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

pulse. She had a goose egg where her head had hit the window and a trickle of blood, but her respiration and heartbeat were normal enough. Relieved to find her merely unconscious, he turned his attention to Phantom, only to have it torn by the sound of an approaching vehicle.

Gathering Magenta in his arms, Quake took off running, needing to hide her or be forced to explain the state she was in, naked and injured.

He stopped when he heard the telltale horn of Doc’s RV playing “First Call” like a horse ready to bust out of the starting gate.

Thank fuck.

Turning back, he sacrificed the rest of his shirt, shredding it to unfurl his gray bat-like wings and fly Magenta over to him. Folding them back, he followed the veterinarian into his RV where Dr. Laskaris could check her over.

The Doc took one look and frowned. “Isn’t that—”

“Magenta,” Quake confirmed, trying not to feel jealous, wondering how often Doc paid for her time. “Take care of her. There’ll be more up ahead when you’re done. Right now, I have to hunt down the son of a bitch who took her. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Leaving her in Doc’s capable hands, Quake exited the RV and took to the star-studded sky. Wings beating the air, he soared high and glided down, eyes sweeping the night-dark terrain beneath him for any sign of his prey, his ears listening for any sound. He heard something racing in the direction that they’d come from, paws hitting the ground at a fast pace.

The coward was running for it.

There was no way in hell Quake was going to let him get away.

12

Quake dove like an avenging angel, driven by vengeance and a need for blood. Locking onto the sound of paws hitting the ground, gaze trained on the jackal’s movements, he descended on his target. Hands reaching down, Quake’s fingers gathered a fistful of fur as he dropped to the ground. The animal’s unearthly scream startled him enough to loosen his grip and let the beast break free.

Shaking off the shock, he took off after the creature, his feet moving swiftly over the rugged terrain to close the gap between them. Lunging forward, he grabbed again, his hands finding the jackal’s haunches. Growling fiercely, Phantom’s animal form bared its fangs and attempted to ravage Quake’s arm. Being still in stone form, he couldn’t be mauled no matter how his nemesis tried.

The jackal shifter only managed to break a tooth in the process.

“Nice try, asshole,” Quake muttered.

When he tried to bite him again, Quake broke his fucking jaw. Grabbing the other canine with his fingers, he pulled the fang out of the jackal’s head.

“There. Now you’ll match. Sort of.”

The pussy was crying now, whining like a baby when he shifted back to human form.

“Bastard,” Quake spat, grabbing his dick next and ripping it off. The jackal shifter howled like a banshee. “You’ve hurt the last woman,” he told him, wishing he would have waited to break his jaw. He should have questioned the son of a bitch. Seen where they were headed. Learned what their plans were.

Too late now.

Knowing he wouldn’t get more from him, he ripped the head from his shoulders and tossed it aside, breakfast for the vultures come morning. There would be no decent burial for this piece of shit. His remains would go to feed the earth and the animals out here.

Quake crouched on the ground, finding the fang he’d ripped from Phantom when he was in jackal form. Closing his fingers around it, he dug in his pocket for something to wrap it in. Something to show Magenta that the bastard was dead. Finding a square foil package in his back pocket, he tugged it out. A sad waste of a good prophylactic, but it was better than nothing.

Tearing open the condom, he wrapped the fang inside it and tucked it back into its packaging. Stowing it in his pocket, he unfurled his wings and took to the sky. Heading in the direction of the road, he saw headlights far below. It looked like the others had managed to stop the truck. The Death’s Head bikes were in front of it now, using the truck as a shield. The night air echoed with the sound of gunfire.

Stone and the others were managing just fine without him.

He heard one biker yelp when he was hit. Warnings that another was down. “I’m out of ammo,” someone said.

“Me too.”

“Let’s get the hell out, boys. No bullets. No use. At least we’ll live to fight another day!”

Four jackals took off, abandoning the truck and its cargo.

The driver’s door flew open. A male stumbled out, gun blazing. Three Dragons each put a bullet in his brain.

Quake landed by his brothers. Stone was already on the phone with Doc, ordering him to bring up the RV. They waited for him to park behind the truck before opening the door, in case they had runners.

“We’re here to help,” Inferno called, his hand on the overhead door latch, his true voice making their purpose clear. “Please stand back while we open the rear door. There’s an RV here to take you to safety. If anyone’s injured, we have a doctor standing by.”

The door was raised. Twenty-nine women, all different kinds of shifters, emerged one at a time to be shown to the other vehicle. Magenta was alert enough now, Doc helped her into the front passenger seat and rolled down the window to let her talk to the women as they came, assuring them they were safe, that these men were good men, here to help. She told them that they were friends who’d come for her but they weren’t going to leave the others behind.

It cost her, Quake knew, from the strain he heard in her voice and saw on her face. A hooker with a heart of gold. That was Magenta. Waiting for the last ones to load, he stopped by Magenta’s window, caught her hand resting