Small bites.
Quiet chewing.
Careful movements.
But Maggie set down the burger, fries, pie, and milkshake, and within five minutes, the entire booth understood exactly how hungry he had been.
Cole pushed another basket of fries toward him.
Ethan looked embarrassed.
"You don't have to."
"Eat."
"I already had some."
Cole stared at the basket.
"Those are fries."
"I know."
"They're still there."
Ethan slowly took another.
Hank watched him without speaking.
Finally, when Ethan finished half the burger, Hank asked, "Where's your family?"
The fork stopped halfway to Ethan's mouth.
Cole immediately regretted the question.
But Ethan answered.
"I don't know."
Hank's face remained still.
"What do you mean?"
"My mom died when I was twelve."
Ethan swallowed.
"My dad wasn't around before that."
"And after your mother died?"
"Foster homes."
The bikers exchanged glances.
Ethan shrugged as though it didn't matter.
"Six of them."
Maggie quietly refilled his drink.
"Six?"
"Some were okay."
He took another bite.
"Some weren't."
Hank noticed bruising around Ethan's wrist.
Fresh bruising.
"Where are you living now?"
Ethan's expression changed.
"I was."
The words were quiet.
Hank leaned forward.
"Was?"
Ethan looked toward the door.
"I left."
"From where?"
"The last foster home."
"When?"
"Three days ago."
Cole stared at him.
"You've been sleeping outside for three days?"
Ethan gave a tiny nod.
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"There was an old storage shed one night."
Maggie placed both hands on the table.
"That's enough."
But Hank wasn't finished.
"Why did you leave?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"It wasn't working out."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I left."
Hank knew the tone.
The boy had answered the question.
He was simply refusing to give the real answer.
So Hank let it go.
For the moment.
Then Ethan suddenly looked at the black wallet.
"Can I ask you something?"
Hank nodded.
"How did you lose it?"
Cole laughed.
"Big Hank leaves his brain at the gas station sometimes."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
Hank glared at him.
Ethan smiled.
It was the first real smile they had seen.
Then Hank checked his pockets.
His expression hardened.
He stood.
Cole immediately noticed.
"What?"
Hank looked through his vest.
Then the wallet again.
"What was in the back pocket?"
Ethan's smile disappeared.
"I didn't look through everything."
"I'm not accusing you."
Hank pulled out a small photograph from another compartment.
He stared at it.
Then his face changed.
Ethan recognized the look.
Something was wrong.
"What's missing?" Cole asked.
Hank looked at him.
"A flash drive."
Ethan immediately stood.
"I didn't take it."
"I know."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
Hank turned toward the window.
The rain had slowed.
Across the street, the black sedan was gone.
That worried him more.
"The flash drive wasn't ordinary."
Ethan backed away from the booth.
"I swear, I didn't—"
"I believe you."
"Then what's happening?"
Before Hank could answer, the diner door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Tall.
Expensive suit.
Silver hair.
Two security guards behind him.
The entire diner watched as he approached the booth.
Ethan went white.
Not nervous.
Terrified.
He immediately moved backward.
His chair scraped against the floor.
The man smiled.
"There you are."
Hank stood.
Ethan grabbed his backpack.
"Who is that?" Cole asked.
The man stopped several feet away.
His eyes stayed fixed on Ethan.
"My name is Victor Hale."
Nobody recognized it.
Except Hank.
His expression became dangerous.
Victor noticed.
"Ah."
He smiled.
"Mr. Mercer."
Hank's voice became cold.
"Hale Industries."
Victor's smile faded slightly.
"So you do know who I am."
Hank did.
Everyone in the county did.
Hale Industries owned trucking companies, warehouses, construction firms, and half the industrial land near the river.
Victor Hale was wealthy.
Powerful.
And, according to rumors Hank had heard for years, very good at making problems disappear.
Victor looked past Hank.
"Ethan."
Ethan didn't answer.
"Come with me."
"No."
Victor sighed.
"Don't make this difficult."
Cole stood beside Hank.
"Kid said no."
Victor glanced at Cole's bandana.
Then the Iron Guardians patch.
"I wasn't speaking to you."
Cole smiled without humor.
"That's the thing about sitting with us."
He put one hand on Ethan's shoulder.
"You speak to one of us, you speak to all of us."
Victor's guards stepped forward.
Six bikers stood up.
The diner suddenly felt very small.
Maggie reached beneath the counter.
Not for a weapon.
For her phone.
Victor looked around the room.
Then back at Ethan.
"You stole company property."
Ethan's face twisted in disbelief.
"I found a wallet."
"You found something else."
"I didn't!"
Victor pointed at the backpack.
"Search him."
Hank stepped forward.
The guards stopped.