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

“Chet… they were children. Children who were trying to get their lives back together. What difference does it make if they ‘wouldn’t be missed,’ as you put it? No one deserves to be bought and sold like cattle.”

His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “This is bigger than you have any clue about. You had to go sticking your nose into shit that didn’t pertain to you. Now you’ve forced my hand. You won’t bring as much but you’ll be out of my hair, and turning you over might keep them off my ass.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

“I can’t have your body turn up around here. So you’re just going to disappear.”

My blood ran cold.

18

Snow

“Hear Me Now”—Bad Wolves (feat. DIAMANTE)

I’d sent several of the guys out to look for Hailey while I headed to her house in the SUV. Despite the shit she’d tried to pull, the thought of something happening to her because she made a reckless decision to leave didn’t sit well.

Except she wasn’t there.

Since I had her garage code, I’d gone in to look for her. It was evident she’d been there, because her room was a mess of clothes tossed on the bed. None of which were there when I’d helped her pack a small bag to go to the clubhouse.

Unsure of where to go next since Hollywood, Reaper, and Blue had all checked in saying she wasn’t any of the places they’d scoped out, I stared at my phone. Needing to talk to someone in a way I couldn’t with my own brothers, I hit Venom’s contact image.

It rang twice before he answered. “Snow?”

“Venom.”

He chuckled. “We doing this again?”

I shook my head and snorted a humorless laugh. Then I filled him in on the shitstorm my life had become. He quietly listened until I’d spilled almost everything.

“She told me she’s pregnant and it’s mine,” I finally admitted as I ducked my head and massaged my temples.

“Ohhh, damn,” Venom replied.

“Yeah. So you know what that means. You know that’s impossible,” I muttered. “So she lied to me and she was fucking someone else.”

Then he shocked me by laughing.

“What the hell is so funny? I don’t think anything about this is funny.” Anger bloomed in my chest.

“Chill, bro. I’m laughing because, come on… you can’t be that dumb. You had that shit done in fucking Mexico, bro. When the army docs refused to do the ol’ snip-snip on you because of your age and the fact that you had no kids, you had me and Smoke take you across the border. We were drunk as hell.” He laughed.

“We weren’t that drunk,” I muttered.

“Bullshit. The fact that we didn’t kill ourselves driving there was a miracle. Holy shit, that was a night. Christ, I thought you were going to lose your goddamn cock and balls from that stunt. That place was sketchy as fuck. That you still have a functioning dick is more shocking than the possibility of you knocking someone up. That hack didn’t know what the fuck he was doing.” Venom was cracking up. Though he was seeing humor in the situation, I was beginning to feel slightly ill.

“Bro, that was a long time ago. You mean to tell me that in almost twenty years she’s the only one I’ve knocked up?” I was trying to rationalize the situation to assuage the guilt that was beginning to come to the surface. I’d been an asshole to Hailey because I was convinced I couldn’t get her pregnant.

“Hey. I don’t claim to know the ways of the universe. I just know that everything happens for a reason. Trust me on that one, bro. If you want, I can have Voodoo talk to you,” he offered.

A chill shot down my spine. Voodoo was a great guy, but something about him always put me on edge. Having the gift he did was slightly unnerving.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I shrugged, though he couldn’t see me. I finished filling him in on her running off and us not being able to find her yet.

“I’ll call you back,” he said and ended the call before I could reply.

“Fuck!” I shouted into the quiet of the SUV. Could I have been that wrong? I mean, yeah, the doc in Mexico was sketchy, but I’d never had a single chick accuse me of getting her pregnant in nearly twenty years.

Why would I have any reason to question that it hadn’t been a successful procedure?

My phone rang, and I thought it was Venom calling me back already, so I didn’t look at the display. “That was quick.”

“Huh?” It wasn’t Venom.

“Baker?”

“Yeah. We’ve got trouble. I was on duty tonight because Nelson called in sick. I had a speed trap set up on the edge of the city limit. Saw fucking Edwards pull over that chick you’re banging and put her in his car. I just started following them with my fucking lights out. I’m calling you before I call it in.” His words sent both relief and dread pouring through me.

“Where are you?”

He gave me his location, and I told him to stay on them. Then I called the boys and filled them in.

“Fucking Edwards has gone off the deep end,” Reaper said as I drove toward the location. “Do not go in without us. You hear me?”

“Yeah, sure.” I was lying through my teeth. No way was I waiting for anyone. This ended tonight.

“Snow!” Reaper shouted through the phone as I ended the call and hauled ass in the direction Baker was headed.

When I got close, I called Baker back.

“You call this in?” I asked him, needing to know what my options were.

“No, but I’m going to have to if I keep tailing them. You want me to handle this or do you want to deal with it?” Baker knew he was crossing a line by not calling it in, but our long-standing friendship trumped everything, and for that I was grateful.

“Where are you