Page 81 of Baiting Kong
The guy was yelling about something, and Duggan was threatening to beat the living hell out of him as Mark stalked towards them, Saint, Wreck, and several others by his side. Creature did a double take when he saw Cody and Wreck dismount Wreck’s bike wearing scrubs, having clearly come straight from the nursing home. He’d have to find out later if they ducked out early or had already finished their shift.
They weren’t the only ones who looked like they’d come straight from work either. Creature’s coveralls were hot and itchy beneath the sun as he led his crew of mechanics down the rather steep embankment to where Rainy paced beside his bike, looking fit to be tied.
“That son of a bitch!” He snarled, heading their way as soon as they neared the bottom. “Someone help me to the top so I can kill his ass!”
“I got you,” Dupris said, the two of them struggling with the first steps and sliding back several times until Dupris got some traction and was able to help Rainy up the most difficult part.
As much as Creature would have liked to be on the top of the hill witnessing whatever was about to take place, there were more than enough guys to get the story from while they worked out how the hell they were going to get Rainy’s bike out of there. Glancing around, Creature noticed that there was no part of the incline that was less steep than another, so that wasn’t going to help. It was going to take a come-along and several long lengths of straps to help them muscle that machine to the top. With the sun still blazing overhead, this was gonna suck for everyone involved.
All the yelling would make it impossible for Jake to hear Creature’s instructions if he hollered, so he pulled his phone out, grateful to see they had a signal out here. Quickly he typed out his instructions and waited for Jake and Bruce to toss down the straps while Creature stood there hoping they’d be long enough.
They were.
Barely.
“Alright, let’s get her hooked up,” Creature told the boys.
Multiple hands meant they had her upright and secured in no time, but that was the easy part. Creature positioned Pike halfway up the hill and saw that Sinn stood about a fourth of the way down, ready to relay his instructions. Each time Creature called out push, Pike called out crank, and slowly, inch by inch, they got Rainy’s bike up the incline and onto the gravel at the top of the hill, where they could get it loaded up. By then, the pickup truck was gone.
“What the fuck was all of that about?” Creature asked Jake as they started removing the come-along straps.
“Fucker thought Rainy was sleeping with his wife,” Jake explained.
“Was he?”
“No, but someone in the club is,” Jake replied. “Mark threatened to shoot the husband on sight if he pulled this shitagain and told him he’d be coming around to collect on the bill for the bike repair and that the guy had better have the money or life as he knew it would come to an end. He let Rainy get in a few shots on the husband before Duggan cracked the guy with his chain and busted two of his teeth. The guy was still spitting out pieces as he staggered back to his truck.”
“You best believe Mark’s gonna find out who the guy was really after,” Creature said as they got the first strap unwound.
“Yeah, and it’s not going to be a good day for them, either,” Creature said as they got to work on the second one. “You know how he feels about personal life spilling over into club business, especially when it gets other people caught in the crossfire. They better hope she was worth it.”
“They better hope Rainy doesn’t catch up with them first, or he’s liable to split their skulls open and leave ‘em for the buzzards to pick clean,” Jake replied as they freed the second strap and turned the bike over to Pike and Bruce to load.
“Hammer was pissed he couldn’t hop in with us,” Jake said. “I promised to send Bruce back up, ‘cause there are a few things they could use some help with before that storm they’re predicting hits landfall at the end of the week. We hadn’t been there five minutes when Kat sent out a blast text to everyone.”
“How’s my girl?” Rainy asked as he helped them push the bike up the ramp and onto the flatbed, where they knelt to get it strapped down.
“I’ll know more when we get her back to the shop,” Creature explained.
“Then I’m riding with her,” he said, heading around to the passenger’s side.
“How’s your machine?” Creature called to Duggan.
“Drivable,” he said. “I’ll follow the truck to the garage.”
“Alright, Bruce, find someone to take you back to Hammer’s. See if anyone else has time to help,” Creature said. “The rest ofmy crew, mount up; we’ve got some extra work to do, so let’s get cracking.”
Creature was just turning to head to his bike when he spotted Cody heading his way.
“Can I ride back with you?” He asked. “I can help at the shop. Wreck’s going to take Bruce up and help with whatever Hammer needs. Bellamy will pick me up when he and Night take their break at six.”
“Yeah, come on,” Creature said, appreciating the offer.
While Cody wasn’t as proficient with the inner workings of a bike as Bruce, Dalten had taught him a lot so far and was still working with him on bike building and understanding what gave each machine its distinct personality. There was plenty he could do to lend a hand while Bruce and Wreck helped out Bruce’s sister and brother-in-law.
The ride back was at a much slower pace, and things were finally beginning to cool off as the sun dipped low in the sky. Jake and Cody started unloading the bikes after Creature unlocked the bay doors and immediately spotted Scout in the doorway, giving him the once-over.
“Barely got my hands dirty,” Creature told him, pleased to see Scout’s look of concern morph into one of relief.
