The air in the room was already heavy with smoke, tension, and unspoken threats — but when the double doors slammed open, it shifted. Everyone paused.
Footsteps echoed. Confident. Loud. Disrespectful.
A man walked in without so much as a nod of acknowledgment to anyone at the table. He wore a long black coat, soaked from the rain, and gold chains swung from his neck with each step. His hair was dyed blood-red in patches, wild and twisted into dreadlocks, and his left eye had a faded scar running through the brow.
“Look what the storm dragged in,” Kiko muttered, narrowing his eyes.
The man dragged an empty chair from the edge of the room, ignoring the screech it made against the tile. Then he dropped into it like he owned the place, legs spread, hands clasped in front of him.
Jake didn
