Under Civ. Code 9558, a suit against a payment bond on a public works project must be filed within 6 months after the deadline for filing a stop notice under Civ. Code 9556, which sets a 90 days after completion or cessation of work deadline. Here, the complaint adequately alleged that even though the bonded prime contractor had been thrown off the job, it or its other subcontractors continued to work on the project until less than 6 months and 909 days before the complaint was filed, so the complaint stated a viable claim against the bonding company. The decision distinguishes the case the trial court relied on, W. F. Hayward Co. v. Transamerica Ins. Co. (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 1101, because there the parties agreed that work had ceased under the bonded contractor and only resumed some weeks later under a new general contractor. Here, the alleged facts were messier about when work ceased.