“There is one woman I would have married, and now she’s marrying someone else.”
“You let her get away.”
“No. I ran from her. I didn’t like the way she made me feel.”
Susan sat up on one elbow and stared at Tanner.
“You were afraid of her because you were beginning to depend on her.”
Tanner ran his hand over his face.
“This is what I get for sleeping with a woman as wise as you. You read me too well. I also talk too much around you.”
Susan snuggled against him again.
“Yes, and it’s because I’m safe. After tomorrow, we’ll probably never see each other again, and truthfully, I don’t even know who you are.”
“You know more than most,” Tanner said, and then the two of them drifted off to sleep.
***
The next day, Tanner said goodbye to Susan as they stood by his rental.
Sammy had left early, after saying that there was something he wanted to do, and as Tanner had predicted, Amy was called in to help with the mess out at the abandoned farm.
Susan cupped Tanner’s face in her hands and kissed him one last time.
“Goodbye man of mystery, and you be careful.”
“I will, and who knows, maybe we’ll meet again someday.”
“Maybe,” Susan said, although they both knew how unlikely it was.
Tanner climbed in the car, said goodbye, and headed to the airport.
Susan had eased his ache at having lost Sophia, but as he drove along, he found himself longing for more time with both of them. That brought thoughts of several other women he’d known over the years, including Laurel.
When the melancholy threatened to swallow him, he did what he always did. He pushed it behind him into the past where it belonged.
The world was full of women such as Susan, Sophia, and Laurel.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
CHAPTER 43 – Sam the man
After Tanner returned his rental, he was beginning to wonder if Sammy was going to miss the flight, and that’s when he spotted him walking towards him.
Sammy had changed his look.
The long hair was gone, and Tanner could see the man’s resemblance to his late grandfather and namesake more clearly.
Sammy was also dressed in a dark suit, but like Tanner, he wore no tie.
He walked up to Tanner with a small smile playing at his lips.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t think anyone will call you kid anymore,” Tanner said.
“Yeah, it was time I grew up a little.”
After they had passed through security, Sammy asked Tanner what he had done with the weapons they used.
“I disassembled them, and then I tossed the pieces in a lake on my way to the airport.”
“I would like to have kept that gun as a souvenir, but I don’t think the airline would have appreciated me bringing it onboard the plane.”
“Yeah, they’re funny that way,” Tanner said.
A short time later, they were in the air, as Sammy headed back to Sophia, and Tanner simply headed back.
CHAPTER 44 - Chaos
Joe was smiling wide.
He had learned that Sammy had killed Bobby Volks, and was leaving to meet with Tanner at The Americana Sports Bar to get details about the hit.
He walked into the kitchen and found Laurel sipping on a cup of coffee while looking through a bridal magazine, as Big Ralphy sat to her left, eating a pizza.
“I won’t be long, baby, but please stay inside while I’m gone.”
Laurel stood and kissed him.
“Is it really necessary for me to stay home? I’d be just as safe at the clinic.”
“I don’t want to take a chance, and Big Ralphy will keep you safe.”
Big Ralphy had a mouthful of pizza, but he sent Joe a thumbs up sign.
***
Joe was leaving Laurel’s townhouse when one of his men, Mike, pointed towards two figures getting out of a car. Mike was a big man around forty, with wide shoulders.
Joe looked where Mike was pointing and saw Tamir Ivanov and Justina Moretti walking towards him. The two were smiling at each other while talking quietly.
“Those two are Feds, right, Boss?”
“Yeah, they’re Feds, Mike.”
The other man with Joe was named Bosco, he was as big as Mike, but younger, and he watched Justina intently as she walked towards them.
“Fed or not, that chick is hot.”
“That she is,” Joe said.
Mike and Bosco were two of three bodyguards. Bosco and Mike were always with Joe, while Big Ralphy stayed near Laurel at all times.
***
Inside the townhouse, Big Ralphy spoke to Laurel between inhaling slices of pizza.
“You want a large wedding, don’t you?”
Laurel nodded shyly.
“I do, and I know it’s silly since I was married once before, but it is something I’ve always dreamed of having.”
“Tell the boss. He’s crazy about you. I’m sure he’d spring for it.”
“I know he would. But he has a lot on his mind, and a large wedding would be a distraction he doesn’t need. A small wedding will do fine.”
“Doc Ivy, I’ve got five younger sisters and a ton of female cousins, so I know what girls are like. Talk to the boss. Joe will make it happen, and then you won’t always wish you had done it.”
Laurel grinned.
“I’ll think about it.”
The grin disappeared as she remembered something and stood up.
“I forgot to ask Joe to stop by the clinic and grab my laptop.”
Laurel hurried to catch up to Joe, and Big Ralphy raised a hand to tell her to wait for him. Laurel didn’t notice, and with his mouth full of pizza, Big Ralphy couldn’t call out.
***
“We need to talk, Pullo,” Ivanov said.
“What’s this about?” Joe said.
“It’s about your life,” Justina said. “The DEA caught wind of an assassination plot against you, and we’re not talking Krupin here. These are people that know what they’re doing.”
“We’ll talk inside,” Joe said.
“No, not inside,” Ivanov said. “We need to get you someplace safe.”
Joe was about to ask him what he meant, when the door opened and Laurel looked out at the gathering.
“What’s going on, Joe?”
“It’s okay, honey; they’re just here to talk.”
Justina headed up the stairs.
“Ms. Ivy? I’m Agent Moretti of the FBI, please come with us ma’am. We don’t believe it’s safe to be—”
Justina never finished her sentence, as a bullet struck her in the side and ruptured her heart.
It was the first shot fired by one of the four men who had just emerged from the underground parking garage on the opposite side of the street.
“Justina!” Ivanov cried out to his partner, and then watched as she tumbled down the stairs backwards as limp as a rag doll.
She landed at his feet face up, and he knew by her lifeless eyes that she was gone.
Two cars had been approaching the nearby intersection, and the lead driver slammed on his brakes, causing a collision. Then, the drivers of both vehicles abandoned them and ran for cover, joining the pedestrians who had already done the same while screaming in panic.
The first bullet was followed by dozens, and as Joe moved towards the stairs to get to Laurel, Mike tackled him to the ground.
“Down Boss!”
Joe hit the ground hard, looked up, and saw several bullets break windows and chip at the stone surrounding Laurel, who had frozen in place from fear.
Then Big Ralphy was there. He grabbed Laurel around the waist and turned with her, using his massive body to shield her, and as he did so, he was struck three times. Still, he managed to shove Laurel back inside the townhouse before collapsing in the doorway.
&nb
sp; “Get off me!” Joe shouted, as he pushed Mike aside, and only then did he see the fatal wound.
Mike had been struck in the right temple by a ricochet off the stone steps, and the back of his head was gone.
Joe looked around and saw that Bosco was wounded in the left arm, but still able to fight, while Ivanov was on his knees and crying over his partner’s body.
The only thing that had saved the federal agent was the fact that he was aligned with the Hummer’s rear wheel well, and the shots couldn’t penetrate the steel.
Joe lunged over, pushed him to the ground, and slapped him hard across the face.
“Help me kill these bastards!”
Ivanov grunted and took out his gun, as tears still fell from his eyes.
The barrage of shots seemed unending because the shooters were pros. While two of them fired, the other two reloaded, and there seemed no end to their ammo.
Joe left the cover of the Hummer’s wheel well and crawled beneath the vehicle. It was a tight fit, as two of the tires were flat.
He could see the men, and what looked like a thousand shell casings were sprinkled at their feet. He took aim at those feet and fired, just as Ivanov crawled up beside him.
The first man fell to his knees as Ivanov shot a second man in the shin. The third man realized what was happening, turned, and ran, while the fourth man dropped flat while firing.
It did him no good, as Joe and Ivanov had kept up a barrage of their own, and they killed the three men where they fell.
Meanwhile, Bosco fired at the man who had fled and struck him in the right calf muscle, causing the man to stumble and fall.
After crawling out from under the car, Joe was horrified to see Laurel return outside, and he ran to her and met her on the steps.
“It’s not safe yet; get back in.”
“Are you all right, Joe?”
“I’m good, baby, and thank God for Big Ralphy.”
Laurel turned and stared at Big Ralphy.
“Oh my God,”
Joe had thought Big Ralphy dead, but the huge man was simply unconscious, and had just rolled onto his side. His face looked as purple as a plumb.
“He can’t breathe,” Laurel said. “He was eating when this all started and I think he’s choking on the food he had in his mouth.”
Laurel slammed her hand hard against Big Ralphy’s back to try to dislodge the obstruction, and her palm came away wet with blood from his wounds. With the big man unconscious and lying on his side, the Heimlich maneuver was out, and Big Ralphy was running out of time.
“Joe, hand me your knife, and I’ll also need a pen.”
“Laurel, you’re not safe out here.”
“Joe, he saved me, and I can save him, but I need your knife.”
Joe passed her his knife as he looked around for new threats. There were none, but Ivanov and Bosco had the surviving shooter up and hopping along on one leg.
“I need that pen, or some kind of tube,” Laurel said.
Joe didn’t have a pen, but Ivanov did, and he passed it over.
“A tracheotomy?” he asked Laurel.
“Yes,” Laurel said, as she took the pen apart. She then felt along Big Ralphy’s neck, near his Adam’s apple, as she searched for the cricothyroid membrane.
When she located it, she made a small incision with the knife, and then another into the membrane beneath it. With that done, she carefully inserted the empty casing of Ivanov’s pen, and then blew several short breaths into it.
When she felt air coming from the tube, she looked at Big Ralphy’s chest and saw it moving. He was breathing on his own.
Laurel laughed with relief.
“He’s getting air.”
Joe smiled at her.
“Good baby, but now go back inside.”
With Big Ralphy breathing and the emergency ended, Laurel looked about at the carnage scattered around Joe’s Hummer, which had more holes than a cheese grater.
Justina lay atop the sidewalk like a broken doll, where mere moments earlier, she was speaking to Laurel. Three of the shooters, all stout and swarthy men, were lying in the street dead, each with multiple wounds, while Mike was also dead, and Bosco winced from the wound in his left arm.
Laurel stepped towards Bosco to offer aid, but Joe took her by the shoulders.
“Baby, please go back inside; I’d die if anything happened to you.”
“I should help Bosco.”
Bosco sent her a smile.
“I’m good, Doc, just take cover.”
“See, he’s good,” Joe said.
Laurel wiped away tears.
“Come with me.”
“I’ll be right in, now please go.”
Laurel pointed down at Big Ralphy.
“That’s a temporary measure, he needs an ER, and he’s wounded besides.”
“There’s help coming, hear it?” Joe said, and Laurel smiled when she listened and heard the sirens in the distance.
After Laurel went back inside, Joe stared down at the surviving cartel hitman.
He spoke to the punk in Spanish, and saw him sneer.
“Your Spanish sucks, Pullo.”
“Good, you speak English.”
“Yeah, I should, I grew up in El Paso, and don’t think you’ve won. They’ll send more guys, and you don’t have Tanner to cover your ass anymore either.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means he’s dead, cabrón. Your boy is dead.”
Joe grabbed the punk by his collar and the man winced from the pain in his leg.
“You’re lying!”
“Hey man, his ass got blown up in a house. Tanner is dead man, and you’re next.”
Joe fell back against the wall just as two police cruisers came into view. They were followed by an ambulance, and there were more flashing lights in the distance.
“Tanner can’t be dead, he—wait a second. What house are you talking about?”
“Out on Staten Island, where that slut of his lives,”
Joe reached up and grabbed the sides of his head with both hands.
“Oh God, you’re talking about Sammy and Sophia.”
The man pointed down at Justina’s body, as he had just noticed the badge on her belt.
“Oh shit, that one was a cop? Good for the bitch!”
Ivanov grabbed the man by the hair and tossed him down the stone steps. There was a loud cracking noise, and when the punk landed, he screamed in pain and held his broken left kneecap.
Ivanov spit at the thug and then looked over at Joe and Bosco.
“We didn’t see shit,” Joe said. He took out his phone and began dialing, as Ivanov lofted his credentials in the air and went to talk to the arriving cops.
There was no answer, by either Sammy or Sophia.
“His cab got lost. He never made it to the house. It was somebody else,” Joe said, as he tried to convince himself of a lie.
***
When Ivanov was able to confirm the punk’s story, Joe learned the truth.
“It happened while we were being attacked, Pullo. They’re still putting out the fire, but they say the house is gone. It’s why we wanted to move you, the cartel plays hardball.”
“Tell me where Krupin is.”
“You want to kill him?”
“You’re goddamn right,” Joe said.
Ivanov looked over to where a pair of workers from the coroners’ office were zipping Justina into a body bag.
“You’re going to have to get in line, Pullo. Krupin is mine.”
CHAPTER 45 – Strange bedfellows
Midnight on Staten Island
Joe told his men to stay back as he walked over to the pile of rubble that had been the home of Sophia Verona.
Tanner was there, standing before the thick web of red ARSON INVESTIGATION tape left by the fire department. He was staring at the debris with eyes of ice.
Joe stood beside him.
“How is Sammy?” Tanner said.
�
��He’s alive, which is a miracle, but he’s still in a coma, and one leg is badly broken.”
The fire department discovered Sammy’s naked battered body lying beneath the bathtub. The explosion had blown it out of the house and into a neighbor’s yard.
As near as they could tell with a preliminary investigation, the bomb had been left beneath the bed, a bed Sophia had been lying upon as she waited for Sammy to finish his bath.
Tanner turned and looked at Joe.
“You said on the phone that this was the work of a cartel. That means they won’t stop coming.”
“Yeah, Krupin went and got himself some heavy hitters.”
“I’ll need details, Joe, as many as you can get me. A list of the key players, what they look like, where they are, and I don’t just mean here, but Mexico too.”
“You can’t kill them all, Tanner. There are too many.”
Tanner shook his head.
“No, not too many, just one, and then another, and another, and another, and by the time I’m done with them, there will be none left.”
Another car pulled up and Joe’s men went on high alert.
Bosco was one of them, with his wounded arm in a sling, and when he saw that it was Ivanov, he gave the all clear.
“Who’s that?” Tanner said.
“He’s the Fed I told you about.”
Ivanov walked over and stood beside Pullo, then, he looked past him.
“Are you Tanner?”
“Yes.”
“Are you as good as they say you are?”
“No. I’m better.”
Ivanov was still wearing a suit, and there was a white envelope sticking out of the breast pocket. He removed it, leaned past Pullo, and handed it to Tanner.
“What is this?” Tanner said.
“That’s a copy of the latest intelligence we have, names, locations, and pictures. There are over thirty men there, and they’re a mix of Russian mob and cartel members. We haven’t located Krupin yet, but we will.”
“I thought you weren’t dirty, Ivanov?” Joe said.
“I don’t want your money, Pullo. I want blood for Justina.”
“That was his partner,” Joe told Tanner, although he was beginning to suspect that there had been more than that between them.
Tanner held up the envelope.
The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Page 25