Free Texas Hold 'Em by Kay David

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 minutes ago.”
    “He what?” she sputtered. “I can’t believe— He actually went to your place?”
    “Don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s not the first time he’s been out here.”
    She thought back to the previous conversation she’d had with Silas. She should have realized what was going on. “Did you two old women talk about me behind my back?”
    Her jibe was ignored. “He still loves you.”
    She couldn’t speak. Her throat actually seemed to close, and her lips refused to move. “No. No, no, and hell no. That’s crazy talk. Santos and I are over. Way over.” She took a breath. “Did he say that? That he loved me?”
    “He didn’t have to say it.”
    She felt a perverse tick of disappointment. “So you read his mind?”
    “It’s plain as the nose on your face, girlie.” His voice turned deeper and more strident. “It’s your duty to help him find your mother, Rose. I don’t like this anymore than you do, but Santos’s story is good. Not iron-tight, but good.”
    “I don’t trust him.”
    She could hear Silas’s old yellow lab snuffle as if he agreed with her. The sound hung in the air for a second, then her grandfather spoke quietly. “Why would he lie to you, Rose?”
    “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
    “So? People lie to get what they want. Sometimes in our business, it’s the only way.”
    When she didn’t answer, he spoke again. “What would be the point of coming to Rio if he wasn’t sure Gloria could help?”
    She still didn’t have an answer.
    “You took an oath, Rose. You have an obligation to uphold the law.”
    Obligation. Duty. Oath.
    His words stayed with her the rest of the day.
    …
    Tugging off his cowboy hat but leaving on his head wrap, Santos entered Aqua Frio’s only café that evening and headed for the booth his agents had commandeered. The scent of onions and cumin made his mouth water despite the dagger-like stares being thrown his way. The diners lining the counter and sitting at the scattered tables didn’t welcome him or the others, and Santos understood. He had felt the same way about bikers once upon a time. But not all the ones he’d met in the past few months were like Nasty. Their chapters were their family, and they were fiercely loyal. Plenty of them rode in charity rides when they couldn’t afford the gas, and he’d even been to a church service just for bikers. They loved God, their country, and their friends, and they made sure everyone knew it.
    Just like any other faction in the world, there were good ones and bad ones.
    He slid into the booth as the waitress approached the table. She