Throughout the evening, I kept close tabs on Autumn. She attracted a lot of attention behind the serving table, most of it friendly, but you can never be too careful. Some of the people who ate here weren’t in a stable frame of mind, which is the vibe I got from two guys who stumbled in just as we were about to call it a night and shut down.

“Aww, come on, pretty lady.” The taller of the two held his plate out to Autumn. “You can give me more than that, can’t you?”

I recognized the shorter one as a local drug dealer—at least he had been back when I’d lived in the neighborhood. He was probably about ten years older than me, and had been in and out of jail, though I didn’t keep tabs on people in the neighborhood anymore. Considering my own past, I tried not to judge, but I didn’t like the tone his buddy used.

I walked over and stood next to Autumn. “Can I help you guys with something?”

The guy sneered. “Nope. Everything’s looking good right here.”

The shorter one squinted at me. “You’re Decker, right? Used to live two blocks over from here?”

“That’s right.”

He held up his fist to bump. “How’s it going, man? You’re a big-time lawyer now or something, aren’t you?”

I bumped fists with the guy. “I’m a lawyer, yeah.”

“You do criminal?” his buddy asked.

I shook my head. “Not the kind you might be interested in.”

The guy pulled his head back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I specialize in white-collar crimes—embezzling, corporate fraud, stock rigging, that type of thing.”

“Too good for where you came from, huh?”

This conversation was going a direction I didn’t like. “Not at all.” I shrugged. “It’s just what I’m good at. If you’re ever in a jam for something like that, I’m your guy.”

I could tell from the look on his face he wasn’t sure if I was being sincere. He eyed me for a few heartbeats before nodding. “Yeah…okay.”

The two of them went to sit down, and Autumn glanced over at me. “I bet you get that a lot—people from here who don’t like that you’ve done well for yourself.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. I get it.”

“Storm hides the fact that he gets straight As from his friends.”

I smiled. “I used to do the same thing. Most people want to see you do well, but very few want to see you do better than them. It’s hard to be a teenager and be different under normal circumstances, but here? It’s more than hard. It can be dangerous.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Maybe, but it’s the truth. On the street, if people can’t relate to you, they don’t trust you. And when you don’t have much else but your word, trust means everything.” I glanced over at the two guys.

The guy I knew from the neighborhood was busy eating, but the other guy was looking at Autumn. His eyes shifted to meet mine, and I held his stare until he looked away.

Fifteen minutes later, my buddy Dario made a surprise visit as we were breaking down the tables I’d brought. We shook.

“How’s Bud doing?” he asked.

“Good. Though he’s in a cast, so he’s gonna need some help for a while.”

“That’s what I came to talk to you about. The crew and me got the next five days. I know you need to work late, and the old bastard doesn’t trust anyone.”

I blew out a deep breath. “Thanks, Dario. That would really help.”

He pointed at me. “But you’re covering next Saturday night. My lady needs some loving on the weekends.”

I smirked. “Is that what you’re calling your right hand these days. Your lady?”

Dario punched my arm. “Dick.”

Over his shoulder, I watched the last two guys leave—the one I knew and the one who gave me a bad vibe. My shoulders relaxed a little. Autumn had stepped away to take a call right before Dario walked in. She came over and smiled.

“Autumn, this is Dario. Whatever he says, he’s full of shit.”

Autumn laughed. “Donovan has mentioned you before. It’s nice to meet you.”

Dario lifted Autumn’s hand to his lips and kissed the top. “The pleasure is all mine.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Take it easy, jackass.”

Dario’s eyes flickered with amusement. He knew how to get my goat. “Donovan says you’re smart. So I figure you probably pick personality…” He patted himself on the chest before thumbing to me with a frown. “…over good looks. This bastard will age, but I’ll always be entertaining.”

Autumn laughed. “I’m sure you will.”

She’d looked upset on the phone a few minutes ago, so I nodded toward the cell in her hand. “Everything okay?”

She sighed. “One of my kids was caught with weed tonight.”

“Is he in lockup? Does he need help?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Luckily it was just someone at the group home and not the police. But thank you for the offer. I actually need to make another call about it, though. The service cuts in and out in here, so I’m going to step outside for a minute.”

I looked toward the front door. Everyone had gone, but that didn’t matter. Congregating was a sport around here. So I gestured toward the back door. “Why don’t you try out that way instead?”

“Okay. Let me help you pack everything up first.”

“I got it. Go make your call.” I motioned to Dario. “This bozo is going to help me anyway.”

Since we’d only served sandwiches and salads, it took just five minutes to pack everything up. The only thing left to do was load the car with the tables and chairs and the cooler. I glanced out back. Autumn was still on the phone, so I told Dario to give me a hand carrying everything out. After we packed the trunk and backseat, I noticed the guy I knew from the earlier twosome still hanging around a few houses down. But his friend was missing.

“Hey,” I yelled. “Where’s your buddy?”

He pointed toward the yard. “He went to take a piss. Dude must’ve gotten lost.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I didn’t waste time shutting the trunk before I took off for the house. I ripped open the front door and ran straight through to the back. The dirtbag was only a few feet from Autumn. He backed up and held his hands up in the air when he saw me fly through the door.

“What the hell are you doing back here?”

The guy kept stepping back. “Just talking to the pretty lady.”

I looked over at Autumn. “You okay?”

Dario busted through the back door.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked a little nervous as she glanced between the two of us, but she shook her head. “He was just leaving.”

“Why don’t you get going, Eddie?” Dario gave a curt nod and glared at the guy.

I scowled. “Don’t make me ask, too.”

Eddie looked pretty pissed off, but that was nothing compared to the anger radiating from me. The vein in my neck bulged and my heart pumped a million miles a minute.

At least the jerk was smart enough to realize walking away was the only option he had. He huffed, but walked around the side of the house without another word. I followed to make sure he really left.