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“You’re lying. What did they say?”
Her jaw works and she turns to stare at the refrigerator. “What my bosses say to me is my business alone.”
“Are you in trouble?” Adrienne asks with adorable sincerity. It’s not the phrasing I would’ve used—but it seems to do the trick.
Reina looks back with a curious frown. “In a way, yes. I did not want to talk about this, but I have not been on the best of terms with Le Milieu. I need this to turn around our relationship. To show that I can get jobs finished.”
“They threatened you,” I say and watch her react. Her shoulders stiffen and she hunches protectively around the cigarette.
“Call the pilot,” she says sharply. “For all of our sakes. Yes? Good. Do it now. I need to shower. Forget about me and my problems. You can help by doing your damn job.” She stubs out her cigarette and disappears into the bathroom.
The silence hangs thick like the cigarette smoke at the ceiling. Adrienne quietly puts away the coffee mugs and cleans up the grounds. When she’s done, she looks at me.
“They’re going to hurt her if she fucks up.”
“Something like that,” I agree.
“Which means we have to make sure this deal goes through.”
I accept that wordlessly. Worry lines etch across Adrienne’s face. I wish I’d never brought her into this, much less introduced her to her sister. Whatever Reina’s gotten herself into doesn’t matter to us or at least it shouldn’t. Reina can handle her own problems. I don’t need to worry about the Frenchwoman on top of Adrienne and all the crime lords in Greece.
I leave her in the kitchen and step out back to make a call. Balaska’s phone rings a few times until a woman answers. “Hello, darling.”
“Katarin. I was looking for your husband.”
“Ah, Peter. I was hoping you were Adrienne.” She sounds disappointed.
“You think Adrienne would call from my phone?”
“Perhaps. I hear you two are spending a lot of time together.”
“Let me speak with him, Katarin.”
She sighs dramatically. “All right, all right. But I should say he’s in a very bad mood. Something about your father and the Filo family? They’re making issues. Some very ugly noise.”
A cold chill run down my spine. “What did you hear?”
“Lots of arguing. Lots of frantic calls. They’re taking sides, Peter. Ah, here he is—good luck, darling, and tell Adrienne I say hello.” The muffled sound of someone passing the phone off comes across the line until Balaska’s voice grunts through. “What the fuck did you do?” he asks.
“I take it you heard from Rastus and my father.”
“They’re making a fucking mess, Peter. Your father is complaining you betrayed your family, and Rastus is trying to get all the crime lords to pick sides over his deal with Le Milieu.”
“I assume you’re handling it. You knew this would happen sooner or later.”
He lets out an annoyed snarl. “Of course I knew, but this is too soon. We don’t have any details hammered out yet.”
“Actually, we’re getting close. Le Milieu agreed to the numbers last night. Now we need to get logistics settled and we’re on the way.”
Balaska’s quiet for a moment. This is good news and he knows it. Now that the crime lords are lining up to take sides, he needs something to show that he’s got this situation under control. A partial agreement from Le Milieu is a very good start.
“All right then. We can work with that.”
“I need you to keep my father and Rastus off my back while I figure this out.”
“I’m not sure I can do that.”
I’m quiet for a second as that sinks in. “What do you mean?”
