Delphine had picked up on the tension. “What’s happening?”
“Paparazzi,” I said. “Two of them.”
The word rippled through the group. Lila’s face went hard. She knew better than any of them what this felt like. Vance was already on his feet, but I held up a hand.
“Stay here. Keep it normal,” I said. “Don’t let Tyler see anything’s wrong. I’m going to talk to them.”
“I’ll come with you,” Grady said.
I shook my head. “No, it’s better if it’s just me.”
Seraphina grabbed my hand. “Hunter?—”
“I’ve got this,” I said.
I walked toward them slowly and without aggression. Just a guy stretching his legs, wandering the perimeter of the field. I kept my hands loose at my sides, even though they ached to make contact with a paparazzi’s jaw or two.
The one with the long lens saw me coming. He lowered the camera slightly, clearly trying to decide if I was a threat. I had an image of a male goose on high alert, ready to attack.
I stopped about five feet away. Close enough to talk. Not close enough to spook them into running.
“Afternoon,” I said.
The taller one—shaved head, sunburn on his nose spoke first. “Hey, man. Great game, huh?”
“It is.” I looked at the camera in his hands. “Getting some good shots?”
“Just some local color. You know how it is.”
“I do know.” I kept my voice even. “I also know you’ve been shooting the dugout for the last ten minutes. Which means you’ve got photos of minors without parental consent.”
The shorter one shifted his weight. He knew where this was going.
“California law’s pretty clear on that.” I’d looked it up just before we left for the game. “SB 606. You want to explain to the cops why you’re photographing kids at a high school baseball game?”
“We’re on public property,” the tall one said. “First Amendment.”
“That doesn’t cover harassment and stalking of minors. Which is what this is.” I took a step closer. “You’ve got photos of my girlfriend and me. Fine. Keep them. Sell them. I don’t care. But you’ve also got photos of her son. And those get deleted. Now.”
“Come on, man?—”
“Now.”
The shorter one was already reaching for his camera. Smart. He’d done this before and knew when to cut his losses.
“Jimmy,” he muttered to his partner. “Just do it.”
Jimmy hesitated. I held his gaze.
“You really want to make this a thing?” I asked. “Because I’ve got a whole group of people back there who saw exactly where your lenses were pointed. You want to test me?”
Apparently, he didn’t want to test me.
“We don’t need trouble,” Jimmy said, in a way that told me he’d often seen trouble. Or caused it anyway.
They both scrolled through their photos, deleting everything with Tyler in it. The tall one tried to keep a few of me and Seraphina, and I let him. When they were done, I stepped back.
“Game’s over for you two. Find somewhere else to be.”
