Luis slowly reached beneath the counter, his fingers finding the master switch for the bar's internal surveillance system. Three high-definition cameras covered the floor: one at the main entrance, one facing the bar, and a small, high-angle dome camera positioned directly above the top-shelf liquor, pointing straight down at the corner booth.
"Here’s how this works," Dalton sneered, pulling an empty chair from an adjacent table and dropping into it backward, leaning his broad chest against the backrest. "You two apologize for the mouth, you pay for our drinks, and maybe I don't charge you with disorderly conduct."
"We were sitting here peacefully before you walked over," Danielle said quietly.
"You calling me a liar?"
"I'm stating a timeline," Danielle replied.
Dalton’s face turned a darker shade of red. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping into a raspy whisper. "People around here know better than to get clever with me."
"That sounds less like authority and more like intimidation," Dominique noted, her eyes locked on Dalton’s duty badge.
The sentence hit the air like a slap. A young patron at a nearby table, Aaron Cole, slowly pulled his phone from his jacket pocket, keeping it low beneath the table edge as he pressed record.
Dalton caught the reflection of the glass screen out of the corner of his eye. He whipped around, pointing a thick finger at Aaron. "Put that phone away right now!"
"I'm in a public establishment," Aaron said, his voice shaking slightly, but holding his ground.
Kyle took a step toward Aaron's table, but Luis stepped forward, leaning his hands over the bar. "Leave my customers alone, Kyle."
Dalton turned on his heel, glaring at the bartender. "Stay out of this, Luis. This is official police business."
"You're off duty, Rick," Luis said firmly. "You've been drinking bourbon for two hours. You aren't on official business, and you aren't doing it in my bar."
The room grew dead silent. It was the first time anyone in the neighborhood had called Dalton out publicly.
Dalton’s jaw twitched. He walked up to the counter, leaning over the wooden surface until he was inches from Luis’s face. "You remember how many code violations I found on your back patio last summer, Luis? You want me to call the health inspector down here at seven in the morning?"
"You've done this before," Dominique’s voice cut across the room, cool and sharp as shattered glass.
Dalton turned slowly back toward the booth. "What did you say?"
"You use the authority of that badge to extort people who can't fight back," Dominique said, standing up from her seat with fluid grace. "You do it because you think the badge protects you. You’re wrong."
Mark reached out and grabbed Dominique’s shoulder, attempting to shove her back into the booth. "Sit down and shut up!"
Dominique didn't flinch. She grabbed Mark’s wrist with a mechanical lever lock, twisting his hand outward just enough to break his grip while stepping out into the open floor. "Touch me again, and you will be facing federal assault charges."
Danielle stood beside her sister, her frame tall and relaxed. Kyle moved in to cut them off, but his balance was noticeably off, his boots sliding slightly on the polished floor.
"You're intoxicated," Danielle said, eyeing Kyle’s service belt. "You are carrying an issued sidearm while under the influence of alcohol in a public venue."