The diner stayed completely still.<\/p>\n
Even the coffee machine seemed to hum quieter, like it understood it shouldn\u2019t interrupt.<\/p>\n
Silas Boone looked at the seven crumpled bills on the table for a long moment. Then slowly, he looked back at Wesley.<\/p>\n
The boy didn\u2019t move. Didn\u2019t blink. Like if he held still enough, the answer would come out right.<\/p>\n
Behind him, his mother reached the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley, please\u2014\u201d she started, voice breaking.<\/p>\n
Silas raised one hand slightly.<\/p>\n
Not to silence her.<\/p>\n
Just enough to ask for a second.<\/p>\n
And she stopped.<\/p>\n
That alone made the room feel heavier.<\/p>\n
Silas leaned forward a little, elbows resting on the table, eyes level with the boy\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes you think I can do that?\u201d he asked quietly.<\/p>\n
Wesley hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then whispered, \u201cYou\u2019re the Iron Shepherds.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few bikers shifted in their seats.<\/p>\n
That name meant different things to different people. Protection to some. Trouble to others. But in Wesley\u2019s voice, it sounded like hope that had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n
Silas finally looked past the boy at the mother.<\/p>\n
Really looked.<\/p>\n
The tired shoulders. The fear she was trying to hide. The way her hands trembled even when she tried to stand still.<\/p>\n
Then he looked back at Wesley.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think safety is something I can hand over,\u201d Silas said softly. \u201cLike change from a pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley\u2019s grip tightened.<\/p>\n
His voice cracked. \u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silas didn\u2019t answer right away.<\/p>\n
Instead, he reached out\u2014not for the money\u2014but gently pushed it back toward the boy.<\/p>\n
The bills slid across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wesley froze. \u201cI don\u2019t want it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silas shook his head slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not paying for safety,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re asking for something harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mother stepped closer now, tears forming as she finally understood something she didn\u2019t want to hear.<\/p>\n
Silas stood slowly.<\/p>\n
The room tensed again.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at both of them and said, calm but firm:<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what you\u2019re afraid of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The diner stayed completely still. Even the coffee machine seemed to hum quieter, like it understood it shouldn\u2019t interrupt. Silas Boone looked at the seven crumpled bills on the table for a long moment. Then slowly, he looked back at Wesley. The boy didn\u2019t move. Didn\u2019t blink. Like if he held still enough, the answer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}