Kelle stiffened beside Andy. He didn’t look at her. If he saw fear in her eyes, it would only make it worse. Instead, he stepped in front of her, trying to keep her hidden from the punks.
Diego’s gaze slid over Andy’s shoulder toward her anyway, his wicked grin stretching wider. “And who’s this? Your girl?”
“She’s none of your business,” Andy snapped. His voice fractured again, betraying him, and heat crawled up the back of his neck. Annoyance flickered through him—at Diego, at himself, at the whole damn situation.
From their left, Jax smirked. He reached out, fingers angling toward Kelle’s hair.
Andy’s pulse spiked. Before he could react, Kelle slapped the hand away with a sharp crack that echoed off the brick.
“Touch me again and see what happens,” she said, her voice steady even though her shoulders rose tight.
Pride swelled in Andy’s chest, but it wavered when he caught the tremor in her exhale. She was bluffing, just like he was.
Toad chuckled and shifted a step closer, angling toward Kelle. Andy squared his shoulders and shifted slightly, enough to block her with his body. But she was within Jax’s reach again. They were surrounded. While the street was busy, only a few people were in Andy’s line of sight. None looked likely to help—a woman with a stroller, an older man walking a Chihuahua, and two preteens weaving by on skateboards.
His fists tightened, nails biting into his palms, but he forced them to stay at his sides. He wasn’t stupid enough to swing first—he knew exactly how that would end.
“Relax,” Diego said, but there was nothing relaxed in his eyes. “We’re just saying hello. And maybe letting Bing know he’s got potential.” He tilted his head. “Computers, right? Fast fingers. A brain like yours could make real cash if you weren’t wasting time stacking shelves at some old hardware store.”
Stacking shelves at a hardware store?
How did the guy know where he worked? Andy’s stomach knotted. “Not interested.”
Diego leaned closer, and Andy caught the stink of cigarettes on his breath. “Not really asking. Next time I come calling, you’ll want to be smarter.”
Andy’s throat dried out. He wanted to shove him back, but his body stayed locked in place.
Then an engine growled down the street. A patrol car turned the corner, headlights sweeping across the sidewalk.
Diego’s smile flattened. He tapped Andy lightly on the chest, a mock-friendly pat that made Andy flinch. “We’ll chat again soon, Bing.”
With a sharp tilt of his head, he motioned to Jax and Toad. The three of them slipped into the alley, their footsteps fading into the narrow space between buildings until they disappeared completely.
Andy stayed frozen, his fists still tight, his pulse hammering. Only when the car rolled past without slowing did he feel his body again. He risked a glance at Kelle. She clutched the strap of her bag like it was the only thing holding her steady.
“You okay?” His voice came out rough.
She nodded, though the shine in her eyes betrayed her.
Andy swallowed hard, forcing air into his lungs. Diego hadn’t been bluffing.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t over.
He forced his shaky legs to move, steering them the last few yards to Cyberline. The glass storefront caught the afternoon light, throwing everything into sharp, ordinary focus—as if the last five minutes hadn’t happened at all. He pulled the door open for Kelle, needing the normalcy as much as the air-conditioning inside.
The cool air washed over him, carrying the sharp scent of plastic wrap and new electronics. The hum of computers and the flicker of monitors filled the space, spilling color across the linoleum floor. Rows of shelves stretched toward the back, lined with games, accessories, and shiny new hardware. Normally, the place was a piece of paradise, in his opinion. Today, it wasn’t comforting at all.
Kelle followed him in, arms crossed tight. “Andy...” Her voice was quiet, almost swallowed by the machines’ buzz. “What was that out there? Those guys—Diego, or whatever his name is—he acted as if he knew you.”
Andy busied himself with the shelf stacked with Ghost Thread: Echo boxes, straightening them though they didn’t need it. His hands shook slightly. “He doesn’t. Not really.”
“That didn’t feel like ‘not really,’” she pressed. “They stopped us on purpose.”
He grabbed a box just to have something in his hands. “They’ve been hanging around lately. Trying to mess with me. That’s all.”
“Mess with you how?”
Andy shook his head. He didn’t want her dragged into this. “Doesn’t matter. They’re jerks looking for attention. The cops came by, and they scattered. End of story.”
