Page 36 of Baiting Kong

“Want another lemonade?” Creature asked when he saw that Axel’s had been drained.

“Yeah, but I’ll get them,” Axel said, taking Creature’s glass too, and heading for the bar, glad to see Scout headed there as well.

“I need to talk to you,” Axel said after placing the glasses on the bar and requesting refills.

“Alright, so talk,” Scout said, grinning as he leaned in close. “I’m not on the clock tonight.”

“Cops came by the gas station,” Axel whispered, hating the way the teasing, flirty grin faded to a scowl as he tugged Scout a little way away from the bar where they couldn’t be interrupted. “Asking more questions. Ms. Esperanza woke up and said she was certain another man was there, in a leather jacket. I told them she was mistaken, but they’re looking for you. They wanted to know if I knew how to find you, and no, I didn’t tell them that you worked here. I just told them I didn’t know you, had only met you that day, and didn’t have a clue where you went after you left.”

Scout’s shoulders slumped some, and Axel could see the worry and relief written all over his face. “Thanks. I wish they’d just let it drop, for fuck’s sake.”

“You and me both,” Axel said. “Mrs. Martinez remembered seeing him too and said that she thought he’d come in with you, or at least, that she was certain you’d come in at the same time. She told them that he was still in the store when I told her to go to the back but that I was stocking shelves when she called me to the front and probably hadn’t noticed him.”

“Thank the gods for that.”

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t ask me about it later,” Axel explained. “I hated lying to her.”

“I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

“I put myself in that position when I backed your story,” Axel admitted. “Guess we’re both stuck with it now.”

“Yeah,” Scout said; whatever he said next was drowned out when he was announced the winner of the game.

Cheers, groans, and curses filled the room as someone came over and pressed a roll of bills in Scout’s hand.

“I guess it pays to bet on myself,” Scout remarked to the man, who shook his head, then smacked him on the back hard enough to stagger him.

“Yeah, well, I’ll remember that for next time and bet on you too,” the man said before ambling away.

“Thanks for the warning,” Scout said, as Axel snagged his and Creature’s refilled glasses.

When he turned around with them, Scout was gone, the back of his bright, sun-streaked hair disappearing through the crowd as he made a beeline towards the door, while Axel made his way back to Creature’s side to await his turn to playhippo.

Chapter 12

(Creature)

“Sit down,” Creature snapped the moment he’d locked the door behind them.

Wide-eyed, Axel did as he was told. Parking his butt in the chair Creature had begun to think of as his after just a few short days of him living here. Their trip to Joker’s Wild had just cemented Creature’s desire to spend more time with him there and on the road. While they hadn’t done as well in the hippo game as Axel had hoped, they’d still come in third, which wasn’t bad at all for Axel’s first time playing. Afterward, he’d cheered Creature on at the arm-wrestling table, where Danger had managed to pin his hand to the wood after Creature’s shoulder had cramped and begun to burn from the strain. Whether he wanted to or not, it looked like it was time for a break from his favorite pastime.

The only thing that had given him a moment’s pause was seeing Axel and Scout beside the bar, worry etched into Scout’s face before he hurried for the door.

“I’m going to ask you a question, and you are going to tell me the truth. Is that understood?” Creature declared.

“Yeah, okay,” Axel replied. “Did I fuck up tonight?”

“I don’t know, did you?” Creature asked. “You and Scout looked awfully cozy for two guys who supposedly met in the middle of a robbery.”

“Isn’t that the definition of trauma bonding?” Axel asked.

Creature raised an eyebrow at him, almost amused by the display of smart-assery.

“Did you two have anything to do with the robbery?” Creature asked, his hands planted on the table as he leaned across the space that separated them, staring into Axel’s eyes.

“Hell no! What the fuck? Seriously? Dude. I had guns pulled on me. I nearly pissed myself when the first shot went off.”

Creature slammed his hand on the table, and Axel knocked the chair over, backing away. The panicked look on the younger man’s face was the only answer Creature needed.

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