A.N. Hey, I'm back! Sorry I was gone for so long. I went on a girl's trip, long weekend with friends, and when I came back I had to put my house back together from my man being alone with the little while I was away. They had fun but realized there truly isn't a magic fairy that goes behind them picking everything up...I'm all caught up on house stuff though so I finally have time to sit back down and write.
Leticia's back after a few days of downtime. I wish I could say her story is sunshine and rainbows from here but...you know it isn't. Luckily there seems to be something pulling her a little closer to something good though. Fate has some plans for her this chapter.
Unfortunately, I don't own Mayans MC or any of Kurt Sutter's characters.
Ezekiel's P.O.V.
The morning came too quickly, the heat truly settling into Santo Padre. EZ pulled into the dress factory behind Angel, they were the last, everyone already waiting. He was surprised to see CoCo there looking as though nothing had happened the previous day. After EZ had thrown hands at him and then texted his sister, he assumed CoCo would be a little less than welcoming this morning. CoCo hadn't even looked at him though.
'With good reason...it is never a good thing when Alvarez shows up.' EZ nodded in El Padrino's direction.
No one had been told why they were here, just that Galindo wanted them immediately.
"You know what this shit is?" Angel asked Bishop.
"He didn't say. Let's just get this shit behind us." Alvarez responded for the president as he pulled back the sliding metal door leading to the church pew.
'Fuck! Never a good place to be, let alone to start a meeting…' EZ internally groaned.
Sure enough, once EZ made it fully inside the room, his dread spiked. A middle aged man was already tied to the pew, frantically trying to explain that he wasn't involved, blood spattered at his feet from a split lip.
'Well at least this one isn't 6000 lbs.' EZ shook himself from the thought. Death like this was never good and he didn't want to start becoming desensitized to it.
"¿Cómo podrías ver la hoguera y no a la gente alrededor?" Galindo yelled as he paced back and forth.
"Hay gente, siempre hay hoguera. Nunca me doy cuenta...por favor." the stranger explained.
"I gather you've seen this?" Galindo shoved the anti cartel flyer Los Olvidados had been passing out in the mans face.
"No. No se nada de eso."
"About what? Benny." Galindo's eyes flashed as the man tripped through his story.
"Eran solo niños jugando…" the stranger whispered as he shook his head.
"Los has visto antes?" Galindo questioned. The man looked terrified, but EZ recognized something else. He looked as though he was guilty, like he had said something he shouldn't and didn't know how to take it back. Galindo saw it too.
"Eran niños, por favor!" the man begged again as Galindo stepped away from him, motioning to Nestor.
"What is this?" Alvarez finally questioned, as Galindo stepped further away from the man.
"We saw his food truck parked at the location the video was taken. We are just asking if he saw anything at the time it was made...He has confirmed he is always parked there so he should have seen it happening." Galindo supplied just as Nestor threw a bowl full of heated grease at the chest of the man.
'Jesus Christ…'
EZ flinched away as the man's skin immediately began blistering and the screaming started.
"You need to be very careful when you cook with grease." Nestor said.
"Is there a reason why you called us here to watch this?" Bishop took a step forward. Clearly he wasn't in the mood to witness torture today either.
"A reason? Oh you want a reason...because this greasy fucking peasant saw who took my son!" Galindo screamed.
EZ leaned over to Angel.
"Angel we can tell him about the station wagon, the one I saw outside the dog shelter. We can stop this. That car was deserted long ago." He whispered frantically.
"What did you say? No go ahead! Speak up prospect." Clearly Galindo thought he had something to share like during the shoot out.
EZ looked around the room, Gilly gave one shake of his head and EZ knew another observation wasn't approved by the club.
"I said maybe if you didn't treat them like greasy fucking peasants you would still have your son." EZ smirked as Galindo tried to launch himself through Alvarez and Bishop to get to him.
"Fuck! Why's it always gotta be some shit with you." Angel whispered.
Alvarez was able to calm Galindo but, as he took a step back and made eye contact with EZ, he called for a child. The owner of the food truck immediately began begging after having gone silent. A boy no older than 8 was forced out of the opening for the tunnel ladder and shoved towards Nestor. There, zip ties were placed around his wrists and he was then zip tied onto the pew next to his father, all while Galindo viciously smirked at EZ.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Angel whispered again before turning away. He pulled his phone from his pants and answered it too loudly, to draw everyone's attention.
"Really? Yeah, no I will be right there." He replied to someone on the other line.
"That was Dogwood, they found a station wagon off the side of the highway over by the dog shelter."
Bishop came forward to Galindo. "Let us run down this lead, before you do anything else. This man and his son may seriously know nothing, the car can give us facts, anything left behind could help us."
Galindo nodded and Bishop immediately turned to leave, the entire MC following closely behind. They hadn't been as lucky as they thought though, Galindo had sent Nestor along with them to investigate the car as well.
They all pulled up to the car together, two men with Nestor began going through the interior of the vehicle while Bishop and Riz began calling people for information on the plates and registration. The four younger members stood back by the bikes, as the rest searched.
"What the fuck man? Are you trying to get us killed!" Gilly questioned EZ.
"I'm sorry. I know I need to leave my history with the guy behind but damn…" EZ thought using Emily as the best way to explain disliking Galindo was the way to go.
"I thought he was going to put on his gay ass little rain coat right then." CoCo laughed, Angel and Gilly joining in.
Right as EZ was going to respond, Nestor peeled out with the two men he came with.
"Where the fuck is he going in such a hurry?" Angel questioned.
The older members were headed back towards the bikes, grabbing helmets and kicking off before they could really explain.
"Those dogs are from the dog shelter, that way." Bishop motioned in the direction the car had gone.
"SHIT!" EZ kicked his bike off and sped towards the shelter after the MC. As he pulled up half the MC was already jumping off their bikes and running towards the kicked in front door. Nestor had Georgia against a kennel by the throat. Bishop didn't even say anything he just swung.
'Guess that guy didn't know Georgia was Bishop's niece…' EZ rolled his eyes.
Nestor was clearly experienced in taking a shot to the temple though, because he didn't stumble away. He let go of Georgia and pulled his gun, aiming it straight at Bishop. The rest of the MC, and Nestor's two other associates immediately pulled their weapons as well. All aimed at different people. It was so silent, EZ swore he could hear Angel's heartbeat.
"Not like this." Alvarez said as he stepped into the kennels from the back office. "It is time to work this out, but not like this."
"No guns!" Nestor yelled, and everyone agreed by holstering their weapons. There was a moment of decision and Tranq was the first to decide. He let out a bellowing yell and swung as hard as he could at one of Nestor's men. Like a war cry that yell had begun an all out brawl between the MC and Galindo's men.
They had beat on each other for a good 10 minutes before they were all exhausted and bloodied.
"This was overdue." Alvarez called down the hallway to the men on either side, chests heaving from work. "There is no one here, I checked the back. The owner, who is a friend of the club, said she has not had anyone in that had any children or a baby. She has seen nothing, I believe her."
Nestor shoved Bishop to the side as he motioned for his men to exit.
"I will let Galindo know you are looking into information regarding the plates." He addressed Alvarez before exiting the building with his men and driving away.
"Go home for now...Riz and I will finish making our calls for more information. Be ready to answer if called upon." Bishop dismissed the MC members.
Angel grabbed EZ by the shoulder and pushed him from the kennels towards their bikes. EZ turned back and saw CoCo and Gilly following closely behind.
"Where are we going?" EZ whispered to his brother.
"We need to check on a baby so you will stop being such a fucking liability. If you know that kid is fine you will stop freaking out and saying shit to make things worse?" Angel looked his brother in the eye, questioning if this would be enough for him. EZ just nodded as a response.
"Hey, tienes tu pasaporte?" Angel called back to CoCo and Gilly. "We are going over the legal way tonight...I ain't walkin' 5 miles for a drink."
As EZ slung a leg over his bike his phone buzzed. He fished it out to make sure it wasn't El Presidente asking them back already. Instead, he saw a name he wasn't expecting at all, and he smiled to himself.
What do you get a big bad biker for his birthday? I'm told it is coming up next month. Since you know my brother I was hoping you would have a suggestion. Needs to be good...I'm trying to build bridges here…
~Leticia
Damn, he didn't know CoCo's birthday was coming up, or even how old he was going to be. Clearly she wanted to mend whatever falling out they'd had though. He could definitely help with this.
"Hey CoCo, did you ever buy that fishtail dual exhaust kit? You asked me if I could instal it for you once you bought it."
"No, I never bought it. We got busy and shit with all this Galindo mess. Yo maybe next month though. Those fucking things are slick."
"Yeah man. Let me know." EZ replied while strapping his helmet on.
Yeah, got an idea. Can I call you later tonight? You busy?
~Ezekiel
'Holy shit...call her? What the fuck man?'
Had he really just texted her that? Was he really going to talk to this girl over the phone about her brother's birthday gift...how domestic and shit. Before he could text her again, with a "sorry I meant text you later tonight**" She had already responded.
Yes, definitely. I'm free after 11. It's a date. Don't keep me waiting like last time Ezekiel.
~Leticia
'Well fuck...you're stuck now…'
He shook his head as he kicked his bike into gear and headed after his brother who was pulling out ahead of him. He had to go check on a baby.
Leticia's P.O.V.
She had given herself two days to heal. Two days to be still, in her bedroom, with the door locked. She had given herself two days to cry, and eat ice cream, and cry. She had given herself two days to work through the fact that she was touched for a living and needed to stop wanting to gag anytime someone got too close to her. But now, her two days were up and tonight she was going back to work.
She had called Ronnie and made absolutely sure that she only had three dates tonight and two of them were her easy going regulars she had rescheduled. They were very vanilla and she didn't expect anything other than pretending to be their girlfriend for the evening. The third was a new client that wanted to try something new. He was a regular of her friend Marissa who was a pale blonde girl. He wanted to try something decidedly more spicy. He only booked half an hour for a blow job though. Marissa assured her he was easy going but had trouble not thrusting towards the end. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Considering the level of violence she experienced with Alberto she didn't look as terrible as she felt. She had a small bruise where one of his rings caught her under the eye when he backhanded her, but she had easily covered that with concealer. The hit she had taken to the temple hadn't bruised outside the hairline, it was a little tender if she pushed right on it but could be completely hidden. Her lip and her throat were a different story. Her lip was still a little swollen, though most of the blood had come from biting down on her tongue, she had nicked the side of her lip as well. The bruising was the problem. She'd had to layer her concealer three times and over-line her bottom lip to hide that. She knew after her third date, even if it was just half an hour, her lip would be sore the rest of the night and into tomorrow. Her throat was the worst damage though. Finger shaped bruising covered her neck from side to side. There was nothing to be done about it. Luckily she didn't have any dates running earlier than dinner so she opted for a sleeveless skin tight turtle neck black mini dress. It barely covered her ass, and matched with knee-high black heeled boots she looked like a smokin' hot Latina dominatrix. Not very vanilla but she could push the two men into something a little thrilling just for the night.
"Birthday celebrations? Are you finally leaving this shit-hole room?" Celia asked from the doorway.
"Birthday celebrations? My birthday is in July…"
"Fuck...you're brother is May 2nd not you...You are July 2nd. So just dressing like a whore to whore not to have fun…" Celia murmured before walking back down the hall.
'BITCH!...New fact though...May 2nd. Johnny's birthday is coming up. Maybe that would be perfect I can show up with a gift...surprise I'm your sister you never knew about…'
Yes, she was liking this idea. The problem was her brother was turning 33, they had nothing in common age wise, he was a man, and therefore liked zero of the things she liked. She had no idea where to even start with gift giving for him. Plus it needed to be like a good gift...really good...like hey you want to actually be my family good.
'Come on girl...you do this for a living...you get men to tell you what they want...what they really really want… well fuck now the Spice Girls is stuck in my head.'
She was right though...she could find out just about anything all she had to do was ask the right way and while she couldn't ask her brother, she could ask someone else.
What do you get a big bad biker for his birthday? I'm told it is coming up next month. Since you know my brother I was hoping you would have a suggestion. Needs to be good...I'm trying to build bridges here…
~Leticia
She hadn't texted Ezekiel again since he had sent her brother's number. She had definitely thought about him though. If she were being truthful, when he texted her the night before she had been well into her second pint of ice cream and her first thought had been "how can I get this guy to kill Alberto." It disturbed her how easy she had thought it would be, for that brief moment.
She would never tell him to his face but Ezekiel had been possibly one of the easiest people she had ever read, and he had a severe weakness for wanting to defend people he perceived as weak. She could tell within the minute and a half she interacted with him, as Ronnie had pushed her down the hall she had looked back at him and she had never seen someone so ready to defend a stranger. It made her a little sick to her stomach that she immediately thought of how to exploit that compassion into an extreme act of violence in the sake of revenge. She had wanted to text him back last night, even today, Jesus he was hot as fuck...but she didn't trust herself with him until she was in a better head space.
Now, fully dressed with her makeup acting as her mask, she was back in a place where she could exist without wanting to rip, and tear, and kill or make someone else do it for her. Now Ezekiel was a hot man, not a sharpened weapon.
Yeah, got an idea. Can I call you later tonight? You busy?
~Ezekiel
'OMG call me later tonight? Hahahahahaha are we going to talk on the phone all night like little high schoolers in love?'
She paused and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't know what was more weird, the fact that she should actually be in high school and this should be such a normal thing for someone her age, or the fact that she was oddly excited about how innocent this guy sounded, trying to make a phone date with her and asking if she had time for that.
'Fucking Christ, get it together chica. You literally suck dick for a living and you're nervous if a boy will like you when you talk on the phone tonight.'
It was so normal, talking to someone you were interested in. She didn't have much experience with it though. She skipped all of that and went straight to the fucking part 90% of the time. She had a few regulars that liked to go to dinner and hold her hand and feel like they had some kind of intimate connection to another human beyond sex but those were few and far between. This whole idea was kind of intoxicating to her.
Yes, definitely. I'm free after 11. It's a date. Don't keep me waiting like last time Ezekiel.
~Leticia
"I will be back before 11." Leticia called down the hall as she grabbed her bag by the front door. She wanted to make sure Celia knew she was coming back just in case someone else, she never wanted to think about again, tried to come back too.
"Vete ala verga." Celia called back.
'God what a bitch!' Leticia rolled her eyes as she started her night.
She met her first regular, Noel at a bar. He liked to pretend to see her from across a room and flirt like he didn't know her and then frantically fuck in the bar or club bathroom. He always picked a different bar or club so no one would notice he kept meeting the same hot girl and fucking her in the bathroom, but whatever she wasn't complaining. He took less than an hour and a half all in and paid for 3 hours because she was such a good actress.
By 9 o'clock she was situated in a motel room waiting on her second regular Matthew. He was married with two children and his wife didn't fuck him anymore ever, but he loved his kids and didn't want to get divorced. So, he fucked Leticia once every two weeks for an hour so he wasn't miserable and sexless/ seeking a new emotional attachment through an affair. He was particularly excited about her look tonight and opted to fuck her from behind with all her clothes still on, especially the boots. He had just hiked her dress up over her ass and bent her over the side of an overstuffed armchair. He was done in 35 minutes and out the door 15 minutes early.
'Hopefully this last one doesn't take forever to cum...giving head for an actual half an hour sounds like hell.'
She was hoping this last guy, unaccustomed to her long black hair, sultry dark eyes, and pouty red lips would blow early. However, at exactly 10:05 pm she got the shock of a lifetime. There standing in the doorway was a young, maybe early 30's, fairly good looking, vanilla as vanilla came, white, blue eyed priest.
'Well this was unexpected…'
"David?" She inquired just to make sure this was in fact actually happening in real life. He nodded.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to keep you waiting outside. Please come in. Marissa called and told me you would be stopping by tonight."
"Yes, thank you. Marissa is such a lovely girl and she has been telling me I need to branch out just a little bit."
"Has she? Well it is always exciting to try new things. I imagine your job is very stressful, so hopefully I can help ease some of that stress while helping you experience something new."
"Yes, it is very stressful, being responsible for so many people and their faith. I'm sorry, I've only ever seen Marissa and I don't really know how to go about this."
"You let me worry about everything. I just have one question before we begin. I want to make sure you have the absolute best experience possible and I know trying new things can be intimidating…" He nodded at her to continue.
"At the end, would you like me to focus on my task or would you like me to look you in the eye? Do you want to experience this by touch or by sight?"
He was timid, he had probably only ever been with Marissa and she had convinced him to try something, someone new. She didn't want to scar him for life by giving an enthusiastic blow job and then looking into his soul while he came, unless he wanted that. He seemed to understand this as well.
"No, I think if you just focus on the task that would be more than enough. Do you mind if I touch your hair?"
She smiled at his request. An easy middle ground. Something to remind him this wasn't Marissa but not something where he needed to be vulnerable with a stranger.
"Of course not." She replied before she got to work.
He left in exactly 30 minutes, paid for a full hour and her lip wasn't even that sore. He was gentle and she didn't mind so much that it had taken him the full half an hour.
By 10:45 she was checking out of the motel and heading back home. She stopped at a bodega on the way and grabbed a few things for the fridge at home and 3 tacos for dinner that night. She shoved a huge bite into her mouth right as her phone rang. She balanced the bag and the tacos in one hand while she riffled through her purse with the other. She finally fished it out and looked at the screen…
"Well, first you're months late and now you're early...which is it Ezekiel? So many mixed messages." She flirtily answered without saying hello.
"Oh shit...my bad. Are you still busy? I can call back." He responded quickly.
Holy shit he sounded hot! His voice was deep and gravely and remembering him now, matched perfectly with what she recalled.
"No, I'm free. I just stopped at Estelle's for some groceries and tacos on the way home. Estos son los mejores." She replied while taking another bite.
"¿Neta? I'm three doors down. My pop owns the carnicería, I'm just helping him close up. Estelle gets all her meat from him for those tacos...umm you can come over if you want...there is a table here you could eat at."
She had already walked the three doors down and was pushing the door open as he finished asking her over. She walked in still balancing the tacos and shopping bag in one hand while the other held her phone to her ear. He was facing the door, broom in one hand with an apron around his waist, phone to his ear as well. They smiled at each other before lowering their phones and hanging up.
"Well this is unexpected. I didn't think my night would end, sharing tacos at the butcher shop…" She laughed as she set her bag down on the floor by the small table. She pulled out her chair and pushed the tacos towards the middle of the table, motioning for EZ to sit.
"Are you sure?" She nodded.
"Isn't this whole date happening so you can help me find the perfect gift for my brother? I hardly think sharing bodega tacos makes us even."
"We don't need to be even. Oh, you got the lengua. Woman after my own heart!"
"Two lengua and one barbacoa. That's always what I order."
"Ha, that gives new meaning to the phrase tongue and cheek no?" He winked at her as he ate his taco in two bites.
'Honestly, how men can eat so much at once...crazy.'
She finished off her barbacoa taco and pushed the other lengua towards him.
"Are you trying to bribe me with tacos?" He snarked as he reached for the second one.
She watched him as he ate. He seemed happy, easy going, like all he was really thinking about was enjoying company and tacos. She reached forward and grabbed his hand, turning it towards her. She leaned farther forward and took a bite, from the half eaten lengua. She looked up at him through her lashes. He seemed surprised, but open to sharing food.
'Feeding another with you hands is rather intimate.' she thought to herself as she winked at him this time.
Clearly he thought the same. She watched as his eyes dilated, and his breathing became a little heavier. He had focused on her mouth as she chewed. This had become much more intimate than she had expected. He brought his other hand forward and brushed the side of her mouth.
"What happened?" He asked as he traced the small cut down past her lip, noticing the faint discoloration around the corner of her mouth. He would have missed the bruise completely if she hadn't gotten so close. It was hidden well, under layers of makeup, but now that he'd seen it it became more obvious.
She flinched away, not ready for that particular question. The mood shifted quickly from lust to something much too heavy for Leticia.
"A minor disagreement. Nothing to worry about." She shrugged and sat all the way back in her chair and crossed her ankles under the table. She was closing herself off, but didn't want to seem as though she was. He noticed anyway.
"So you mentioned your brother's birthday…" He changed the subject so she wouldn't have to.
"Yes, it is May 2nd. I would like to get him something big. Something that would make him be like...really?"
"So I have the perfect thing actually but it's pretty expensive. He has been talking about getting dual fishtail mufflers put on his soft tail. He was going to order them last month and I was going to install them for him but we got busy with the MC."
"What are we talkin' when we say expensive?"
"The 36 inch kit is like $495. I can fully install it though."
"Okay, how quickly could you get them? I could have the money to you by next Wednesday probably. Will that give you enough time to order it, and install it?"
She was so excited. She was expecting expensive to be almost twice that. She could work four extra hours this week no problem. In fact, she might be able to convince Noel to meet up with her again in which case she would only need to see one other client.
"Umm...yeah. It should take about a week to get them shipped here and then I need about a day to install them. It would be easiest for me to install them on a friday evening. CoCo usually sticks around the clubhouse to drink on Fridays so that should be fine. You sure the money isn't an issue?"
She eyed him then, she didn't particularly care for his tone or the fact that he was inquiring about her financial situation. She didn't even know him. Why he thought it was his business was anyone's guess.
"You're sweet but believe me, I got it." She stood and grabbed her bag from the ground.
"I really appreciate this Ezekiel. You have no idea what your help means to me. I have to run before I get locked out of the house, but hey, anytime you want to text or call or whatever...I'm available."
"I don't want anything from you Leti." he replied softly as he reached forward and tucked her bangs behind her ear. Clearly he had misunderstood the offer.
"Oh, I didn't mean...I just meant well we are friends aren't we? I just meant if you ever needed company...friendly non-sexual company...I mean not that you aren't like smokin' hot but…shit I'm gonna shut up." This was turning into word vomit quickly, she needed to get out of there. She turned to leave, embarrassed.
Before she could get too far though he grabbed her by the hand and turned her back towards him.
"Hey, you're not so bad yourself you know? I will definitely give you a call. I hope you can work things out with your brother, it would be nice if you were around more. I could use a friend."
He hadn't let go of her hand while they had spoken, and as they walked to the door he still hadn't let her go. He pushed the door open and stood sideways in the opening. She edged past him so she was no on the sidewalk while he was still in the door frame. She took another step which stretched their joined hands farther apart drawing attention to them. He looked down and noticed he had intertwined his fingers with hers, and blushed. She laughed and shook her head before stepping towards him and curling her other arm around his waist. Hugging was fine between friends right? He wrapped his other arm around her as well and squeezed her closer to his chest.
"Really Ezekiel, I mean it. This means everything. Thank you. Oh, and don't call me Leti, please...just Leticia. I really hate being called Leti." she whispered into his T-shirt.
"Well Leticia, you are more than welcome to call me EZ if you want." he said without letting her go.
"Does everyone call you EZ?" she asked as she picked her head up to look him in the eye.
"Yeah, pretty much." he smiled down at her, and for a brief moment he looked at her lips.
She smirked as his focus changed. Men, they were all the same when it came to some things.
"Well then Ezekiel we can't have you thinking I'm like everyone else...now can we?" She winked at him again as she pulled away and took a few steps down the sidewalk. She turned around and began talking while walking backwards farther away.
"I hope it doesn't take months to hear from you again. This was fun...we should do it again some time."
With that, she waved and turned away from him and began her walk home. She wasn't going to turn around but she had a feeling that he would watch her until she made it around the corner. She hadn't intended to attract this much attention from him but she felt something simmering slowly between them. It felt a little dangerous, like she shouldn't have this sort of effect on one of her brother's friends. But it also felt a little comforting, safe even...welcoming? It may not be who she was intending to form a relationship with when she set her sights on the club, but she had a feeling Ezekiel was going to be important. She didn't know how yet. But man, was she looking forward to finding out.
Translations:
"¿Cómo podrías ver la hoguera y no a la gente alrededor?": "How could you see the fire and not the people around it?"
"Hay gente, siempre hay hoguera. Nunca me doy cuenta...por favor." : "There are always people, always a fire, I didn't notice anyone...please."
"No. No se nada de eso." : "No. I don't know anything about that."
"Eran solo niños jugando…": "They were just children playing…"
"Los has visto antes?": "Have you seen them before?"
"Eran niños, por favor!": "They were children, please!"
"Hey, tienes tu pasaporte?": "Hey, do you have your passport?"
"Vete ala verga.": "Go get fucked."
"...Estos son los mejores.": "...These are the best."