Page 16 of Baiting Kong

Keep your mouth shut unless someone asks you a direct question.

Never volunteer information.

And never give the cops more information than it takes to stay off their radar.

Play polite and dumb.

Use yes, sir and no, sir.

It’s okay to look wide-eyed and scared. You always look wide-eyed and scared; use it to your advantage.

He’d bristled at that, wishing he was more badass, like his brother. But Sawyer hadn’t been the kind of big brother who dragged him into danger and encouraged him to pull stupid stunts. He’d been the kind to steal repair manuals so Scout could study them and play around with the surplus of mangled vehicles he’d loved tinkering with from the time he could hold a wrench. Shop classes had been the only thing to keep Scout in school long enough to get his diploma, which his dad kept in a place of honor on a shelf on the living room wall. Barbecue and beer had been their celebration dinner after Sawyer and their Pops had cheered and whistled as he’d walked across the stage. They were the only people in the world who’d ever looked out for him, the only ones who’d had his back. Now he had the opportunity to make something right for them.

He was more than halfway there.

Just six more shoots, five after tomorrow. He could handle those alone, no problem. He just had to keep his smartass mouth in check and not piss anyone off the way he’d done the first week. He’d made that situation rougher on himself which made it impossible for Sawyer to miss the signs that someone had hurt him. That’s when his brother had stepped up and started coming with him when he had to film. If he’d kept his thoughts and feelings to himself in the first place, Sawyer would never have been in that gas station, and Scout wouldn’t be lying in cool sand turning his brains to scrambled eggs thinking so hard.

He just had to be smart about how he handled everything.

Even Sawyer had praised him when Scout had landed a place to stay and a job with the Jokers while forging a connection between the MC and the salvage yard. Scout just wished the job they’d offered had been in the garage and not the clubhouse, where people treated him like a barely tolerated servant whilealternately eyeing him with suspicion and like he was a slab of rare meat. The second part he could handle, but he’d done nothing to earn the first; that was all due to his association with Teddy.

But Teddy had been the one to offer him an alternative to sleeping in the campground, where things could get rowdy, and twice Scout had been forced to move his tent to get away from violence and stupid people. The cabin they shared was way more comfortable, even if his bed was just a spare mattress tossed on the floor until he decided whether to pick up a bed frame or not. The only thing he did know was that heading down the road wasn’t an option. Not even after the last movie had been shot. The sales from the parts the MC needed, as well as the online salvage shop he and Sawyer had helped their old man set up, would more than keep them afloat once the second mortgage had been paid off.

After the fourteen videos he’d already shot, these last six would be nothing. Nothing at all.

As long as he kept his smart-ass mouth shut.

“So, this is where you got to.”

Startled by the unexpected voice, Scout scrambled to his feet, following the big shadow upward to see the moonlight slashed across Kong’s face.

“My shift was over, and Night didn’t need me in the kitchen once we’d gotten caught up,” Scout said. “Ms. Kat said I could go since most of the crowd headed for the dungeon.”

“And you weren’t interested in joining them?”

“What would be the point?” Scout asked. “No one ever plays with me.”

“Did you think to ask if I wanted to?”

“For a moment, but it looked like you had your hands full.”

“Not by choice.”

“Okay.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Kong asked.

“What else is there?” Scout asked as the weight of the whole fucked-up day came crashing down around him. “And what would be the point? Maybe it’s a good thing that I’m finally learning how to keep my mouth shut. Should have figured it out sooner.”

“And if I don’t want you to stay silent about whatever it is that’s got you all twisted up right now?” Kong said, stopping Scout cold.

Before he could blink, the big man had one hand wrapped around Scout’s upper arm, preventing him from storming away.

Not that he’d bother.

Kong knew what cabin he stayed in.

Besides, those long legs of his would make it impossible to outrun him.

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