Texas Hold 'Em (Smokin' ACES) - By Kay David Page 0,22
also to maintain their cover as long as possible. “Bumps and bruises. Nothing close to what Nasty gave me the other night.”
“She probably would have handled him better than you did.”
Santos grinned, the moment of levity sorely needed. “You want something specific, Wills, or did you just call to bust my balls?”
“Both,” the agent replied. “I’ve given you the hard time, so now here’s the rest. I just found out Dos y Tres is having that chapter meet tomorrow night, then they’re heading for the roadhouse. You in?”
They’d been trying to get a meeting with the Dos y Tres bikers for weeks. They did protection runs for Ortega when he had a lot of cash to transport. Hooking up with them, even just to party, would put ACES one step closer to their goal. “Have we been invited?”
“More or less. Bentley’s after this slick little blonde who rides with them, and she implied we’d be welcome—or at least he would be.”
“Sounds good to me as long as Nasty and his gang won’t be there.”
“Don’t worry about him, buddy. I’m sure you’ll win next time.” Santos heard a quick inhalation. “They’re coming. I gotta go.”
The phone went dead. He hoped no one else ended up that way, too.
…
The minute Santos had left, Rose phoned the station and asked King for an update. He gave her advice instead, telling her to stay home and take it easy. She told him to mind his own business and tell her what was happening. She shouldn’t have bothered to call. They’d learned nothing about the weapons or the dead man.
Hanging up, she took another two aspirin, then gingerly pulled on a clean uniform and tried to make herself presentable.
Ten minutes later, with a fresh cup of coffee in the cup holder and a piece of toast in her mouth, she pulled into the station’s parking lot.
Lydia looked up as Rose walked in. “What are you doing here? I thought you went home to rest.”
“I don’t need to rest. I need to find out who was shooting at me.”
“King has got everyone in the county out looking, but he’s had no luck. Go home,” she begged.
“Info back on the dead guy’s fingerprints?”
Lydia looked at her with resignation. “Surely you aren’t serious to ask me a question like that?”
Rio County was so far down the totem pole they normally didn’t get that kind of information out of headquarters for days. “How about the autopsy? Do we know when it’s scheduled?”
The nearest medical examiner’s office was in Lubbock County. It was an all day affair just to get the body transported. Getting results from there was an even bigger nightmare than the fingerprint situation.
“We have a little problem there.”
“You mean worse than usual?”
Lydia cut her eyes toward her computer panel, avoiding her gaze. “A state trooper took the body so they can do the autopsy in Austin. You know how they are—they think they can do it better than anyone around here. ME said they would copy us on the report—whenever it was done.”
She might never see that paperwork. The idea something like that might happen hadn’t even crossed her mind, but should have. How could she have been oblivious to Santos’s connections in Austin?
“Have you gone to the clinic yet?” Lydia asked.
“I’ve got too much to do. And I’m fine anyway.”
“Then at least call your grandfather. He’s phoned me three times because he’s too stubborn to call you directly.”
“I’ll do it as soon as I can.”
Three hours passed before she could call her grandfather’s number. In the meantime, Santos’s words continued to rattle around inside her head.
They like chopping off heads with machetes. You’re risking your own life and everyone’s close to you.
Her grandfather answered on the first ring. The sound made her want to climb into his lap and cry like she had when she’d been a child and skinned her knee. But a kiss and a hug weren’t going to help this time.
“I take it you’re alive,” he drawled.
“Sore, but okay.”
“I hear one of the other guys is not doing too good.”
“He’s dead and forgotten.” Frustration bubbled up inside her. “The troopers carried him off.”
“Good. They’ll do the autopsy faster, and you’ll find out more.”
“Not likely. I’ve contacted Austin, and they’re already giving me the run around.”
“You’re not letting your personal problems with Santos get in the way, are you?”
“There is nothing personal between us, so there are no problems to get in anyone’s way.”
“Santos told me the whole story. He just left a few