“I thought you were trying to kill him.”
“I was, but that’s not what this is.”
“What’s the message?”
“Have him call me here.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Laurel clasped her hands together in her lap and stared down at them as she thought things over.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t know where he is, but I might know someone that could reach him, and I’ll ask that person to pass along your message, all right?”
Pullo smiled. “That’s great, baby.”
“If he calls…”
“Yeah?”
Laurel took in a deep breath, then released it.
“Never mind, if he wants to hear my voice or see me, he’ll call.”
“Being around Tanner isn’t the safest place to be right now, you know?”
“He’ll be all right, won’t he?”
“I don’t know, but if he calls me, maybe I can help.”
“Even though he tried to kill you?”
“He didn’t try to kill me; he just put me out of commission. Tanner never fails, and I think there’s a German guy about to learn that the hard way.”
Laurel left the hospital and took a cab to Rafe’s hotel. When he opened the door and saw her standing there, shock lit his face.
“How did you know where to find me?”
“I’m nosey and I’m careful. I went through the pockets of your pants while I was treating your leg wound and I saw the keycard for this room.”
“Is there trouble?”
“No, but can I come in?”
Rafe let her into the room and she watched him walk.
“That limp seems better. How’s the leg?”
“It is better, and I’m good thanks to you, but what’s up?”
“I need to get in touch with Tanner.”
“I don’t know how to do that. He had asked me to help him tonight with this war he’s waging, but he called earlier and said he wouldn’t need me after all.”
“But he might call again?”
“Possibly, but I have no way to reach him and I’m headed home tomorrow.”
Laurel nibbled her bottom lip as she shook her head in frustration.
“Typical Tanner, always the loner,” Laurel said.
Rafe smiled. “You sound as if you’d like to keep him company.”
Laurel grinned back at him, but then she looked worried.
“I wonder why Tanner changed his plans.”
Rafe shrugged. “I guess he came up with a better one.”
101
Tanner Smiled
Tanner removed the bolo tie, even as his left foot came down on the back of Gruber’s right knee, driving him to the ground. As he slipped the bolo over Gruber’s head with one hand, he disarmed him with the other.
Gruber reacted quickly as he tried to grab his gun back, but only succeeded in knocking it out of Tanner’s grasp. Meanwhile, the three fingers Gruber had managed to get between the bolo and his throat were being severed and would soon fall to the ground.
The bolo was no mere tie, but a black garrote consisting of razor sharp wire at its middle, where it looped. Tanner forced a knee into Gruber’s back, as he gripped the silver R and pulled tight on the bolo’s ends. The garrote pierced its leather covering and sliced into Gruber’s neck.
Merle and Earl looked on with wide unbelieving eyes as “Romeo” brought death to Gruber. But when Gruber reached back and swiped desperately at Romeo’s face, dislodging the mirrored sunglasses, the brothers realized they were looking into Tanner’s intense eyes.
They gaped at each other in stark disbelief, before looking down at Jackie Verona’s body in confusion. They then gazed back up at Tanner and knew it had all been a ruse.
Meanwhile, Gruber’s panicked eyes pleaded with the brothers, as he pointed at them, silently begging them to help. The begging ended along with his life, as a powerful spray of blood erupted from Gruber’s neck, and the German deflated like a defective blow-up doll.
Tanner’s eyes never left the Carter brothers. He was ready to defend against them if needed, but Merle and Earl merely watched in fascination and horror.
If they had any thoughts of trying to kill Tanner, they didn’t act on them.
With Gruber dead, Tanner released his body and let it fall into the grime of the alley, while freeing the silver R from the garrote and pocketing it.
“Well boys, what do you say?”
Tanner stood relaxed, but looked like something from a slasher movie, as Gruber’s blood dripped off him and covered half his neck and chest. He was armed, but his gun was holstered.
Merle and Earl looked at the guns on their own hips and shook their heads.
“We ain’t killers, Tanner,” Merle said. “It’s why we didn’t kill you back in Vegas, and we could have, ya know?”
“Give me your guns, slowly.”
They did as commanded, and after checking to see that a round was chambered in each gun, Tanner removed and pocketed the magazines, then he handed them back with the empty magazines that Gruber had used. After that, he picked up Gruber’s gun and removed the silencer.
“What now?” Earl said.
“Now, you boys get to be heroes. Just shoot where I aim.”
Tanner began firing into the soft dirt at the base of the wooden fence, which ran the length of the alley.
Merle and Earl followed Tanner’s lead by firing off their chambered rounds and emptying their guns.
The magazines Tanner had taken from Merle and Earl’s guns were compatible, and Tanner removed the empty magazine from Gruber’s gun and fed in a fresh one before placing it near Gruber’s body.
The sound of running feet came from the other end of the alley and Tanner whispered to Merle and Earl.
“Let me do the talking.”
He placed the mirrored sunglasses back on just as Mario and Carl appeared.
Mario spoke in a breathless gasp. “Did we get him?”
Tanner was “Romeo” again, and as Romeo, he jumped up and down excitedly while pointing about.
“Oh, shit man, shit man, shit man, he was hiding in the damn crapper. Tanner was hiding in there and he popped out and wrapped that wire around Gruber’s neck. I didn’t have a shot ‘cause Gruber was in front of me, but I tried to get him free and that’s when all the blood sprayed. Tanner tossed Gruber at me and I kicked the door shut on him, and that’s when these two lit his ass up inside the box.”
Mario stared about at the carnage and then locked eyes on Merle and Earl.
“Wow, you guys killed Tanner?”
A noise came from behind them, and they saw that Carl had fainted. Carl lay in the alley on his back. The sight of blood and death had been too much for him.
Mario checked him, and saw that Carl was okay.
“He’ll wake up soon, but stay here while I go get the dudes guarding the front door.” Mario took three steps and then turned back. “Holy shit, Tanner and Gruber both. Wow!”
Mario disappeared from sight and the gate in the fence creaked open. Tanner held his gun at his side, but at the ready, and saw Sara Blake peek in.
When Sara saw the bodies on the ground, she walked in, her mouth agape, her eyes locked on the bullet-riddled corpse clad in black.
“Tanner…?”
Tanner said, “Who’s the bitch?” in his Romeo voice, which he pitched higher than his own, while also imbuing it with a singsong quality.
Merle and Earl moved toward Sara.
“You have to go now,” Merle said, and he tried to push Sara back through the gate.
She broke free of him and bent closer to the bodies.
“Lars Gruber, Tanner killed him?”
“Yeah,” Merle said. “But lady, Sara, you have to leave.”
Merle looked over at Tanner and shook his head in a silent plea that he not kill her.
“This other body, the one with all the head wounds, is it really
Tanner? Is he really dead?”
Tanner went into full Romeo mode and began prancing around.
“Hell yeah, he’s dead. My boys here blew his punk ass away after he killed Gruber.”
Sara looked over at Romeo, who was turned sideways, then she stared at Merle and Earl.
“You two killed Tanner?”
The boys said nothing, so Romeo filled the silence.
“They blasted his ass.”
Sara huffed in surprise and took out her phone. Tanner thought she might call the police, the real police, and not the Conglomerate’s paid puppets, but instead, she was readying her camera.
Voices approached from down the alley and Merle and Earl grabbed her arms and dragged her outside the gate.
“You gotta go now or they’ll hurt you,” Merle said in a desperate whisper.
Sara took one last look at what she believed was Tanner’s body, and then she fled.
Mario returned with the guards from the front, and Johnny was with them. They came upon Carl first and Johnny pointed at him.
“Oh no, Carl got killed too?”
Mario laughed. “Nah, Carl just passed out from the sight of the blood.”
Johnny smiled at that and continued on, where he bent down and examined the bodies.
“That damn Tanner finally ran out of luck, and Gruber, whew, Tanner almost decapitated him.”
He looked up at Romeo and saw all the blood covering him.
“Did you get wounded?”
“No man, but that German dude went off like a fountain when I was trying to help him get free.”
Johnny took out a phone and made a call. “Bring in the van. We got two to go, but keep the street closed until I say different.”
When he was done with the call, Johnny went over and stood before Merle and Earl.
“Boys, you just earned a fat reward, plus I’ll give you a night in the club you’ll never forget.”
Someone groaned, and everyone turned to see Carl sitting up.
Mario walked over and helped him to stand.
“Come on, tough guy, let’s get you inside.”
Johnny’s phone rang and he answered it.
“Say that name again?” A pause, “Yeah, bring her here. I’m in the alley.”
He closed his phone and sighed. “It looks like we may be planting three tonight. That so-called reporter is back, Sara Blake.”
And while Merle and Earl blanched at the news of Sara’s capture and coming demise, Tanner smiled.
102
It’s Been A Hell Of A Night
The gate opened, and Sara was shoved back into the alley by two thugs, one of whom passed her purse over to Johnny.
“There’s a piece in there, boss.”
Johnny reached inside the bag. “I’m more interested in her phone.”
Tanner was leaning near the open gate in the fence, ready to move if necessary, and he wondered what Johnny would think if Sara had managed to take a picture earlier.
Johnny pushed several buttons on the unfamiliar phone, became frustrated, and tossed it over to Tanner.
“You look like you know how to search this thing, let me know if she’s made any recent calls.”
“You got it, boss,” Tanner said, then he popped the gum he had in his mouth. He glanced at Sara over the tops of his shades and saw that she was watching Johnny.
Tanner searched through her phone and the results surprised him.
“There’s nothing here. It’s wiped clean, no call history, no photos, nuthin.”
Johnny gave a little laugh. “No, not nothing. She called someone and then erased it. Smart.”
The van pulled up outside, and Johnny told Mario and one of the men who came with Sara to tote the bodies into the van.
“But before you go...” Johnny said and took out a knife, a switchblade. He knelt beside the body he believed to be Tanner’s and cut open the left pant leg.
Tanner knew what he was looking for and congratulated himself for having the foresight to prepare for it.
Jackie Verona’s left leg had received several shots, but among the carnage they caused, Johnny could discern an earlier wound that laid beneath a bandage, a wound that was narrow and horizontal.
“Gino said he got the bastard with a knife in the thigh yesterday, and there’s the mark. This is definitely Tanner. All right, take them away.”
Mario pointed at Sara. “What about her?”
“I’m sure her ride will be along soon. Who’d you call, honey, your Fed buddies?”
Sara tried to hide her surprise at Johnny’s knowledge.
“Yes, I’m a former Fed and Special Agent Jake Garner will be here any minute.”
Johnny let out a sigh. “Somebody turn on that hose by the wall and wash away this blood. After that, soak everything down with bleach.”
Johnny took Sara by the arm and guided her toward the club.
“Take off Mario, the Feds are coming.”
Mario pointed at Tanner and the Carter brothers. “You’re with me, guys. You too, blood boy.”
“Let me use the hose first,” Tanner said.
After stripping down to the waist, he sprayed his neck and chest. He had to be careful about cleaning his arms, for fear that he might smear the temporary tattoos he wore.
Seconds later, he was in the back of the van with a pair of body bags, a perforated porta-potty, and two very scared brothers, as Mario drove them toward the tunnel.
Tanner grinned. “It’s been a hell of a night, hmm boys?”
Merle and Earl returned his smile with frowns.
103
Flirting With The Enemy
Inside the strip club, Johnny R went behind the bar and poured himself a whiskey.
“What will you have, honey?”
Sara looked surprised by the offer, but said she’d have the same, only on the rocks.
With the drinks made, Johnny leaned on the bar and smiled at her.
“You’re a real looker, you got guts, and you’re smart, a rare combination.”
“Are you talking about me, or yourself?”
Johnny nearly spit out the sip of whiskey he had just taken.
“Ha, ex-Fed or not, I like you. And hey, that shit with Vince, that wasn’t me.”
“I settled with him.”
This time Johnny nearly choked on his drink. After coughing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he pointed at her.
“That was you? You ordered that? There’s a real dark side under all that beauty, isn’t there?”
“Look who’s talking.”
“Are you trying to flatter me, honey?”
Sara said nothing, as she looked Johnny over and smiled. He returned her smile and the silence between them stretched, as they admired each other.
The front door of the club banged open and Jake Garner walked in with two New York City police officers.
“Are you all right, Sara?”
“I’m good, but I’d like to leave.”
“Where are the bodies?”
“They’re gone. They were carted off in a white van that looks like a thousand others and I never saw the plate numbers.”
Johnny’s face paled. “Wait, what’s he talking about?”
Sara smiled. “You’re thinking how could I have told him about the bodies when I didn’t see them until after your men grabbed me, right? Well, it’s very simple; I saw them earlier through a gap in that wooden fence.”
Johnny finished his drink in one gulp.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know nothing about any bodies and I run a legitimate business here.”
Garner laughed. “I bet you’ve said those same words on many occasions.”
Sara held out her hand. “I’ll take my purse now.”
Johnny reached under the bar and came up with her purse. As he handed it to her, their hands touched, eliciting an inner sigh in each of them.
As Sara was leaving the club, Johnny called to her.
“Come back anytime, Sara, minus the Fed boyfriend, of course.”
“Maybe I’ll come see you on visiting days after your arrest.”
Garner glared at Johnny, not liking the banter between him and Sara. “She’s leaving, but I’ll be staying, and there’s an FBI forensic crew on its way.”
Johnny sent him a blank look. “Whatever you say, Mr. Fed, but may I see the search warrants?”
“Those are on their way here as well.”
Johnny had poured a second drink and he held it up in a toast.
“Goodnight, Sara Blake.”
“Goodnight, Johnny R,” Sara said, and out into the night she went, filled with a strange sense of loss, believing Tanner dead, and thus, leaving her devoid of her obsession.
104
Kiss Or Kill
BASS RIVER, NEW JERSEY 1:26 a.m.
Tanner watched Merle shovel the last pile of dirt atop the bodies, as Mario dragged over several branches to cover the grave.
Tanner was dressed in a T-shirt that advertised the strip club, and with his spiked blond hair, tight jeans, and tattoos, he looked younger than he was.
Soon, they were on the road headed back, but later, as they approached one of the rest stops on the Garden State Parkway, Mario pulled in and parked.
“I’ve got to take a leak, anyone else?”
The others said no, and Mario climbed out of the van.
“I’ll bring back coffee.”
Mario went inside to use the bathroom, and while he was in there, Tanner spoke with Merle and Earl.
“You two are heroes now, but if you tell anybody I’m still alive you’ll be dead heroes, understand?”
Merle scowled at him. “Hell, we ain’t sayin’ shit, Tanner. If they figured out we lied, they’d kill us.”
“Tanner?” Earl said.
“What?”
“Are you gonna stay dead?”
“Who knows, I might grow to like it.”
As he said he would, Mario returned with coffee, and they stood outside the van, stretching their legs while sipping their drinks.
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 29