Chapter 2 CHA

"What did you say to me?" Kyoline's voice cut low, steady, almost too calm for the way her hands stopped mid-polish over the glass. The bar noise faltered, like someone had turned down the volume.

Cat M'Noo didn't blink. She stepped in, heels tapping against the sticky wood floor, perfume thick enough to choke. Her red lips curled into something smug. "I said the whole casino knows what your mother is. Works at that neon dive on the south strip. And not just answering phones, sweetheart. She's the one who... entertains the high-rollers."

A man near the jukebox coughed into his drink. Lydia, balancing a tray of fresh bottles, froze mid-step. A single glass slipped from her hand, exploded against the floor, and rolled into silence.

"Cat, shut your mouth," Lydia snapped, voice sharp enough to cut.

"No," Cat said, never breaking eye contact with Kyoline. "She should hear it. We all know her father ran jobs for the wrong people until he got himself caught. We all know her mother sells herself now. And we all know you're following right in their footsteps."

Kyoline's nails dug into her palms until she felt skin break. The pain kept her rooted in place, kept her from vaulting over the counter and smashing that painted face into the floor.

"My mother had a heart attack," Kyoline said, voice flat. "She works the front desk. She greets clients and takes calls. That's all."

Cat's laugh was high and sharp. "Front desk doesn't cover hospital bills. Not in this city. And speaking of bills, rumor is you've been running packages for Tenz Jersey. Dangerous packages. The kind that get girls found floating in the harbor."

The name sucked the air out of the room. Tenz wasn't a man you joked about. Not here.

"I work here. That's it."

From the end of the bar, a slow clap broke the silence. Marco pushed away from his stool and sauntered closer, black leather jacket creaking, eyes glittering with something mean. "That's a sweet story, but here's the problem, Kyoline." He dug into his pocket and tossed something on the bar.

It landed with a dull clink. Her breath caught.

Her keychain. The one with the chipped blue rabbit's foot her little sister had given her. She'd lost it during the courier job, somewhere between the alley and the back fence.

"I believe this is yours," Marco said. "Picked it up right after you ducked into that alley with MIA. Funny place for a bartender to be."

The rabbit's foot seemed to grow heavier in front of her, like the whole bar was staring at it instead of her face.

"You've been following me?"

"I follow opportunity," Marco said, leaning in until she caught the sour tang of whiskey on his breath. "And right now, you're one. You're sloppy. You're scared. And scared people make mistakes."

A stool scraped back hard. Lydia stepped in between them. "Back off, Marco. You don't belong here."

He smirked at her, but his eyes stayed locked on Kyoline. "You hear Tenz cut her loose yet? Word is she's burned. No more jobs. No more protection. She's a free target now."

Her stomach turned ice.

The phone behind the counter rang. A shrill, jarring sound that made her flinch. Lydia reached for it, but Kyoline moved faster, snatching the receiver like it might stop the whole world from hearing what came next.

"Kyoline?" Her mother's voice was thin, shaking.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

"I got a call," she whispered, like someone was in the room with her. "A man said you've been causing trouble. He said you embarrassed Mr. Jersey. And... he told me to remind you what happened to your father."

Kyoline gripped the phone harder. "Who was he?"

"I don't know. He hung up before I could ask." She paused, breath catching. "Kyoline... are you in danger?"

Her throat closed. She wanted to lie, but the words caught in her teeth. "I'll fix it, Mom. I'll handle it."

"No," her mother said, suddenly fierce despite the tremor in her voice. "You come home now. If they know where I work, they know where you live. And if they-"

A click. Dead line.

"Mom? Mom!"

Silence.

She set the receiver down slowly, aware that every eye in the bar was still on her. Her pulse thudded in her ears.

"You okay?" Lydia's voice was quieter now.

"No." It came out raw. "I think... I think they just put a target on my whole family."

"Then you're done here for tonight. Go. I'll cover you."

Kyoline shook her head. "If I leave, they'll follow. They already are." Her eyes flicked toward the door, where Marco now stood leaning against the frame, smiling like he'd won. Cat lounged at a table behind him, sipping her drink like she was waiting for the next act.

Lydia glanced between them, reading something in their posture that made her jaw tighten. She lowered her voice. "Back room. Now."

Kyoline ducked under the counter, moving fast, heart hammering. She slipped through the narrow hall toward the supply room, but the creak of the front door made her stop.

Footsteps. Heavy, deliberate. Not Marco's. Not anyone she knew.

"Lydia," a deep voice called. Smooth, dangerous. "Tell Kyoline I need a word."

Kyoline froze halfway to the back door.

Lydia's voice carried from the bar. "She's not here."

"That's funny," the man said. "Because I can smell her perfume from here."

Kyoline's breath caught.

Another voice, this one colder. "Tenz says she's done. But I say she still owes him. And I always collect."

Her pulse kicked into overdrive. The hall suddenly felt too narrow, the air too thick. She inched toward the back exit, but a shadow stretched across the wall ahead of her - long, slow-moving. Someone was already back there.

She turned, eyes darting to the nearest hiding spot, but the supply room door was locked. Footsteps closed in from both ends of the hall.

"Kyoline," the first voice said, almost playful now. "Be smart. We only need a minute. And then, maybe, we let your mother keep breathing."

Her stomach dropped. She heard Lydia's sharp intake of breath from the front.

Kyoline pressed herself against the wall, mind racing. Two choices. Step out and face them here, where Marco and Cat would watch her break... or make a run for the narrow window in the storage nook, the one that opened onto the alley.

From the front, the deep voice called again. "Tick tock, little runner."

Kyoline took one last look toward the window.

And bolted.