Page 17 of Claimed Gem

Stephanie ignored him and they continued to discuss their days and the fact that so far there had been no new breaks in the identity of the man wanting to kill Ries.

“I imagine he’s getting frustrated. He seemed to think killing you would be an easy task andhe’d have it done within a week.”

“Hopefully that will make him careless,” Ries murmured, refilling both of their wine glasses for the…third time?

Stephanie’s body was feeling nice and flushed, she was warm, and the flavor of the wine was wonderful as she took another drink. It dawned on her as Ries emptied the rest of the bottle into his own glass that they’d both had way too much to drink.

Way too much for me to drink with a man I’m attracted to,she thought.

They continued to talk, their conversation growing more scattered over time.

When Ries’ glass was empty, he set it down on the coffee table and smiled at her. “I’ll get us another bottle.”

“Ries, I don’t think…”

“Good, thinking can be overrated,” he told her, pushing up from the couch, only to stumble and hit the edge of the coffee table hard with his knee.

Stephanie rushed to steady him but found that she was very unsteady herself. She grabbed his arm, her palm connecting with his strong biceps, while her other arm landed on his waist. She instantly became aware of how warm and solid his body was. She looked up and caught him looking at her with latent heat burning in his eye.

She stared at him, longing for something more, something tangible thick in the air around them. She could feel her pulse speed up and her body softened as she watched him, and the chemistry flowed between them. It was shocking in its intensity and she felt herself sway toward him…

“Ries!” Chris burst into the room, stopping at the sight of Stephanie and Ries together. “Sorry. Man, I know my timing stinks but we have a situation.”

At those words, Ries stood taller and Stephanie’s hands fell away from him as she did the same. “Situation?”

“Yeah. You need to come with me. We caught an intruder.”

“What kind of intruder?” Stephanie asked.

“The kind that was gathering information on Romeo here,” Chris answered dryly. “We caught a kid spying on the apartment.”

“A kid? Someone sent a kid to kill me?” Ries asked incredulously.

Stephanie shook her head, turning to him as she answered, “The man I followed was no kid. He looked lethal.”

Chris shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know about the guy you followed but we captured a kid. A teenager. He was sent here to spy on you.”

“How did he find me? No one is supposed to know about this place,” Ries asked, walking around the couch and retrieving the shoes he’d kicked off much earlier.

“I don’t know, but you’d best come and see for yourself.”

“I’m coming too,” Stephanie moved to retrieve her own shoes.

Ries nodded and both men waited for her by the door. Stephanie nodded to Chris as she exited the apartment and they followed him downstairs, her mind spinning with this new development.

What’s going on here?

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”.