That word landed wrong. Heavy with implication. These weren't customers. Weren't fans of Gideon's looking for gossip. Weren't construction workers checking on progress. They were something else entirely. Something dangerous.
"Store's closed," I said quietly.
The man's smile didn't waver. "Won't take long."
Behind me, the shorter one moved closer. I felt it—the shift in air, the deliberate encroachment.
My phone sat three feet away on the counter. Might as well be miles.
My pulse hammered in my throat. In my wrists. Behind my eyes. "What do you want?"
The tall one tilted his head. Studied me like I was something he might purchase.
"Just delivering a message." He pulled something from his jacket—folded paper, worn at the edges. Dropped it on the counter between us.
I didn't reach for it. Didn't move. "From who?"
His grin sharpened. "Someone who says your daddy owes more than money."
The world tilted.
The folded paper sat on the counter between us like a coiled snake.
I didn't want to touch it. Didn't want to acknowledge it existed.
But my eyes betrayed me—dropping to the worn creases, the smudged fingerprints along the edges.
The tall man's smile widened. "Pretty big bill." He tapped the paper with one knuckle. "Didn't tell you?"
My blood turned to ice. "My father doesn't owe anyone. You have the wrong?—"
He cut me off with a smile that was all teeth. All threat. "No, sweetheart." He leaned closer, invading every inch of space left between us. "We got the right girl."
I stepped back.
He followed. Slow. Deliberate. Like a cat playing with something wounded.
Behind me, the shorter man appeared again—too close. His breath hot against the back of my neck.
Surrounded.
Trapped.
My pulse hammered so hard I could barely hear past it.
The taller man reached into his jacket again. Pulled something else out.
A business card.
Plain. White. Blank on the front.
He flipped it over.
A phone number scrawled in shaky pen across the back.
He dropped it on top of the folded paper.
"Tell daddy we came by." His voice went softer. Darker. "Tell him we don't like being ignored."
