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

Quake saw red. Anger pulsing through him, he launched himself at the jackal, grabbed his cut, and tossed him across the room.

Phantom hit the wall with a thud. Magenta scrambled over the mattress, growling low in her throat, purple eyes flashing.

“You son of a bitch!” she seethed, glaring at the fallen biker. “You ever touch me like that again, and I’ll kill you!”

“I’ll be happy to kill him for you,” Quake assured her.

Brushing a finger across his mouth, Phantom glanced at the red stain left from the cut on his lip. “First blood to you, Quake, but the next one will be mine.”

Clenching his fists, Quake stepped between him and the bed, shielding the female from another attack. “Bring it, asshole.”

“What’s going on up here?”

Hearing a familiar voice, he darted a look at the door. Madam Belle stood on the threshold, her bow-shaped mouth dipping in an unhappy pout.

“That piece of shit was waiting for me when I came upstairs,” Magenta informed her tersely. “Thought he could have a little fun even though he was told no.”

“You’re a whore,” Phantom laughed. “You’ll fuck anything if it’s got a cock.”

“Not yours,” Belle clipped. “She has better taste than you. None of my girls want you after what you did at The Scratch Post. You almost beat one of their cat shifters to death.”

Quake growled low in his throat at the news. He’d visited the place several times. The feline females who worked there were playful and sensual. This bastard had raised his fists against one of them. He’d be lucky to get laid in any of the local places now. Things like this spread like wildfire. The owners of the bordellos wouldn’t put their employees at risk.

Phantom’s gaze slid to meet Quake’s. The jackal’s eyes were cold and soulless when he turned them on Magenta. “This isn’t over,” he promised her.

Madam Belle clicked her fingers. As if by magic, two hulking bouncers appeared behind her. Wordlessly, they stormed across the room and grabbed hold of Phantom.

“You’re gonna regret this,” he spat at Belle, shaking off their hands to walk unaided. “No one treats a Death’s Head member this way. No one.”

Quake heard the underlying promise, unspoken but there. Phantom would seek revenge for tonight. It was only a matter of time.

4

“Are you okay, hon?”

Madam Belle brushed past Rory’s gargoyle savior and flitted to her bed. “Do you need me to get Doc up here to check you out?”

Rory raised a hand to her cheek, letting her boss be her mirror. She wouldn’t be fit company until she could hide her bruises with makeup. She’d been smacked around before. Thankfully, Quake had stopped Phantom before he could do worse.

“I’ll survive,” she told her, managing half a smile. “I don’t think it’s bad enough to need Doc, is it? My face is all he had time to mess up, thanks to Quake.”

Madam Belle was relieved to hear it. “Take the rest of the night off,” she ordered. “Full pay. It’s cheaper than you filing Workman’s Comp on me. Not that you could, this being the part of the business that’s under the table. Quake, you’ve got an open tab tonight, you and your club. They threw out more jackals than my boys did. Magenta, go home. Relax. Try to put this out of your mind. Jackals are full of hot air. Pieces of shit shifters. If I could find a way to ban them from the club, I would.”

“Thanks,” Rory told her, relieved that she wouldn’t have to fake normalcy with however many johns Belle had lined up for her. She was keeping it together but just barely. Phantom had marked her. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d taken his fill.

She needed protection—more than the blade she carried. More than Amos or one of the other bear shifters could provide. They were strong but vulnerable if guns came out.

Not like a gargoyle.

Thinking fast, Rory formulated a plan that should keep her safe, if only for the night. “Let the girls know I’m headed out, please. I’ll catch up with everyone later.”

Sliding off the bed, she made her way to the door and stumbled into Quake. “Sorry,” she lied. “I guess I’m more shaken up than I realized. My knees feel like rubber.”

Quake had caught her by the elbow to keep her from falling. “Here,” he rumbled, steadying her. “Why don’t I see you downstairs? I can carry you if you need me to. It’s nothing for us. Really.”

Yum. He had gargoyle strength to go with that stamina. If she played her cards right, she might just get a taste of it herself.

“If you’re sure,” she hedged, hoping like hell she was fooling him with her damsel-in-distress act. If Madam Belle noticed, she was keeping quiet. It’s not like Magenta was trying to get out of work. She just wanted a safe escort home and some gargoyle cock if she could talk him into staying.

Quake swept her up in his arms like she was milkweed fluff and carried her downstairs, not stopping until he’d exited the front of the building and reached the far end of the parking lot. Across the way were the ranch house where she and four other girls lived with Madam Belle and a bunkhouse the rest of the girls shared.

With her sensitive hearing, keen sense of smell, and sharper eyesight, she was picking up nothing. That didn’t mean the jackals weren’t lurking in the dark. Predators knew how to hide themselves.

“I’m scared,” she told Quake, burying her nose in his neck and breathing deeply, inhaling his scent. It was nice. Clean. Manly. Earthy musk, a woodsy note, and a hint of his favorite medicinal herb. “Would you take me home? Make sure I get there okay and check out the big house with me? I’m sorry. Belle doesn’t seem to understand that Phantom’s not through with me. I wouldn’t put it past those jackals