Chapter 14 Smoke and Denial

Valen

The bass vibrating through the floorboards of the VIP lounge was a steady, rhythmic beating against my boots.

Crimson lighting washed over the main floor below, cutting through the haze of expensive cigars and spilling over the sweating bodies packed together. It was a chaotic, sensory overload of a room. I built this place exactly for that purpose.

I sat draped across the leather sofa,