Page 10 of Baiting Kong

Didn’t mean there weren’t still those operating off the books, either. They just made sure neither Mark nor the authorities caught wind of it. Had always been a loudly established rule that you never led cops back to the clubhouse doors, and that didn’t just mean in the middle of a high-speed chase, either.

The fact that a dumbass had made that rule necessary still made him scratch his head, but at least he didn’t have to ride beside the fucker anymore. He was in the middle of a mandatory twenty-five years before he’d ever have the chance of walking free again, while that patch he’d been wearing the night he’d torn through the gates with three cop cars on his ass had been pulled before they’d handed him over to them.

The only ones who won the kind of shootout the man had been proposing were the FBI, when they got to roll in with more firepower than the club had stocked up, with warrants to tear apart their files and the homes of every club member who got in the way. No one was going down like that.

Talk about another turning point.

Rolling into the compound, Creature paused to enter the security code and waited for the gate to roll back to allow him through. This time of day, he doubted many were lingering inthe clubhouse, but Mark would be there in his office, conducting business and seeing to payroll, since it was Wednesday.

“Yo, figured you’d be at the shop all day,” Pope said by way of greeting. The man was seated at the bar with a platter of wings and a beer by his left hand and a stack of papers by his right. Probably reading through the notes for his latest book on biker lore and history. The man had a gift for words that Creature sometimes envied, not that he had cause to do more writing than it took to fill in his purchase orders for someone else to enter into the computer when they had the chance.

He hated the damn things.

“Needed to touch base with Mark about a few custom jobs we’ve got coming up,” Creature explained. “Didn’t want to start those builds until he could assure me we’d have the parts.”

“You’ll get them,” Mark said, his large, shadowy form filling the office door as he stepped out. “That Scout kid has more than proven that his source, whoever it is, is a reliable one.”

“But he still won’t tell you where he’s getting them?” Creature asked.

“Nope, but those salvage certificates and receipts are legitimate, so I see no sense in pressing him,” Mark said. “I know Danger could easily track down the address of the LLC to get us a location, but I’m holding off on that, trusting that the kid will reveal it once he realizes that he’s already earned his place with us.”

“He still worried that Teddy’s fucked up his chances?” Pope asked.

“And with good reason, since I’ve still got him keeping eyes on Teddy and reporting back to me, the same as I’ve got Maureen sending me progress reports on how he’s doing working at the diner for her.”

“Yeah, and how is the little ass handling his demotion?” Pope asked.

“Sullen, like the brat he was when I found him, instead of the man I came to love,” Mark said. “Which is why he’ll keep cooling his heels there and living in the cabin. I can’t have him back by my side until he gets his shit together and can admit that he was wrong. He owes Sinn an apology I know he won’t give easily, so as long as that friction still exists, he’ll remain on the fringes until I decide to cut him loose or try to reel him back in.”

“Or he fucks up so spectacularly that you’ll have no choice but to kick him down the road for good,” Pope added.

“Hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Can’t say there’s a lot of folks left who feel the same way.”

“I know. Can’t say that I blame them. He’s damaged a lot of people’s trust for no good goddamned reason. Just wish he’d come to me and Kat and be honest about what the fuck is going on so we can fix this shit, all of it, and get back to being on the same page again,” Mark admitted. “I miss the little shit, and I hate the hurt I see in Kat’s eyes every time she thinks about him. Never thought a day would come when we couldn’t trust that he’d back anyone wearing our colors, no matter what the circumstance.”

Yeah. Creature felt that to his core. Being pissed off and having in-house beefs was one thing; that shit happened all the time. Members found a way to squash it without going to war with one another, though throwing hands was often the best way to calm shit down. Teddy watching a van drive off with one of their guys in it, even if it wasn’t a patched-in member and only a protected newcomer in line to earn a patch he’d long craved, well, it just hadn’t sat right with many of the club brothers and sisters at all. Mark had to know that even taking Teddy back wouldn’t restore their faith in them. He could lay his life on the line, and even that might not be enough to erase the betrayal in some people’s minds.

Once burned and all that.

Some of them had just been burned too many times.

“Anyone know what the fuck jumped off at the gas station?” Creature asked, now that there was a lull in the conversation. “Every cop car in town is surrounding the place, and they were hauling a corpse out in a bag.”

“Anyone we know?” Mark asked as Pope spun around and took a few steps in Creature’s direction.

“No clue. They were all covered up. But I saw the Martinezes standing outside with Scout and that kid with the patches on his jacket. Ace something, they were all good, but Scout was missing his shirt, and he had streaks of what looked like blood all over his jeans.”

“Axel,” Pope replied, looking relieved.

He must have been the one with the connection.

“Yeah, neither looked harmed, though Scout was carrying his jacket instead of wearing it. Not sure what that was all about.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough; he’s due for his shift in…” Mark paused and checked his phone. “Sixteen minutes. Should I be worried about him showing up on time?”

“No clue, man; I stopped to ask what was up and got threatened with metal bracelets if I didn’t move along.”

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