Page 61 of Baiting Kong

Not when, as the oldest, Sawyer was the one who’d worked out there the longest and been the first one to start researching how they could turn a profit on all the metal that was out there. He’d drafted a list of possibilities neither of them knew how to move forward with, which was why they’d turned to less than legal means to raise the money they needed, rather than delve any further into the things on the list.

“I’m asking you,” Scout’s old man said, his tone as firm and no-nonsense as Creature’s. “Now answer the question.”

“I, um, I’m good with it as long as Sawyer is.”

“Was that what he asked?”

Creature’s voice cracked over him like a whip, and Scout instantly ducked his head and shook it for good measure.

“N-no sir,” he muttered, the sound of Creature’s fingers drumming hard on the arm of the chair drawing Scout’s gaze back up to meet his.

Creature raised an eyebrow at him, and Scout immediately turned his attention back to his dad and gave the only real answer he had.

“I’d be okay with you partnering up with them,” Scout told his old man. “They’re awesome guys who appreciate my bike and all the work that went into it. It was really cool to be given the opportunity to work in the garage.”

Creature's lips quirked up at that while Scout shot Ms. Kat a look, feeling a bit sheepish because she had been the one to really give him a chance to show what he could do when he let him work in the clubhouse.

“Not that I don’t enjoy being behind the bar; it’s fun,” Scout stammered, feeling his cheeks pink up a little. “But I love working with machines. Figuring out how they go together, how to enhance them, and how to improve their performance has always just been a fun challenge for me.”

“Then call us dream makers, honey,” she replied, her smile easing the last of his worries. “Because we’d much rather put you in a position where you can excel rather than just give you a job we know you’ll do well but might not be passionate about.”

“Looks like you’ve found your place, kiddo,” Pops said. “It’s gonna be up to you to keep it, though.”

“I know,” Scout said, turning his attention back to his dad. “And I’m gonna work my ass off to do it too.”

“Not before next Monday, you won’t,” Creature declared. “And don’t even think about trying to argue that point, or it’ll be Wednesday.”

Gulping, Scout just nodded and made a show of zipping his lips, ‘cause yeah, the urge had been there to try and negotiate the moment Creature had said it.

But what the hell was he gonna do with a whole week?

Licking his lips, Scout turned his attention back to Ms. Kat to see the same fierce look on her face as the one Creature wore.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said. “You won’t be working in the clubhouse this week either, or anywhere else you might get it in your head to try and help out at. Whether you were angling for a vacation or not, you’ve got one. Why not spend it on the beach? That way someone will be around to keep you from getting into anything that might get you hurt again.”

Scout bristled, for a half second, at the thought that he might need looking after, only there was a part of him that did crave that and everything he was starting to learn that it entailed. In the back of his head, he could still hear the echo of Creature’s words, announcing to everyone in earshot that Scout was under his protection now. While he hadn’t had a moment of privacy to ask if that meant he’d be wearing a property of tag on his clothes from here on out, Scout hoped it did. He wanted to earn that from Creature the way he’d hoped to earn it from Kong…and been so sorely disappointed about failing to get the night he’d owned up to everything that had been going on since he’d arrived at the Joker’s compound.

Had he even been there that night?

Had Kong helped to look for him or branded him a lost cause, ‘cause that was the feeling Scout had gotten the night Kong had driven away from Creature’s apartment without him, after being the one to drag Scout there?

Yeah, that still smarted and probably would for some time to come.

He barely knew Creature, but he’d claimed him like Scout mattered to him. He’d held him too and carried him to the ambulance, demanding that they take Scout and not make him wait until another ambulance came.

Creature had been here when he’d woken up, too. Him and Axel. Even after his Pops arrived, they hadn’t taken off. They’d just stepped out to give him some time with Scout and brought him a treat from the cafeteria, knowing the food they gave himwas going to be bland and not very appealing after the way he’d gotten used to eating what Night made at the club.

Damn, that brutha could cook.

“I think I can find a few things to occupy me at the beach,” Scout admitted when the looks on their faces all seemed to suggest that they were waiting for some kind of acknowledgement out of him. “Especially if any of you know where I can get a boogie board?”

“Told you to take your old one the last time you popped in,” Pops said.

“Didn’t have room with the bag of parts,”

“Uh-huh,” Pops said, raising an eyebrow at him. “You could have managed.”

“Yeah, but…” Scout began before immediately clamming up.

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