Oz didn’t want to release her hand, because he was sorry that it had come to that too. But it had come to that. No way was he reckless enough to mess around with the daughter of Mick Sinatra. What man on the face of this earth was?
But, ultimately, he released her hand. He had no choice. She was pulling away too hard.
“Do you need anything?” he asked her.
She was surprised that he would even bother, at this point. “No,” she said. “You?”
He was surprised that she would even bother, at this point. “No,” he said.
And then she took her bag from him, too, picked up her briefcase, and made her way off of his plane.
Oz stared at her as she walked across that tarmac, and her brother met her halfway, hugging her with a big bear hug and relieving her of her overnight bag.
As they walked toward her brother’s car, arm in arm, Gloria glanced back at the plane, and the window where Oz had been standing near. But Oz had already moved on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Alex and Kari were in bed, watching a movie, and Kari was cheering the protagonist on. “You tell him, Harriet,” she was saying. Shirtless, her breasts were still red and swollen from when Alex’s mouth was all over them, and they were bouncing as she excitedly waved her finger. “You tell him about his foolish behind!”
“What’s foolish about it?” Alex asked. “Are we watching the same movie? The man thought she was dead, Kari.”
“And?”
“And he thought she was dead! What was he supposed to do?”
“He could have waited for her.”
“Waited for a dead woman?” Alex asked.
“But she wasn’t dead!” Kari pointed out.
“How was he to know that, Kari?”
“He could have waited,” Kari said firmly. “I don’t care what you say.”
“Besides, he did wait,” said Alex. “He waited a whole year.”
Hard knocks were heard on their bedroom door. Alex looked at Kari. “I thought Jordan was spending the night at Matty’s house.”
“He is,” said Kari, grabbing the shirt Alex had removed from her. “Must be Oz. Who is it?” Kari yelled out.
“It’s me.”
When they heard that voice, Alex paused the movie and looked to make sure his wife was decent.
“Come on in,” Alex said when he saw that Kari was covered. But when Oz walked in, the look on his face made it clear to them that he wasn’t there just to shoot the breeze.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kari asked him.
“Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Oz asked.
“Tell you what?” asked Alex.
“That she’s his daughter!”
Alex frowned. “Who’s whose daughter?”
“Gloria.”
“Reno’s cousin?” Alex asked. “What about her?”
“And she’s not his daughter,” Kari said. “She’s his cousin or niece or something. And we did tell you, Oz. We told you to stay away from her.”
Oz, frustrated, sat on the edge of the bed and tilted his head back.
“What is wrong with you?” Kari asked again.
“She’s his daughter,” Oz said with defeat in his voice.
Now Alex was getting upset. “Whose daughter, Oz?”
Oz turned and looked at his brother. “Mick Sinatra’s daughter.”
Alex was shocked. He stared at Oz. “Are you serious?”
“Mick Sinatra?” Kari asked.
But Alex and Oz were still staring at each other. “Why is that your business?” Alex asked Oz. “We told you to stay away from her.”
“You knew who she was?” Oz asked.
“We knew she was related to Reno Gabrini. That should have been enough for you to leave that child alone.” Then a terrible thought entered Alex’s mind. “Oz, what have you done?”
Oz stood up and began pacing the floor. Kari looked at Alex. She’d never seen Oz so discombobulated.
“Just tell us what’s going on,” Alex said to his brother. “Just tell us.”
Oz continued to pace the floor, and then stopped near the foot of the bed and placed his hands in the pockets of his pants.
“What is it, Oz?” Kari asked him. “She’s his daughter. So what?” Then she hesitated. “Have you slept with her?” she asked him.
He looked at her, and that look said it all. “Oh, Oz, you didn’t!” Alex said.
“And that’s not the worse part of it,” Oz said.
“What do you mean?” asked Alex.
“I just agreed,” he said.
“Agreed to what?” Alex asked him.
“I agreed to head the Greek families,” Oz said.
Alex couldn’t believe it. “Why would you agree to do that” he said angrily.
“What does that even mean?” Kari asked.
“It means his ass is still roped up and tied up in that mafia shit!” Alex was hot with his brother. “You told me your ass was out of that for good. That’s why I brought you in as a partner, Oz!”
“And I was out of it when you brought me in. But things changed on the ground. Major businesses that I own in Greece were being threatened because nobody was greasing the palms of all of those crooked-ass politicians. I had to step in.”
“But?”
“But stepping in wasn’t the problem.”
“It never is,” said Alex.
“Stepping out was the problem,” Oz said. “Once I went back in, there was no getting back out.”
“Why do you need to run the Greek families?” Alex asked. “They have strong enough leaders. Why can’t they run themselves?”
“They’re being picked off, one by one, by this shadowy group that just took out Madinis and Morpheus.”
Alex was shocked. “Both of them? When did this happen?”
“They mean business, Alexio,” said Oz. “And they don’t plan to stop in America either. They want all the families’ territories in Greece too. Which is where I operate. I can’t let that happen.”
“You say a shadowy group?” Kari asked.
“A group that calls themselves the Ghost Mafia,” said Oz. “That’s why somebody has to be in charge of the Greek families. The Ghost Mafia has declared war on them. They knew they had to centralize their fractured groups into one group, or none of them were going to survive the onslaught.”
“And they chose you to lead it?” Alex asked. “Or did you choose yourself?”
“You think I want an assignment like that? Hell no, I didn’t choose myself! But it’s on me now,” he said, and ran his hand through his hair. “This shit is on me now.” He began pacing again.
Alex was studying his brother. “Is Sinatra involved?” he asked him.
“We aren’t sure.”
“But there’s a possibility?”
Oz nodded. “Yes.”
Alex leaned back. He understood the implication. Kari didn’t know the magnitude, but she could feel its impact in the room.
“There would have never been a coalition if they knew he was behind those takeover attempts,” Oz said.