The moment I stepped through the doors, the stench of smoke and sweat slammed into me like a wall. The place was a mess of shadows, red lights, filthy leather couches, and the sound of bass-heavy music thudding low in the background.
Card games. Laughter. Curses. Girls in glitter, barely dressed, dancing on a pole. Guns on laps. Bottles clinking. Tattoos everywhere—but not the one I was looking for.
I moved carefully, eyes scanning every face, every forearm, every movement.
Then a voice boomed behind me.
“How did you get here?”
It was like thunder cracking through the building. I turned slowly, just as the massive man with the voice pushed through the crowd, eyes bulging.
“Who gave you permission to enter?! Get out of here!” he barked again, moving toward me like a charging bull.
He
