Reina’s right, if I have to ask for permission to head back to Greece then I don’t belong there at all.
Fuck it. Fuck this. I won’t sit around and feel sorry for myself anymore. Peter’s out there and I want him, and I’m going to go take control of my life for once. No more waiting. No more self-loathing.
I’m rich as hell and I’m going to burn Greece to the ground.
Chapter25
Peter
The back room of the cafe is filled with smoke. Three men sit around a table, each of them rough and scarred, but it’s the center man that holds my attention.
Andre Legrand wears a dark jacket over a light shirt. It barely hides the gun at his hip. His eyes are pale blue and a scar runs into his lip, puckering the corner, making his grin lopsided and strange. He’s handsome, if you’re into that, and only a few years older than me.
“Thank you for coming,” he says in surprisingly good English. Beside me, Reina lights one of her ever-present cigarettes and glares at the man that’s supposed to be her boss, or at least the head of her cell, or whatever they call it. Le Milieu has a strange structure, but it keeps them out of trouble: if one group goes down, they can’t take the rest of the organization with them.
“I appreciate you visiting Greece. Although it’s not really my country.”
“No, it isn’t, is it? You’re an American. This place is only a distant home to you.” Andre sits back and studies me. He’s got an intense stare that I match and hold. “Reina here says good things about you.”
“I appreciate that. She’s a good operative. You’re lucky to have her.”
His smile is flat. “Oui, well, she has her uses.”
Reina rattles off something sharp and quick in French that sounds dangerously like she’s telling him to go fuck himself.
Andre only grins and shrugs.
“We don’t have a lot of time. We lost the Filo tails, but you never know when they’ll double back.” I lean forward and make sure he’s listening. “Galaki’s on board. He’s got detailed plans about how we’ll load and unload at either end of his flights. We need you to bribe the officials in your end, and we need resources to bribe the officials on ours. Once that’s finished, he’s ready to make the first trip as soon as next week.”
Andre nods to himself and strokes his chin. “You need resources. Why not go to Balaska then?”
“Balaska has been busy fighting off the other crime lords.” And he doesn’t want to lift a finger to help me, the selfish fucking prick, but I don’t tell him that. “This is the last step, Andre. Galaki can begin flying and once the pipeline is open, we’ll both profit immensely. All we need is money.”
Andre considers me for a moment. His eyes flick to Reina and he says, “What do you think?”
“I think he’s right. Open your change purse, you stingy fuck.”
Andre rolls his eyes and gestures at her. “Are you sure we’re the lucky ones?”
I hold up my hands for peace. “Enough. Do we have a deal? After all this back and forth and negotiating?”
“I’ll run it up to my superiors.”
I have to resist the urge to lunge across the table and strangle him. “We don’t havetimefor that. The longer we wait, the more crime lords will turn on Balaska, and the harder this will be. We have to strike now. Bribe the customs officials on this end and get that fucking plane in the air. Stop delaying.”
Andre shrugs like there’s nothing he can do.
We end the meeting, shake hands, make promises to reconvene in a few days, and I head out the back door. Reina follows, smoking away. “What did I tell you?” she says, sounding smug.
“What the fuck is wrong with your people?”
“Same thing that is wrong with yours. They don’t want to get their hands dirty.”
“We just need money. Balaska won’t give it. Your people are too fucking slow.”
“Now you understand why I am always smoking.” She grins at me and it’s like a smiling shark. She gestures with the cigarette back toward the cafe. “Those fucks drive me to it.”
I shake my head and keep walking. She flicks her butt away and catches up. “I’ll talk to Katarin. She’s more reasonable.”