He led Lily around the bar to a dingy back room, pausing to exchange terse words and a complicated handshake with the hulking bouncer posted by the entrance. The big man grunted something that might have been "boss" before allowing them to pass.
The cramped space on the other side looked like the kind of shadowy meet-up spot for backroom deals that you only saw in movies. A battered card table stood in the center, ringed by mismatched chairs occupied by an assortment of seedy-looking men. The air was thick with pipe smoke and the bitter tang of cheap liquor.
Several pairs of narrowed eyes swiveled in their direction as James and Lily entered. Lily fought the urge to shrink back under the weight of those appraising, deeply distrustful stares. Instead, she lifted her chin and met their scr
