She notices, not answering right away, simply staring at me, assessing me. But then she lets it go, her gaze traveling to the old-school diner.

The windows are decorated with neon lights, the waitresses wear roller skates, and to order, you park near the marquee and the waitress brings your food to your car on a tray.

“She said they have the best fries,” Raven answers while studying the menu. She gets this weird, almost panicked look on her face and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip.

“They have great milkshakes, too,” I tell her, rolling down my window and letting the autumn breeze blow in.

“I think I’m just gonna get fries,” she tells me. “I’m not really that hungry.”

“No way,” Harlow says as she shuts off the engine. “You have to get a milkshake and a burger. The fries taste the best when you eat them with a combo.”

Raven shifts uncomfortably while chewing on her thumbnail. “It’d really be a waste of food, because there’s no way I’m that hungry right now.”

“Oh, fine.” Harlow pouts. “But next time we come here, you totally have to try some of everything.”

Raven laughs at that. “That’s a lot of fucking food.”

“Yeah, well, if we put our minds to it, I’m sure we can do it.” Harlow grins at her.

Raven grins back. “Okay, next time then.”

“Awesome.” Harlow assesses the menu then, even though she’ll probably order what she always does.

I look at the menu, too, trying to figure out what I want today when, out of the corner of my eye, I catch Raven sticking her hand into her pocket and pulling out some cash. Three dollar bills to be exact. It clicks then why she’s being weird about ordering food.

She pockets the money quickly as her phone buzzes. She takes it out, checks the messages, and frowns.

“Bad news?” I wonder.

She startles, then looks up at me and shakes her head. “No … I don’t know.”

“Is it them again?” Harlow asks her.

“I …” Raven hesitantly glances at me then at Harlow.

“Oh, don’t worry about Hunter,” Harlow says. “He’s the person who I was gonna ask for help tracking them down.”

Wait … Did she tell Raven I’m one of the owners of The Raven Three, something that’s supposed to remain anonymous?

Goddammit, Harlow.

While Raven isn’t looking at me, I glare at Harlow, but she just rolls her eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that. Raven’s totally trustworthy.”

“How can you be so sure? You’ve known her for like, what? Thirty minutes?” I snap. Of course, when Raven tenses, I feel like a total douchebag. “Sorry,” I tell Raven. “I just … No one’s supposed to know who owns my business. It’s … Well, it’s important that I keep it a secret.”

“I promise I won’t say anything,” she tells me, offering me the saddest smile I’ve ever seen. “Trust me; I get wanting to keep shit a secret. And if you don’t want to help me, I totally get that, too.”