“I hear you,” Tanner said.
When the two men separated, Pullo reached into a pocket of his suit jacket and took out an envelope, which he handed to Tanner.
Tanner opened the envelope and found a bank card and a list of numbers on a piece of paper.
“What’s this?”
“It’s payday, and since I can’t count that high, I don’t know how many guys you killed since the day Johnny signed you on, but I think that will cover it. That account is worth two million.”
“I think you’ve overpaid me.”
“No buddy, I can’t thank you enough. You were right to have me take this deal. It brought Laurel home and will keep her safe. That’s worth dealing with Rico any day.”
Tanner put the envelope away and stepped into his car. After starting the engine, he looked up at Pullo.
“Take care of Laurel.”
“I will, and I’ll see you around.”
Tanner grinned. “That you will, that you will.”
The car rolled away, and Tanner headed for Mexico.
388
Enough Is Enough
That night, after leaving the estate, Pullo met with Mike Conti inside one of the Giacconi Family’s chop shops. The place was closed for the day, and only Pullo, Conti, Bosco, and Sammy were there.
Conti had contacted Pullo to make peace and to clear his name. Alvarado had also placed a price on Conti’s head, and while fifty grand was a pittance compared to the amount placed on Tanner, it still made Conti a target and a pariah.
“Joe, you know I had nothing to do with setting up the massacre at that hotel.”
“I don’t know about that, Mike. If you hadn’t sold out and planted a tracker on Bosco here, you wouldn’t have a problem. The way I look at it, this is all on you.”
Sammy eased down into a desk chair, and then leaned his crutches up against the rear of a new Mustang that was partially disassembled.
“Conti, Sophia told me that you were a friend of hers, and then you turn around and help the bastards that killed her?”
Conti let out a sigh. “Listen kid, it’s—”
“Don’t call me kid, or son, or boy. Do you understand me?” Sammy said.
Conti shrugged. “I didn’t mean any offense, and I’m obviously here to beg forgiveness.”
Pullo chuckled. “Mike, you tried to have me iced.”
“I was just looking out for my Family, Joe, you know? The way things were going, I thought the Giacconi Family would soon be history. It only made sense to try to have the Calvino Family step into the vacuum, right?”
Bosco made a derisive sound. “Why did you use your Cousin Denise to plant that tracker on me? The girl teased me something awful.”
Conti’s eyes brightened. “You want Denise? Hell, you can have her, all three of you. She’ll do what I tell her, every penny she gets comes from me since her husband left her high and dry.”
Bosco looked over at Pullo. “Do you believe this pig? He’s willing to pimp out his own cousin.”
Pullo chuckled again and then spoke to Conti. “What do you want, Mike? Why are we here?”
Conti shrugged helplessly. “I need money. The little I was able to grab before leaving won’t last me more than a few months. And with this price on my head, I’ll need to put some distance between myself and the city.”
“Are you serious?” Pullo said. “Why would I give you a dime?”
“For old times’ sake, Joe. We were friends.”
“Enough of this,” Sammy said. He pulled out his gun and shot Conti five times, before sending a wad of spit at his body.
Pullo and Bosco stared over at him in shock and Sammy calmly put his gun away.
“Can we leave now? My leg is killing me.”
Pullo pointed at Conti’s corpse. “I make those kinds of decision, Sammy, not you.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Joe, and you’re right, but enough is enough, huh?”
Pullo turned and headed for the door. “Bosco, call some guys and have Mike dumped in Jersey.”
“Right, boss, I’ll handle it.”
Sammy made it onto his crutches and the three of them left the building.
389
Two Graves, One Heart
WEDDING DAY, AT THE ESTATE IN KATONAH, NEW YORK
Laurel laughed with pure joy as she watched her brothers walk toward her all decked out in tuxedos and top hats.
They had arrived the day before and had been present at the rehearsal dinner. Both Merle and Earl would be walking her down the aisle.
She then scrutinized the women that adorned her brothers’ arms. They were Hanna and Savannah. The sisters hadn’t flown in until early that morning so they could continue to take care of things at the farm. They were meeting Laurel for the first time.
Hanna and Savannah were wearing formal dresses. They both sent Laurel a nervous smile, which Laurel answered with one of her own. She then greeted Merle and Earl with hugs and kisses, before turning to be introduced to their companions.
“My brothers said that you ladies were beautiful, and now I see they were right.”
Hanna and Savannah curtsied to Laurel and offered their hands. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Laurel Lee,” the women said in unison.
Laurel giggled. “Oh my, you two look alike and you talk at the same time. That reminds me so much of Merle and Earl.”
“They talk about you all the time,” the women said in stereo.
Laurel shook her head in wonder, while thinking that there really was someone out there for everyone.
The wedding went flawlessly, and Laurel Ivy became Laurel Pullo.
When it came time to toss the wedding bouquet, Hanna and Savannah knocked each other over while trying to catch it, but it was Skye who snagged it from the air.
Carl the bartender looked nervous when Skye showed it to him while beaming, but he saw the bouquet as a good omen.
Later, when Laurel insisted that Big Ralphie join her on the dance floor, the big man amazed everyone by being light on his feet. He was so huge compared to Laurel that she looked like a little girl dancing with her father.
Sammy had the excuse of his broken leg to keep him off the dance floor. The sullen best man stayed mostly to himself, as he still grieved the loss of Sophia. However, as Pullo’s best man, he did make a toast, one that was short and poignant.
“To Joe and Laurel, may you make every day count and never take one of them for granted.”
Pullo thanked him, then wondered if Sammy regretted leaving Sophia to seek revenge against Bobby Volks, the man who had murdered his father.
That revenge had come at a dear price, in that it lessened the already short time Sammy and Sophia had spent together. Had Sammy not gone to Tennessee, they would have shared a few more precious days together.
The saying goes that you should dig two graves when seeking revenge. Bobby Volks filled one of those graves, Pullo prayed that Sammy’s heart wasn’t buried in the other.
Pullo’s new partner, Rico Nazario was at the wedding. He spoke with Pullo while Laurel was on the dance floor with Bosco.
“Your bride is exceptionally lovely; you are a lucky man.”
“You’re right, but you’re lucky too. Your plan worked, and Alvarado has given you his son’s job.”
“Yes, and when you return from your honeymoon we will get back to business and run this city the way it should be run.”
Pullo reached over and straightened Rico’s tie. “Would you like a word of advice?”
“Normally, no, but since it’s your wedding day I will indulge you.”
“Don’t get too comfortable, Rico. Once Tanner kills your boss you’ll be out in the cold.”
“Ah, Pullo, I know you have affection for the man, but Tanner is a walking corpse. I predict that by the time you return from your honeymoon he will have had his funeral.”
“I guess we’ll see,” Pullo said, as Bosco walked over to him.
“Can I have a moment, boss?”
“Yeah, and Bosco, just call me Joe from now on, okay?”
Bosco smiled. “You got it, Joe.”
Pullo excused himself to Rico, then followed Bosco into a room off the kitchen that was used for the storage of paper products, such as napkins, paper towels, and tissues. There was a small butcher block table in the center of the room, on it sat a white box with a bright red ribbon.
Bosco gestured at it. “It’s a wedding gift… from Tanner.”
Pullo walked over and touched the side of the box. “It’s cold.”
“That’s dry ice, so that the eh, contents, won’t spoil.”
“The contents, huh?” Pullo said, as he suspected what lay inside.
When he opened the box, his suspicions were confirmed. He looked down upon the severed head of Michael Krupin.
Pullo broke out in laughter and Bosco joined him.
“You know, boss, I mean Joe, I’m awful damn glad I’m not Alonso Alvarado.”
Pullo closed the box. “You and me both, Bosco.”
Pullo rejoined his bride, and the celebration went on into the night.
390
Revelations
As the wedding was taking place, Tanner was driving south through Georgia, as he headed for Mexico and Alvarado.
Plane travel was out, because the cartel would have eyes at every major airport. If he were identified by someone while aboard a flight, Alvarado could have an army of killers waiting for him whenever he landed.
Tanner had driven on a less direct path than would be normal, as a precaution against anyone looking to cash in on the million-dollar bounty. When hunger struck, he pulled into the parking lot of a diner. His waitress, a young redhead who had a gang insignia tattooed on her wrist, kept giving him odd looks. Later, she was slow in bringing his food.
Tanner began to wonder if perhaps she had recognized him from one of the flyers going around in the underworld. If so, was she being slow to delay his departure?
He became convinced of it when she wouldn’t meet his eyes as she finally sat down his plate. His gut was telling him to leave, to flee. He left his food untouched on the table and headed for his car. As he unlocked the door, he was chastising himself for being paranoid, that is, until the three men in the pickup truck came roaring into the parking lot and headed for him.
Tanner ran several feet to his left, where a green dumpster sat against the side of the building. After moving around to the rear end of it, he waited for the truck to stop and for the men to climb out of it.
They did so mere seconds later, and Tanner fired a shot that destroyed the right kneecap of the driver, who had fired a shotgun at him. The metal pellets penetrated one side of the dumpster but didn’t make it through the second side.
One of the other men ran to his right to get a better angle. Tanner fired a round that entered the man’s ear and exited in a spray of brains and blood. The third man was a fool wielding only a baseball bat. When he saw what had happened to his friends, he dropped the bat and climbed back into the truck. The driver must have taken the keys when he left it, because after sliding over behind the wheel, the man made a panicked sound before leaping from the truck and sprinting toward the front of the diner. Tanner let him go. He needed to leave, or else he risked facing the cops.
He walked over to the punk with the shattered knee and picked up his fallen shotgun, which appeared to be a new Mossberg, a 930 Tactical.
The man begged Tanner not to kill him. Tanner ignored him, and after tossing the shotgun on the seat, he climbed in his car and left.
As he drove away, he saw the waitress in the rearview mirror. She was sitting on the ground and weeping beside the man he’d shot in the head. The men had come when she called them and now one was wounded with another dead. Tanner felt no sympathy for them or their stupidity. He would feel neither mercy nor forgiveness toward anyone who hunted him, and they would all find that million dollars impossible to claim.
He drove only a mile after leaving the diner and stole a car inside the parking lot of a Cineplex, after transferring his few belongings into it. The Mexican border was growing closer, and by the next day, he would enter the country.
“I’m coming, Alvarado.”
In Louisiana, Alexa could feel that she was growing nearer to Tanner. She had no idea how she would find the man or what she would say to convince him to help her. She only knew what she had known since she was a child, and it was that she had to follow her inner urgings. They had never steered her wrong.
A few minutes later, while stopped for gas, she began to doubt her “little voice” for the first time in years, because she suddenly had the urge, no, the need, the absolute need to head north, and not northeast, a direction Tanner should be coming from, but she felt a great desire to drive west, northwest.
It made not one lick of sense to her rational mind, but she knew from her own experience and the stories of her grandmother that the “little voice” was never wrong.
Alexa filled her tank, got back on the highway, and as soon as the opportunity arose, she headed west, northwest, but only God knew why.
At his compound in Mexico, Alonso Alvarado stood by the grave of his son, Juan, and grieved as much as his black heart was able.
Other than those born of physical pain, he hadn’t cried a tear since he was a boy, but he was capable of hate, oh yes, and he was a man who knew how to deal with his enemies.
He pulled the drawings from his pocket and unfolded them. For years, there had been only one, the one depicting the man who had crippled him, but now, now there were three, and along with the first man, he held a portrait of Tanner, and a sketch of Alexa.
Alonso stared down at them and felt the hate rise in his every fiber, a hate he would someday vent on the three people he despised most in the world.
“We shall have revenge, Juan. This I swear.”
Alvarado’s special chair had been carried from the home and placed by the grave. He lowered himself into it and stared blankly at the tombstone. After more than a minute had passed, Alonso jerked his head up suddenly.
He’d remembered!
He finally remembered where he had seen Tanner before; he took out the flyer showing Tanner’s face and stared at it in stark amazement.
“It is him, but it’s not possible… he’s dead.”
Alonso kept studying Tanner’s face, and the longer he did so, the more certain he was of his identity.
“You won’t escape me this time. This time I will see you dead for certain.”
Tanner left his stolen car in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant where he finally had a meal. After walking a block south to a car rental agency, he rented a vehicle under a phony name and continued south.
He had only driven a few miles when he pulled to the side of the road. He had meant to check for messages while he ate and had forgotten to do so.
Once the laptop was connected to the internet, he checked for new messages inside an email account. There was one message. It was from Tamir Ivanov.
Tanner,
My friend in the DEA finally located pictures of Alonso Alvarado. They were found among things that Alvarado had left in the basement of a bar he used to own in Matamoras, Mexico. I’ve included them as attachments, and I pray this letter finds you in good health.
Happy hunting,
T.I.
Tanner opened the attachments, looked at the photos, and felt the world turn upside down.
The man in the photos could not be Alonso Alvarado, because the man in the photos was dead, long dead. He wrote back and told Ivanov of his error, and he was just about to shut down the laptop when he received a reply.
Tanner,
There’s no mistake. The man in those photos is Alonso Alvarado. If you think he’s dead, you’re wrong. There’s something else too, Alvarado used to go by a nickname. My friend says that he’ll get back to me when he learns what it was.
Best of luck,
T.I.
Tanner stared at
the photos in wonder. Could the bastard still be alive somehow?
He needed answers, and only one man could give them to him. He had to see his mentor, Tanner Six, because he already knew the nickname of the man in Ivanov’s photos.
His name was Martillo. He was the man who had killed his family.
Tanner got back on the road, but this time he was headed west, northwest, to see the man he loved like a father, Tanner Six.
BOOK 10
MORE DANGEROUS THAN MAN – A TANNER NOVEL – BOOK 10
Tanner makes his way across the country to see an old friend as he seeks answers about his past.
Meanwhile, female assassin Alexa Lucia is searching for Tanner. But is she an ally or an enemy?
391
Surprise!
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
Tanner realized he was being followed after he left the drive-thru lane of a fast food restaurant.
One of the cars in line behind him pulled out without getting their food. The unusual behavior caught Tanner’s attention.
Whoever was driving wasn’t a complete idiot, because he allowed several cars to come between them, so that he wasn’t driving directly behind Tanner. There were two men in the car. From the brief glimpse Tanner got of them as they passed beneath a street light, they appeared to be about his age. They were likely just two more punks looking to cash in on the million-dollar bounty that Alonso Alvarado had placed on his head.
Tanner drove in a pattern that left no doubt he was being followed, then he headed straight for his motel. When he got there, he parked in front of his room, Room 4, and entered just as the two men parked several spaces away. He made certain to look in their direction, so that they could get a good look at him.
The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart Page 123