are, just not now. I need to get my fill of you and then we can make a mini Pipe.” Nikki must have forgotten that Pipe had just walked in on her talking about how good-looking Wrecker was. I was in agreeance with her, but I knew from the small amount of time I had spent with everyone that these guys were possessive as hell about their women.
“You get something to eat?” Boink was standing over me with a scowl on his face.
“Uh, not really hungry.”
“You need to eat.”
I looked up at him. “I think I’m good if I skip a meal.” My ass and thighs were nicely padded. Skipping a meal or two would probably be good for me.
He grunted and shook his head. “Eat.” He grabbed the spoon in the eggs, plopped a huge pile on my plate, and snatched two pieces of toast.
“I can’t eat all of that.”
He grabbed a piece of bacon and popped it into his mouth. “What you don’t eat, I will.”
Well, that was a bit too personal for me. “I can get you another plate.”
“No.” There wasn’t any room for argument in his tone.
“Whatever you want,” I mumbled. I shoveled a small bite of eggs into my mouth and saw him watching me out of the corner of my eye.
“More.”
What in the ever-living hell was he going on about? If this was how breakfast was out in the clubhouse, I was glad I had missed it for the past two weeks. “I’m working on it, man. Eat your bacon and let me be.”
Boink grunted but kept his mouth shut.
“Anyone else wonder what they’re talking about?” Alice asked loudly.
I looked around the table to see everyone was staring at me again.
“Probably talking about the fog,” Pipe smirked.
Nikki held up her middle finger in his face. “You’re only half handsome when you’re a dick to me.”
He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the pad of her finger. “But I’m still handsome.”
Wrecker stormed into the clubhouse and hollered without missing a step. “Church in fifteen minutes,” he thundered. He grabbed Alice’s hand and pulled her down the hallway to the bedrooms.
“Hell. That phone call must not have ended well,” Maniac muttered.
“No shit,” Nickel agreed. “He was actually in a good mood before. Now I’m pretty sure the world is ending.”
“Everyone eat ‘cause this shit ain’t gonna be good,” Pipe ordered.
I lifted my plate up to Boink. “You eat this. I can grab another plate when you guys leave.”
He shook his head. “You eat.”
Lord have mercy. The man was going to drive me insane. From the sound of it, he was about to walk into hell, and all he cared about was me eating breakfast. I was tempted to text Raven and ask her to get into some trouble to distract Boink.
I quickly shoveled five bites of egg into my mouth, downed it with a slug of coffee, grabbed bacon, and a piece of toast off the plate. I nodded at the plate and stood up. “I’m done. You eat now.” There was still a mound of eggs on the plate for him and a few pieces of bacon left on the table.
He grunted but sat down in my spot. Grunting seemed to be his way of communicating with me at the moment.
“You wanna hang out today?”
I pulled my phone out and looked at the time.
“Mayra,” Karmen called.
“Huh?” I muttered.
Cora shook her head. “Girl, I just asked you if you wanted to hang out today.”
She had? I heard her, but I figured she was talking to one of the other girls. “Uh, me?”
“Sweet hell,” Cora murmured. “Yes, you. We can’t go anywhere since all of the guys have church, but we could go hang out in the backyard.”
“Raven is working back there,” Nikki reminded us.
Cora scoffed. “Please. I couldn’t care less if she’s working back there. I think it’s the perfect time for some mimosas and chilling out.”
Nikki held up her hand. “I second that motion.”
“I third it,” Karmen chimed in.
“Am I supposed to fourth it?” Wren asked.
“Great. They start day drinking before nine AM. I predict all of you taking a nap by two,” Maniac laughed.
Boink finished his food in record time and stood up. He turned his back to everyone, blocking me from view. “You okay?”
I didn’t realize how tall he was before. He had never been this close to me, and it was making me realize a lot of other things about him. Things I shouldn’t be noticing.
Blond hair that begged for me to comb my fingers through.
Piercing blue eyes that seemed to see everything I tried to hide.
Wide, broad shoulders.
Tattooed covered arms that made me wonder just how much of his body was covered in the colorful ink.
“Uh, yeah?” I think he had asked me a question but I had been too busy trying to check him out without him noticing.
“You don’t sound so sure about that,” he said quietly.
I wasn’t sure why I wouldn’t be okay right now. “I’m sure that I’m okay.”
“If you want to go back to your room, you can. I didn’t plan on this when I bribed you into coming out here.”
What had he planned on with me coming out here? “Uh, I’m good with going outside for a bit. Is that okay with you?” My question came out a lot bitchier than I had expected it to.
“Whatever you want as long as you stay out of trouble, M-baby.”
“I’ll do my best to talk them out of robbing a liquor store or toilet papering the clubhouse.”
He shook his head. �
��You think you’re joking, but you’re closer to the truth than you know. The Girl Gang is crazy when they’re all together, like they are right now.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed gently. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
He let go of my hand and headed down the hallway with the other guys following behind him. I looked down at my hand that was still tingling from his touch.
Cora came up next to me and put her arm around my shoulders. “You look like you could use a drink.”
She couldn’t have been more right.
*
Chapter Four
Boink
Wrecker was pissed.
He sat at the head of the table, his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl across his lips.
No one dared speak.
We were all going to sit here until Wrecker told us what was going on. We were going on five minutes of just sitting in silence.
“Leo Banachi,” he finally enunciated slowly. “Any of you fucks ever heard of him before?”
You would have to be living under a rock to have not heard about the mafia kingpin from Chicago.
We all nodded our heads and waited for him to explain.
“I was just on the phone with one of my contacts and discovered that someone living in my clubhouse right now has royally pissed off the mafia.”
Holy shit. This was not good news. We were dealing with Oakley Mykel and Jenkins already. Adding in the fucking mafia was not a good idea.
“Who?” Pipe demanded.
“One of the women you guys seem to gather like lost fucking kittens,” Wrecker growled.
Whoa shit. One of the Girl Gang was in some deep shit.
“I bet it’s either Cora or Raven,” Nickel laughed. “They seem to be the type that would piss off the mafia with their mouths.”
Wrecker shook his head. “Fucking try again.”
“Alice?” Maniac asked.
He had taken off with her right after he called a meeting. But I really doubted Alice would have had the time to fit in pissing off the mafia in the past months.
“I’m gonna fucking ignore the fact you think Alice would fuck with the mafia.”
She was a bit crazy, so to me, it wasn’t really that far-fetched she would mess with the Banachi’s. “So who is it?” I asked.
Boink (Fallen Lords MC Book 5) Page 2