Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,43
up ways to get it, most of them illegal and deadly.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“How could you? Raised in a tiny little town, surrounded by law-abiding citizens, most of whom love you.” His face hardened. “In my whole damned life, my grandmother was the only person who really loved me.”
Her heart almost stopped. She loved him. And she’d only just realized it. She was faintly disconcerted by a revelation that should have occurred to her much sooner. “There’s your cousin Paul,” she said after a minute.
“Yeah, Paulie. We’re fond of each other. He’d do anything he could to help me. In fact, he already is. But that’s not the same way I felt about my grandmother.”
“I don’t remember mine very well,” she said tightly.
He glanced at her. “Bad memories?”
She swallowed. “They don’t get much worse.”
His fingers linked into hers. “Can you tell me about it?”
She hesitated. He was insinuating that his life had been a little outside the law. Perhaps he might understand better than most men what it had been like for her, for her family.
“I want to,” she said. “Can it wait until later?”
He laughed. “It can wait.” He was flattered that she wanted to trust him with something that was obviously a secret, something she kept hidden. It was an indication of feelings she was beginning to have for him. He was beginning to have the same sort for her. If she had something traumatic in her past, it might help her relate to his own life.
Then he stopped and considered what he’d be letting her in for, after the trial, when he went back to Jersey, back to the old life. He’d pledged his loyalty, his life, to the crime family he belonged to. Betraying that code, that omertà, would get him killed. Not that he had any plans to turn his people in to the feds. In fact, even Tony was working with the feds right now, to ward off the takeover by Cotillo. But that was a temporary truce. Nobody in Tony’s employ was going to rat out anybody to the feds, least of all Mikey. That would get you killed quick.
On the other hand, if he wanted a life with the sweet woman at his side, and he was beginning to, how could he drag her into the shadows with him?
It would be her choice in the end. But she was sheltered and disabled. Not that his people would be bad to her, oh, no. Even the women would welcome her like a relative. His underlings would treat her like royalty. So it wouldn’t be bad from that standpoint. But the rackets Tony and Mikey were mixed up in were illegal. They specialized in online gambling, in numbers running, in casinos in Vegas. One of Mikey’s properties was a casino, in fact. He’d told Bernie that it was a hotel. It was a hotel, but it wasn’t in Jersey. It was in Las Vegas, and big-name entertainers came regularly to appear there. He ran it like a legal business, but he did do things off the books that could land him in jail. Bernie was such a gentle, trusting soul. She liked the country, the outdoors, little animals. Mikey liked bright lights and casinos. It was going to be a difficult adjustment, if she was even willing to make it.
“You’re brooding,” she accused, watching the expressions cross his handsome face.
He laughed self-consciously. “I’m brooding.” He turned his head for a minute and caught her eyes. “Sorry. I have things on my mind.” He made a face. “Paulie said they’ve got somebody close to me.”
“They?”
“The guy who’s after Tony and me,” he explained. He chuckled. “I told him it was probably Mrs. Brown. You can tell she’s just the kind of person who would set a man up,” he added with a grin.
She burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s wicked.”
“I’m a wicked man, honey,” he said, and he wasn’t kidding.
She frowned. “He doesn’t have any idea who it is?” she added.
“Not yet. He’s checking people out.”
“I’d check out that Jessie person in my office,” she muttered. “She’s one of the most horrible people I’ve ever known. She’s always cutting at the other women in the office. Poor Glory has high blood pressure. It can be dangerous, you know, and she has a small child. Jessie makes all sorts of unpleasant remarks to her about the medicines she takes, even about the way she dresses.”
“Your boss should get that woman out of the office,” he commented.