When Dead in Greece Read Online Free

taller, but wasn’t as wide in the shoulders. His light-brown beard was trimmed to maybe a quarter of an inch. He stood there for a moment, staring me down. Then he stepped to the side and continued on. I looked back. Saw him thump Esau in the chest.
    “Let’s go.” He looked back at his men and gave them a circling gesture with his finger. They retreated to the front door, effectively barricading it from ingress and egress, as Esau and the guy disappeared into the office.
    Isadora retreated behind the counter for a second, then came over to me. She offered me a wet towel. I wiped my face with it. Wasn’t sure if the blood it removed belonged to me.
    Tension filled the cafe. It smelled of coffee, pastry, and sweat. The rumbling waves and persistent wind howled through the room. Three of the men lifted their shirts and placed their hands on hidden weapons. Why hadn’t they used them? Not even for a threat? Someone had told them not to, no matter the situation. I doubted they had expected the kind of resistance they encountered.
    Isadora returned to the busy side of the counter. She paced on a five-foot tract, her gaze never wavering from the wall that separated her from her uncle.
    I strained to listen in on the conversation in the office. Heard nothing. Wouldn’t have mattered if I did since they likely spoke in Greek.
    Fifteen minutes passed. The men at the door took turns stepping out. Each time the door opened, I caught the scent of seared tobacco.
    When the guy finally left the office, he took a path that led right through me. His hard soles slapped the tile, slowly and deliberately. He slipped his hands inside his pockets. Stopped three feet from me. His gaze worked from my feet to my eyes.
    There was no sign of fear in the guy. He could handle himself, and he knew it. Worse, he knew that I knew it. He had a background that paralleled mine in some way. He was more than a common criminal. He had military and government training and experience.
    He stared at me as though he considered how to handle me. If he stepped to the side, I won. That was unacceptable.
    Same went for me. I wasn’t about to give the guy ground. But adrenaline had worn off. My ribs hurt like hell. Knuckles felt swollen. I ached in spots where I’d been punched and kicked.
    Esau stepped out of his office. He held a bloodstained cloth to his nose. He wiped his face, then tucked the cloth in his pocket. He walked like a man with a vertebra out of place. Back arched, shoulders held back, feet shuffling along the floor. He pushed past the guy in front of me.
      “Enough, Chris,” he said to the guy. “Get out. You and all your bastards.”
    Chris turned his head toward the old man, but kept looking at me. “Twelve hours, Esau. That’s all he’s giving you.”

Chapter 5
    THE GUYS AT THE DOOR filed out, one at a time. They looked left and turned right and slipped out of view. Chris was the last to leave. He stopped in the open doorway and looked back. His gaze traveled slowly across the room until it met mine. No words were exchanged, but his intent was clear. Intimidation. He stared me down as though he were saying I’ll be back to deal with you later .
    He said something in Greek, and followed it up with a hand gesture, then let the door fall shut.
    Esau charged forward. He threw his weight into the door to expedite its closing. The lock engaged with a thud.
    “What’d he say?” I said to Alik.
    Alik shrugged. “It didn’t make sense to me. Maybe some kind of code that only Esau would understand?”
    Isadora went to her uncle and wrapped her arms around his neck. She choked back sobs. He patted her back and soothed her in muffled tones.
    “I’m sorry,” he said to us. “Sorry that you two got mixed up in that. It is not what it looked like.”
    Isadora stared at the floor.
    “Then what is it?” I said.
    Esau sighed as he pulled away from his niece. He gestured for her to sit down. She twisted a seat until it faced the window and