The victory party at Sal's house was not a social gathering; it was a scene of controlled chaos, fueled by the limitless money of organized crime. Sal's father was a known dealer in the Rossi network, and the house reflected it.
Dante immediately retreated to the house's most private area—the back rooms. The atmosphere there was thick, hazy, and silent, completely divorced from the loud music in the main house. People were hunched over tables, engaged in the heavy drug use that defined their freedom.
Dante needed to distract himself from the raw, dangerous emotions Letty provoked. He needed numbness. He accepted a joint—weed laced with Ecstasy—and took a deep, long puff, holding the smoke deep in his lungs until he felt the world soften and slow. The powerful, melancholy beat of Kid Cudi
