“Who’s he?” the man asked in a thick Russian accent.
“A friend. He’s acting as my second tonight.”
“Where’s Brandt?”
“Busy,” Rogan said shortly. “I’m vouching for him.”
There was a tense silence then the other man nodded.
“No weapons? No phones?” the other man asked.
Rogan shook his head, holding his arms out as the other man ran a handheld scanner over him. He did the same with Dylan then gestured them inside. They walked into a larger room with a round table in the middle. Three men sat at the table. The man directly opposite watched them carefully. “Rogan, welcome,” he said.
“Aleksandr,” Rogan said, taking a seat. Dylan took up a position behind him. Rogan quickly greeted the other men.
“Now we’re just waiting on Iker,” Aleksandr said.
This was a poker game with an agenda. All of the men in this room played a large role in San Antonio’s underbelly.
The man who’d let them in, Aleksandr’s second, glanced up as a bell went off. He watched at a small screen mounted on the wall that showed Iker and his second waiting in the office on the other side of the door. The Russian let Iker and his second in.
“Right, now that we’re all here, let’s get started,” Aleksandr said.
***
“Dylan’s not answering his phone,” Tilly said, tugging at her hair. “Where the hell is he?”
“They must be busy,” Colm said as he put away his cell. “Rogan’s not answering his phone either.”
“Do you think they’re okay?”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” he replied. “I’ll check with Cillian.” After a short conversation, he hung up with a frown.
“What? What is it?” she said urgently.
“Cillian said they’re both fine. They’re at a poker game. No phones allowed.”
“A poker game. Who cares about that! Tell Cillian to get in there and tell them I need them!”
“He can’t do that. This is no ordinary game of poker. When they get out, he’ll tell them to contact us straight away.”
She stared at Colm frantically. “Miller could die while we wait for them to finish their damn game!”
“She’s been there for days, Tilly. A few more hours won’t hurt.”
It was a callous thing to say. Tilly knew that Colm had little sympathy for Miller. But he didn’t know her.
Sitting, she leaned her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. “I don’t know how long I can wait.”
“You’ll wait as long as you need to.” Colm stood and patted her on the shoulder as he walked by her. “Oh, and Tilly?”
“Yeah?” she replied, glancing up at him.
“Don’t get any ideas about sneaking off to save her, got it? You’ll end up needing rescuing, and I’ll end up in the hospital with every bone in my body broken.”
“I know. I’m not that stupid.” Maybe if she was braver she’d try to get Miller out on her own, but she wasn’t. She had no idea what she was doing and she wouldn’t risk herself or anyone else by trying to do this alone.
With a sigh, she walked into the kitchen. Might as well bake while she was waiting. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she decided to call Dylan again. No answer. She left him a long voicemail. Then, deciding to cover all her bases, she sent him a text explaining everything.