Chapter 10 · No Safe Door in the Black Market

The lights died halfway down the corridor and Charlotte already had Ivy's wrist in one hand and the Glock in the other. Three seconds of total dark, then emergency strips kicked in—dim red, the kind that turned everyone into shadows.

"They cut the main grid." Ivy didn't pull away but her pulse hammered under Charlotte's fingers. "That's a kill order. Not a shakedown."

"I know." Charlotte scanned the hallway. Two exits visible, both probably covered. The market's layout was a maze by design—narrow passages, blind corners, reinforced doors that could lock from either side. Good for business. Hell for getting out alive. "How many people know you're here?"

"Too many." Ivy's voice stayed level but her free hand moved to her jacket pocket. Charlotte caught her wrist before she could draw whatever was in there.

"Don't. You pull a weapon, the first nervous dealer we run into will shoot before they think."

Ivy exhaled through her teeth. "Then what?"

"We move. Now." Charlotte released her and stepped toward the left exit, keeping her body between Ivy and the open corridor behind them. The red emergency lights hummed. Somewhere deeper in the market, glass shattered.