Page 12 of Claimed Gem

“I don’t need a babysitter and I don’t need one of your special teams of security experts. Not yet. I’ll ask for help when the time comes, I promise. Just let me figure out where the threat is coming from first,” Ries asked.

“I can give you a few weeks but if you haven’t made progress by then, Damon’s not going to give either of us a choice. He’ll call in the big guns.”

“I know. That’s why I called you first,” Ries told his brother with a grin. “Do I have your support?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure you have access to all of our information systems. Three weeks, and if you don’t have anything concrete to go on by then, we’ll have to change plans.”

“I can deal with that,” Ries nodded.

A knock at the door caused Ries to pause his conversation. “Would you mind getting that?” he asked Stephanie.

“Not at all.”

Ries turned his attention back to the screen and his brother. “I need to I.D this guy.”

“If you can snap some photos of this would-be assassin, I can submit them to the international database. If we get an I.D., we can find out who he is and if he has any known business associates that might also be connected to us. Someone has been trying to hurt the company for a while now. This doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

“I agree. I’ll do what I can.”

“Three weeks,” Nicolai reminded him. “And if anything happens sooner than that – call me immediately.”

“Got it. I’ll talk to you later.”

Nicolai nodded and then disconnected the call, but not before giving Stephanie another suspicious look. It was obvious his brother didn’t trust the woman, and why should he? He’d never met her before, even Ries had his doubts about her true motives.

“So, now what happens?” Stephanie’s quiet voice penetrated the silence of the room. She handed him a glass with clear liquid in it, but Ries set it aside.

“Thanks.” Ries turned and looked at her. “I’m going to take a shower and get dressed. Do you need to go home and change?” he asked, eyeing the shorts and t-shirt she’d tossed on over her waitressing uniform several hours earlier.

“I could use a change of clothes and a shower,” she told him hesitantly.

“Okay. Why don’t we meet up later tonight?” Ries suggested.

“That sounds good. I could use a few hours of sleep before my next shift starts, as well,” Stephanie told him.

Ries walked her to the door and then opened it for her. “Stephanie, thank you for coming here tonight. Really.”

“Of course. Anyone would have done the same,” she gave him a small smile and then headed for the elevator. Ries watched her until the elevator doors closed and then he headed for his own shower.

He showered and then began pulling together a plan to identify the man wanting to kill him. He exchanged a few messages with the security division of Kafatos Shipping and also with his brother.

Nicolai - Doing okay?

Ries -Yeah, just figuring out how to find this guy.

Nicolai – I thought the girl could I.D. him?

Ries – She followed him tonight. She saw him selling stolen goods a few nights ago.

Nicolai – What do you know about this girl?

Ries – Not much.

Nicolai – Maybe she shouldn’t be involved any further.

Ries – She’s good. I trust her.

Nicolai – You can’t afford to trust anyone.