1. Will

1

WILL

T he roar of a thousand motorbikes reverberates off the cliffs like a swarm of angry bees thundering down the highway.

Sunlight glints off the chrome of the hundreds of bikes in front of me, making me squint and doing nothing for my headache.

I look over to the right where Luke rides next to me. His adapted bike has his wheelchair strapped next to him. Luke catches my eye and grins broadly. I force a smile back.

It's good to see him happy, and it's good to see the patch on his jacket. Before we left for the charity run, we voted Luke in as a full member of the Wild Riders MC. He was given the road name Chariot, and seeing him ride his adapted bike with a huge grin on his face, he looks like a Roman warrior returning home. This is his first run with the patch, and he's enjoying every minute of it.

I can't say I share his enthusiasm .

My head aches, my thighs are rubbed raw, and I need a piss. I'm too old for this.

I didn't want to do the charity run in the first place. I've got nothing against the charity. Who wouldn't want to support Women in Need? But it's the other motorcycle clubs here with us that make me uneasy.

Up ahead, I spy an Underground Crows MC patch. They're one of the less savory motorcycle clubs on the charity run. The president has done time, and I'll make sure we steer well clear of them. I don't want any trouble. I want to finish the ride, enjoy the weekend festival, and get the hell back to my quiet mountain.

I've got a list of clients that I need to call. Maxine is handling things back in the office, but I'm the only lawyer on Wild Heart Mountain and I've got a community to serve.

So it's with relief that we pass the sign for the Grantstown turn off.

The bikes ahead of us thunder down the off-ramp, and a few moments later we follow.

We ride two by two along the stretch of road, a line of bikers stretching away in both directions.

It's an impressive sight, a biker's charity run, as long as you're not a car trying to get past.

We've been on the road for five days. We rode in from North Carolina, and each day we joined with other motorcycle clubs until our cavalcade grew to include most of the clubs from the east coast and the central states. Today we joined up with some clubs from the west coast, and we're rolling into the final destination together .

Grantstown has been taken over for the weekend with a charity festival happening in a field behind the main drag. Every hotel is booked, and a field of tents has been erected for the overflow.

April, Snips's old lady, has handled the planning and got in early to book us a hotel. This biker is too old to camp out in a tent. Besides, I need the internet access to get some work done.

The line of bikers draws to a halt, and I rest my foot on the tarmac.

My GPS says we're still a mile out of town, but I guess this is the traffic jam into the event.

The pressure on my bladder is worse with the bike idling, but there's no tree cover, and I'm not going to take a piss on the side of the road with a thousand bikers staring at me.

The flat field next to us does mean I could get an easy run into town. I think about going off road, but then I look over at Luke.

It's his first run, and he's beaming from ear to ear. He left both his legs behind in Afghanistan, and this is the happiest I've seen him since Raiden found him drowning his sorrows in a dodgy strip club.

I glance around, looking for more familiar faces, but in the melee of merging clubs, I can't see any of our other MC brothers. I can't see our patch among the sea of leather.

The Wild Riders MC are veterans who love to ride, and I'm not going to leave one of my MC brothers on his own in this crowd, especially not one as green as Luke.

My bladder will have to wait .

Most of the club are grizzly old men like me, but there are a few that are under thirty. Men, that is. There are plenty of younger old ladies since the guys started pairing off like we're in the damned ark.

The line of bikes starts moving, and the effect is like a ripple in the water. From a mile up the road they move first, and five minutes later it's our turn. We creep along at five miles an hour all the way into town.

As we get closer, I spy the first of the townsfolk who have come out to greet us.

They line the road on either side for the last quarter mile into town. Some are waving American flags, and others are holding signs in support of Women in Need.

There are plenty of women and children out, and I shelve my discomfort knowing it's for a good cause.

The line of bikes goes straight through the main street in town, and the good cheer is infectious. Despite my headache, aching thighs, and screaming bladder, I smile and wave at the crowd who have come out to witness a thousand bikers invading their town.

Our motel is on the far edge of town, and the parking lot is packed with bikes of all kinds.

Luke gets the only disabled parking space, and I circle twice before pulling in behind him. Bikes are already stacked two or three to a space, and I'll just have to move my bike if Luke wants to go anywhere without me.

I note with annoyance that the Underground Crows MC are staying in the same motel as us. I must remember to warn the guys to keep the hell away from them .

Luke maneuvers himself into his wheelchair and unclips the ties holding it in place. With a push of a lever, a ramp unfolds down the back of the platform and he wheels himself off.

My instinct is to grab his bags for him, but I put my hands in my pockets knowing he prefers to do things for himself. I wait for him patiently, but my bladder is about to explode and I dance from foot to foot.

At that moment Snips comes over with April, and it's a relief to see someone from the club.

"I got your room keys." April holds up two key cards and hands one to Luke. "Yours is on the first floor, and you're sharing with Specs."

Luke takes the key card and wheels off to find his room.

"You're in 102 up top." She hands me the other key card.

"I'm not sharing, right?"

April nods. "Don't ask me how, but I managed to get you a room on your own."

It's a luxury, but I have to work, and I'm too stuck in my ways to share a room with anyone. I paid extra to get a room to myself.

"I owe you a drink."

April smiles and rubs a hand over her pregnant belly. "I'll take a rain check on that."

I shoulder my bag and set off across the parking lot.

"We're in room 107," she calls after me. "And we're all meeting in the bar at five."

I'm already halfway across the parking lot, my bladder practically bursting with the knowledge that relief is in sight.

I take the stairs two at a time and jog along the walkway until I find room 102. I swipe the key card and push the door open and jog to the bathroom.

All my attention is on my bladder and how quickly I can get to the bathroom. So it's a huge surprise when I push open the bathroom door and find the shower running.

The bathroom is steamed up, and through the mist a flash of skin makes me freeze.

The shower is a see-through cubicle, and inside is a naked woman. She's facing away from me, and I get an eyeful of a delicious curvy ass. She's got soap suds all over her and one arm up in the air as she lathers soap over her voluptuous breasts.

My throat tightens and my heartbeat kicks up a notch as lust races through my veins. There's a stirring down below that's more urgent than the need to pee.

Her hair is dark brown, and water plasters it to her back. The hint of a tattoo peeks through the tendrils, an outstretched paw that belongs to some kind of wild animal.

She slowly turns around, and I'm hypnotized as her breasts come into view. They're full with dusky pink nipples, which she runs a hand over as she lathers soap over her chest.

I should back out of the shower. I've obviously got the wrong room. But I can't move and I can't look away .

I tear my gaze away from her breasts, needing to see her face.

The woman's got youthful skin and full lips and dark brown eyes that widen in horror when she sees me.

Her full pink lips open wide, and she lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

I snap back to reality, and I tear my eyes away from the goddess in the shower.

"Get out!" she screams.

I raise a hand to my eyes, shielding them from the glorious sight of her nakedness as I back out of the room.

"Sorry…"

I try to close the door, but she lunges out of the shower wielding a shampoo bottle. Her breasts sway as she goes for me.

Before I can retreat, she attacks. A knee jerks upward, and I move just in time for it to get me in the guts rather than the balls.

I double over at the pain, because she's got a hell of a kick on her. She's a big strong woman, tall and curvy, and there's power behind her swing.

"Get the fuck out of my room!"

I'm doubled over from the kick as she bears down on me with the shampoo bottle.

It strikes me in the temple, and my head swings to the side and hits the side of the door.

The last thing I see is two beautiful breasts swinging in my vision and milky thighs.

Then I hit the floor and everything goes dark.