Page 27 of Baiting Kong
“Now we can go take a look,” Mark said as he stood and cracked his fingers.
Outside, the sun was bright overhead, the day promising to be a scorching one. It wasn’t the kind he’d want to be out walking in, which made it even odder for Scout to have left his bike behind, but there it was, parked outside of the cabin he shared with Teddy.
Shit.
“You think Teddy will notice us out here and drop a dime about what we’re doing?” Kong asked.
“If he does, so be it. Scout can be as pissed as he wants, but the bottom line is that he’s the one who left it here, and this is Joker’s property. I’m entitled to have a look at anything on it or in it if I so choose. If he wants to take offense at that, he can kick rocks and find somewhere else to stay, or he can choose to stop being a brat about the whole thing and stop leaving holes in the stories he tells.”
“She sure is a sweet-looking ride for a rat bike,” Kong said as they walked around the machine.
The elongated front end gave it a classic chopper feel, as did the wide rear tire. He’d opted for a high, slanted sissy bar in the back, another nod to the choppers of old.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Kong asked as he knelt to get a closer look at the collection of pieces, all old but in pristine working order.
“This thing has a knucklehead engine, but look here, at the way these pipes are held up by twisted metal melted together, that’s custom. Front forks are knucklehead too, looks like original parts with custom chain wrapped around them too.”
“Yeah and look at the hinged fender; that’s not off a VL; that’s put together like each of the sections came from a different bike.”
“Everything on this thing looks to have come from a different bike, and the chain wrapping—that’s old steel right there,” Mark said. “Someone spent a lot of time edging the fenders and the frame in twisted chains, ultimately making it both heavier and sturdier. “This is no rat bike.”
“This is a work of art,” Creature said, the big club brother looming over them as they knelt beside the frame. “And you’re right. Not a rat bike. Whoever decided to call it that didn’t know what the hell they were talking about.”
“It’s what I assumed of it too, the first time I glanced at it, though honestly, I was so busy fuming over the shit Teddy hadpulled that I didn’t even take the time to fully appreciate it,” Mark admitted.
“Did he tell you where he got it from?” Creature asked.
“He claims that he, his brother, and their old man made it,” Kong said as Mark nodded in agreement.
“I’ll bet he got the parts for this at the same place as he’s been getting the parts for the shop,” Creature said.
“So would I,” Mark said, “and I’d really love to know where the hell it is so we can get Sinn in there with the team he’s put together.”
When Mark smacked a hand to his face and let out a low growl, Kong could tell the Prez’s mood had shifted.
“That little fucker,” Mark snarled. “I should beat his ass.”
Kong bristled at that, a fierce wave of possessiveness washing over him so fast he growled before he realized the sound had escaped him. “If anyone is going to beat him, it’ll be me.”
Cool as an ice cube on a winter day, Mark cocked an eyebrow at him and waited to see if Kong was finished with his little outburst.
“I was referring to Teddy,” Mark said when Kong didn’t add anything more to his previous statement.
“Teddy?” Kong said, feeling the molten anger that had roiled up inside of him begin to cool a little.
“A few days before Teddy showed up at the bar with Scout, Saint saw a text on his phone saying that he needed to bite the bullet and do what he knew he needed to do. The message, along with others I saw on his phone, came from someone named Junkyard Whore. How much do you want to bet that he was talking to Scout?”
Kong blew out a long breath and grimaced. “So, they lied about where they met?”
“Not necessarily,” Mark said, humming as he stroked his pointed beard. “No, I don’t think so. Whatever else has beengoing on with Teddy, he’d never put the club at risk by bringing a complete stranger here without vetting them first. I think they met where they said they did and probably spent a few days hanging out while Teddy got to know him. Along the way, I think Scout told him about the salvage yard and far more about this bike and what he knows about bike building than he’s owned up to yet.”
“Okay, I’m missing something here,” Kong said, still in the dark about most of what had gone on with Teddy and why Mark and Kat had disowned him. “Why don’t you roll this back a little and explain why Scout wouldn’t tell us about the salvage yard if he’s already told Teddy?”
“Yeah, I guess I’d better,” Mark admitted, scooting back so Creature had room to study the bike while Kong moved around the machine to stand beside him.
“Holy shit, this is one old-ass gremlin bell,” Creature said as he leaned to get a closer look. “Or should I say, two gremlin bells fused into one seriously badass piece of history. Both halves have got to be older than he is, and one is definitely older than the other.”
“Why do something like that?” Kong asked.
