Chapter 9
Ries, Chris and Stephanie headed downstairs to find security personnel standing guard over a boy much younger than his proclaimed fourteen years.
“We’ll take it from here,” Ries told the guards.
Stephanie stood in a corner and observed while Ries approached the young man, snagging an empty chair with his foot on the way. He looked commanding, even frightening, as he positioned himself directly in front of the young man.
“Pes mou to ónoma sou.”
The boy looked at him with fear in his eyes and nodded quickly, “Piotr”.
Stephanie leaned toward Chris and Ries heard her whisper, “What did he ask him?”
“His name.”
Ries bit back the grin that wanted to form, not wanting to give the boy any sense that he wasn’t in a heap of trouble. It amused him that Stephanie had chosen to come to a country where she didn’t understand even the most basic language. She was clearly smart but also clearly so new to Greece.
I could change that if we spent enough time together.
What am I thinking?
Now isn’t the time for a thought like that
Ries blamed his wayward thoughts on the heightened awareness he had of Stephanie since their almost-kiss a few minutes earlier. The feeling of her hands on him, the heat that shot through him, the warmth at her gentleness...
With some effort, he directed his focus back to the matter at hand. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the boy in front of him for several long moments, waiting for the kid to fully understand the amount of trouble he was in.
When the boy dropped his gaze and Ries caught a faint tremble in his lips, he knew he’d waited long enough.
“Do you speak English?” he asked, not wanting to listen to Stephanie and Chris go back and forth if it wasn’t necessary.
The boy nodded and Ries sat up, placing his hands between his knees and leaning forward. “I would suggest you use your words when answering me.”
The boy nodded and then looked up. “Yes, I speak English,” he said in a trembling voice.
“Good. Now, tell me: why were you sneaking around here spying on me?”
Piotr swallowed audibly and then whispered, “There’s this man…”
“What man?” Ries fired back sternly.
“Down at the docks. A group of us boys met him down there. He showed us your picture and offered us money if we would search the town for you.”
Ries exchanged a look with Chris and then pressed for more answers. “How many kids are looking for me?”
“I don’t know,” Piotr shrugged. “Maybe a dozen. Maybe more.”
“And the man pays you whether you’ve seen me or not?”
“Yes.”
“When? When do you meet with him?”
“At sunrise. On the docks, pier 9.”
Ries made sure Chris had the information written down and then he sat back again. “So, what shall we do with you?”
“I’m really sorry, Sir.” The boy squirmed, showing his youthfulness.
Nine. Maybe ten. Ries thought.
“I’m sure you are. Chris, have someone from the security team take this young man home and impress upon his parents that if he doesn’t lie low until this is over, we’re going to press charges.”
Chris nodded, taking the boy by his elbow and led him from the room. Ries waited until they were gone before gesturing to Stephanie to return to the penthouse apartment.
As they boarded the elevator, Ries was anxious for Chris to return so that they could begin planning a way to take the assassin down. He might be meeting his little juvenile army each morning, but if Ries had his way, he’d be meeting a Kafatos security team tomorrow morning.
Two short hours from now.
He escorted Stephanie back into his apartment and then headed for the kitchen. “Want some coffee?”
“Sure,” Stephanie followed him. She seemed shaken by the conversation downstairs. “What are you going to do now?” She asked.
“Nail the bastard who thought he could kill me. He couldn’t even do his own investigative work; he hired a bunch of kids for it.”
Stephanie nodded and took a seat at the bar, watching Ries move around the small kitchen. He got two mugs down from the cabinet and then retrieved milk and sugar. Ries turned around to face her.
“I think you should probably head back to your place.”
Stephanie looked puzzled, “Why?”
“You’re welcome to remain here, if you’d rather. But I won’t be here in the morning. Which is...” he checked his watch, “an hour and a half from now.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Where are you going to be?”
“The docks, of course.”
“I’m going with you.”
“No. You’re not. I don’t want you anywhere near the docks. In fact, I forbid it.”
“You forbid it?” she asked him with a raised brow.
Ries nodded and folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t want you anywhere near the docks.
I don’t want you anywhere near me or the bust when it is about to happen.
We don’t know that the man you saw isn’t working with others.
If they see you with me, you also become a target.
It wouldn’t be safe for you to walk the streets without armed guards. ”
“There’s no way I’m staying behind,” Stephanie protested. “You don’t even know if the man who hired Piotr is the same man I followed! I know what he looks like, and I can identify him.”
“You’re not going. It’s too dangerous.”
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him as he turned away to pour coffee. Ries handed her one of the cups and braced himself for her response.
It was obvious she was upset with him, and he enjoyed watching the emotions flash across her perceptible face. But he so much enjoyed the thought that she might get exasperated and leave – or worse, put herself in danger.
Finally, she found her voice and tried to argue once more.
“I need to go with you,” she pressed. “You need me there. What if this is a different man? What if you and your brothers have angered more than one person?”
Ries had to give her marks for trying but nothing would move him. “I don’t want you anywhere near the danger. If any harm were to come to you…” he stopped, surprised to find himself unable to complete the sentence.
“You’re saying you don’t want me there because it’s too dangerous?”
“Exactly.”
Stephanie gave him a tight smile and then crossed her own arms. “Very well. Since this man wants to kill you, I will stay behind with you.”
“I’m not staying behind,” Ries retorted, shocked. “No way.”
“Then I will not be staying behind, either. If it’s safe enough for you...”
“I have something to prove! I am not passing this problem off to other people.”
Stephanie met his eyes levelly. “So do I.”
“Look, Stephanie. There’s no reason for you to put yourself in danger. This is about me. I am already a target. You are not.”
“You can’t make me stay here,” she informed him quietly.
Ries looked at her contemplatively. He was secretly pleased that Stephanie was steadfast in her manner. Her stubborn behavior was a novelty for him.
Most women he knew were willing to cater to his every whim and never disagreed with him. They wanted to please him because they thought it to be the best way to gain access to his wealth. Stephanie was not driven by the desire to get on his good side. That somehow made her more attractive.
He realized that if he did try to leave her behind, Stephanie was resourceful enough to find her own ride down to the docks.
She wasn’t trying to appease him or gain access to his brothers. She wasn’t trying to gain access to his money.
She appeared to be merely concerned about him.
Nevertheless, there was no way he could allow Stephanie to be a target as well. If something were to happen to her...
I would never be able to forgive myself.
He cleared his throat and tried to reason with her once more.
“Stephanie, I need you to stay here. I don’t want you anywhere you might get hurt. If you’re down at the docks, I won’t be able to protect myself. I won’t be able to focus on anything but making sure you’re safe.”
When he put it that way, Stephanie found herself unable to argue her case.
She was a little hurt that Ries didn’t think she was capable enough to help take down the man at the docks.
But she also understood what he’d been telling her.
He didn’t want to worry about her in addition to himself, and he would if she tagged along. And if anything happened to him...
“Fine. I’ll stay behind.”
Ries looked relieved and gave her a small smile. “Thank you.”
Stephanie pushed aside the hurt and feelings of rejection that were plaguing her.
Whether Ries had intended it to come across like this or not, his worries about her safety felt like a lack of trust in her abilities and a refusal to keep her involved.
He was treating her in some ways as a child who needed to be protected - not a partner who could be trusted.
Chris returned to the apartment with half a dozen security personnel. They were all dressed in solid black. Chris looked over at Ries’ attire and told him, “You’ll need a change of clothes if you’re accompanying us.”
“Yes. Did you brief your team?” Ries asked.
“I did. Sunrise is less than two hours away. We’ll have a man on the docks getting his boat ready for a fishing expedition. Piotr did a good job of showing us where the kids meet this man. We’ll be hiding in the shadows and when he shows his face, we’ll grab him.”
“What about the kids?” Ries asked. “I don’t want them caught in the middle if crossfire breaks out.”
Chris sighed, “It may not be possible to keep them away but we’ll try to get this guy when he’s in the clear.”
Stephanie listened, silently making her own plans.
She’d agreed to stay behind to appease Ries but she was no pushover as he would soon find out. She had a right to be there and needed to know if the man paying the kids was the same man who had stolen the vase. If it was true, he could be the key to bringing down an entire ring of art smugglers.
The meeting broke up and everyone left, leaving Stephanie alone once more with Ries. He looked at her for a moment and headed for the bedroom. “I need to get changed.”
Stephanie nodded, refusing to give him anything more. Resisting the urge to follow him.
This is business.
But the more she saw of Ries, the more impressed she was.
She looked down at her own attire, silently thankful that she’d decided to slip a pair of black yoga pants and a black t-shirt over her skimpy waitress uniform. The t-shirt had a screen print of a popular 70’s rock band but that could be hidden simply by turning her shirt inside out.
Ries reappeared several minutes later, looking dark and dangerous, and more attractive than Stephanie was comfortable with. He looked like someone she’d let sweep her off her feet.
She swallowed the urge she had to run her hands over his tight-fitting t-shirt. She knew he was muscular but now she could see every one of the muscles beneath the shirt and it left her drooling as she watched him prepare for the confrontation.
He joined her at the bar and met her eyes. “Do you want to stay here or go back to your place? You’re welcome to stay here and when I get back, I’ll tell you everything that happened.”
Stephanie realized he was throwing her a bone and she nodded, refusing to take the bribe. “I’ll stay here.”
Ries’ shoulders relaxed, and he touched her hair for a moment, sending a thrill of heat through her body, before heading for the apartment door.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Help yourself to the fridge or the bar. If you get sleepy, you can use my bed or the couch. I imagine you’re tired from working tonight.”
“I’m a little sleepy,” she replied, faking a yawn.
“Try to get some rest. I’ll be back soon, hopefully with good news.”
Ries left the apartment and Stephanie went to the window, turning off the lamps and peering down as he and the rest of the security team began loading themselves into two dark SUVs.
She watched them pull out of the parking lot, and once she could no longer see their tail lights, she wore her t-shirt inside out and headed for the elevator.
She started to step onto it but had a second thought.
Ries more than likely told the security guard in the foyer that she was staying behind. He might have even given instructions for the man to stop her if she tried to follow him. That meant she needed a different plan. The only other way to get to the ground floor was to use the stairs.
Stephanie took the elevator down to the second floor, and then she set the elevator to continue on to the ground floor while she raced to the stairwell and made short work of climbing down two flights. She waited at the doorway until the elevator doors opened.
Just as she had suspected, when no one exited, the lobby security guard became suspicious and went to investigate. Seeing her opportunity, Stephanie slipped from the doorway and quickly made her way to the nearest door, letting herself out into the early morning air.
The docks were several blocks away. She quickly made her way toward the beach grateful she’d worn her sneakers.
As she made her way to where the men had gone, she couldn’t help but think about the different side of Ries she’d seen tonight.
Instead of being the billionaire-playboy without a care in the world, he’d been serious and commanding. He’d been willing to delegate where it was necessary, and no one questioned his authority.
Her initial impression of him as a vapid tourist was wrong. Ries was clearly so much more than what she had perceived.
She recalled his strong insistence that she remain safely behind. Stephanie wasn’t used to anyone being concerned for her and she didn’t know how to process it.
Any other time, she would have felt as if her independence was being snatched away but that thought never crossed her mind. Instead, it felt nice to have someone who worried about her.
A feeling that she could most definitely get used to, given enough time.