Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,82

with that sad little woman who lived in Mrs. Brown’s boardinghouse. She’d never forgive him for Jessie. He knew it without asking. It was the worst mistake of his life, and he couldn’t fix it. Nobody could.

* * *

He packed his bags and Santi packed his. His heart was breaking. Bernie was the light of his life and he was leaving her behind. He hadn’t felt so low since the death of his grandmother, and the murder of Paulie’s wife and little girl. He felt the grief like a living thing.

“Where we going, boss,” Santi asked. “Vegas or Jersey?”

“Vegas,” Mikey said without missing a beat. “I need a diversion. A big, bright, flashy, glitzy diversion.”

“Vegas is a nice place,” Santi said. He grinned. “Lots of glitzy girls there.”

“You’re welcome to all you can find,” his boss replied glumly. “You can have my share, too.”

“That’s nice,” Santi replied.

They packed their things into the convertible. Mikey went to the office and took care of the bill. Santi was waiting just outside the door in the limousine as he came out.

Mikey put himself into the back seat and leaned against it wearily as Santi pulled out into traffic. It was early morning, so they’d probably hit the work traffic on the way to the airport. He didn’t care. Santi had been a wheelman for Mikey in earlier times. He was still a great driver.

“Do me a favor,” Mikey said suddenly.

“Sure, boss. What?”

“Drive through town. Past the courthouse.”

Santi didn’t say anything. He just smiled.

* * *

The women who worked in Kemp’s office were just filing in. There was Glory Ramirez and Sari Fiore. Olivia was ahead of them all. And there, behind them, in an old tweed coat, walking slowly with a cane, was Bernie.

“Slow down, okay?” Mikey asked, sounding half out of breath as he watched Bernie’s slow progress to the door. She was hurting. It was a cold, rainy day, and he imagined she was having one of her flares.

He remembered her sitting up with him when he’d had the migraine. He remembered carrying her into the boardinghouse the day they’d met, when she had fallen in front of the car and he thought she was playing him. It seemed so long ago.

She made her way into the building, not looking behind her. She’d screwed her beautiful blond hair up into a bun. She looked tired and in pain, worn-out. He grimaced as he watched her disappear into the office. The door closed behind her.

Mikey felt the loss of connection like a blow to his chest.

“We leaving now, boss?” he asked Mikey.

There was a hesitation, only a very brief one. “Yeah,” Mikey said finally. He slumped a little. “Yeah, we’re leaving. Let’s get to the airport.”

“Sure thing,” Santi said, and sped up past the office building, leaving it and Bernie behind, perhaps forever.

Chapter Fourteen

Bernie, never a late sleeper, woke very early the next morning. She couldn’t get what Sari had said out of her mind. Suppose Jessie had told lies to both her and Mikey? She had been too shy to speak to him about something so intimate, and he would probably have been reluctant to say anything to Bernie about her supposed distaste for his background.

Jessie had been putting on an act. Why? The woman was patently out of place in Jacobsville, which led to a worrying conclusion. What if she was a lookout for that man who was trying to have Mikey killed? It really bothered her.

She got up and dressed, aching and barely able to walk for the pain and stiffness. After a few minutes, she felt better, but she’d still need the cane, even on level ground. Rheumatoid arthritis flares were painful and fatiguing. She took her medicines regularly, but they’d begun to be less effective, as many drugs became over the years. She recalled the wonder shot that was used to control it, but even with a large discount, she’d never be able to afford the monthly expense. It might have made a difference in her quality of life. Days like this, cold and rainy, were agony to people who lived with arthritis.

* * *

She didn’t tell the other women that she’d walked to work, because they’d have fussed. Any one of them would gladly have offered her a ride, but she wanted to be independent. It wasn’t good to lean on people. Her father had always said that they had to take care of their own problems and not advertise them to the world. It was