CHAPTER ONE
The Chevy Suburban pulled up alongside the big, black Cadillac Escalade and Leonardo “Leo” Ducetti got out of the Chevy and got onto the backseat of the Escalade. Other than the lights of the two big SUVs, it was pitch-black on that backroad.
Mick Sinatra, sitting quietly on the backseat of the Escalade, didn’t look Leo’s way. He appeared to Leo to be taking his own counsel. Leo knew to wait.
And then Mick exhaled. “How many families?” he asked.
“Ten,” Leo said. “Combined they’ve taken over seven of our territories.”
Mick’s hard jaw tightened. “Motherfuckers,” he said. Then he looked at Leo. “How the fuck could they take over that many of my territories and nobody knows?”
“They were slick with that shit, Boss. They didn’t take over any of our manned posts. Not one of our manned operations was on their list. They only touched those unmanned sectors you acquired years ago that we haven’t even had a need to occupy yet.”
“All on the west coast?” Mick asked.
“All on the northern tip of the west coast, yes, sir. Nobody was supposed to know you own up there. It was supposed to be our safe zone. I figure the assholes that took it don’t even realize it’s your turf either. I think they took over that territory because they thought it was some random mob they were muscling out. I’ll bet the ranch they don’t know it’s Mick the Tick they’re playing with. I’ll bet that.”
“We’re the Ghost Mafia to their asses,” Mick said.
Leo smiled. “Right.”
But Mick wasn’t smiling. He was thinking. “Keep it that way for now,” he said. “They want random mob, give them random mob. Get the word out that the Ghost Mafia owns the land they grabbed, and nobody knows who the fuck they are.”
“The Ghost Mafia. Yes, sir. But how do we stop’em if we plan to stay lowkey?”
“We put them to the test,” Mick said. “They wanna play with the big boys, let’s see how organized they are. They’re stealing from me. Even in the shadows, I’m not letting that shit stand.” Then Mick exhaled again. “Take out one of their guys.”
Leo looked at him. Taking out a man for a land grab they could have easily grabbed back seemed extreme to him, but Mick the Tick lived on the extreme. That was why nobody fucked with him. “A front line guy?” he asked his boss.
“Hell no. Show them we mean business. Take out one of their dons, or whatever the fuck those Greeks call their bosses. Take out the head of the strongest family in that group.”
“And if they retaliate?”
“Then we’ll know they mean business too.”
“And once it’s determined that they mean business?”
“Then they’ll find out just who they’re doing business with,” Mick said bluntly. “But don’t go about it half-ass. Take your time. Pick the right moment. Do it in weeks, not days. Let them relax and think they’re getting away with that shit. And then strike.”
Leo smiled. There was nobody more calculating than Mick the Tick. “Yes, sir.”
Leo was about to get out, and handle the boss’s business, when he glanced back at his boss.
Mick looked at him. “What?”
“How’s Gloria doing, sir?”
Mick’s gaze turned hard. Leonardo was a good man, reliable and steady. But Mick wasn’t interested in his daughter hooking up with a mob guy he didn’t care how reliable and steady he was. And he made no bones about it. “None of your fucking business,” he said to Leo. “Now get your ass to work.”
Leo’s heart dropped. Others in the organization had already warned him against approaching Mick about Gloria, but he had such a massive crush on her. He figured, as one of the top guys in the syndicate, he had earned a right to at least inquire about her. He realized, right then and there, that he had figured wrong. “Yes, sir,” he said nervously, and then hurriedly got out of that SUV before Mick the Ticking Time Bomb blew up on his ass too.
CHAPTER TWO
The dance floor was loaded down with bouncing, sweaty bodies, but Oz Drakos still managed to be the center of attention anyway. It wasn’t just because he was six-three. There were men there who were even taller. It wasn’t just his looks, either. There were gorgeous men all over the place. But Oz had the hair, and he was whipping the shit out of it. Because he knew the women loved it. They were just eating it up. He was in his element.
But none of that explained the fascination he had with her.
He had no clue who she was. When she walked into that Vegas nightclub, she became just another pretty face in a sea of pretty faces as far as he was concerned. Her body was snatched. That was for damn sure. But that wasn’t an unusual feature in that club that night either. The women Oz was dancing with had figures that could easily rival hers. Hell, the three other ladies the woman entered the club with had bodies to rival hers too. So, that wasn’t it either.
But there was something about that particular woman that got his juices flowing. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He watched her as she and her girlfriends sat at that VIP table. He watched her turn down man after man after man trying to get her on that dance floor with them. And he wanted her too. It seemed as though many men realized instinctively that somebody special was in their midst. And they all were failing to get a piece of that action. But Oz had nothing but complete and utter faith in his ability to, literally, charm the panties right off of her too.
But the night was young, he decided, as he continued to dance and laugh and enjoy himself. He was going to have her. But he would pick his moment.
But Gloria Sinatra wasn’t trying to have him. She hadn’t even noticed him in that club at all. As she sat at that VIP table, with her eyes darting around as if they were looking at everything and nothing at all, she had too much on her mind to specifically notice anybody.
“A toast,” said her closest friend Leyla, and Gloria and their two other friends raised their glasses. “A toast,” Leyla continued, “to all these fine motherfucking brothers up in here!” The girls laughed. “And the way they’re eyeballing us? We have our pick of the litter tonight, ladies!”
Gloria knew it too. There were certain places where black girl power rocked and outshined them all. Paris was certainly one of those places. London, too, in certain quarters. Vegas was beginning to get that rep too.
And she’d already turned down a handful of guys already. But that was by design. She just had enough on her mind than to have to put some man on it too.
She leaned back and crossed her legs, her short skirt barely covering her toned thighs. The main thing on her mind was her father. She was leaving him. There was no other way she could put it. She was getting out of Philly, and away from his all-consuming influence in her life, once and for all. She’d be the first one of his children to do so. And she was the most unlikely one to do it considering Teddy and Joey’s personalities. But she was going to get it done. Her mind was made up. By hook or by crook, she was getting out.
“What’s wrong, Glo?” Leyla asked after their other two friends eagerly accepted offers to dance and headed for the floor. “You look like the cares of this whole world are on your little shoulders.”