“Yes! That’s why we called you. They’re claiming it was their land all the time. We need you, Odysseus. We have to join forces.”
“Join forces?”
“All of us Greeks must. All of our families must. And you, too, Oz. You have to join forces with us and lead us, or otherwise they will rip us to shreds, family by family.”
“They want territory commanded by Greeks only?” Oz asked.
“We don’t know if they’re bothering the Russians or any other group. But we know they’re after us. We have to join forces because separately we wield no power. We’re getting our heads crushed in by the Americans. Whenever we acquire territory, we have to fight tooth and nail to keep it. We are no more than foreigners to them, playing in their wheelhouse.”
“I’ve got a piece of the pie over here,” said Andreas. “Then this other family has a piece over there. Another family? A piece over there. And you’ve got your thing going. It’s not enough for us to continue to survive piece by piece like this.”
“What does any of this have to do with me?”
“We need you, Oz,” said Petrakis, another head of family. “We can’t do this without your leadership.”
But Oz was already shaking his head. “No way. Why are you bringing this here? I don’t want this shit in my backyard. I don’t want it anywhere near Florida. I told you that!”
“We already know that,” said Andreas. “They aren’t contesting us on the east coast. It’s the west coast they’re after. It’s every territory we own over there.”
Oz exhaled. “I don’t see every head of family at this meeting. Are all of them onboard?”
“Yes,” said Morpheus.
“On one condition,” said Andreas.
Oz looked at him. “What’s the condition?”
“That you lead the group. They won’t form the coalition without you as the leader.”
But Oz was, again, shaking his head. “No way.”
“You led us in Greece.”
“This isn’t Greece!” Oz said firmly.
“But Odysseus, they won’t do it without you in charge,” pleaded Andreas.
“Then it won’t happen!” said Oz. “There’s no way I’m getting in that deep. Not in a land that is not even my home country!”
“But if we give in here, in America, on this foreign soil, they will go to Greece, to our soil, and take over there too. And that’s when your interests will collide with them too. We can’t give in, Odysseus! You can’t say no!”
Oz stared at the faces in front of him. All strong, powerful men. But they didn’t know what they were asking of him. He was attempting to slowly bury his mob ties, not highlight them! And his brother, who had no idea he was still knee deep in a syndicate he thought had been buried with their father, would kill him if he found out.
But he also knew Andreas was right. Saying no would be a death sentence, not just for them in America, but for their full force in Greece.
Oz leaned his head back. “Damn!” he said angrily.
CHAPTER FOUR
Teddy Sinatra drove slowly as Gloria, seated on the passenger seat, thumbed through the text messages on her phone. He kept glancing at her as he drove, seemingly worried about her, but said nothing until he stopped at a red light.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Glo?” he asked her.
“I’m sure,” Gloria replied without looking up.
“But why Florida of all places? There are always some crazy things going on down there. Ever hear those news stories about this Florida man or that Florida man doing all of that fucked-up shit? Like eating people’s faces and shit? And since when did you want to own a diner?”
Gloria smiled. “It wasn’t organic like that, Teddy. I didn’t wake up one morning and said, ‘oh, I think I’ll own a diner in Florida today.’”
“Then how on earth did you suddenly decide to own a diner in Florida today?” The light changed, and he continued driving.
“When me and Leyla and rest of the girls went to Vegas, and we stayed at The PaLargio, I went to see Uncle Reno. We started talking about my future and I told him my goal was to launch out on my own someday. Maybe own me a little shop in a small town somewhere. I told him I was searching for the right place. That’s when Uncle Reno said he knew this lady in Apple Valley that was looking to sell this successful diner she owned, and that he could put me in touch with her. It was shocking. I didn’t think I could get that kind of break, so I called her. She said she’d be pleased to negotiate the terms, so I hired a lawyer and a realtor to help me negotiate them, and now I’m about to fly to Florida for the Closing.”
“Dad pays you that much that you can just go out and buy a business like that?” Teddy asked her.
“I’ll have a mortgage,” Gloria responded.
Teddy shook his head. “Dad’s not going to like that either, sis,” he said.
Gloria knew it too. That was why she didn’t respond, but looked out of the window as they made their way toward the airport.
Teddy continued to glance at her. Her big, beautiful eyes kept darting around, as if she knew her decision would be fraught with problems. “When are you going to tell him?” he asked her.
She let out a harsh exhale. “After I close and have the keys in my possession, I’ll eventually go back to Philly and let him know. Right now, he thinks I’m on an extended vacation, a much-needed vacation, for the rest of the month.”
Teddy was shaking his head again. “A month-long vacation. He’s never given me that much time off.”
“He gave you and Nikki a lot of time off.”
“Not a whole month! But that’s how he is. He lets you get away with murder.”
Gloria smiled. “That is such a lie! He doesn’t let me get away with anything! I just happen to have that much time banked up. I had a right to take it.”
He’s going to be so pissed with you.”
“For what? For using my earned leave time?”
“You know what I mean. When he finds out what you’re really up to, he’s going to be upset, Glo.”
“Upset at me for living my own life? Something I’ll never be able to do under him because he won’t let me? He treats you like a man, Teddy. He treats me like a little kid. Like I’m Jackie’s age, not in my twenties.”
“He treats you that way because that’s exactly what you are. Under him, we all are little kids. We’re Mick Sinatra’s kids. In this world, because of who he is, it’s not just a title. It’s a freaking shackle around our necks that we’ll carry for the rest of our lives.”
Gloria looked at Teddy. She could hear the bitterness in his voice. As the underboss in their father’s elaborate crime syndicate, he especially had to bear that burden. But she didn’t. She was getting out.
“I’ll tell him when I come back from my monthlong vacation. He can be pissed all he wants. By then, my business will be up and running. It’ll be done by then.”
“If he wants to undo it, he’ll undo it,” Teddy said. “You know that, right?”