Page 1 of Eagle

Chapter 1

Leona

"Slow down or we're going to have an accident."

My brother, Ron, was all over the road and getting on my last nerve. He was a reckless driver by choice, so I knew that my words were wasted, but someday he was going to regret not listening to me.

"Relax, Sis." He swerved around another vehicle, which were far and few on the country road, and I clutched the dashboard to keep from being thrown against the door. "I've never had an accident."

I rolled my eyes. Never say never, I wanted to tell him. "Yet," I stressed with a tight mouth. We were coming up fast on a semi, a rare sight on this road, and I held my breath, waiting for Ron’s next move. It was a two-lane country road and there was a hill ahead of us.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried out when Ron pulled into the oncoming lane. I glared at him as if he were crazy, which he was. "Ron!" I screamed, panicked.

"It's clear," he laughed my concern away. "I checked. See?"

It was clear, and he accelerated to go around the semi. Just as we were even with the cab of the truck we were trying to pass, a motorcycle crested the hill, coming from the opposite direction, and headed straight for us. I let out a scream when I realized that our only course was to back off and move back behind the semi again. "Ron?" I said in a warning tone when it didn’t appear that he was slowing down.

"I got time!"

I stared at the road ahead of us, my eyes rounding in fear as the motorcyclist got closer. "Ron!" This wasn't happening! "We're going to hit him!" Panic overwhelmed me as our window of making a life-saving decision narrowed. My gaze focused on the biker. I couldn't see his face because of his visor, but I got the sense that he was braking. Because of the speed he was going his bike wobbled slightly and I gasped, thinking that I was about to see him lose control. His options weren't great.

"Ron..." My heart moved up into my throat. I was certain that I was about to see a man die, and in a horrible way.

"Fuck!" Ron cursed, finally realizing that he wasn't going to make it. He slammed on the brakes, allowing the semi to continue past us, but it was too late for the biker. Everything happened in a blur after that. Ron swore again. I screamed and braced myself. The motorcyclist veered off the road, losing control on the gravel shoulder and skidding into the wet grass. I turned in my seat to watch where he ended up, crying out when his bike slammed into a small tree.

“Ohmygod! Stop the car!” I demanded as Ron continued down the road, along with the semi, each of them acting as if nothing had happened. “Ron, stop the fucking car!” I grabbed at the door handle, fully prepared to exit the moving vehicle. "He could be hurt!"

He could be dead!

In sheer desperation I grabbed the wheel. Cursing beneath his breath, Ron swerved over to the shoulder, braking hard enough to send me slamming into the dash. He glared at me, I glared back, his mouth opening as if to say something. "Don't say a fucking word, dumbass!" I swore as I opened the door and jumped out.

I ran to the biker. His bike had hit the tree head on, and it was obvious that he'd been thrown. The bike was destroyed. I only prayed that the man had survived. I crouched down next to him, taking note of the twisted way in which he was resting on the damp ground. Oh my God!

"Is he okay?" I could hear the nervousness in Ron's voice as he hovered close by. "It was a fucking accident!" he whined. "He should have slowed down!"

He was already making excuses for his bad behavior, one of his familiar traits. "You were the one in the wrong!" I snapped, shooting him a look of anger. I was so mad I was shaking. A low moan indicated that the man on the ground was alive. "Help me turn him over. And be careful!"

When Ron didn't move, I glanced back at him. He was slowly backing up, a look of horror on his thin face. He shook his head. "No..." His eyes met mine. "Do you know who he is? He's with the Soldiers of Retribution!"

The fear in his wild eyes held me momentarily frozen. I'd heard of the local MC, had seen them riding around town, but had never been close to any of them. I returned my gaze to the motionless man on the ground, taking in the words on the back of his leather jacket. "So?" I said after a while. "He's hurt. We have to help him."

Ron continued to shake his head, his backward steps never faltering as they took him back to his car. "Come on. We have to leave him. They'll kill us..."

I snorted with disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? Get a grip, Ron. It was an accident, as you pointed out. We're not going to leave an injured man on the side of the road. It could be hours before anyone else comes along. Now help me turn him over so I can see how hurt he is."

Ron hesitated and then reluctantly walked back to me. Together we managed to turn the huge man over until he was on his back. His low groan of pain sent a shiver down my spine. I lifted his cracked visor to get a look at his face.

"Okay, we've turned him over, now let's go."

"Are you serious right now? Jesus, Ron!” I screamed at him. “I'm not leaving him!" I said harshly, running my eyes over the man as I tried to assess his injuries. The blood on his forehead and the side of his face revealed that he had a head injury.

"We have to go!" Ron reached down, grabbed my arm, and tried to haul me to my feet. "Before anyone comes!"

"What is wrong with you?" I snarled, jerking my arm away and falling back to the ground. "Call an ambulance!"

The man groaned again, louder this time.

"After we leave here, we'll call for an ambulance. You don't want to get on the bad side of the Soldiers."

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