Page 42 of Eagle

I stopped to let them catch up to me. “Couldn’t resist the lure of going for a swim,” I admitted. I hadn’t been swimming in a long time. I glanced at Val. “Is that where you live?”

“Actually, it’s my house,” Ella began to explain. “I lived in it briefly with Val until I hooked up with Wolfe. Then Val moved in with Bear, so I rent it out to the sweet tarts.” We began to walk again. “They spend a lot of time at the clubhouse, but they wanted a quiet place they could go to when they’re off.”

Curious, I asked, “They get normal days off?”

Ella nodded. “Yeah. The Soldiers run their MC a little differently than some of the other clubs out there. The girls make their own hours but can take two days off a week.”

“And as long as they don’t all take the same days off,” Val pointed out. “There must be two girls at the clubhouse at all times. To keep the men happy.”

I laughed. “So the guys don’t ride around shooting up the town and getting into fights?”

“Not usually,” Ella chuckled.

We entered the backyard and a sweeping glance revealed that there was a lot of activity going on. Two grills were smoking off to the side. Eagle and a man I hadn’t met yet were talking and drinking beer while they watched over what they were cooking. Whatever it was, it smelled heavenly. As Val and Ella set their food down on the big picnic table, a squeal drew my interest to the lake. Mac had pushed a woman off the floating deck into the water.

“Baby, come here.”

Ella didn’t hesitate to join Wolfe where he sat in a chaise lounge. He pulled her down onto his lap and gave her a steamy kiss. Val looked at me and rolled her eyes. I wondered where Bear was, because I didn’t see him. I glanced back out at the water and saw most everyone else, even some faces I didn’t recognize.

“Lose the shorts and come on. I’ll introduce you to all the people you haven’t met yet.”

Laughing, I joked, “Are you going to lose your shorts?”

Val shook her head and smiled. “I’m not going in until Bear gets here. Hopefully—”

“Speaking of Bear,” Wolfe interrupted, pulling our eyes back to him and Ella. “He’s on his way.”

The smile that spread across Val’s beautiful face was telling. “You really love him, huh?” I undid my shorts and wiggled out of them, eliciting a whistle from someone that I ignored.

“Does it show?” she laughed. “Bear has been the best thing to ever happen to me,” she confessed. “It’s hard to believe that if Ella hadn’t moved here we probably would have never met.”

“I don’t know about that.” We walked toward the beach. “Fate has a way of bringing people together if they’re meant to be together. Just like karma has a way of catching up to people.”

“I believe in karma,” Val agreed. We reached the water’s edge. “Hey, everyone! This is Leona.”

I suddenly felt very self-conscious as all eyes were on me, and everyone grew quiet. Val pointed as she moved from one person to the next. “Mac you already know; the women on the deck are Jezzie, Ginger, and Hannah.” She spoke out of the side of her mouth in a low murmur. “They’re the club’s sweet tarts, and they tend to stick together.” They were beautiful, and their thong bikinis left nothing to the imagination. “Delta, there in the red bikini, is Wolfe’s sister.” I’d already met Delta, who smiled and waved at me. I waved back. “You know Brew, Lola, and Jillian.” The three of them were floating on tubes. “That’s Coke and Lynx. They’re brothers.”

“I see the resemblance.” The brothers were big, muscular guys and had the same blond hair, blue eyes, and rigid facial expressions. They reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t think of who. “Coke? That’s a unique road name.”

She nodded. “Coke is all he drinks, so he was given that name when he was patched in.”

I laughed, and Val continued.

“That’s Tank over there.” He was submerged except for his head and broad shoulders. His brown hair was wet and clinging to his neck, which told me it was on the long side. Dark brown eyes surveyed me, but respectfully. “Let’s see, who are we missing...” Val scanned over the group again. “Oh yeah, Buck, he’s still out of town on a job, and Knuckles is working at the salvage yard. And that’s Snake.” She turned and pointed in the direction of the grills. “He’s our newest patched member. I think that’s about everyone.”

I pulled my gaze from Snake and Eagle. “That’s a lot of information to take in.”

“I know. It took me a while to remember everyone’s names, too, in the beginning. And the club is growing. We have two new prospects, Ted and Owen. They’re both watching the clubhouse right now.”

“Why do they need to watch the clubhouse?”

“The Soldiers have enemies. They’re a motorcycle club and this is their town. They also have a reputation for breaking up dog fights. They keep the riffraff out of town.”

“Riffraff?”

She nodded. “Drug peddlers, that kind of thing. Last year another MC tried to wipe them out.”

I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice. “Wipe them out, as in kill them?” There were two lounge chairs situated half on the beach and half in the water, and when Val sank down into one, I followed suit.

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