Page 26 of Buck Baxter and the Mysteries of Love

She pulled out of our hug but kept a hold of me, her fingers gripping my shoulders as though now that she had me, she never wanted to let me go. “I know you probably don’t believe me, but I’ve been watching you from afar all these years. I know when we’ve met in the past, I pretended to be a stranger. But I’ve never stopped watching you grow.”

“Really?”

She nodded, setting more tears in motion. “I’ll forever regret letting you go. But I’ll always be proud of the man you’ve become, and you did it all on your own. Oh Buck, you must hate Bugsy and me for what we did.”

“Actually, I don’t.”

She looked surprised.

I shrugged, her hands still on my shoulders, and sniffed back a tear of my own. “If you hadn’t taken me to Hell’s Bells, I never would have met Harry. Or Holden as everyone else knows him.”

“I know who Harry is. And I know what he means to you.”

“He’s something of a big deal. At least to me he is.” I gave a coy smile, like a son admitting to his mother that he was in love for the first time… which was precisely the case. I couldn’t help but add. “You’ll like him.”

“Please tell me he’s nothing like his father.”

“No. Sometimes. But not when he’s around me.”

Mamma wiped away a tear. “Well, let’s hope you’re nothing likeyourfather too. And thank God you didn’t get his nose.” She took my chin in her hand and turned my face left and right. “In fact, now that I can get a closer look at you, it seems you got all your looks from me.” She drew a breath and said, “Maybe Iwillsay yes to a rendezvous with Bugsy. For old times’ sake. Besides, fuck knows I could use a cocktail after this.”

Suddenly the sound of someone sobbing uncontrollably echoed through the warehouse.

Mamma and I both looked down to see Stella blubbering like a baby.

“Stella, you okay?” I asked.

She nodded through her tears and the bubbles of snot popping out her nose. “I’ll be okay. I just wasn’t expecting such a beautiful moment between the two of you. Can someone please adopt me? I’m feeling kinda left out right now.”

Before anyone could think of a reasonable answer to that request, the doors to the warehouse flew open and one of Mamma’s goons raced in. “Mamma! The cops are swarming around the riverbank. Something’s going down at the old docks.”

Quickly Mamma composed herself, swiping away her running makeup. “What is it, Lenny?”

“Apparently they’re pulling a body outta the river.”

“It’s not one ofour boys, is it?”

“No, Mamma.”

“Is it one of Bugsy’s?”

Lenny shook his head.

“Then who is it?”

“Word on the street says it’s Howard Hart’s limo driver.”

I gave Stella an urgent look. “We gotta go.”

Hurriedly we turned to leave, but Mamma tightened her grip on my shoulders. “Buck, be careful. I’ve heard rumors that Hart’s new friends are shipping in more than just firearms. My boys have spotted crates carrying the sort of stuff you need to build a bomb. I know you think Harry is the bee’s knees, you just need to be careful you don’t get stung. Don’t get too close to what’s happening at Hart Industries.”

I felt my jaw tense. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

CHAPTER 14

Even from whereStella and I stood a short distance away at the foot of the docks, and even with the water running over his pale, blue-lipped face and limp limbs as they dragged him out of the river with a rope, I could still make out the handsome features of the limo driver, a.k.a. Special Agent Jarvis. “That’s him alright.”

Half a dozen cops hovered around the body as they laid it down on the fish-scale-covered docks. Another half dozen were milling about a crane that had been brought in, watching the winch that had been lowered into the water with the help of several frogmen in diving suits.

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