Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition by Elizabeth Knox (top 5 ebook reader txt) 📕

“Hell, boy, if you could promise me my woman and my strength back, I’d happily walk out that door this second and make a run for it.”

“Hell yeah, I reckon that’s what heaven is. Endless days of sunshine, beer, and a woman at your side for eternity.”

“What about now? You got you one of them sweet things? Or are you still struttin’ like a cock in a henhouse?”

“Well, I decided that love wasn’t in the cards for this cock and I’ve been growing my business. Truckin’ just like Dad. Ranching like my brother, Levi, wasn’t for me. I’m happy, Angus. I made a good home where I’m at.”

“Son, you know you can always adopt kids if you wanted them. And that doesn’t mean that you can’t find you a good woman to stay by your side if you can’t give her kids. There are other ways, so don’t throw in the towel, Cowboy.”

I choke on my beer. Since the night I found out, only one person knew. Not only did she tell my secret, but she also left me for my best friend, a man who could give her kids. Him saying the words unload a venom in my soul. My defenses rear up and I’m ready to move on. Goodbyes and good graces be damned. “Some truths aren’t meant to be shared. I’d appreciate we drop the topic. Hell, I better get over to see my mom.”

But I don’t go home to my mom’s. The last thing I want is for her to be digging into why I’m here and upset. Everyone has an idea, but the truth has been kept hidden, up until now. How could I stay when I knew they would be announcing their baby? Worst yet, knowing that my best friend betrayed me. For me, it was easier to run than to live within the problems stirred up in this valley. Bull and I would have fought, fighting for dominance within the MC. It was a poison and I wanted to forget. It was my choice to leave, and it was the best decision I ever made. Bull had his peace and so did I.

I drive my truck to the gas station and pick up more liquor to drown the past. I park my Ford at the top of the hill we all used to party at as kids and drop the tailgate. It reminds me of Angie. I hadn’t gone out drinking in the hills in a long time, never after I left here. That night with her, it was familiar but new at the same time. I could be myself and there was no past, no future, just the now, just us. Back then, it felt like all I had was the future in front of me.

With every drink of tequila, I slip further and further back into the past . . .

“Come on, Colton, check the rope. Are you ready?” my best friend and brother hollers above me. Dylan waits for me before he pulls the latch. The bull underneath me that I’m tied to rears up in the bunking chute. His mass rattles the metal, and my head hits the cage. His ginormous body falls forward with a thud.

Quickly, I check my riggin’ and I throw a hand up. “Let’s go, boys!”

Dylan pulls the latch and the bull fires out of the chute. The longest eight seconds of my life starts while I hold my weight on a raging animal. My muscles burn and my torso feels like it could break with every kick from the bull.

The buzzer sounds and I lurch forward and pull on the rope to free my hand. I jump off and turn to see the bull is heading my way. The crowd cheers as I raise up two hands and look to Dylan. Sadie, my girl, stands next to him and, between the two, they argue over hushed whispers. The crowd changes to a roar and my gut sinks. Just as I look for the bull, it’s too late.

Fuck, I shake my head and pull out of the past like an uncovered dick in a hooker. Some shit is best left forgotten. I remember, all it takes is a moment one night and everything changes. Right before your eyes, the world tilts on its axis and the view is completely different.

Tossing the practically empty bottle into the sagebrush, I decide that being here isn’t worth the pain. I push off the tailgate and decide I can make it back to Reno in about five hours. I’ve hauled longer trips than this in my semi.

Turning up the radio, I navigate out of the backcountry and promise myself to call my mom tomorrow. She’s going to throw a fit, but it won’t be the first or last time. In town, I grab some coffee and haul ass out of the valley I grew up in and grew to hate.

You would think by now that I would know better. And as I’m close to home, I see the trucker myth come to life. A black dog passes the abandoned highway, and its eyes catch me falling asleep. I swerve to miss the dog and dirt flies all around my truck. The crunching of steel drowns out my yell as the truck rolls, and I’m tossed around, barely held in place by my seatbelt. My head ricochets off the steering wheel, and it all goes black.

9

Angie

Shouting stirs me up from a deep sleep. Panic erupts from my body and the reaction is foreign, not believable, because I’m still waking up. I roll over and grip my phone to see it’s three in the morning. Tugging on my shorts, I pull a sweatshirt over my sleep tank to go see what’s going on.

In the living room, Spider paces back and forth, shouting into his phone. Jazz sits on the couch with her knees up to her chest. “What’s going on?” I wrap