“I know that a man named Tanner was contracted to kill you. I also heard some bullshit about how he never fails to fulfill a contract and is the deadliest man alive.”
Sal wiped sweat from his brow, as he took a seat atop one of the stools in front of the bar.
“It’s not bullshit, Artie... this Tanner, he’s the real deal. He’ll kill me unless you help me.”
The chief smiled.
“Help you? How would I help you?”
“Witness protection, I know you have an in with the Feds, you’re buddies with that FBI guy, I know, remember? Tony and I ran into you two on the golf course last spring.”
“I remember, and if I recall, you and Tony weren’t very pleased to see me.”
Sal waved a hand at that.
“That’s water under the bridge, now listen, you get me into The Witness Protection Program and I’ll give you the name of the man who committed the murders during that home invasion last year.”
Chief Huzzello laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Sal asked.
“You’re funny. The man who committed those murders was Tony, your right-hand man. I couldn’t prove it because you bought him an alibi, but now that he’s dead, you’re ready to toss him under the bus. Some friend you are, and to make it worse, the dumb bastard died saving your sorry ass.”
Sal jumped up off the stool and pointed at the chief.
“You’re the law! You have to protect me. I’m telling you Artie, this Tanner will kill me if you don’t help me disappear.”
“Yeah, I bet he will,” the chief said, and his nonchalant tone drove Sal crazy.
Sal paced around the room for a few moments, but then he walked back to stand before the chief with pleading eyes.
“Artie, for old times’ sake, huh? Help me. You have to help me or I’m a dead man.”
The chief let out a sigh.
“Call Bartolli, make peace, and maybe he’ll put this Tanner back on the leash.”
“Leash?” Sal said, and there was a touch of panic in his tone. “Tanner doesn’t have a leash. He’s the ultimate button man, and once you push that button you can’t unpush it.”
“Here’s the deal, Sal. You come down to the station and tell me everything you know about everyone in the mob, including the boys in Philly. Do that, confess your own sins, and then I might be able to get you a deal.”
Sal laughed, and this time the chief was certain that he heard panic in Sal’s voice.
“If I rat out everybody I’ll be killed in jail. Plus, you say you might get me a deal, what if I spilled my guts and the Feds said no to Witness Protection? I’ll tell you what, then I’d be a dead man twice over. No, Artie, please... I’m begging you, you have to get me a deal. I have to disappear or I won’t make it.”
“I can’t promise you a deal, but you’re well guarded, and maybe what they say about Tanner isn’t true. Listen Sal, call Bartolli, offer to give him whatever he wants, and maybe he’ll be able to back this Tanner off of you.”
Sal collapsed onto a stool and looked over at his one-time friend with eyes full of despair.
“I already offered the sonofabitch everything I have. He laughed in my face and said he’d piss on my grave. You were my last chance Artie.”
Chief Huzzello spread his arms, as if to encompass the room.
“This is the life you chose, Sal, live by the sword, die by the sword.”
Sal just stared at the chief for a moment, and there was a look of disgust on his face.
“Get out of my house, cop. You’re fucking useless.”
The chief turned and headed for the door.
“Goodbye Sal; it’s been nice knowing you.”
The chief left, and to Sal’s horror, he realized he was alone. He rushed over to the door and called for his four bodyguards.
“Get in here.”
The men came in and sat at the bar. Sal walked behind his desk and made a call. When it was answered, Sal whispered into the phone so that his men couldn’t overhear him.
“It’s me, Bartolli, Sal Ventura. Listen, I will do anything to change this, you name it.”
Bartolli’s laughter sent a chill down Sal’s spine, and it took all he had to fight back the tears.
STAGE 4 – DEPRESSION
Sal Ventura shuffled out of his bedroom dressed in his robe and slippers.
The six thugs guarding his bedroom said good morning as he went by them on his way to the bathroom, and Sal sent them a weak wave in return.
It was after ten a.m., but he had slept fitfully, because every creak of a floorboard, every whisper of wind through the trees outside his window, it all made Sal wonder if he were actually hearing Tanner’s stealthy approach.
Never mind that there were over a dozen men guarding the home’s perimeter, with more inside the home, Sal still feared that Tanner would slip past them.
He had slept alone for the first time in many years, because he sent his wife off to visit her mother. It was safer that way, and he didn’t want to take a chance that she might stop a bullet that was meant for him.
After entering the bathroom, Sal took a leak, and when he was finished and had flushed the toilet, he leaned over the bathroom sink and stared at his face in the mirror.
He looked like hell. There were bags under his eyes, wrinkles that he didn’t remember seeing before, and that sick knowledge in his gaze.
It was the knowledge that his life would soon be over.
He hadn’t done a lick of work since Tony’s death days earlier, and knew that he wouldn’t be going to the funeral either. Bullet-proof limo or not, venturing away from the safety of his home would be too risky, and just the thought of standing out in the open caused him to sweat.
Sal hung his head while releasing a deep sigh.
There was nothing to do but wait for Tanner to make his move, and he hoped that when Tanner did strike, that his men would prove to be enough.
But would they?
He’d heard the stories of what Tanner had done in Las Vegas to Al Rossetti. Not only had Tanner killed that fat bastard despite the army of men Rossetti had, but he had also burnt the man’s house down.
That last thought made Sal’s eyes go wide.
What if Tanner set fire to the house to get to him? Then he would have to go outside, or risk burning to death. And Tanner was said to be tricky too. He might set fire to the house and then walk up dressed as a fireman, only to shoot Sal in the face.
That scenario elicited a groan from Sal, and he pushed down the toilet cover and sat upon it to hold his head in his hands.
He was a dead man; did it really matter how it happened? And how many of his people would also die while trying to protect him?
Poor Tony, Sal thought.
He missed his friend, and the only thing that gave Sal any joy when he thought about Tony was the hope that he might see him again when—
When what?
When Tanner killed him, that’s what.
And it was when and not if, Sal knew that, knew that no matter how many men he surrounded himself with that Tanner would kill him.
When Sal raised his head from his hands, he winced. He had really hit the bottle hard last night, and it didn’t do a damn thing to cheer him up.
“I’m gonna die,” Sal said in a matter-of-fact tone.
The sound of the words shocked him. He hadn’t meant to say them out loud.
Sal stood and turned his head to look over at the shower. He should bathe, he should take a nice hot shower, shave, get dressed, and head downstairs to get a good meal.
Afterwards, he would talk to his men and tell them he was doubling the reward for Tanner’s head. Better yet, he should show Tanner that he didn’t fear him and head to his office at the restaurant, just like it was any other day.
Sal stood straighter, as a smile crept onto his face.
Yeah, fuck Tanner! I’m Salvatore Ventura, Don of the Sherry Hill mob, and I don’t take shit from nobody.
Sal let
his robe drop to the floor, stepped out of his slippers, and yanked aside the shower curtain to reach in and turn on the water.
He froze, and despite having just peed, a trickle of urine escaped, as his stomach flipped and his bowels suddenly felt loose.
The words, SEE YOU SOON! were written in blood on the back wall of the shower, and the blood hadn’t fully dried.
Sal spun right, then left, but he was alone in the room, although, the window in the corner, the one with the frosted glass, it was sitting open a crack. Tanner had gotten inside the house. He had been right down the hallway from where Sal had slept.
Someone knocked on the door and Sal jumped while making a yelp of fright.
When he asked who was knocking, he realized his voice was trembling.
“It’s Duke, boss, and I got bad news. Ronny Talia, the guy who was guarding the rear gate, he’s gone. We can’t find him anywhere, but uh, boss, we did find some blood, a lot of blood.”
Sal looked at the message written on the back wall of his shower, and knew that not all of Ronny Talia’s blood was outside.
He fell against the wall and slid to the floor, a naked and broken man.
What’s the point of going on? I’m a dead man.
STAGE 5 – ACCEPTANCE
Sal sat alone inside his study and listened to the rain as it pelted against his home.
He had sent the bodyguards away earlier, after giving each one a large bonus. Only seven brave souls had still remained, because Tanner had been making his men disappear one by one.
Some went home and then were missing the next day, while a few of them, like the still unaccounted for Ronny Talia appeared to have been abducted in the middle of their guard shifts.
Over the last few days, twelve of the thirty-eight men Sal had gathered to protect him just evaporated like morning dew.
That bred fear in most of the others, causing some to feign illness, several to simply not show up, and one coward even defected and went to work for Nicky Bartolli. Nicky Bartolli, the man who was responsible for Tanner coming to town in the first place.
The wind whipped outside and Sal could hear the sound of the nearby patio doors rattling. It almost sounded as if someone were trying to break in.
Up until the moment he had come to accept his impending death, such sounds would have unnerved Sal and caused him to jump with fright, while thinking that Tanner was trying to get to him.
Not tonight, no, Sal was at peace with his fate, and he didn’t want to spend his last few hours filled with useless worry.
He’d written a long letter to his wife that his lawyer would see she received, and he even had Father Terranova come to the house so that they could pray together.
The old priest helped Sal to come to terms with what awaited him in the next life. The father assured Sal that God knew his heart, and that he was a good man in God’s eyes.
Sal nodded to himself as he thought about what the priest had said.
“We all sin, Salvatore, what’s important is that we try our best to be good Christians, and you my son have been a very good Christian. You’ve funded missions, put a new roof on God’s house, and your restaurants employ your fellow citizens. Are you a perfect man? No, but no one is. Have no worries about the afterlife, the Lord takes care of his own.”
Sal laughed, as he remembered the look on Father Terranova’s face when he saw the size of the check he’d given him for the church.
Why not give a ton of money away? Sal thought. I can’t take it with me.
He sighed, and then he took another sip of his whiskey.
No, he couldn’t take it with him, nor could he prevent his departure. He put aside one photo album and started on a different one. Reliving old memories and looking at family and friends who passed on before him gave him comfort.
When Sal came to a photo of his mother, it brought tears to his eyes, as he contemplated the joy he would soon experience by being reunited with her.
Thunder boomed, as outside, the wind stirred the branches and the steady rain kept up its rhythm.
Sal flipped through the photo albums, and when he had gone through the last of them, he grabbed the bible off his desk, held it, and laid his head back against the chair as he shut his eyes.
Sal was peaceful, so much so, that he faded off to sleep, and as he did so, his thoughts reflected his feelings, and his complete acceptance of his fate.
Let Tanner come. Hell, I’ll be okay, and after all, no one lives forever.
Those were the last thoughts that Salvatore Ventura would ever have.
A PLEA
Thank you, precious reader, for spending time with one of my books. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider writing a review. Without reviews, an author's books are virtually invisible on the retail sites. Let other readers know what you thought! You can leave a review by visiting the book's page and I will greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!
—Remington Kane
ALSO BY REMINGTON KANE
The TANNER Series in order
INEVITABLE I - A Tanner Novel - Book 1
KILL IN PLAIN SIGHT - A Tanner Novel - Book 2
MAKING A KILLING ON WALL STREET - A Tanner Novel - Book 3
THE FIRST ONE TO DIE LOSES - A Tanner Novel - Book 4
THE LIFE & DEATH OF CODY PARKER - A Tanner Novel - Book 5
WAR - A Tanner Novel - Book 6
SUICIDE OR DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 7
TWO FOR THE KILL – A Tanner Novel – Book 8
BALLET OF DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 9
MORE DANGEROUS THAN MAN – A Tanner Novel – Book 10
TANNER TIMES TWO – A Tanner Novel – Book 11
OCCUPATION: DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 12
HELL FOR HIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 13
A HOME TO DIE FOR - A Tanner Novel – Book 14
FIRE WITH FIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 15
The TAKEN! Series in order
TAKEN! - LOVE CONQUERS ALL - Book 1
TAKEN! - SECRETS & LIES - Book 2
TAKEN! - STALKER - Book 3
TAKEN! - BREAKOUT! - Book 4
TAKEN! - THE THIRTY-NINE - Book 5
TAKEN! - KIDNAPPING THE DEVIL - Book 6
TAKEN! - HIT SQUAD - Book 7
TAKEN! - MASQUERADE - Book 8
TAKEN! - SERIOUS BUSINESS - Book 9
TAKEN! - THE COUPLE THAT SLAYS TOGETHER - Book 10
TAKEN! - PUT ASUNDER - Book 11
TAKEN! - LIKE BOND, ONLY BETTER - Book 12
TAKEN! - MEDIEVAL - Book 13
TAKEN! - RISEN! - Book 14
TAKEN! - VACATION - Book 15
TAKEN! - MICHAEL - Book 16
TAKEN! - BEDEVILED - Book 17
Also
THE CONTRACT: KILL JESSICA WHITE – A TAKEN!/TANNER NOVEL
REDEMPTION... Someone's taken her
DESOLATION LAKE
SLAY BELLS
MONSTERS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 1
DEMONS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 2
ANGELS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 3 (Coming Soon!)
PARKER & KNIGHT (Coming Soon!)
Join my Mailing List and Learn about New Releases. Also, get access to FREE Books and Short Stories, including The TAKEN! ALPHABET SERIES, THE FIVE STAGES OF TANNER, QUICK – A TANNER Short Story, and A LITTLE OFF THE TOP – A TANNER Short Story. REMINGTON KANE http://www.remingtonkane.com/contact.html
Did you love The TANNER Series - Books 13 -15? Then you should read Taken! - Love Conquers All by Remington Kane!
By Remington Kane
Taken! - Love Conquers All - Book 1
Twenty-three women are dead, murdered by a serial killer who shows no mercy.
All twenty-three women shared the same look as Karen Ryan and now Karen Ryan is being stalked,
hunted like prey by a man who will stop at nothing to possess her.
Will Karen become victim number twenty-four?
Or does the prey hide a secret that will bring her predator down?
Read more at Remington Kane’s site.
About the Author
REMINGTON KANE is the author of the wildly popular TANNER SERIES as well as the equally thrilling TAKEN! SERIES.
While The TANNER Series and The TAKEN! Series are similar in that they're both packed with action, the hit man Tanner has a little more grit to him.
Please visit www.remingtonkane.com to learn more.
Read more at Remington Kane’s site.
The TANNER Series - Books 13-15 (Tanner Box Set) Page 41