by Diana Palmer
“Sto bene, grazie, e tu?” Paul replied.
“Va bene,” Mikey responded with a grin. “Cosi, cosi. Non mi posso lamentare.”
“Benissimo!”
“English, English,” Sari Fiore chided. “Bernie doesn’t understand Italian,” she laughed.
“Just greetings, honey,” Mikey told her, and brought her hand to his lips. “I’ll teach you some nice Italian words the minute we get some time together.”
She grinned. “Okay.”
“Come on in,” Paul added as two feds got out of the sedan that had trailed Mikey’s car. “McLeod, do you and Agent Murdock want coffee?”
“I’d love some,” McLeod said, and glanced at Murdock. “As long as that guy doesn’t offer to make it,” he added firmly.
Murdock, a good-natured man, just chuckled. “I get stuck with making it at our office. People pour it in the ficus tree.”
“Yeah, the poor damned thing shivers all the time,” Paul commented on the way to the kitchen. “I think it’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Hey, Mandy, can you make us a pot of coffee?” he called to the woman working to clean up the kitchen counters.
“Of course I can!” she exclaimed, and grinned. “Hey, Mikey! Hello, Bernie. Nice to see you both.”
“Nice to see you, too, Mandy,” Mikey replied, and kissed her cheek. “I miss your cooking. Not that Mrs. Johnson isn’t good.”
“I know she is,” Mandy replied. She gave Mikey and Bernie a secret smile when she saw them holding hands.
Mikey noticed, but he didn’t let go, even when they sat down together at the long kitchen table with Paul and the two feds.
“Okay,” Mikey said. “What’s up? You guys tailed us the whole way here,” he added to McLeod.
“Cotillo sent one of his boys down here after you,” McLeod replied quietly, watching Mikey’s face harden. “We caught him at the courthouse yesterday.”
Mikey blinked. “How?”
“We have facial identification software,” McLeod said simply. “I used it. He’s got wants and warrants outstanding in Jersey. Our guys took him into custody and they’re delivering him right back to the authorities there.”
US Marshals, that was, Mikey knew without being told. He let out a breath. “I guess I’d better be more careful about taking Bernie out to public places.”
Her fingers, unseen, contracted around his.
“Not at all,” Agent Murdock said. “As long as they’re pretty public. Drive-ins aren’t a good idea. Too much opportunity for covert work.”
Mikey sighed. “I guess so. Damn.”
“It’s okay,” Bernie said. “We can sit in Mrs. Johnson’s parlor anytime we like, and talk or watch television,” she reminded him.
He smiled at her. “You’re a rare girl, Bernie.”
She flushed and laughed. “Not so much.”
Mikey glanced at the government agents. “So why was he at the courthouse?” he asked.
“We think he was looking for a contact there. But he came after quitting time, so we didn’t have the opportunity to find out. When we questioned him,” McLeod added, “he said he was looking for San Antonio and got lost. He was just looking for directions.”
“Oh, that sounds very sincere,” Mikey said sardonically.
“Yeah, considering that he flew into the San Antonio airport,” Paul added drily.
“Here’s coffee,” Mandy said. “And how about some nice pound cake? I made a chocolate one!”
Mikey made a face. “Gosh, I’d love that, but I’m just getting over a really bad migraine. Chocolate’s one of my triggers,” he reminded her.
“I’m sorry,” Mandy said. She patted him on the shoulder. “But I’ve got a nice cherry pie?” she teased.
He chuckled. “I’ll take that. Thanks. You know, she nursed me through the headache, sickness and all,” he added, looking at Bernie with evident affection. “She never left me, and even called a doctor out to the boardinghouse to treat me. She’s quite a girl.”
Bernie’s face flamed because everybody was looking at her.
“Yes, she is,” Sari said, smiling. “At work, she’s always the first one there and the last one to leave, and she never minds staying over if we need her.” She made a face. “It’s not the same with that new woman the boss hired. Jessie. She’s constantly late and she makes clients uncomfortable. She made a real play for one of the wealthy married local ranchers, and the boss gave her warning.” She sighed. “I wish she’d do something he could fire her for. Nobody likes her.”
“She’s an odd fit for a small town,” Bernie said. “She’s overly sophisticated.”
“We have a few overly sophisticated people, like the police chief’s wife, but she’s nice,” Mandy broke in, putting a platter of sliced pound cake, saucers and utensils on the table, along with a saucer containing a slice of cherry pie for Mikey.
“This looks delicious. Thanks, honey,” he told the housekeeper and grinned at her.
“You’re welcome. Go ahead, people, dig in. We don’t stand on ceremony here.”
“No, we don’t,” Sari said, smiling warmly at her husband.
“Oh, that’s good coffee,” Paul said with a long sigh. “I just hate trying to drink it at work,” he added with a pointed glare at Murdock.
Murdock made a face. “Not my fault. My mother always drank tea. She never taught me how to make coffee and I never drink it.”
“No wonder it tastes so bad,” Paul teased.
Murdock sighed. “There have been threats, you know,” he said complacently. “In fact, ASAC Jon Blackhawk’s brother, McKuen Kilraven, was openly talking about men in ninja suits and a pickup truck and a big sack.”
“You’d never fit in a sack, Murdock,” Paul chuckled. “Besides, Kilraven’s too occupied with their new daughter to do any such thing. That’s two kids now. He and Winnie are over the moon.”
“She still working 911 dispatch down here?” Murdock asked.
Paul shook his head. “She’s got her hands full with two preschoolers. Kilraven’s still with the company, but he’s mostly administrative these days. No more hanging out of helicopters by one leg wrapped in camo netting while he fires at enemy agents.”
“You’re kidding!” Bernie gasped.
“Oh, no, I’m not,” Paul chuckled. “The man was a maniac when he was after a perp. He’s calmed down somewhat since he married, but he’s still good at what he does.”
“He was a patrolman here, working for Chief Grier as cover on a covert federal assignment, for a while,” Bernie said as she nibbled cake and sipped coffee. She laughed. “There was gossip that Chief Grier wanted to put him in a barrel, drive him to the border and send him down the Rio Grande. They did butt heads a few times over procedure.”
“The chief butts heads pretty good,” Paul assured her. “He’s lowered the crime rate with a vengeance since he’s been in charge of our local police.”
“Nobody thought he’d stay here when he first came,” Bernie said. “He was really tough. Then they made a movie here with the Georgia Firefly, Tippy Moore, and before any of us realized it, he was married to her.”
“She’s a knockout,” Paul said. He slid his hand over his wife’s. “I’m partial to redheads, you know,” he added, grinning as he studied Sari’s red, red hair pinned up over big blue eyes.
She grinned back. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
“So what do we do about Cotillo and the trial and Tony Garza?” Mikey asked as he finished his pie and his coffee.
“First things first,” Paul said. “We’ve got tails on Cotillo and his men, with interagency cooperation. Cotillo’s killed a lot of people trying to forge new alliances and take over territory. He’s made enemies.”
“The killings are going to get him in trouble,” Mikey said. “The big guys don’t like that. It invites the feds
in. They want problems solved with dialog, not automatic weapons.”
“Well, they do kill people who rat them out,” Paul replied solemnly.
Mikey nodded. “Omertà,” he agreed. “Loyalty is life itself in the outfit. The number-one sin is selling out your people to the feds. Nobody likes a rat. They get put down and sometimes their whole families do as well, as a warning.” He ground his teeth together when he saw his cousin’s face. That had happened to Paul. His first family had been gunned down when Paul locked up one of the minor bosses and shut down a lucrative illegal operation. The man had gotten even in the worst possible way.
“I’m sorry,” Mikey told his cousin. “Truly sorry. I should never have brought that up.”
Paul’s face relaxed. “It was a long time ago. Still stings,” he said, and his eyes were filled with horrible memories.
“Just the same, I’m sorry.”
Paul smiled. “We’re family. Don’t sweat it.”
Mikey sighed. “You’re the only family I’ve got. Well, except for Tony’s family.” He glanced at the feds. “I hope you guys understand that I’m only cooperating because Tony’s being falsely accused. I’m not selling out my people. Not for anything.”
“We know that, Mikey,” Paul said quietly. “Nobody’s asking you to rat out your colleagues.”
Mikey sipped coffee, not looking at them. “I took a blood oath,” he said very quietly. “I made a solemn promise. I swore to it, like you’d make a vow in church. I won’t break it. Not if they lock me up forever.”
“We only lock up people when we can prove they’ve broken the law,” Paul assured him. He leaned closer. “So make sure we can’t prove anything on you,” he chuckled.
Mikey laughed. “I don’t do that stuff anymore. I have a legit casino and I run it like a legit business.”
“I know that,” Paul replied. “You’re not as bad as you make out, Mikey. You saved Merrie’s life,” he added, referring to Sari’s younger sister. Both women had been targeted by an enemy of their late father, victims of professional hit men. Mikey’s input had helped save both of them. “In fact, you helped save Sari’s, as well.”
“I just made a few calls,” Mikey replied.
“Well, those few calls helped us catch all the perps,” Paul replied.
Mikey grinned. “I like Baby Doll,” he said, referring to Merrie. “How’s she doing?”
“She and Ren are expecting again,” Sari said with a wide grin. “She’s over the moon.”
“She still painting?” Mikey asked.
“Oh, yes. She never gives that hobby up,” Sari told him.
He glanced at Bernie with real hunger. “I’d love her to do a portrait of Bernie for me,” he said.
“You know she’d be happy to!” Sari said. She glanced at Bernie, who was flushed and beaming. “Bernie, do you have a few photos of yourself that we could send her?”
Bernie grimaced. “Well, no, not a lot. I don’t have anybody to take pictures of me...”
While she was speaking, Mikey took out his expensive cell phone and snapped photos of her from all angles. He showed them to her in his photo app.
“You’re really good at this,” she said, surprised as she looked at herself in the pictures. She looked happy, mysterious, almost pretty. She laughed. “These don’t even really look like me!”
“They do. You don’t laugh a lot,” he replied. His face tightened. “I love it when you laugh, Bernie,” he added. “You’re beautiful when you’re happy.”
She felt her heart almost bursting. He thought she was beautiful. He wanted a painting of her. She could have floated up to the ceiling, she was so lighthearted.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
He wrinkled his nose at her and grinned. “We’ll have to wait until that movie we were watching comes out on pay-per-view and we can watch it together.”
“I don’t have pay-per-view,” she said morosely.
“We do,” Sari said, and grinned. “You can watch it in the library. In fact, we already have it. The drive-in is showing it, but it’s not a first-run movie. Wouldn’t you like to see the rest of it?”
Mikey pursed his lips. “Would I! It’s a great movie.”
“It is, but I’d need tissues,” Bernie confessed. “One reviewer said it would twist your heart open.”
“You can have tissues and more coffee,” Sari said. “Mandy, can you do refills and find a box of tissues for Bernie?”
“You bet!” Mandy said, and went to get both.
* * *
The government agents left shortly after. Mikey took Bernie into the luxurious study with its plush couch and chairs and the expensive media center, with a fifty-five-inch television screen.
“Wow,” Bernie said as Mikey closed the door behind them. “This is awesome.”
“They’ve refurnished it since old man Grayling died,” he told her as he went to turn on the television and set up the movie. “In fact, they’ve redone the whole house. It has some bad memories for Sari and her sister.”
“I remember hearing about how badly their father treated them,” Bernie said. “He must have been a horrible father.”
“From what I hear, he was.” He grimaced. “Mine was pretty bad, too.”
“My dad was a sweet, kind man,” Bernie said sadly. “He died much too young. He lived through a lot of trauma. I think it affects people, you know? Affects their health.”
“Maybe so.”
He turned on the movie and brought the controller back as he dropped down onto the plush couch beside Bernie. He put the controller on the coffee table and turned to Bernie.
“Gee, look, we’re all alone,” he said with a grin, “and there are no cars around us.”
“Isn’t that fascinating?” she laughed.
“Oh, you bet.” He pulled her onto his lap, letting her head fall back on his shoulder. “And I have some really interesting ideas about what we could do while the movie runs.”
Her arms looped around his neck and her eyes riveted to his wide, sensuous, chiseled mouth. “You do?” she whispered.
He drew her close and bent his head, smiling. “Oh, yes. Very, very interesting.”
As he spoke, his mouth slowly covered hers. She sighed and sank against his big, muscular body, letting him take her weight while he kissed her.
“I could get used to this,” he whispered.
She smiled under his lips. “Me, too.”
He nibbled her upper lip and traced under it with just the tip of his tongue, loving the way she reacted to him. She wasn’t coy or reticent. She met him halfway. If those long, soulful sighs were any indication, she loved what he was doing to her.
He shifted her and his fingers ran gently up and down her rib cage, setting fires, making her hungry. His mouth grew slowly insistent. She twisted against him, hungry and burning with new needs.
His big hand slid under the sweater she was wearing and teased around her breast while he kissed her slowly.
She moaned and twisted up toward that maddening hand whose touch was making her wild for more.
He smiled against her soft lips because he knew that. His thumb slowly trespassed under the lacy cotton cup and against her firm breast. She gasped under his mouth, but she didn’t try to stop him. He loved that. His mouth opened on hers, deepening the kiss, diverting her while his hand went to the hooks that held the bra in place and snapped them open. His hand, warm and strong, moved slowly back around, teasing just under her breast. He could hear her breathing change, feel the need in her grow, as it grew in him.
“Oh, baby,” he murmured as his mouth grew hard on hers and his big hand tenderly swallowed her breast up whole, his palm rubbing gently at the hard little nub he found.
She caught her breath and moaned.
“This is sweet,” he ground out. “Oh, God, it’s swe
et like sugar candy...”
He moved, turning her so that she was lying under him, full length, on the plush couch. He was on his side, his elbow taking his weight as his hand moved the bra out of his way so that he could touch her more easily.
Her body arched, helpless, as she reacted to the intimate tracing of his hand. She couldn’t even pretend not to want it. She was aching, throbbing with hungers she’d never felt in her life. A faint whimper escaped the mouth that his was devouring.
“Yes,” he whispered huskily. “It’s not enough, is it? Try not to cry out,” he added as he slid the sweater and bra up under her chin. “They might hear us...”
What he was saying didn’t make sense until his mouth lowered, and she felt it cover and consume her whole breast, taking it slowly into the moist, warm darkness, his tongue sliding over the nipple and making her throb from head to toe.
She had to stifle a cry. She sobbed under the expert touch of his mouth, shivering, arching as she pleaded for something more, something to ease the ache that was slowly consuming her.
He began to suckle her, hungrier than he could ever remember being with a woman. She sobbed as if he was hurting her, but he knew he wasn’t. His long, powerful leg inserted itself between both of hers in the slacks she was wearing and began to move sensuously, making the hunger even worse.
He rolled over onto her completely, hesitating just long enough to open the buttons of his shirt and pull it apart over the thick hair that covered his muscular chest. When he went down against her, it was bare skin against bare skin, something she’d never felt.
Her arms went under the shirt, around him, her hands digging into his bare back. Odd how it felt there, she thought dimly, because there was a definite depression, a coin-shaped one. But he was moving on her and she felt the power and heat of him, the sudden surge of his body that told her graphically how capable he was.
His mouth ground into hers. He groaned as he pushed between her long legs and right against the heart of her in that soft fork of her body. She lifted up, shivering, and he moved roughly on her, feeling the passion burn him alive.
But his mind froze the passion as he realized how innocent she was. This was wrong. He could live with it, he could love it, but it would shame her, make her feel soiled. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t, even if it was agony to stop.