Athens Affair, page 8
As the dealer dealt the next round, Jasmine focused on winning. It was time she took control of the situation and Christos Demopoulos. The sooner she got that scroll, the sooner she could negotiate a trade to get her son back.
The dealer dealt the hand.
Jasmine collected her cards, hope souring as she stared down at the hand dealt to her.
Chapter 7
From his position on the other side of the room from Jasmine, Ace could do nothing to affect the outcome of the poker game. He had to wait and hope Jasmine and the dealer orchestrated a win that would ensure her invitation to the Demopoulos compound.
Even then, Ace wasn’t sure they’d get in. If they did manage to get past the gate guards, would they eventually get the hell out of there with the scroll and their lives?
If they were shot and killed in the process, who would save Eli? Ace and Jasmine were the boy’s only hope.
Ace had heard horror stories about the people murdered by warring crime families in Italy and Greece. They were brutal, shooting each other in the streets and taking out innocent women and children in the process.
Of course, there were mass shootings in the US all the time. Only, this time, Jasmine was setting herself up as a target in a very dangerous game that had nothing to do with cards.
The game dragged on at a glacial pace.
Subtly shifting from one foot to the other, Ace prayed the players would hurry the game along. The sooner they secured an invitation onto the Demopoulos compound, the sooner they could find the scroll and get the hell out of there.
Leaders of the Greek crime ring were ruthless. They didn’t hesitate to kill people who got in their way, including some of their own—possibly evidenced by the assassination of the previous kingpin who’d been gunned down in the streets of Athens.
Given the fact Demopoulos had taken over as the head of the organization, Ace would bet the man had something to do with his boss’s demise.
If only they knew who had Eli, they might have a chance of rescuing him without the scroll.
As it was, the only chance of luring the kidnappers out into the open with Eli was to dangle the carrot and show them the copper scroll.
The plan was complicated, with too many moving parts and the possibility of glitches along the way.
The scenarios roiled around in Ace’s head.
What if Jasmine didn’t win the poker game? She was down on her chips. One hand could wipe her out. Granted, other players’ winning hands were also helping to deplete Christos’s stack of poker chips.
Ace watched Jasmine’s face from his position. She gave little clues about her cards along the way, and he suspected she did it on purpose. When it came time to go in for the win, she’d have to school her expressions to give away absolutely nothing. Or she could send him mixed singles, bluff her way through and score big.
Another possibility could happen if the dealer didn’t set her up to win. She’d be on her own to make things happen the way she needed them to happen.
Again, too many places for things to go wrong.
The plan was too complex. Sneaking onto the compound without securing an invitation might have proved easier. What was a little concertina wire to a couple of special operation types?
The dealer dealt a new hand. Each player held two cards, and he laid three cards on the table.
Jasmine stared down at the cards in her hand and then at those on the table. Her eyes flared slightly, and the corners of her lips twitched.
For a brief second, Jasmine’s gaze met his.
Ace read in her face that this was the hand that would start Christos down the road to being beholden to her.
Ace tensed.
Christos pushed half his stack of chips into the pot.
Jon folded.
Jasmine raised Christos’s bet.
Klaus and Angelo folded.
Nikolai met Jasmine’s bet.
Christos pushed more chips into the pot.
Jasmine glanced between Christos and Nikolai. Then she met Christos’s bet.
Nikolai met Christos’s bet.
The dealer laid out the next card.
Christos added more chips to the pot, leaving very little left in his stack.
Jasmine met his bet.
Nikolai stared at his two cards and those on the table and then met the bet.
The dealer laid the last card on the table.
Christos pushed all but five chips into the pot.
Jasmine deliberated for a full thirty seconds and then met Christos’s bet.
Nikolai met the bet.
Christos laid his cards on the table. Between the two in his hand and the ones on the table, he had three of a kind.
Nikolai shook his head and laid out his two cards. His highest combination gave him two pairs.
Christos smiled.
Then Jasmine laid down her two cards. She had a flush, beating both their hands.
Christos frowned as the dealer pushed the pot toward Jasmine, giving her the greatest number of chips among the players.
Christos waved the casino manager over and asked for a whiskey. He whispered to the manager something Ace couldn’t hear.
The casino manager shook his head.
Christos’s brow furrowed. He spoke in angry Greek.
The casino manager again shook his head.
Jasmine raised a hand for the casino manager. He disengaged with Christos and hurried over, appearing thankful for her interruption.
Jasmine spoke softly to the casino manager.
He frowned, nodded and then left the room. Moments later, he returned with a martini and the whiskey Christos had requested.
He left the martini with Jasmine and carried the whiskey to Christos, setting it down on the table. He leaned close to Christos and whispered something to the younger man.
Christos’s gaze shot to Jasmine, and his eyes narrowed.
The bait had been cast. Would he bite the hook?
Christos spoke to the manager and then sent a nod and a tight smile across the table to Jasmine.
She acknowledged by briefly raising her martini glass and then taking a sip.
More chips were added to Christos’s five, giving him a decent amount to continue in the game.
The next hand was dealt. When the dealer laid out the three cards on the table face up, Jon made his bet, Jasmine met it, Klaus raised the bet and Angelo folded.
Nikolai raised Klaus’s bet, and Christos raised Klaus’s bet.
Jasmine, Jon and Klaus met Christos’s bet.
The dealer laid the next card on the table.
Jon checked.
Jasmine added chips to the pot.
Klaus met her bet.
Angelo folded.
Christos studied his two cards and those on the table. Then he met Jasmine’s bet.
At that point, Jon didn’t have enough chips to match. He folded.
When the dealer laid the last card on the table, Jasmine pushed half of her chips into the pot.
Klaus didn’t have enough chips remaining to match her bet. He folded.
Christos looked at his two cards, those on the table, and then his gaze went to Jasmine, his eyes narrowing. Then he pushed all his chips into the pot, matching the bet.
He laid down his cards.
Between his two cards and those on the table, he had a flush.
Jasmine’s brow dipped. She hesitated another moment before laying out her cards.
Four of a kind.
Christos cursed.
The other players congratulated Jasmine as the dealer pushed the pile of chips toward her.
Jasmine smiled at the others and stood. The others stood as well.
The game was over. Jasmine had won.
Now, all she had to do was get Christos to pay up.
The casino manager and another waiter brought drinks. One by one, the players approached Jasmine to shake her hand and congratulate her again on her win.
Christos was last to approach her. As he crossed the room to Jasmine, he wore a crooked smile.
Ace moved close enough to eavesdrop. He didn’t trust Christos.
The crime boss’s son said something in Greek.
Ace didn’t know enough of the language to understand.
Before and throughout the game, Jasmine had maintained an unreadable expression. After winning, she allowed her face to relax into a friendly smile.
Christos said something.
Jasmine’s smile slipped a little, and she shook her head.
When he spoke again, Jasmine shook her head again. He motioned toward the door and back to himself.
Jasmine shook her head with a hint of a smile, cocking one eyebrow.
Christos shrugged and waved his hand, encompassing Jasmine, Ace and himself.
Jasmine gave the man one of her beautiful smiles that made Ace just a little bit jealous.
She met Ace’s gaze briefly and tipped her head in an almost imperceptible nod.
Christos had fallen for the bait.
* * *
Jasmine collected her winnings and tipped the dealer and the casino manager, thanking them both.
Though the tension of the game was over, she couldn’t let her guard down. Their mission wasn’t over yet. She’d only made it past the first hurdle. This marathon wouldn’t be over until she had the copper scroll and traded it for her son.
The other players moved toward the door, talking and laughing about the game.
Jon Anders paused near Jasmine. “I hope we can play again. I’d like a chance to win back some of that money.”
“Perhaps we’ll meet again,” she said.
“I’m sure we will.” Jon nodded toward Ace and left the room.
Christos offered Jasmine his arm.
She slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow, ready to get to the compound.
As he led her through the casino to the front entrance, the electronic bells and jingling of the slot machines barely registered with Jasmine. She focused completely on the task ahead.
Ace followed a few steps behind.
Having him there gave her a sense of security she hadn’t experienced since her time in the Sayeret Matkal. Knowing Ace had her back bolstered her courage.
As they exited the casino, a black limousine waited at the curb.
Night had fallen over Athens, and city lights blurred the stars overhead.
The driver stood beside the rear door. As they approached, he opened the door and held it as Jasmine got in and slid across the seat.
Christos sat beside her. The driver opened the front passenger door and motioned for Ace to sit there.
Ace frowned, his gaze meeting Jasmine’s as she leaned around Christos.
“You can ride up front,” she said to him in English. “I’ll be all right.” Jasmine would rather Ace rode with them in the rear of the vehicle, but that wouldn’t be conducive to lulling Christos into letting down his guard. She wanted him to think she was no threat and that he had a chance at seducing her.
Ace hesitated a moment longer, leveling a hard look at Christos. Then he climbed into the front seat of the limousine, where he could neither see nor hear what was happening in the back of the vehicle.
Jasmine suspected he wouldn’t be happy about it. But it couldn’t be helped.
Once both doors were closed, the driver climbed into his seat and drove the limousine away from the casino into night traffic. He maneuvered through traffic, heading out of the city into the countryside.
Jasmine watched through the side window as the density of buildings thinned on the outskirts of the sprawling metropolis.
“Do you live very far from the casino?” Jasmine asked.
“Our home isn’t in Athens, but it won’t take long. The view is worth the drive,” Christos said. “Can I offer you a drink?”
She nodded. “Some water would be nice.”
He leaned forward and opened the door to a mini bar with a refrigerator, extracted a bottle of water and handed it to her. He selected one for himself and closed the door.
Jasmine twisted the cap off the bottle and drank, glad for a distraction that would limit, if only briefly, her ability to answer questions should he ask.
“Where did you learn to play poker, Miss Giordano?” Christos asked.
She swallowed before answering, “Please, call me Francesca,” she said. “I learned to play poker from a friend. And you?”
“My father.” He twisted the top off his bottle and drank before continuing. “He likes challenges.”
“Do you play with him often?”
His smile twisted. “Not anymore. We played a lot when I was younger. He’s a very busy man with many responsibilities.”
“Will you take over the family business someday?” she asked. Though she pretended to look out the window, she observed Christos in her peripheral vision.
“Perhaps,” he said.
“Are you not interested in what he does?”
“We are very different, my father and I.” He remained silent for a minute, then turned to her. “Do you come to Athens often?”
She tilted her head, thankful she didn’t have to lie, knowing it was hard to keep track of too many lies. “I have, in the past.”
“Do you think you’ll come back again soon, Francesca?” He smiled. “I like the way your name sounds.”
“Thank you.” She shrugged. “I travel all over the world. I like to visit places I haven’t been before.”
“I like to travel as well,” he said. “What has been your favorite place you’ve visited?”
She smiled. “Ireland is one of my favorites. What’s yours?”
“Ireland, as well.” He smiled. “I love to hike along the Cliffs of Moher and climb among the rock formations of the Giant’s Causeway. Have you been to either?”
Jasmine nodded. “Both. Nature never ceases to amaze me in its beauty and complexity.”
The driver drove up into the rocky hills overlooking the city lights below.
Jasmine would rather have taken their own vehicle. They’d discussed it briefly and agreed it would be easier to get past the gate guards, and Christos would be more comfortable allowing them onto the compound if he brought them himself. Once they exited the compound, they’d have to figure out how to get back into Athens. They’d worry about that after they retrieved the artifact and got out of the compound.
The vehicle left the main road and wound even higher into the hills, eventually slowing to a stop.
Jasmine leaned toward the window. Just as Dmytro had indicated, a six-foot high wall covered in white stucco and topped with concertina wire surrounded the compound. A closed metal gate stood between the vehicle and their entry. “Are we here?” she asked.
“We are,” Christos said.
Moments later, the gate slid open, and the limousine drove through.
As the vehicle passed through the entrance to the compound, Jasmine made note of the guards armed with a machine guns on each side of the road. A video camera was perched on the wall closest to the driver’s side of the vehicle, probably allowing Demopoulos’s security element to verify identities of those wanting to enter.
After the car passed the wall, the gate closed behind them.
A thrill of success rippled through her. They were inside the compound. One step closer in their plan to retrieve the scroll.
The driver proceeded along a paved driveway, winding ever upward. Soft lights at the bases of trees lit their way, casting beams and shadows across manicured hedges, trailing bougainvillea and lush lawns.
At the top of the hill, the driver turned into a wide, circular driveway and eased up to the front of a mansion of white stucco and massive windows overlooking Athens’ city lights.
Jasmine noticed the two guards at each corner of the building, armed with the same machine guns as those at the gates. Two more guards stood on either side of the huge double door. These men carried handguns holstered at their hips.
If she and Ace planned to leave through the mansion's front door, they’d need a major distraction to divert their attention. They’d be better off sneaking out a side or rear door as long as they had cover and concealment to hide their exit.
Jasmine’s stomach knotted. Their plan might be more difficult to carry out with only ceramic knives strapped to their legs. They were severely outgunned.
Her lips twitched. What she wouldn’t give to have one of those machine guns.
She wished they’d had more time to locate the kidnapper. They could have avoided the Demopoulos family entirely and the danger that now surrounded them.
With no idea who had taken Eli, they had to secure the scroll in order to make the trade for her son’s life. She’d do anything, risk everything to save him. Though she was glad he was with her, Jasmine wished she hadn’t put him at risk as well.
When the limousine stopped, the front doors opened. The driver and Ace got out.
Ace opened the back door before the driver could make it around the vehicle.
Jasmine leaned forward and gave him a slight nod as if to let him know she was okay.
Ace stood back as Christos stepped out of the vehicle, turned and extended a hand to Jasmine.
She laid her palm in his and let him help her out of the limousine. He turned, sliding a hand behind her back, and walked with her up to the front door.
Ace followed several steps behind.
As they approached the door, one of the guards produced a metal-detecting wand.
Christos leaned toward Jasmine. “Forgive me. It is only a formality.”
Jasmine nodded and smiled, praying they didn’t conduct a pat down after running the wand over her person. She held her arms out to her sides.
The guard waved the wand over her right arm, her shoulders, the left arm and down her torso and legs. Thankfully, he didn’t attempt to frisk her.
The guard nodded.
Christos stepped through the door.
Jasmine entered after him, stopping just inside. She turned to Ace.
