Page 47 of Cowboy

Resting in his family’s Greek mansion for a few days before truly getting down to business, Dimitri grinned at the young woman salivating over his body. Of course, they had no choice. They either gave him pleasure, or he would release the guards on them. And they would not be so gentle.

“Boss, we have a problem,” said the man at the door.

“Fix it. I’m busy.”

“Boss, it’s the warehouse at the docks. Someone got in, killed the boys, and they have our merchandise.”

“What? That’s impossible! There are more than a hundred bodies in that warehouse. Where did they go?” he asked, shoving one girl to the floor and kicking the other in her side. He reached down for his trousers and shirt, getting dressed as he moved toward the door.

Half-dressed, he stood on the balcony overlooking the sea. In the distance, he could see his favorite ship, theOdyssey. Feeling better that she was there, he started to turn, then heard the awful sound of an explosion and metal crying out.

“No,” he whispered. “No, this isn’t possible.” When the phone rang, he debated on not answering it, but seeing the number, he grabbed it.

“Hello, Dimitri,” said Autumn. “Are you enjoying the view?”

“What the fuck did you do?”

“I did what needed to be done. The women and children are safe, the poachers are dead, thanks to the lions, by the way. Rather apropos, don’t you think?”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” he screamed.

“Well, you should probably tell your men to get off the other ships. They’re going to blow in exactly two minutes.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said, shaking his head. He grabbed the binoculars, trying to get a look at the ships docked, but it wasn’t clear from here.

“You’re willing to risk all those lives for your ego? Interesting. I wonder what the authorities will do when they discover your cargo. Won’t that make for interesting headlines?” He laughed at her, shaking his head.

“The authorities. Really, Autumn, you are naïve. I own the Greek authorities.”

“Maybe,” she said with a grin, “but I doubt if you own Interpol, the United Nations Security Forces, the CIA, MI5, and various other nasty, nasty organizations. They’re going to be very interested in why your uncle’s will was changed, after he died.”

“I didn’t change his will,” he said, breathing heavily.

“No. But it looks that way. You’ll be dead soon, Dimitri. My only regret is that I didn’t get to do it myself. For my grandmother.”

The line went dead, and Dimitri screamed like a child as his bodyguards watched.

“Call the ships! Tell them to search for explosives,” he yelled, running toward the vehicles. As they sped away, the bodyguard shook his head.

“Communications are down. No one is answering.”

“No! This cannot be happening.”

“Boss, it’s not a big deal. The ships will sink completely. No one will see the cargo.”

“You idiot! The bay is shallow. They won’t sink completely. If they put the explosives in the right places, the cargo will float to the surface. We’ll be done!”

Rounding the bend toward the docks below, four massive explosions went off, perfectly timed within seconds of one another. The groan of steel bending and burning rattled through the windows of his SUV. Men were jumping from the ship into the bay, swimming for dear life.

When he pulled up to the dock, he was so shocked by the scene he never saw the dozens of cars pulling up with the authorities. When the Greek officer gripped his arm, he pulled it away.

“Don’t touch me, Kristof!”

“I’m sorry, Dimitri. This time there’s no paying anyone to look the other way. We’ve been ordered to turn you over to Interpol.” The man looked behind him, then whispered to Dimitri. “They know what’s on the ships, and they’ve already got divers ready to bring the cargo up.”

“No. No, this can’t be happening,” he whispered. He stared at the ships as they creaked and moaned, tilting and sliding into the water. A glimpse of a familiar face set his heart racing. A man that he’d seen before. A man he knew.

Cowboy walked along the dock in a black scuba suit with an Interpol logo on it. He looked directly at Dimitri and smiled, nodding his head. Then he flipped the middle finger at him.

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