Page 9 of Claimed Gem

“Care to tell me why?” The Greek man asked.

“Does it truly matter?”

“Not really. You pay me well enough that I don’t need to,” the Greek man told him with a smirk.

“Just get it done.”

“Don’t worry. The target is going to make my job easy. He has no sense of self-preservation and frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t killed himself with how reckless he acts. It will be easy to make it look like an accident. Something he did to himself.”

“I don’t care about any of that; I just need him out of the way. Time frame?”

“Within the week. The other two are going to be much more difficult,” the Greek man warns the other.

“I’m sure you’ll handle them as well.”

“Of course. Difficult just makes it more fun for me. Getting to them might require a bit morefinesse…”

“Meaning what? You want more money?” the English man asked.

“That would be very perceptive on your part.”

“As long as you eliminate the Kafatos brothers, I’ll pay you whatever you want. Just get it done, beginning with Ries. Getting rid of him will be a wake-up call to his brothers and I can’t wait to see their faces when they get the news. Be sure to alert the press, will you?” the English man asked.

“I’ll let you know when the task is complete and you can do whatever you like,” the Greek man told him.

Stephanie watched as the two men shook hands. Then a thrill of terror ran through her as she realized that in her desire to hear what they were talking about; she had put herself in harm’s way. If the man discovered her, and suspected she had overheard...

Stephanie didn’t stick around to see what else happened, she turned on her heel and hurried down the street, ducking into the first alley and continuing to run back toward the bar. She was out of breath and had a stitch in her side by the time she finally reached the bar and got her bearings.

She leaned over, trying to catch her breath, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she stood up and headed for the hotel where she’d taken Ries the night before. Someone was trying to kill him. And it sounded like they were after his brothers as well. She rushed into the hotel, slowing her pace when she drew the concerned look of the night watchman. After the way the police had acted yesterday, she didn’t know who could be trusted.

She walked toward the elevator, relieved when the doors immediately opened and began to carry her up to the top floor. Ries was using one of the four penthouse suites and she approached his door, knocking lightly and hoping he was still there. When he didn’t answer she knocked again, a bit louder this time.

Moments later, a very sleepy looking Ries opened the door and she almost broke into tears. “Ries…”

“Stephanie?” Ries took a step forward and looked both ways down the small hallway. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to tell you something.” Stephanie was almost shaking with anxiety as the criminal’s words came back to her. “Now. Please…”

“Sure, come in here. Do you know what time it is?” Ries asked, stepping back and letting her inside his room.

“I don’t care.” She quickly told him about seeing one of the criminals and following him.

“You did what? Don’t you realize how dangerous that was?” Ries asked her, pacing in front of her now where she sat on a small couch.

“I just wanted to see where he was going so that I would have something else to tell the police. I was hoping…,” she paused and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. You need to leavetown.”

Ries reared back and laughed at her, “What? No! I don’t need to do anything.”

Stephanie stood up and came to stand directly in front of him, “But you do. The criminal I followed is going to kill you.”

Ries looked at her in surprise and quite a bit of doubt on his face. “Listen to me, I heard him and another man – one who was speaking English, so I didn’t get the words confused, I understood everyone. The Greek guy is going to kill you and then he’s going after your brothers.”

She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him toward the door, “You need to get out of here.”

“Wait! Stephanie, slow down and start from the top.” Ries pulled her back to the couch and then pulled her down to sit beside him.

“Ries, you…,” she stopped as the tears she’d been holding back started running down her cheeks.