“Despite all that talk about disowning me, Daddy didn’t even have a will. Can you believe that?” Madison said.
Tanner could, and quite easily. He had killed Madison’s father, Frank Richards, and even while wounded and lying in a puddle of blood, the man had denied his fate, telling Tanner that he couldn’t kill him. A man like that would be too arrogant to consider his own death a reality.
“What’s that mean? You get everything?”
“Not all, the corporation was a separate entity and the IRS took a good chunk, but I will inherit money, along with several properties, including the estate in Katonah.”
Tim handed him an envelope. “There are your IDs.”
Tanner opened the envelope and found two sets of fake IDs, including credit cards and various other things that people carry in their wallets, such as a card for a road service plan.
“How did you get a picture of Sammy Giacconi?”
“Easy, I hacked into the computers for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Agency.”
“And people say I’m scary. This is good work, Tim. What do I owe you?”
“We’ve had this discussion before, Tanner. You don’t owe me a thing. You not only saved my life, but because of you, I also met Madison.”
“All right, but if you ever need me, call that number I gave you.”
Madison stared at him, while cocking her head. “Tanner, is something wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know; you just look a little sad.”
Tanner smiled at her perceptiveness. “It’s nothing.”
Sammy stepped off the elevator in his apartment building and found Sophia sitting in front of his door.
“Sophia?”
She jumped to her feet and ran a hand through her hair nervously.
“Hi.”
“Why are you here? Is something wrong?”
“Tanner and I broke up.”
Sammy let out a yell of joy and Sophia giggled.
“I see that makes you happy.”
Sammy took her in his arms and kissed her. When their lips parted, he searched her face.
“How bad was it?”
“There was no scene. Tanner isn’t stupid, and he could see that I had feelings for you.”
Sammy stared into her eyes. “Is this for real?”
Sophia smiled. “I want to be with you, Sammy. You’re so goddamn young but I still want to be with you.”
Sammy unlocked the door to his apartment and the two of them disappeared inside.
323
What’s In A Name?
The Americana Sports Bar on Sixth Avenue was doing a lively business when Tanner walked in. To his surprise, there was a familiar face among the bartenders.
“Hello, Carl. I see you’ve found a new job.”
“Yeah, Tanner; thanks to Joe. He’s waiting for you in the back room there, down that hallway on the left.”
“Has that kid Sammy arrived yet?”
“No, I haven’t seen him.”
“Send him back when you do.”
“You got it.”
The back room was at the end of a short corridor. When Tanner approached two of Pullo’s men, Mike and Bosco, Bosco knocked on the door.
“Tanner is here, boss.”
Pullo opened the door and gestured for Tanner to enter. The room was large and appeared to be set up for private parties. There was a bar on the right side of the room, and a giant flat-screen television took up most of the rear wall. The Americana Sports Bar catered to affluent sports fans, and everything had to be first-class.
Pullo sat at the bar and Tanner took a seat beside him but facing the door.
“You own this place?”
“Just five percent of it. I loaned a high school buddy a few grand twenty years ago to buy a neighborhood bar. He turned it into this.”
“Impressive.”
“Sammy called me this morning.”
“So, you know.”
“Yeah, and I have to ask again, is it going to be a problem?”
“No, Joe. I’ll keep the kid safe. I swear it.”
“You want a drink?”
“No.”
“I’ve had news about Krupin. He’s in Mexico.”
Tanner raised an eyebrow. “That’s not good; he could be looking for a partner.”
“Yeah, so listen, take care of this Bobby Volks thing and get back here. I’m going to need you, buddy.”
“If Krupin comes back with a load of cartel muscle this war will be red hot.”
Pullo nodded, and then smiled.
“Why the smile?”
“This trip you’re taking with Sammy, it’s reminded me of the one we took to Delaware to hunt down Carlo Conti.”
“I was thinking that myself.”
“We learned a lot about each other on that trip. It’s why I trust you to look out for Sammy, and I wouldn’t say that about anybody else.”
There came a knock on the door. When Pullo opened it, Sammy walked in. He looked over at Tanner, opened his mouth, closed it, and then shook his head in confusion.
“I… have absolutely no idea what to say to you, Tanner.”
“Try saying hello, kid, and come take a seat. We’ve business to discuss.”
Sammy walked around the bar and then leaned on it. Tanner removed the phony IDs from the envelope Tim had handed him the day before and separated them.
He would be going under the name of Tom Myers, and his driver’s license declared him a citizen of Florida. He slid across the fake ID that he had Tim make for Sammy, then watched as Sammy studied it.
“An Ohio driver’s license for… Jack Koff? Seriously, Tanner, Jack Koff?”
Pullo grabbed the license from Sammy, read it, then broke out in laughter.
Tanner shrugged. “I couldn’t resist.”
324
Curious
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER
Tanner and Pullo had searched the bars, nightclubs, gambling dens, and strip clubs within a five-mile radius of where Carlo Conti had last been spotted, and they came up empty.
By the third day, they were running out of places to look and decided to return to the motel and think things over. Again, there were men at the door to the room being guarded across the way, Room 16, and Tanner admitted to himself that he was curious.
Pullo laughed. “It’s probably another Carol.”
“I don’t know. There’s something strange there.”
“Hellman said it was private business; maybe it has something to do with drugs, or they’re filming a porn movie.”
Tanner rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, as he gazed out the window of Pullo’s room at the man guarding the door of Room 16.
“It’s still curious.”
“No, I’ll tell you what’s curious, Tanner, Carlo Conti. How could a guy as big as he is stay hidden?”
“Could he know that we’re looking for him?”
“I don’t see how. Of course, there’s always the chance he was just passing through here.”
“Maybe we’re going about this all wrong. Instead of looking for places where Conti would party, why don’t we look for places where he would work? He was an enforcer, right?”
“Yeah, a button man,” Pullo said.
“All right, but he’s a little old for that now. So what was he before that?”
“I don’t know. Let me give Sam a call. I’ll use the pay phone by the office.”
On the way to the phone, they passed a room where two women were snorting coke. One of them was Carol. When she saw Pullo, she slammed the door in his face.
Tanner chuckled. “I think you lost your chance with Carol, that is, unless you pay her.”
“I’d rather screw a goat.”
A door opened behind them, and Tanner saw Hellman leave another room.
“Here’s the zookeeper of this place.”
Hellman was with a teenage boy who was no more than nin
eteen. The boy was stuffing money in his pocket, and Hellman was fastening his belt.
“It looks like his gate swings both ways,” Pullo told Tanner.
When Hellman reached them, he smiled his big phony grin.
Tanner pointed at the room across the way. “How much do you charge for the girls in that room?”
Hellman’s smile faltered. “Who told you there were girls in that room?”
“You did, just now,” Tanner said.
Hellman smiled the phony smile again. “You’re a tricky one, but those girls are very special. I promise you; you’ve never seen two more beautiful girls. But, I would need someone to vouch for you.”
Pullo had picked up the phone to make his call, but he placed it back in the receiver, as curiosity took hold of him as well.
“What do you mean, ‘vouch?’”
Hellman smiled again. “It’s one of those things where you either know or you don’t. But forget about those girls, I can hook you up with whatever you want.”
Pullo picked the phone up again. “No thanks.”
Hellman looked at Tanner. “What about you, young man?”
“I’ll pass.”
“Well, if you change your minds, you know where I’ll be.”
When Pullo finished his call with Sam, he told Tanner what he had learned.
“Carlo Conti started as a leg breaker for a loan shark, but for a while he was also a pimp.”
“Maybe he’s gone back into his old line of work?”
“Could be, but I don’t see a guy like that still hustling girls on street corners.”
“No,” Tanner said. “But if Conti is in the trade, we’ll find him running one of the local whorehouses.”
Pullo headed for the car. “We’ll grab dinner and plan our next move.”
They walked to the car and Tanner opened the door to get in, but then he paused and stared over at the door to Room 16, while feeling a strange sense of unease. After a long moment passed, he climbed into the car and Pullo drove away.
325
El Diablo O La Diabla?
Krupin had locked the door to his guest room, but he woke from a fitful sleep when he heard a key turning in the lock.
He was at Alvarado’s desert fortress after the man’s wife, Malena, insisted that he stay the night and not travel in the desert after dark.
Krupin had called his men and told them of his change in plans, and that they were to arrange to leave Mexico on the following day.
Getting rid of Bruce, the schoolyard bully, had only cost Krupin fifty dollars, but getting rid of Joe Pullo would cost him fifty percent of all profits.
Krupin had made a deal with the devil, but fifty percent of New York City was better than what he had now. Had he gone back without Alvarado as a partner and the backing of the man’s cartel, he likely would have been gunned downed by Joe Pullo. With the cartel backing him, he felt that his fortunes could only rise.
The lithe form slipped into the room as quiet as a shadow and its silhouette read female. It was Alvarado’s wife, Malena. Krupin shivered just from the thought of what would happen if he were caught with her.
“You would be tortured,” she said, as she slipped out of her robe and slid her naked body beneath the blanket.
“What?”
“You were wondering what would happen if we were caught together, no?”
“Yes.”
“You would be tortured, horribly, and your death would not be quick.”
“Oh Jesus,” Krupin said, then he said it again in a different tone, as Malena eased down along his body and settled her mouth upon him.
He gave in to the pleasure. He knew he had no choice. If he refused her, she would likely take offense and have him killed anyway.
By the time Malena left his room at the first light of day, Krupin knew without doubt that he had made a deal with the devil. However, he was no longer certain if the devil was Alvarado, or the man’s wife.
Krupin had fallen back to sleep after Malena departed, as he was satisfied, but tired. He had never been with a woman old enough to be his mother, but found it made little difference, as the woman was as beautiful as many women half her age.
She certainly was more energetic than any woman he’d ever been with. When the alarm at his bedside went off at eight o’clock, he estimated he’d had only slept a total of three hours.
When he left his room, still yawning, he discovered that one of Alvarado’s men was positioned outside the door. He wondered if the man had seen Mrs. Alvarado leave his room. If so, it meant one of two things. He was about to be killed, or Malena Alvarado had the men’s loyalty, because he was certain that if either Alvarado, father or son, knew that he had slept with Malena, he would soon be a dead man.
When the silent guard escorted him to the dining room, he found the elder Alvarado seated at the head of the table and eating.
When Krupin sat to the left of him, a plate of huevos rancheros was placed before him. The aroma made him realize how hungry he was.
He thought it rude that he was not given a choice of what to eat, but the dish was a favorite of his. He wondered if Alvarado had somehow discovered that fact, or if it was just coincidence.
“Did you sleep well, my friend?”
“Um, yes, very well, thank you.”
“That is good. After we have eaten, we will work out some details.”
“I thought I would be leaving early?”
“Don’t worry. I will have you returned to Mexico City by tonight, and you can fly back the following day.”
“I’ll have to tell my men about the change in plans, but when will your men be coming to New York to help me take care of Pullo and Tanner?”
“Very soon, and my son, Juan, will be accompanying you on your trip back.”
“Really? That’s good, but tell me, how many men are you sending?”
“About a dozen.”
Krupin’s fork stopped while halfway to his mouth.
“That’s all? I think you’re underestimating Tanner.”
Alvarado smiled. “Two of the men I’m sending along are experts of a sort. They will deal with Tanner, trust me.”
“Okay, but if they don’t, it could mean the death of me, and your son as well. Tanner is merciless.”
“So I’ve heard, and if I thought I could, I would recruit him.”
Krupin opened his mouth to speak, but then noticed the manila folder on the table in front of his plate. Alvarado saw that he had spotted it, and he instructed Krupin to open it. When Krupin did so, he found an artist’s rendition of a bearded young man.
“What is this?”
“Does that man look familiar to you?”
“No.”
“Look at the drawings beneath the first one, they show him older, with and without the beard.”
Krupin looked, but still didn’t recognize the man, who in all honesty, appeared unremarkable.
“I’ve been looking for that man for many years. When I find him, I will give a whole new meaning to the word torture.”
“Thank God I’m not him,” Krupin said.
When it was time to leave, Malena stood beside her husband and wished Krupin a safe trip. He thanked her for her hospitality and saw just the hint of a smile on her face.
Although annoying, he wasn’t surprised when he was blindfolded again, and then Juan Alvarado guided him into the rear of the limo and they headed back to Mexico City.
326
Goodbyes And Farewells
Inside LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, Laurel gave both her brothers a kiss on the cheek, and then wished them a good flight.
“It’s real nice of you to pay for our airfare, Mr. Pullo, and Earl and me will be back in a few days, don’t you worry.”
“Don’t rush, Merle. In fact, why don’t you boys move back there?”
Laurel elbowed Pullo in the stomach as she frowned at him. “Don’t listen to Joe. You two come back here. You have to walk me down the aisle soon.”
Earl smiled. “I can’t wait until we’re uncles.”
Merle and Earl said goodbye, and Laurel looked like a mother sending her kids off to their first day at school. With the boys on their way to Arkansas, she and Pullo then traveled to an adjoining terminal, where Tanner and Sammy were waiting to board their flight to Tennessee.
Pullo took Sammy’s face in his hands and stared into his eyes.
“You take care of business.”
“Absolutely,” Sammy said, and Pullo saw a steely determination in the young man’s eyes.
Laurel kissed Tanner on the cheek. “I’m sorry about you and Sophia.”
“I have a habit of losing great women.”
“You’ll find the right one someday, I know you will.”
“Maybe there’s no such creature.”
“Nonsense.”
“Have you chosen a wedding date yet?”
“No, but it will be soon, and we’ll be keeping it small, but of course, you’re invited.”
“Maybe I’ll catch the bouquet.”
Movement alerted Tanner that someone was approaching from the right, and he saw Sophia walking toward them in an emerald dress that matched her eyes. Laurel excused herself to give them privacy.
“Good morning, Sophia.”
“Hello, Tanner. I know this is awkward, but I wanted to see Sammy off on his flight.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.”
Sophia ducked her head and looked up at him. “Try not to hate me, okay?”
“We’re friends, Sophia. Nothing changes that. I learned a long time ago to follow my gut, and that’s what you did when you broke up with me. You followed your gut.”
Sophia smiled. “Gut? Are you calling me fat?”
“Go see Sammy.”
Sophia kissed him lightly on the lips. “Thanks, Tanner, and yes, we’ll always be friends.”
Tanner watched her greet Sammy with a passionate kiss, then he looked over at Laurel with Pullo, and recalled what she said about him finding the right woman someday. If such a woman existed, he knew she’d have to have a heart as tough as his own.
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 103