Tuesday, October 10th 7:30 PM

Grayson arrived at The Capital Grille fifteen minutes early, securing their usual corner booth and ordering a whiskey. The restaurant hummed with quiet power and dark wood, leather, the kind of establishment where deals were closed and secrets were kept. Where wealthy businesspeople congregated, not always the honest ones.

His Velvet Room phone sat heavy in his pocket. He'd resisted texting Red for the last few hours, wanting to save the anticipation for tonight. ...