“I see that our mutual friend has been busy,” Ivanov said, referring to Tanner.
“Yeah, and he’s just getting started, but what I want to know is where is Krupin? He’s the bastard that began this nightmare.”
“I’m working on it, Pullo, but the Bureau has placed me on temporary leave, and if I press my sources inside the Bureau too hard, someone may grow suspicious.”
Joe stared at the man and thought that Ivanov had aged since his partner’s death. He then thought about how close he had come to losing Laurel, and the thought of it sickened him.
“You’re walking a thin line, Ivanov, but I want you to know something. Anything you give us stays between us. When this is over, I won’t expect anything else from you, and I know you’re only helping me because of what happened to your partner.”
Ivanov sent Joe a bittersweet smile.
“I’m leaving the Bureau after this; I can no longer do the job. If I was on a case and came across another Michael Krupin, I’d shoot the bastard instead of arresting him.”
Joe took a deep breath, and then he stepped into Sammy’s hospital room to deliver the news about Sophia.
***
Tanner saw the curve coming up. He had scouted the area well and knew the curve’s potential as a place to set up an ambush. He smirked, there was likely no one left alive but the pilots of the second plane.
Still, he had not remained among the living by being careless, and so he reached down and grabbed an item that was part of his preparations, even as he slowed the car while going around the curve.
***
Rico had his shotgun aimed at the spot just past the bend in the road, as the engine sounds grew nearer.
“Any second now, Mateo,” Rico said, and then he heard Tanner’s voice come from behind them.
“Drop those guns or die!”
Both men froze, and an instant later, the car came around the curve. Rico and Tanner locked eyes, and then the car sped up and rocketed away.
“I said drop the guns!”
Rico was about to comply when Mateo spun around and fired several shots.
When Rico turned to face what he thought would be answering gunfire, he saw that no one was there.
“Where’d they go?” Mateo said.
That’s when the laughter began, it soon became laced with static, and then ended.
The laughter had come from a small clump of bushes, and when Mateo pushed several branches aside, they saw the pink baby monitor.
Mateo seethed with anger and reached down to grab the unit.
“Tanner, you sonofabitch, I’m going to—aaarrghh!”
The unit had been attached to a pipe bomb. Mateo’s stout body had taken most of the blast and dozens of nails embedded themselves in his face, neck, and chest.
Rico had received only two nails. One had ripped its way through his left hand, while the other one was stuck in his skull. The nail was above his left eye, with its bloody tip protruding at an upward angle. It looked like a ragged piercing, and the pain it caused was exceptional.
The pain paled compared to the agony experienced by Mateo, who lay on his back wailing and thrashing about, as blood leaked from numerous wounds. There were nails in his tongue, his throat, nose, and even his eyes.
Rico stared down at his friend, saw that he was blinded and bleeding to death, and with one blast from the shotgun, he put him out of his misery.
The nail in his own head refused to budge and Rico decided to just leave it be.
His left eye was blinded by the blood constantly leaking into it, but Rico made it back up the hill, where he found the two pilots standing by the jet and vomiting, as the stink of burning flesh permeated the air.
Both men startled when they saw the projectile embedded in Rico’s head, and the co-pilot produced a first-aid kit and offered to bandage his hand.
“Are the rest of the men back on the jet?” Rico asked.
The pilot looked green from nausea. He shook his head and pointed towards the edge of the hill.
“They’re down there... all dead... burning.”
When Rico began laughing, the two pilots backed away, but he held up a hand, as if to assure them he was still sane.
“My phone doesn’t work, what about yours?”
“There’s a satellite phone in the jet. It should work,” the pilot said.
“Bring it to me at my seat. I have bad news to deliver.”
The three men climbed back aboard the jet. Like Tanner, they had to leave before the authorities arrived. Rico eased into his seat and looked about the quiet cabin, which earlier had been filled with boisterous men eager to bag Tanner’s bounty.
When he looked over at Mateo’s empty seat, he remembered what his friend had said about Tanner.
“There are sixteen of us, and sixteen more on the first plane, I think we got it, Rico. Tanner don’t stand a chance.”
Rico began laughing again, it was either that or cry.
CHAPTER 11 – There’s no place nicer
Rico fought to maintain his cool as Juan Alvarado asked him the same question for the third time.
It was more difficult than it should have been, because Rico’s head was pounding.
A doctor had seen to his hand, and removed the damn nail, but Rico’s face was puffy and the wound had been closed with surgical staples. He looked hideous and would doubtlessly have a scar above his eye when it healed. Something else he owed Tanner.
Rico was in an empty office building whose top floors had been converted into apartments. It was where Alvarado and Krupin were hiding out since the failed attempt on Tanner’s life.
Juan had entered with Krupin at his side. Rico’s assessment of Krupin was that the man was another young punk with too much power and not enough common sense.
“Everybody else is dead?”
“That’s right.”
“My father said he was sending thirty-two men, and you’re telling me that Tanner killed them all?”
“We flew into a trap, Juan. The men are dead, along with the ground crew and bus driver. One jet was destroyed as well, and I was lucky to escape at all.”
“Escape? You were sent here to kill him, Rico. The man has made you look like a fool.”
Rico stared at Juan.
“If I’m a fool, I’m in line behind you.”
Alvarado’s face reddened.
“Be careful how you talk to me; I’m the future, Rico. I’ll be running things someday.”
Michael Krupin stepped forward.
“What’s our next move? We have to kill Tanner or he’ll kill us.”
Juan sighed.
“I have to call my father. I’ll tell him to send more men, and this time they’ll drive in from an airport. It’ll be a pain in the ass to do things officially, but Tanner wouldn’t try anything at an airport.”
“I put nothing past the man,” Rico said.
***
After delivering the news about Sophia’s death, Joe had sat with Sammy all evening.
Sammy’s head was bandaged and his broken right leg was in a cast. He also had numerous scrapes and cuts all over his body.
The young man was devastated by the news, and it wounded Joe to see the light dim in Sammy’s eyes.
Joe had known Sammy since birth. Even the death of his father hadn’t taken the twinkle out of the young man’s eyes, and he had always had a playful and carefree nature.
That had changed, Joe could see it, and although Sammy might someday love again, for now, his heart held only hate.
“Uncle Joe, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“The docs say that they want to keep you for observation for a few days. They say you took quite a whack on the head.”
“I’ll give them one day, and then I want out of here.”
“The truth is, this is probably the safest place for you right now, Sammy. You’ve got a policeman guarding your door, but, we don’t think you were a target.”
“Th
ey mistook me for Tanner, didn’t they?”
“Yeah,”
“He’s still alive isn’t he?”
“Alive and kicking. He’s been killing cartel members all day.”
“He didn’t love Sophia, but I think he’s killing partly for her, and I wish I could join him.”
Joe leaned closer to the bed and spoke in a low voice.
“If I don’t come through this I want you to make certain that Laurel is taken care of, give her half of the money in those offshore accounts I showed you, but keep the other half for yourself. If things go bad, you’ll be able to relocate and start a new life.”
“Nothing will happen to you, Uncle Joe, but you can trust me to take care of Laurel.”
Joe shrugged.
“It had to be said.”
“Where is Laurel, is she safe?”
Joe smiled.
“Yeah, she’s safe.”
***
Laurel laughed aloud as Romina told her the story of how Tanner beat up the Harvey brothers.
Laurel was seated on the front porch with Maria, Doc, and Romina. Maria’s son, Javier, was off at college, and from what little Tanner had said about Javier, Laurel believed Tanner disliked the boy.
Laurel liked Romina very much, and she could tell that the girl had a crush on Tanner, while also hero-worshipping him. Despite his profession, there was a streak of decency in Tanner that Laurel had always loved; it was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one who saw it.
“Not to pry,” Maria said. “But how long have you known Tanner?”
“Oh, I guess about six years, of course, he comes and goes.”
“Are you his lover?” Romina asked.
“Romina! That was a rude question,” Maria said.
Laurel smiled at the girl.
“At one time we were close, yes.”
“Oh, so you’re just friends now?”
Laurel looked down at her left hand. She had removed her engagement ring to avoid questions about Joe, but she saw no harm in sharing with these people. If Tanner trusted them, then so could she.
“I’m actually engaged to a friend of Tanner’s, and the two of them thought that I’d be safer here.”
“Tanner said that on the phone,” Romina said. “But he didn’t say why.”
“Romina, what did I say to you before Ms. Carter arrived?”
“Don’t pry into her business,” Romina whispered.
“That’s right.”
“I’m sorry, Laurel.”
“Don’t be, honey, it’s only natural to be curious... and this is an odd situation.”
Doc stood up and stretched.
“I think I’ll turn in, and Romina, I’ll have your horse saddled in the morning.”
“Thanks Doc, and hey, Laurel, do you ride?”
“I haven’t in years, but I owned a horse when I was young.” Laurel smiled. “My brothers bought it for me on my tenth birthday.”
“Would you like to go riding with me after breakfast? We’ll just ride around the ranch and check the fences.”
Laurel grinned.
“That sounds like fun.”
“I’ll saddle up Sally for her; she’s a nice gentle mare,” Doc said.
Laurel grinned.
“Thank you. Tanner couldn’t have sent me to a nicer place.”
CHAPTER 12 – You can’t run, but you can hide
“Bring him home, Alonso, and I mean tonight.”
Alonso Alvarado shook his head slowly as he looked at his wife. Malena was worried about their son, and with good reason, but if Juan ran away from Tanner, he would never stop running, and Alvarado’s enemies, such as rival cartel leader Damián Sandoval would hear about it and grow emboldened.
They were outside on the home’s wide front porch, and Alvarado was standing with the help of his crutches.
“He has to stay in New York, Malena. Our son has to stand and fight, in this life, to run is to die.”
Malena threw her hands in the air in a gesture of frustration.
“How could this man Tanner kill so many of our people with impunity?”
“Rico says that the man is a devil, but it’s just luck, and eventually that luck will abandon him and he will die.”
“Will his luck run out before he kills our son?”
Alvarado knitted his bushy eyebrows together as he grimaced.
“I don’t know the future. I only know that Juan can’t run from this man, or any man.”
“All right, he can’t run, but he can damn well hide. Tell him to leave that apartment on Fifth Avenue and to keep moving around.”
“That’s already been handled. Our people and Krupin’s men are guarding them in an office building we own. If Tanner dared attack there, he’d be killed. It’s the reason Juan’s there in the first place; it’s impenetrable.”
“I suppose you’re right, but you must do something.”
“I’ll send another fifty men and raise the price on Tanner’s head to a quarter of a million.”
“Send a hundred men and raise the price to half a million. This is our son we’re talking about.”
Alvarado smiled at his wife.
“Come here.”
Malena went to him and hugged him.
“I’ll do as you say and double the manpower and the reward.”
“Thank you, Alonso.”
Alvarado sighed.
“Damn Michael Krupin; I should have sent him back to New York empty-handed.”
“You risked much to gain much, and Krupin is an ideal pawn.”
Alvarado kissed the top of his wife’s head.
“And you are my Queen.”
“Alonso.”
“Yes?”
“If anything happens to our son, I want Michael Krupin to share his fate. I don’t care how useful he is.”
“I’ve already given Rico that order.”
Malena smiled.
“Good.”
CHAPTER 13 - Pony
MEXICO
Alexa parked her van in the driveway of an upscale home in San Juan del Río. A city approximately two hours northwest of Mexico City
The door flew open before she could even ring the bell, and Rodrigo Lucia, the man who had raised her, took her in his arms and hugged her.
“Hello, Daughter, I love you.”
Alexa smiled as she hugged him in return.
“I love you too, Papa.”
***
MATAMOROS, MEXICO, 1995
Seven-year-old Alexa Cazares pointed at the huge birthday present that had just been delivered to her aunt’s bedroom.
Her eyes were wide with wonder at the gaily-wrapped gift, even as her mind pondered what could be inside it. The gift was half the size of a refrigerator, and its brilliant colors of blue, red, green, and orange sparkled in the light coming through the bedroom windows.
“It’s so big, Grandma. What do you think is in there?”
“I don’t know, baby,” Jennifer Cazares said. “But, my little voice is telling me that it was sent here for you, and not your aunt.”
“Little voice” was the name that Jennifer gave her sixth sense. She had always considered herself psychic, and over the years, she had predicted many things that later came true.
Her very life in Mexico was a result of her following her “little voice” back in 1946.
During autumn of that year, Jennifer had begun getting the urge to go to Mexico soon after she turned eighteen and would dream about the country often. She had always followed her urges, her psychic feelings, but she ignored the urge to go to Mexico for six weeks, because to just drop out of college and travel to Mexico was an insane idea.
Insane or not, there came a day when she could no longer ignore her feelings, and despite her parents vociferous objections, Jennifer Grainger of Detroit, Michigan dropped out of school and headed south in her 1941 Mercury Coupe.
She traveled by feel and wound up in Matamoras, and as soon as she entered the vibrant city, she kne
w she had come to the right place.
She spoke Spanish because she had learned it from her parents’ maid as she grew up, and her first day in Matamoras she made fast friends with two young sisters who owned a clothing store.
The women needed help in the store and were also looking for someone to rent the small apartment above it. Jennifer took the job, liked the apartment, and only hours after arriving in the city, she had a job, a place to live, and two new friends.
The sisters were leaving for a party that night, and Jennifer begged off joining them, as she was tired and still had to unpack her things.
After they left her, she had one of the strongest feelings she had ever experienced, and it was telling her to go to the party. Jennifer caught up to them as they were getting in their car.
The party took place at a ranch on the edge of the desert, which was owned by the sisters’ cousin. Jennifer had been there for an hour and wondering why, when Thiago Cazares walked in the door.
Love at first sight is an inadequate phrase for what she felt when she looked at him, and by the expression on his handsome face, Thiago Cazares was feeling the same emotions.
Thiago walked up to her and told her his name, but before she could respond, he spoke again.
“Jennifer, your name is Jennifer.”
She laughed.
“How do you know that?”
“I told him,” said a woman standing to her left. The woman was tall and beautiful; she was also Thiago’s mother and a greater psychic than Jennifer would ever be.
She studied Jennifer from head to toe and then said something that blew her away.
“You are late. You should have been here six weeks ago.”
***
Little Alexa smiled up at her abuela, her grandmother, Jennifer.
“That gift can’t be for me; it’s not my birthday. It’s Tía Margo’s birthday.”
“The gift is addressed to your aunt, yes, but I can feel that what’s inside is for you. Don’t you feel it too?”
Alexa shook her head. She too had the gift of the “little voice”, but hers had not fully developed.
“You’ll see I’m right, and your voice will grow stronger soon too. Mine didn’t really get strong until I turned ten.”
“And bisabuela, how old was she when her voice spoke to her?”
The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Page 29