The large room was intimidating as well as decadent. Dangling lights sparkled like groups of stars, catching the light off shiny floors and long tables crowded with elegant glasses and silver plates. It was a gaudy spectacle, but beneath it lay danger. This was not just a dinner. All smiles were fake, every look counted, and every man there had the smell of violence lurking beneath his nice cologne.
Dante arrived with Isla by his side. He had a gentle grip of her lower back, not kindly, but as if she belonged to him. His touch seared on her skin, but she endured it. She already knew that being presentable was being equipped with guns in this world.
