Texas Hold 'Em (Smokin' ACES) - By Kay David Page 0,29
said it all. He continued anyway.
“You’ve told me you haven’t seen or heard from your mother since you left San Antonio. That was one of the main reasons you came to Rio County.”
“I haven’t found her so far.”
“It’s been two years, Rose. Two years. And right now, you shouldn’t even be looking for her by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”
“West Texas is a dangerous place.”
“You’re right…so let’s work together. We can watch each other’s back,” he proposed. “You help me, I’ll help you, and she can help both of us.”
She was shaking her head before he could finish. “You’ll just arrest her—”
“I’ll take her in if she’s done something wrong. If not, she’s free to go. Either way, you stick close to me and help me find her, and you can talk to her first. Before I even say a word.”
Her blue eyes turned speculative. “Why would you offer me something like that? I just blurted out a secret I’ve been keeping for fifteen years,” she said. “There’s no statute of limitations on murder. At the least, you could take away my badge. At the worst, you could arrest me, too. I think you’ve got the better hand in this game. Why bargain?”
Somewhere out in the distance, he heard the soft snuffling of a deer herd, their hooves pawing at the corn he’d scattered for them to eat. “Maybe I see a lot of things more clearly now you’ve shared your secret.”
“And maybe you’re ready for the easy way out. Spin me a story, get my cooperation, then do what you want to anyway.”
“You don’t think much of me, do you? Do you really think I would do something like that?”
“You care about the mission and nothing else. If I can help you, you’ll look the other way. If I chose not to, you’ll do whatever you like. That’s how it’s always been.” She followed his stare into the darkness then faced him again. “If I agree to this, then I want to explain to her what’s going on. Your Wild West technique of guns-blazing, no-holds-barred, slap-the-cuffs-on-’em-first, is not the way this is going to go down.”
“I said I’d let you talk to her.” Irritation inched into his voice. “That’s not a guarantee I won’t arrest her if she’s done something wrong.”
“You haven’t given me much to go on, Santos. How do I know you won’t go back on your word?”
This time he let his anger show. “Listen, Rose, I’m not as big a bastard as you’re making me out to be. This is an undercover operation for a reason. There are details about it I can’t reveal right now, even to you.”
“Secrets?” she said with wide eyes that mocked him. “You have secrets, too?”
He cursed silently. It was time for this conversation to end. “Do we have an arrangement or not?”
After dragging out the torture a little longer, she finally held out her hand.
He seriously considered yanking her to him and sealing the deal a different way, but he shook her hand. All at once, he knew how a lion tamer felt. One wrong step and he’d be history.
“Where’s your county map? My GPS doesn’t show the back roads and short cuts.” He covered his anxiousness with brusqueness.
Turning away, she opened her car door and reached inside to pull out a folder of creased paper. She spread the map over the hood of the cruiser, took a tiny flashlight out of her pocket, and flipped it on.
“Your mother was spotted around here a few months back, selling guns to a Mexican ‘businessman.’” He pointed to an empty area over the border, west of Aqua Frio. “We need to check that out first.”
“It’s crazy along the border in that area. It’s illegal for us to be there and too dangerous for everyone else.” She raised her face, and he caught a whiff of the soap he’d used in her bathroom that first night. He swallowed.
“Maybe so, but it’s neither for bikers.”
She gave him a begrudging nod. “You have a point.”
“Anyone we talk to will assume we’re there to raise hell or buy dope. We’ve already done both. We’ve also put out the word we want some work from Ortega.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“The guy in the trailer park had a sister in Ojinaga. We go there first and talk to her, maybe manage to hook up with some of Ortega’s men. Then we’ll play connect the dots—your mother, Ortega, the sister, maybe this guy you mentioned, too—Enrique? Anyone else we can get