Texas Hold 'Em (Smokin' ACES) - By Kay David Page 0,4
and only happened when the officer was on duty. Unfortunately, she had just clocked out.
“I’ll be long gone by then, Miz Sheriff. And I don’t need no stinkin’ roads.” He laughed behind his mask as he drew a line down the side of her jaw with the barrel. She couldn’t stop the concern that skittered down her spine. “Get out of the car, and when you’re out, turn around.”
Whatever you do, don’t let anyone control the situation, she’d lectured her deputies when she’d first been elected sheriff. Always stay calm. Think smart. Take care.
Her instructions had been sound, but they weren’t doing her any good at the moment. To make matters worse, she’d changed before leaving the station. Just seeing a uniform intimidated some people, but she’d finally agreed to dinner with Dan Strickland, a local hunting guide and former boyfriend, and she was wearing one of the few dresses she owned. Another stupid mistake—in more ways than one.
Maybe she could make the boy think he’d found her only weapon. Her service revolver was hidden in her purse on the floorboard in front of the passenger seat.
“You’ve already got my gun,” she said. “There’s money in my wallet—it’s right here in my bag—let me get it. You can have it all. Credit cards, too. Take them, I don’t care.”
“I’m not that dumb, so shut the hell up and get out.”
In the second of silence that followed, a gust of wind powered an empty can across the parking lot. Even Pearl Mobley’s obnoxious Jack Russell was quiet for a change, leaving all her neighbors watching their television in peace. In the quiet, comprehension dawned. “This is about Ramos, isn’t it?”
Uncertainty suddenly flickered in his dark eyes.
Kingson Landry, her chief deputy, had arrested a drug mule Sunday night as he’d darted through one of the arroyos dotting the Landry ranch. The smuggler obviously hadn’t planned on King riding his fence line at midnight. She wasn’t too sure what had brought King out that time of night to do what he was supposedly doing, but had been glad he’d caught the man.
King had finally learned that the mule supposedly worked for a low-rung drug seller named Juan Enrique, and that’s whose drugs he’d had on him when he’d been arrested. Enrique was the perfect example of how far Rio County had fallen. A poor kid himself and smart enough to know better, he’d joined the cartel while he was still a teenager. He’d been in and out of trouble until he’d realized he was losing money with his foolishness. He’d disappeared at that point. Now his work was done by kids like the one in front of her.
“John Ramos isn’t worth your life, and neither is helping Enrique,” she said softly. “Someone’s taking advantage of you. Things like this never work out the way you plan, and this won’t, either. If you don’t bring Ramos back, they’ll kill you. You’re better off going to jail. One way or the other, this is not going to end well for you. Give me that gun, and maybe we can work out a third option.”
“I’m tellin’ you, this ain’t about Ram! Or nobody named Juan! Now can get out of the damned car, or I’m shootin’ you where you sit.” He grabbed her left arm, his eyes wild, his fingers biting into her flesh. “Your choice, puta.”
Without any warning, she ripped her arm from his grip and grabbed for her purse, but her sleeve got caught on the gearshift. The momentary delay gave the boy enough time to seize a handful of her hair. Jerking her backward, she screamed and opened the car door, yanking her out of the SUV.
She tumbled from the vehicle with his fingers still twisted in her hair. Young or not, the guy topped her by a good four inches, his arms bunched beneath his light jacket with sinewy muscles, his eyes glittering with a jacked-up determination. Even with all her experience, it wasn’t going to be easy to take him down, especially without any weapons.
He threw her against the car door, jabbing her with the gun, this time hard enough to really hurt. She gasped as the pain registered, then shunted the response aside. “Turn around,” she said from behind gritted teeth. “And put your hands on the hood.”
He laughed and threw her toward the fender. “How about you do that instead?”
Her light summer dress swishing around her knees, Rose did as he ordered, her plan forming quickly.