Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,74
his cup around in the saucer. “Santi kept harping on it. He said he couldn’t protect me if he was several blocks away. I finally listened.”
Paul, remembering an earlier conversation, knew what the truth was. Mikey was distancing himself from Bernie, removing temptation.
Sari glanced at Mikey’s lowered head and started to speak, but a sharp jerk of the head from Paul silenced her. Instead, she started talking about a reality show she and Paul had been watching lately.
After Mikey went back to his motel, Sari questioned Paul about his odd behavior.
“He’s doing it for her own good,” Paul said on a sigh. “He thinks she couldn’t cope with his lifestyle. You know, Isabel, it’s not the same life as this one. Not at all. He’s in constant company with people who break the law. He travels in high social circles just the same, rubs elbows with movie stars and politicians and gamblers. He couldn’t settle down here if his life depended on it—well, except briefly, like he’s having to do now. But Bernie would never fit into that sort of world.”
Sari met his eyes and nodded sadly. “But she was so happy,” she said softly. “Bright as the sun. She almost radiated with it. And now she’s so quiet we hardly know she’s around. She never jokes and smiles anymore.”
“Neither does my cousin,” Paul said. He pulled her close. “You and I came from different worlds, but we worked it out, because we loved one another. You can tell how Mikey and Bernie feel about each other just by looking at them. Why couldn’t they work it out, too?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. She laid her head against his broad chest. “What about the sudden residents? Any new intel on them?”
“Not a lot,” he confessed. “Jessie and her friend Billie are both from New York originally. They do have mob ties, but not to Cotillo or Tony Garza. Their connections aren’t apparent, but we’re trying to run them down. There’s still a family that operates in New York, even covertly, but it’s fragmented and the boss is in prison.”
“He can still run it from prison. It’s not even hard.”
“True. He has an underboss holding power for him. Jessie may have something to do with him. That wouldn’t necessarily mean she or the boss favored Cotillo. He’s an outsider and he does a bloody business. You know how well that goes over in mob circles. They don’t like attention. Cotillo’s getting them a lot of it.”
“Wouldn’t it be lovely if somebody in one of the old outfit families decided to take Cotillo out of the equation?” she asked on a sigh. “Shame on me. I work for the court system. I should be ashamed.”
“Yes, you bad girl.” He kissed her hungrily. “You need to be severely reprimanded. Come right over here and I’ll do my best.”
She laughed as he tugged her down onto the bed. “Oh, this is a reprimand I’m going to love,” she teased.
He chuckled as he started to remove her gown. “You bet, you’re going to love it!”
* * *
The driver of the car that almost hit Bernie was a local businessman who’d had three drinks too many out at Shea’s Bar and misjudged the curb, just as Bernie had figured. He turned himself in to Cash Grier with many apologies and Cash got him into rehab.
Bernie listened to Cash’s explanation in the office a couple of weeks after Mikey had moved out of the boardinghouse.
“I thought it was something like that,” she said quietly. “I mean, if people in organized crime want to hurt you, they just kill you, don’t they?”
“More or less.” They were alone in the office. It was just after lunch and the other women hadn’t returned. “What about you and Mikey? I thought that was going to be permanent.”
She flushed. “I’m not healthy,” she said. “His grandmother had what I’ve got. She was an invalid, bedridden, when she was old. I’m likely to end up in that condition a lot sooner.” She fought down panic at the thought that she might not even be able to work. She was far too proud to ask for government relief, even though she might one day be forced into it.
“There are new drugs,” he pointed out.
She smiled sadly. “Chief Grier, the sort you’re talking about costs over a thousand dollars a month. They do have programs to help people afford them, but it isn’t that much of a reduction.”