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

“He tried. Little did he know, we caught his destruction of our clubhouse on camera. So even with the evidence he planted, he’ll have a hard time getting it to stick. Especially since I got his little minion pulling the bag out of his pocket before he went into Two-Speed’s room. His search was bullshit,” Hacker assured me with a satisfied grin.

“What are you going to do to him?” I hesitantly questioned.

“It’s probably best you don’t know,” Joker said before breaking his gaze from mine and stepping back. He quietly spoke with two of the other guys.

“He was going to sell me,” I said. A shudder chased through me at the realization of how close I’d been to having that happen.

“Jesus,” Soap muttered.

“We need to get Snow out of here before his friends show up. Joker, I need you to pull the SUV up,” Reaper announced. “I’m going to wait to see who the mystery guests are.”

“But they’ll see you!” I said in fear.

“Don’t worry, if I don’t want to be seen, I won’t be.”

“I’m staying with you,” Hollywood insisted.

Apollo looked over his shoulder and nodded. He had supplies spread around him that he’d used and discarded. “We need cleanup out here,” he said as he went back to Luke.

“Already made the call to Venom and the boys. They’re on their way,” said Vinny in his northeastern accent.

“Wait, what about Luke?” I asked, worry heavy in my tone.

“I’ve done what I can here. I think he’ll be okay, but I want Angel to take a look at him when they get here. Please tell me he’s coming?” Apollo asked as he held Vinny’s gaze.

Vinny nodded. Reaper backed a dark SUV up to where Luke lay on the ground. They made quick work of loading him up and picking up their trash. Several of the guys had dragged Chet off as soon as they’d tackled him.

I’d been angry that they didn’t intervene immediately, but they’d said that their prez needed the closure. I hadn’t understood what they were talking about.

I also didn’t understand why he’d come after me after the way he’d reacted to the news I’d given him.

They had me climb in the backseat of the SUV, and I turned in my seat to reach over to touch him. I’d needed that reassurance that he was there.

“He’s going to be okay,” Apollo quietly murmured. My gaze rose from Luke to lock on to his.

My chest ached so badly I was afraid it was caving in on itself. “I hope so.”

He groaned as he swung out with one arm. Apollo caught him by the forearm before he could make contact and tried to calm him down. His blue eyes snapped open, full of panic until they met and held mine.

“Hailey,” he whispered before he winced.

With tears in my eyes, I turned further in the seat so I could reach his hand. Though he squeezed mine back, I didn’t miss the tremor in his grip. “Don’t talk,” I begged him as a tear slipped down my cheek.

He gave a slight shake of his head. “I fucked up. I’m s-sorry.”

“Shhh.” I tried to comfort him by running my free hand along his hair. He seemed to relax, so I kept at it.

The rest of the trip back to their clubhouse was thankfully uneventful.

Within an hour, several men showed up. I had no idea who they were, but there was an odd energy that surrounded them. Not bad, but strange.

A dark-haired guy they called Angel went into the infirmary with Apollo, and everyone else was made to leave. I wasn’t happy about that and was pacing in the common area.

“Hailey?” I turned to see the oldest of the men watching me closely. Hands shoved deep in his pockets, he cocked his head.

“Do I know you?” I asked nervously. He had two piercings on his bottom lip, one on his eyebrow, and a salt-and-pepper beard. A fitted ball cap was turned backward on his head with the letters RBMC embroidered on the back above his eyes that seemed to change color.

“No.”

The men had seemed to be friendly, but there was something about this guy that made me watch him curiously. He studied me further as I wrapped my arms tightly around my middle. It was taking everything I had not to break down.

The other man had hair that flopped over the palest eyes I’d ever seen. Eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. He murmured something to the first guy about “the babies.”

“What babies?” I hadn’t seen any children since we’d returned. My gaze scanned the room. The older guy shook his head in amazement as he continued watching me.

“Who are you guys?” I asked as I looked from one to the other and over toward the hall where they had taken Luke. The older guy with the chameleon eyes came closer to me, and the other guy watched me quietly.

“I’m Venom. This is Voodoo. Angel is with your man. That’s really all that’s important right now.” I was confused because more than three of them had arrived.

Slowly, he pulled a hand out of his pocket and reached for me. Inside, I wanted to pull away, but something held me in place. When his fingertips made contact with my cheek, I sucked in a startled breath.

“He’s going to be okay. I promise. You should go clean up and wait for him in his room. Get some rest,” he said softly. Languid warmth filled me, and I suddenly relaxed. Why I believed him, I couldn’t say, but I did.

“Okay,” I breathed out on a sigh as my shoulders dropped and I gave him a tired half smile.

Slowly, I shuffled back to Luke’s room, where the day had taken its turn for the worse. Yet none of that mattered as I stripped, showered, dried off, and crawled into his welcoming bed.

As I drifted off to sleep, I had a smile on my face and