10-BLACK CAT

Bianca looked at her, expression flat, eyes cold enough to strip warmth from the room without effort.

“Likewise,” she said, her gaze flicking lazily around the bar. “This place stinks.”

Rose didn’t rise to it, even though something in her already wanted to. That was the thing about Bianca. She didn’t need to push hard. She just… pressed, and waited for you to break yourself against it.

“What do you want, Bianca?”

“A message,” she said simply, stepping closer as though she had every right to stand in Rose’s space. “Kaelynn has to cancel tonight. He wants you at the docks at Midnight. He has a little job for you.”

Rose clenched her fist before she realized she’d done it.

“I’m working,” she replied, keeping her tone even. “I don’t just walk out because someone clicks their fingers.”

Bianca sneered.

“Well,” she said lightly, “you can tell him that.”

A pause, just long enough to be deliberate.

“Oh, that’s right,” she added, turning her head. “You can’t. His phone is off because he has more important things to deal with.”

Something about that didn’t sit right.

Rose folded her arms, holding her ground.

“I’ll say it again,” she said, voice steady. “I’m working. And unless I hear it from Kaelyn himself, why the hell would I trust you?”

That smile sharpened then.

“You’re right,” Bianca said quietly. “You shouldn’t trust me.”

Her eyes held Rose’s, unblinking, just a pause too long.

“But Kaelynn despises lateness,” she continued, her voice softening into something almost conversational. “And he doesn’t ask twice. So you can stay here, pouring drinks in this shithole…”

Her gaze dipped, dismissive.

“Or you can go where he told you to be and play the game.”

The words settled more heavily than they should have.

Rose didn’t like it. Not the message, the delivery, or the way something inside her reacted at the thought of him not showing up.

“Anyway,” Bianca stepped back, done with it. “I’ve delivered the message,” she said. “What you do with it isn’t my problem.”

Her eyes flicked once more over Rose.

“Bye, bitch.”

She turned, already walking.

Viv stepped forward beside Rose, watching her go.

“I know a jealous woman when I see one,” she muttered.

Bianca paused mid-step.

For a moment, she didn’t turn, didn’t react.

Then her head shifted just slightly, enough that her profile caught the light, and the look she gave Viv was  cold enough to make the air tighten.

Then she kept walking and disappeared out the door.

Silence lingered a beat too long.

Rose exhaled slowly.

“She’s not a woman,” she said under her breath. “She’s a vampire. Be careful around her.”

Viv’s eyes widened.

“The apex predators,” she murmured, glancing toward the door. “And she looked at me like that?”

“You’ll be fine,” Rose said, though she wasn’t entirely sure she believed it. “They follow protocol.”

At least, that was what she’d been told.

“I’m stepping out back for a minute,” she added. “Watch the bar.”

Viv nodded, already distracted, though she kept casting looks toward the door as if expecting Bianca to reappear.

Rose moved outside, pulling her phone from her pocket as soon as the door shut behind her.

She tried calling Kaelyn, but it went straight to voicemail.

Her grip tightened slightly around the phone.

She turned back inside, heading straight for Luke’s office, knocking once before pushing the door open.

He didn’t look up immediately, flipping through paperwork on his desk.

“I have a problem,” she said.

He glanced up then, expression dry.

“On top of the others today?”

“Yeah,” she said, stepping in. “Kaelyn was supposed to pick me up after my shift. Bianca just came in and said it’s canceled. I’m supposed to be at the docks at midnight.”

Luke leaned back slightly.

“So go,” he said simply. “He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“I’m working,” she shot back. “And I don’t trust Bianca.”

“Then call him.”

“I did. His phone’s off.”

That made him pause.

He rubbed a hand over his head, thinking.

“I don’t know how you got tangled up in this so fast,” he muttered. “I’ve worked with him for years, and you’ve known him what, a day?”

Rose didn’t answer that.

“Bianca’s delivered messages before,” Luke went on. “If plans change, she’s the one who shows up. I don’t think she’d risk pissing him off.”

That didn’t make Rose feel better.

“Midnight’s not someone people cross lightly,” he added.

No, she thought. He wasn’t.

“My shift?” she asked.

“I’ve got it covered,” he said. “If Viv can’t handle it, I can pour drinks. We keep him happy.”

His gaze flicked toward her.

“And judging by the state of that florist shop out there, I’d say you’re doing something right.”

Despite herself, Rose huffed a small breath.

“Still don’t know what we’re going to do with all those flowers,” he added.

“Neither do I,” she said.

A beat passed.

“Guess I’ll go then.”

Luke nodded once.

Rose stepped back out into the bar.

Viv was behind the counter, stringing garlic up between the rows of roses like some kind of chaotic decoration.

“I’m not taking chances,” she said without looking up.

Rose almost smiled.

“I’ve got to go,” she said. “Luke’s out back if you need him.”

Viv nodded absently.

Rose headed outside.

Hale sat on the porch near his room, cigarette glowing faintly in the dark.

“Where are you off to?” he asked.

“Somewhere I don’t want to be,” she replied, moving toward her bike.

He gave a low chuckle.

“Shame. Would’ve liked to see you ride today.”

“Another time,” she said, swinging her leg over the bike.

“If you need help with the mechanics while I’m here,” he added, “I can lend a hand.”

“I’ll remember that.”

She started the engine.

The sound filled the night, but it didn’t drown out the noise in her head.

Something wasn’t right.

Kaelyn hadn’t called.

Bianca had delivered the message.

And she was heading back to the docks.

The road blurred beneath her as she rode.

By the time she reached the carpark, the clock on her dashboard read quarter to twelve.

“Feels like deja vu,” she muttered.

She cut the engine and sat there a moment.

She still had that feeling of being watched, but the air felt more charged tonight.

She stepped off the bike as the alley stretched ahead, shadows pooling where the light didn’t reach.

A black cat hissed and ran in front of her, making her jump.

I'm being stupid, she thought, entering the alleyway.

The wind changed. And all her senses were assaulted at once.

A scent hit her that she recognized immediately.

A musky, feral, and rotten smell slammed into her senses.

Her body reacted before her mind caught up, muscles tightening, senses sharpening.

A shadow shifted at the mouth of the alley.

Then another.

More appeared, blocking both ends.

Rose’s gaze lifted slowly, taking it all in.

Shapes advanced on her out of the dark.

Her pulse kicked up, steady and sharp.

“Great,” she muttered under her breath.

Her fingers flexed at her sides.

“Fucking rogues.”