Microsoft Word - Jenny dreamed by kps Read Free Book Online Page A

nobody roughin' 'em up!"
    Joe poured Dev and herself another glass, then rose and paced the room, returning to stand before him. "The Black Lily," she said thoughtfully, and then nodded with more assurance. "If they're here in town, them bastards are prob'ly holed up there. That yellow-haired bitch who runs the place don't care who she lets in the doors, front or back!"
    Dev started to rise, but Joe's hand clamped down on his shoulder, urging him to stay.
    "There's no tellin' what'll happen if you go pokin' around there alone. Let me get ..."
    Dev stood up with a wry grin, reading her thoughts well enough. "No, I am not waiting for you to gather some of the boys to help me. How's it going to look if I walk into her place with men who work for you?"
    Joe still protested, worried more about the fate of her, friend than the unknown girl he was seeking to help. "Well," she finally allowed grudgingly, "you keep a sharp eye out for drugged drinks an' those floozies she's got workin' there. That place has a bad reputation, Dev! They got all kinds a things for sale there I'd never allow done in my place."
    Dev grinned, hugging her close for a minute. "If I weren't so damned worried, Joe, I swear I'd take you t'bed this very second!" He pulled away, looking down at her worried expression, and added, "I promise I won't take drugged drinks or try any of those tricks you don't allow here!" With a wink, he released her and bent to retrieve his damp hat. "I'd be obliged if you'd lend me one of your horses, though. Mine's so worn, I don't think he'd make the trip down the street."
    "Course I will, honey. You know anything I got is yoursl" Her smile told him the statement included herself. In all the times Dev had visited her place and including the long talks they'd shared over breakfast, he'd never made a pass at her or suggested anything beyond a platonic relationship.
    Joe walked downstairs with him, warning Dev again to take care before she had a servant bring around one of the horses she kept in the small stables behind her house. "You let me know what's happenin' now, or I'll come bustin' in that bawdyhouse with an armed mob!"
    She was only half serious, but the shy kiss she planted on his cheek showed how much she was really worried.
    Dev thanked her and was about to say goodbye when she surprised him by hiking her skirt and revealing a long, wicked-looking knife sheathed in a scabbard fitted snugly to her silk-covered right thigh.
    "Here," she said, offering it to him carefully by its slim, ornately carved handle. "Stick this in your boot … it never hurts to have an ace in the hole!"

    Dev thought of turning it down but took it anyway, securing it toward the back of his right boot so that its shiny handle was hidden. Though he knew she was a tough and independent businesswoman, Joe had always been warm and gentle around him, and he'd never suspected she carried such an evil-looking weapon concealed beneath the heavy folds of her gowns.
    Finally he was on his way, riding down the street to the saloon known as The Black Lily. He'd met its owner several times, though he'd quit going there because he was sure the house dealt a bad hand in most of the games. The "lady" who presided over the saloon was a faded blonde in her fifties, though with the skillful use of make-up, she managed to look younger.
    Her husband, an Italian with a heavy, broken accent and rather shoddy evening wear, reigned over the dealers and dance girls.
    His name was Paolo Conti, but the miners had given him the nickname Pauly and it had stuck with him. Pauly was almost twenty years younger than his wife, a dark little man who fancied that he kept the girls in line because they were all at least half in love with him. Pauly greeted Dev at the door, welcoming him back to the establishment and ushering him to a place at the crowded bar. "It is a long time since we see you, no?" His wide, toothy grin was insincere, as phony as the cut-glass stickpin he liked to claim