Wolf Riders MC

CRACKER

“Accident?” Buck questioned as he eyed the bike at the back of my pickup.

I suppose if someone had “accidentally” run it into a car, it would look beat up, but I may or may not have aimed to cause maximum damage to the car, using my bike as a battering ram…

…repeatedly.

“It was my ex-boyfriend’s car,” I explained and shrugged like it was no big deal. I, at least, didn’t think it was.

“He cheated on me, and we decided it was worth the sacrifice,” I said, patting my bent and curved bike.

It wasn’t the typical Harley the bikers were used to. It was just an old Yamaha sport model that I’d gotten for myself on my twenty-first birthday.

I’d kept it in tip-top shape, reading online and watching YouTube tutorials on everything I needed to know. But the kind of work it needed now was too much, even for me.

I turned back to the big biker, seeing him look at me with a crude, judgmental look in his eyes. I could practically hear his mind saying, “How could you do that to your baby?!”

And in a way, I agreed. A cheating asshole like my ex wasn’t worth wrecking my bike over, until I’d discovered, in addition to the skank, he had a wife and a kid, as well as another girlfriend!

Now that I couldn’t let go.

“Don’t judge! It’s not like I could kill him and hide the body,” I said, defending my actions while crossing my arms over my small chest, trying to make whatever assets I had appear bigger.

“The city doesn’t have that many places to dig a grave deep enough to hide the scent from cadaver dogs.”

He let out a groan, which I translated into “I understand, but it still doesn’t make it all right!”

I frowned.

“Did I mention he was a cop too?” I asked, not liking his judgmental tone at all!

At that, his eyes lit up, and he let out another grunt, which I translated into a solid “Oh, now I get it!”

I smiled. Much better!

Yeah, I really hated cops, ever since I was a kid!

Just when I thought it would only be me and Jasper at home for a couple of days, the cops would drag Dad’s drunken or hungover ass home.

Apparently, it was only ok for a mom to leave her one-year-old son in the care of her nine-year-old daughter!

The drunken, abusive bastard of a dad had to be dropped off every weekend!

And when he finally went to jail, the cops dragged our asses out of our home and threw us into the arms of our beloved mother who had abandoned us in the first place!

And guess who tried to arrest me when I broke my stepdad’s leg after he tried to rape me and murder Jasper?!

Yeah, cops!

And you’d think that was the end of it, but no! Guess who tried to take Jasper away from me when I was finally able to get us away from those sickos?

BIG. FAT. COPS!

When I started dating Officer William, I thought he would be able to redeem my opinion of them. You know, show me that not all cops are bad and whatnot.

But no. It wasn’t meant to be.

So, when I was going to leave town anyway, I decided that I’d leave him with a little something-something as a thank-you for all the orgasms I had to fake.

Buck stepped closer to the car, and instantly, my big, fluffy guard dog jumped up, snarling and baring his teeth. Surprised, the biker took a step back, and I really couldn’t fault him for it.

Max was the size of a freaking bear, with his big, thick head and solid build! His paws were the size of soccer balls, and his fangs looked like they could rip you apart.

“Down boy,” I commanded in a strict voice, and instantly, the dog obeyed. He’d been a bitch to train, being almost as stubborn as me, but once we had an understanding, we became an inseparable duo.

“Cute…dog?” Buck muttered, suspiciously eyeing the dog as if he suspected it to be radioactive or some kind of alien.

“This is Max,” I said cheerfully, scratching my dog behind his ear, while he let his tongue hang out and wagged his tail, making a banging noise every time he hit the already bent metal of the bike.

“He’s a Tibetan mastiff, but I trim his fur, so he doesn’t overheat.”

The big biker didn’t reply but stepped forward and, to my surprise, reached out his hand to pet him! Most people ran away screaming when they met my Max, but this guy risked his hand to pet him?

I’m impressed!

He held out his hand for Max to sniff, and, I’ll be totally honest, I was more or less expecting the dog to try to eat him.

So, imagine my surprise when the huge bear of a dog licked his fingers and happily wagged his tail, inviting him to scratch and pet him.

“He likes you,” I said practically gushing at the cuteness in front of me. Big biker and big dog. Apparently, I like things big… “He usually growls and snaps at people who come too close.”

Unable to help myself, I remembered that Max never liked Willy. Now the biker had passed the Max test, it made me wonder about what other qualities the big, bad biker had.

“I’m good with animals,” he said. It didn’t sound like he was flirting or bragging; just stating a fact.

“Hmm, a mechanic and a dog whisperer,” I teased. He snorted, but I sort of liked the half-smile he had going on for him there.

“He’s a guard dog?” Buck asked, climbing into the truck to start examining the bike.

Max wanted to follow him, curious about the new man inside his territory, but I yanked his collar, and he sat down, understanding the silent command.

“New York is a dangerous place for a single lady,” I replied, scratching Max behind the ear.

“I know how to defend myself, but karate always hogs the comforter and tae kwon do never shares. So, I got a dog instead.”

He grinned at my little joke, and I realized that he was rather good-looking when he smiled.

My poor pickup groaned when the big giant moved around, but he was precise and quick with his movements, not spending any unnecessary time on his task.

He mumbled something to himself before coming around again and jumping down.

“Is she salvageable?” I asked, hoping the answer would be yes. And that it wouldn’t cost me a small fortune!

I lived for the freedom that came with riding a bike!

Sure, in NY, there aren’t many places to go, but just being out on the highway, alone with my thoughts, and nothing but road stretching out in front of me.

There was a special kind of freedom to it—therapy, even—as everything on my mind disappeared. There was just the moment.

In that moment, you live!

“Repairing her will cost a small fortune,” he replied, making my heart drop.

He used a cloth to wipe off stains of grease and oil. “Were it mine, I’d sell her as spare parts, but seeing that money probably isn’t an issue for you—”

“Let me stop you right there,” I groaned, hating that the second people heard I was a lawyer, they assumed money was growing in my fucking front yard!

“I’m a lawyer, sure, and, so far, I’ve been working for the state! Do you know what those jobs pay? Shit! That’s what! So don’t assume anything about me, Mr. Buck.”

I’d been working as a consultant while completing my internship, which I’d only finished a year ago.

Then, I started working as an assistant for the state attorney and quickly earned myself a reputation for taking over and winning cases that most others had deemed unwinnable.

But pay well, they did not!

“I apologize,” he said politely and frowned, which I didn’t think meant anything good for me. “But in that case, there really isn’t much I can do. Repairing her will cost somewhere around ten grand.”

“Fuck.” I sighed, hating that I’d been right. I eyed the bike and, for a moment, regretted that I’d battered her the way I’d done but…I’d just been so mad!

At Jasper, at that fucking case they’d forced me to take, at the whole entire world!

And I couldn’t do anything about it! I had to do what they told me or else Jasper would be in deep shit, and despite him being a grown-up (technically), he was still my brother and my responsibility!

But I could make Willy pay and so I did.

I was regretting that now though!

“Who’s been doing the maintenance on her?” Buck suddenly asked, dragging me out of my sour thoughts. “It’s good.”

And he actually seemed to mean it.

“I’m self-taught, so thank you,” I said, giving him a small smile, despite wanting to sit down and drown my sorrows in a bucket of ice cream.

Desperate for my small world of freedom, I turned to the big biker one more time, hoping he had a heart. Or was very horny, and that my cleavage would work wonders for me.

Although, that would be a distant fantasy seeing that these MC boys always had their fair share of club whores to do after a long day at work.

“Is there any way I could leave her here and work on her myself? I’ll pay for everything; I just need access to the shop and its tools,” I asked, practically begging.

“I’d give you a sob story if that would persuade you but I really don’t have one.”

He took a deep breath, rubbed the back of his neck, and exhaled with a sigh.

He grumbled something under his breath that I didn’t catch, but I think it was something along the lines of “pussy-whipped.”

Why, thank you! I’ll take that as a compliment!

“Let me make a call, see what I can do for you,” he said, his forest-green eyes meeting mine again.

“Thank you!” I said, more relieved than I cared to admit.

He walked away. and the wait for him to return felt like an eternity. I tried to distract myself by taking a look around.

It was your typical small-town metal shop. A big, metal house right in front of a big, metal gate, and behind it, were stacks and rows of old cars and scrap metal as far as the eyes could see.

The smell of melted metal, oil, and steel hung in the air, along with heat and old dust, and the whining of iron cutters and welders hummed in the air. The landscape was a jungle of metal and men.

“Good news,” Buck suddenly said from behind me, startling me back into reality.

I spun to face him, my heart already skipping.

“If you come in and fix her yourself and buy the replacement parts at your own expense, you can use our tools and equipment for five hundred dry ones.”

I gasped at his offer. Was he serious?!

“What do you say?”

What do I say?!

“Oh, my God!” I exclaimed, jumping up and down. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” I couldn’t help myself and I flung my arms around him and gave him a hug.

Ok, I have one fatal sin: I am a hugger! I also like pineapple on pizzas and, sometimes, I listen to Justin Bieber!

Sue me for being human!

Finally realizing what I was doing, I jumped away, feeling my cheeks go hot enough to fry eggs.

“Sorry about that,” I said quickly, hoping I hadn’t killed any chance I had of getting naked with the guy. “I swear, I’m normal. Which is something normal people don’t normally have to say, right?”

I looked up at Buck, but the big biker was just smiling widely as if he was really entertained. Yeah, if I’d had any chance of getting laid before this, I’d crashed and burned now!

Fuck!

“Come on,” he offered, instead of answering my question, “I’ll help you get her into the shop. We do repairs out back.”

BUCK “STEEL” KNIGHT

“I said one grand,” Prez said, grinning when I got back into the shop after having helped Miss Cooper with her bike.

You could see by the look in her eyes that, despite the motorcycle being a bucket of bolts, she loved that old thing with all of her heart.

We were just about ready to close, so there hadn’t been much else to do other than offload it somewhere where she’d be able to work on it without disturbing the other work and repairs.

She’d said her goodbyes and see-you-tomorrows, and by the way she’d drawn it out, I think—I hoped—it was because she wanted to spend time with me.

Despite my big, bulky appearance and scowling features, I was actually really shy and didn’t flirt much with women.

Actually, the fairer sex had me more often in a chokehold than any of our rival MC bikers. And considering they liked picking fights with me, that’s saying something.

“Who’s going to pitch in for the other half?” Prez continued, teasing me. He already knew why I’d done it; he just wanted to hear me say it.

I think he liked seeing his brothers stumble over their feet with women, especially considering he’d sworn them off since his divorce from Halley.

Talk about snakes in Eden!

“Take it out of my pay, Prez,” I mumbled, hoping no one else had heard. I’d never see the end of it if any of my brothers heard.

Although I officially owned the metal shop, Prez was the one running it. And I was glad about that. I’d never been the brightest kid in school, having battled dyslexia all my life, and I’d dropped out.

I’d traded high school for the navy. I did one tour and was halfway through when I got word that my dad had gotten sick.

That’s when I’d come back home. Mom had worked two different jobs while I took over running the shop, but I knew things weren’t going well.

That’s when I met Prez and the Wolf Riders MC.

They were on the run from their own enforcers and president at the time, having failed a coup.

The president was forcing their patched members and prospects to do the drugs they were supposed to deal, then only allowing them their fix once a drop was done.

He’d even gone so far as to overdose a couple of them and the women inside the club.

The men who didn’t get their fix became aggressive and, on more than one occasion, ended up fighting until someone was lying dead on the floor.

And their president enjoyed it!

Prez, or Snake, as he was known at the time, and a few others had had enough and tried to take over but failed. I gave them a place to hide and get rid of the enforcers.

But things didn’t go as planned.

Someone drew a weapon on me and fired. I guess it must have hit a wrench or some type of metal because the bullet bounced right off me.

Then the fighting really started. I disarmed and killed the man faster than they could blink. Prez and the others saw a chance and took it, killing the others and managing to take over the club.

They offered me a place among their ranks, and seeing that I was a decent fighter, the role of enforcer came naturally.

They needed some cleaning, so again, I offered the shop as a place of operation. After that, they all started working with me, and things started to look up, for the shop as well as the club.

I started to call Prez, well, Prez, and everyone else followed suit.

“That’s your type, Steel?” he asked, just as Miss Cooper’s beat-up pickup coughed its way out of the parking lot.

Shit, I probably need to do something about that, too, if I want her to be safe on the road.

“She’s different,” I confessed, smiling a little when I remembered how she’d hugged me earlier.

Sure, I was built like a tank, but that’s how I’d gotten my tag name. After getting shot at close range and the bullet bounced off, the men were convinced that I must be made of steel.

“I know,” Prez said, grinning and clearly having way too much fun at my expense. “And judging by the amount of boners her perky little ass got, I’d claim her fast if I were you.”

He laughed. “Hell, if I hadn’t sworn off women, I’d claim that sass for myself! Did you see the way she put Jones on his ass? Ha! Priceless!”

Yeah, that definitely made my day as well.

Sheriff Jones was the arrogant, spoiled brat who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and since his daddy was the mayor, he got away with all kinds of shit!

No one really liked him, and hell, if someone had to report a crime, it was more likely they called the Wolf Riders than the police.

“Perhaps we could hire her?” I offered, seeing that she apparently knew a bit about the law. And Prez desperately needed that right now. “She said she was a lawyer, and you could use one.”

“I need a bloody miracle, not cleavage on legs,” Prez scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Ok, so he didn’t buy that she was an experienced lawyer, I got that. Hell, even I’d been surprised when she said that!

She didn’t look a day older than twenty! How could she be a lawyer?! Didn’t that shit take like ten years or something? Which meant that she was probably older than me, and I was thirty-two.

Not that that made me any less interested! She was smoking hot and if she was a cougar, I’d happily purr for her! Fiery red hair, a narrow waist, and legs for days! Mew!

Her eyes were a beautiful moss color, almost as green as my own, and when she smiled, her entire face lit up, making her look like an angel!

The horns were only there to keep the glory straight!

“That’s the tightest ass I’ve ever seen!” Knives, the club’s VP and a self-proclaimed ladies' man, said, suddenly jumping into the conversation. “Did she—?”

“Sorry, Knives,” Prez cut in before ice managed to settle in my stomach, “Steel called dibs.”

Knives whined but there was nothing he could do, and I was glad. Whereas I was all Slip 'N Slide with women, Knives was the kind of smooth who could make a nun strip down for him.

So, yeah, I was glad Prez spoke up for me. I never wanted a woman to come between brothers but I think I would have made an exception with Miss Cooper.

Who knew? She could turn out to be just like all the other club whores we had back at the clubhouse.

Or.

“Fuck,” Knives said with a grunt and gave me a lopsided smile. “How do you feel about sharing?”

“No,” I replied and stood up, heading back to work.

Knives and Bunny sometimes shared their women. They claimed it was the best sex they could get, but I didn’t get it.

Bunny was a tech whiz and worked from the clubhouse, doing everything that needed to be done from installing security to hacking.

He was our intel guy, and I knew that all I had to do was call him up and, thirty minutes from now, I’d know what Miss Cooper ate for lunch.

But I wanted to get to know her without cutting any corners. Like what they did in the good old days, by talking to each other.

Now, I just needed to gather the courage to go up to talk to her!