Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,3

you. Besides,” he added, settling back into his seat, “Cash Grier’s got one of his men shadowing me with a sniper kit.”

“It’s a small town,” Santi began.

“A small town with half the retired mercs in America,” Mikey cut in. “And my cousin lives right down the road. Remember him? Senior FBI agent Paul Fiore? Lives in Jacobsville, works out of San Antonio, worth millions?”

“Oh. Him. Right.”

“Besides, I know the sniper Grier’s got watching me.” He chuckled. “He doesn’t miss. Ever. And they snagged The Avengers to watch when the sniper’s asleep.”

“The Avengers?” Santi roared. “That’s a comic book!”

“Rogers and Barton. They’re called the Avengers because Captain America’s name in the series is Rogers, and Hawkeye’s is Barton. Get it?”

“Yeah.”

“I know how bad Mario Cotillo wants me, Santi,” Mikey said quietly. “I’m the only thing standing between Tony Garza and a murder-one conviction, because I know Tony didn’t do it and I can prove it. Tony’s in hiding, too, in an even safer place than me.”

“Where?” Santi asked.

Mikey laughed coarsely. “Sure, like I’m going to tell you.”

Santi stiffened. “I’m no snitch,” he said, offended.

“Anybody can hack a cell phone or the elaborate two-way radio we got in this car, and listen to us when we talk,” Mikey said with visible impatience. “Use your brain, okay?”

“I do!”

“Well, you must be keeping it in a safe place when you’re not using it,” Mikey muttered under his breath, but not so that Santi could hear him. The guy was good muscle and a capable driver. It wouldn’t do to upset him too much. Not now, anyway.

Mikey leaned back with a long sigh and thought of the woman he’d met tonight. He was sorry he’d misjudged her, but plenty of women had thrown themselves into his path. He was extremely wealthy. He had money in Swiss banks that the feds couldn’t touch. And while he’d been accused of a few crimes, including murder, he’d never even been indicted. His record was pretty clean. Well, for a guy in his profession. He was a crime boss back in Jersey, where Tony Garza was the big boss. Tony owned half the rackets around Newark. But Tony had some major new competition, an outsider who saw himself as the next Capone. He’d targeted Tony at once, planned to take him down on a fake murder charge with the help of a friend who worked in the federal attorney’s office. It had backfired. Tony also had friends there. So did Mikey. But Mikey had been with Tony in a bar when the murder had taken place and by chance, Mikey had a photo of himself and Tony with a date stamp on his cell phone. He’d sent copies to Paulie and Cash Grier and a friend down in the Bahamas. Before the feds could jump Tony, who might have been dealt with handily and at once before it even came to trial, Mikey and Tony had both skipped town.

The next obvious play by Cotillo would be to put out contracts on Mikey and Tony. Mikey smiled. He knew most of the heavy hitters in the business. So did Tony. It wouldn’t work, but Cotillo didn’t know that. Yet. Meanwhile, Mikey and Tony were playing a waiting game. Both had feds on the job protecting them. Mikey wasn’t telling Santi that, however. He didn’t trust anybody really, except his cousin Paul. The fewer people who knew, the safer he was going to be.

Not that life held such attractions for him these days. He had all the money he’d ever need. He had a fearsome reputation, which gave him plenty of protection back home in New Jersey. But he was alone. He was a lonely man. He’d asked a woman to share his life only once, and she’d laughed. He was good in bed and he bought her pretty things, but she wasn’t going to get married to a known gangster. She had her reputation to think of. After all, she was a debutante, from one of the most prominent families in Maryland. Marry a hood? Ha! Fat chance.

It had broken his heart. Even now, years and years after it happened, it was a sore spot. He was more than his reputation. He was fair and honest, and he never hurt anybody without a damned good reason. Mostly, he went after people who hurt people he cared about.

Well, there was also the odd job for Tony when he was younger. But those days were mostly behind him. He could still handle