Marlene stepped from behind the counter before he could reach the service aisle. "Brandon, you need to leave."
"I want to talk to Lily."
"She's working. She's told you she doesn't want contact. You can leave now."
He gave her a contemptuous smile. "Since when do you decide who I talk to?"
"Since you came into my restaurant and frightened one of my employees."
That answer drew eyes from several tables. Harold lowered his newspaper. Meredith put her phone down beside her coffee cup. Ray appeared in the kitchen doorway, holding the order pad with the day's first tickets.
Brandon looked beyond Marlene and spotted Lily near the office. "Come here," he called. "We need to settle this."
Lily felt her stomach contract. For a second she was back in the apartment hallway, measuring the exact distance to the stairs. She could hear every word that came next but had to remind herself that Marlene was between them and that Ray was behind her. Anna was coming. Her evidence was saved. She did not have to cross the room merely because Brandon demanded it.
"I don't want to talk to you," she said. Her voice was quieter than she wanted it to be, but clear enough.
Brandon's face tightened. "Since when?"
"Since I decided."
He stared at her. Then he turned back to Marlene. "She's putting on a show because that biker has been filling her head."
"This isn't a debate," Marlene said. "Leave."
Brandon moved past her. Ray stepped into the aisle, not touching him, simply blocking the route toward the office and telling him he needed to stop. Cole, who had watched Brandon enter, came through the front door at that moment. He found Brandon confronting Ray while Marlene reached for the phone near the register.
"Brandon," Cole said.
The younger man turned. His eyes moved from Cole's face to the leather vest over his shirt. The patches on the vest were unmistakable. Cole had worn it because it was part of his life, and because he no longer wanted to pretend the town could intimidate him into concealing who he was. He knew the colors could change the room in ways he did not fully control, and he was careful not to let that become the point of the encounter.
"You brought your costume," Brandon said.
"Marlene asked you to leave."
"You giving orders now?"
"No. I'm repeating hers."
Brandon took a step toward Cole, leaving a little space between himself and Ray. "You're going to keep making trouble until somebody finally teaches you where you belong."
"I belong wherever I'm welcome," Cole answered. "Marlene decides that here."
"My uncle's going to hear about this."
"He can hear what happened from everyone who saw it."