The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart

by Remington Kane

  “Um, yeah, the woman was with him… and so was someone else?”

  Scar had phrased the answer as a question, because he was unsure what Tanner had meant by holding up three fingers, but when Tanner nodded his approval, Scar knew he had gotten it right.

  “Tanner has two companions now?”

  “Yeah… a man and a woman,” Scar said, and again, Tanner nodded his approval.

  An idea struck Spenser at that moment, and he rushed to Scar’s side and whispered something in his ear.

  “My friend managed to get a picture of the other man. I’ll have him send you a copy.”

  “There’s a picture?” Martinez said.

  “Yeah, but just one.”

  “Call the man and have him send it now,” Alvarado said.

  “All right, and we’re headed for Texas,” Scar said, as he read from the cheat sheet. “That asshole Tanner is a dead man.”

  Martinez told Scar to forward the picture as soon as possible, then he ended the call.

  After shutting his phone off, Scar looked up at Tanner.

  “I wasn’t calling you an asshole, dude; that’s what was written on the sheet.”

  “I know,” Tanner said. “I’m the one who wrote it, and you did good.”

  Spenser had opened his laptop and was looking through old photos. When he found one that was taken with Amy and only showed himself from the right side, he asked Amy if she could crop it and send it to one of the throwaway cell phones.

  Amy was seated beside Spenser on a sofa; she slid the laptop over and went to work on the picture.

  “This is one from our last trip to New Orleans.”

  “Right, and I need it cropped so that your face isn’t showing.”

  Amy’s fingers flew over the keyboard, in a short time, she had the picture cropped, then she sent it to a cell phone.

  Abrasion smiled at her. “You know computers?”

  “Just some basic stuff,” Amy said, and Abrasion kept smiling at her.

  Spenser snapped his fingers, breaking Abrasion’s trance, and then held up the phone. “Hand that to Johnny.”

  “Who?”

  “Scar, his real name is Johnny,” Spenser said.

  Abrasion took the phone, and walked it over to Scar, who then sent the photo to Martinez.

  Alexa smiled. “Once Alvarado sees that photo he’ll be twice as worried as he already is.”

  Tanner went over to her and brushed back her hair. “It was difficult to hear his voice again, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, although I barely remember the sound of it. What fills my mind are the images of him killing my family.”

  Bruise appeared startled. “That dude Alvarado killed your family?”

  Alexa nodded. She had been wary of the Horsemen, but she had come to see that they were a group of aimless boys and not hardened men.

  Bruise looked over at Scar. “You were right to help them, and that dude Martinez must be a dirtbag too.”

  Wound let out a yawn, then he looked over at Spenser. “Can we crash in here tonight or do we have to sleep out in the truck?”

  Amy stood. “There are blankets and pillows upstairs, along with a couple of sleeping bags. Between the sofa and the sleeping bags you’ll be comfortable right here in the living room.”

  Amy headed for the stairs, and Abrasion followed her.

  “I’ll help you carry stuff.”

  Amy started to protest, but then shrugged. “Thank you, Lionel, I could use the help.”

  As Amy and Abrasion headed up the stairs, Tanner walked over to Spenser.

  “Sending that picture was risky. Now, Alvarado will know you’re still alive.”

  Spenser grinned. “That’s right, and as soon as you’re healed, we’ll head straight for him.”

  “Give me two more days to let my ribs heal and I’ll be ready.”

  “We’ll all be ready,” Alexa said. “And then Alvarado will die.”

  8

  A Tanner Never Fails

  Try as he might, Alvarado couldn’t keep his hand from shaking as he looked at the picture of Spenser Hawke.

  The photo only showed Spenser from the right side, and he was more than a dozen years older than the last time Alvarado had seen him. However, his face was burned into Alvarado’s memory. He knew right away that he was the man who had crippled him and left him for dead in Matamoros.

  “It’s him,” Alvarado said to Martinez. “This is the bastard who attacked me years ago.”

  Martinez let out a sigh of relief as he stood before Alvarado’s desk. His results so far had been less than stellar, thanks to Tanner and Alexa’s destruction of his strike team. Now it looked as if his luck had changed, and he was going to make the most of it.

  “How long have you been looking for that man?”

  From where he sat in his special chair, Alvarado tore his eyes away from the photo and stared up at Martinez.

  “Eighteen years, this bastard crippled me eighteen years ago.”

  “And now I’ve found him for you, and not only that, but we’ve also established that he has a link to Tanner. I think you’ll agree that I’ve shown I can be valuable to you, yes?”

  Alvarado let out a chuckle. “You’ve earned a reprieve, yes, but I want more. I want this man in the photo along with Tanner and the woman.”

  “I’ve already sent people to Dallas to track them down, and of course, my strike team is headed there as well. But it appears to me that Tanner has decided to adopt a plan of lashing out and then going into hiding. If that’s true, he may not surface for a while. It would also mean that the three of them are still in Dallas, which is great news, because if they’re there, we’ll find them.”

  Alvarado held up Spenser’s picture. “I’ll take him dead, but if you can bring this man to me alive, I will give you anything you want, and I do mean anything.”

  Martinez’ dark eyes flashed with pure avarice. “I’ll do my best, sir, count on it.”

  Spenser lay beside Amy in bed and set his alarm for four a.m.

  Although they believed that the Tin Horsemen were on their side and essentially harmless, they weren’t yet ready to trust them fully. Spenser and Tanner were taking shifts on keeping watch throughout the night. After Spenser turned off the light, Amy snuggled against him.

  “I really think it’s unnecessary for you to get up early to keep an eye on those boys, they seem harmless,” Amy said.

  “I agree, but I’d hate to be wrong and wake up to find one of them standing over us with a knife.”

  “Lionel would never do something like that, and neither would the others.”

  “That kid, Abrasion, or Lionel as you call him, he’d like to stick you, but not with a knife.”

  Amy laughed and gave Spenser a playful punch on his arm. “Lionel’s sweet, and yes, I think he has a crush on me.”

  “I’d better watch my back around him.”

  “I called my mother. She’s going to send the things I need to the store, so tomorrow I’ll go and pick them up after lunch.”

  “Why don’t you ask that girl Deedee to bring them out here? It would save you a drive.”

  “I want to stop in and see my brother before we leave for Mexico, and besides, with me not there, he can really use Deedee’s help at the store.”

  “It’s not too late for you to back out of this, Amy. I don’t think you’ll be at risk in Mexico, but I also don’t like the idea of you being anywhere near a man like Alvarado.”

  “No Spenser, I’ll do my part, and anyway, you need me if your plan is to work.”

  “That’s true, and I’ve tried to come up with another plan, but nothing seems as likely to work as the one I’ve already got.”

  Amy hugged him. “I’m so afraid for you. I know that you and Tanner are as deadly as they come, but you’ll be going up against so many men.”

  “We’ll survive. The plan will work, and we’ll survive.”

  Amy kissed him. “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

&nb
sp; Spenser’s hands slipped beneath her nightgown, and soon all thoughts of pain and loss were replaced by those of pleasure.

  Downstairs, Alexa stood in the doorway leading to the living room and frowned as she looked at the Tin Horsemen, who were all asleep. She left them and walked into the kitchen, where she sat beside Tanner at the table.

  “Those boys snore,” she said.

  “Which ones?”

  “All of them, and I still don’t know whether we can trust them or not.”

  “I don’t either, but I also think they seem sincere. Like Scar said, he owes Spenser his life.”

  Alexa gazed around at the kitchen. “I like this house.”

  “Yeah, but I was surprised when Spenser said he wanted to settle in one spot. Up until we built this place he was always a wanderer.”

  “And you traveled with him for years?”

  “Yes, both Romeo and I were young, and Spenser became a sort of surrogate father to us. Romeo’s father was still alive then, but he never really got along with the man.”

  Alexa reached over and took Tanner’s hand. “This plan of Spenser’s is brilliant, but it’s also risky. There’s a chance that one of us won’t make it. If I die… I just want you to know that I’ve come to care for you a great deal, even if we’ve only known each other a short time.”

  Tanner linked his fingers with hers. “I care for you too, Alexa.”

  Tanner leaned in and they kissed, when it ended, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.

  “We’ll survive. Never think about dying, only about killing. Dying takes care of itself, while killing takes thought and planning.”

  Alexa grinned. “You really are fearless.”

  “No, I’m not, but I do feel less fear than most, and I never let it control me. I’ll die someday, like everyone else, and fearing it will make no difference at all. When Alvarado shot me and left me for dead, I should have died… the way my family died, but I lived, and every day since has been a gift.”

  “I feel the same way, but I’ll never have peace until that man is dead.”

  Tanner placed a hand on her cheek. “You’ll soon have peace, believe it.”

  Alexa stood and stretched. “I’m going to take a long bath and then go to bed, but I want you to wake me when you come up.”

  “You have plans for me?”

  Alexa grinned. “I most certainly do.”

  She walked to the doorway, then turned and looked back at Tanner.

  Tanner searched her eyes, saw the worry still lurking there, and then he smiled.

  “We’ll get through this in one piece. Remember something, Spenser and I are both Tanners, and a Tanner never fails to carry out a hit. Alonso Alvarado is a dead man.”

  Alexa looked thoughtful, and Tanner could see her relax.

  “Yes, that’s true, isn’t it?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Don’t forget to wake me when you come up.”

  “Count on it.”

  Alexa sent him a little wave and then disappeared. Tanner sat at the kitchen table, while going over Spenser’s plan in his mind. Once again, he found it to be a sound strategy, and likely their only chance.

  “A Tanner never fails,” he said to himself, and knew it to be true.

  9

  The Book Of Tanner

  The following morning, in Oklahoma City, Ariana O’Grady left the hospital while wearing a diagonal bandage on her face. It ran from right to left and covered a cut that started at her upper lip and ended above her brow. The doctor told her that she just missed losing an eye, as Alexa’s blade had scratched her left cornea.

  Brick walked along beside Ariana as she was wheeled outside. Brick’s neck was heavily bandaged on the left side, where Tanner had impaled him. After the nurse left them, Brick pointed toward the parking lot.

  “I went and got the Lexus. Where do you want me to take you?”

  Ariana just stood there looking lost. Instead of answering Brick, she asked a question of her own.

  “What are the odds of us finding Tanner and the woman again?”

  “Not good, but the word is that they’re in Texas.”

  “He’s headed for Mexico. He’ll try to kill the man that wants him dead.”

  “Yeah, and he and the woman will die there.”

  Ariana looked around again. “I want to go home to Colorado. Will you take me, Brick?”

  “Whatever you want, Ariana. If Tanner makes it out of Mexico somehow, I’ll help you kill him.”

  “Thank you. Bring the car around, I just want to go home.”

  Brick went off to get the car and Ariana stood alone. As a young couple walked past her, she saw them both flinch as they got a look at her face.

  If Tanner made it out of Mexico, she wouldn’t go looking for him again, but if he ever set foot in Colorado, she vowed she would kill him. Still, the person she really wanted was Alexa. If she got her hands on her, she would slice her face to bloody ribbons.

  After his stint at guard duty the night before, Tanner didn’t fall asleep until nearly six a.m.

  When he woke, he was surprised to find that he had slept past noon, and then was pleased when he realized his ribs no longer hurt. After sitting up on the edge of the bed, he examined the wound to his calf and saw it was healing nicely.

  He took a long shower, dressed, and made his way downstairs, where he found that he was just in time to join everyone for lunch.

  Alexa kissed him in greeting, then asked him how he felt.

  “I’m better. My ribs don’t hurt, but I think I’ll give myself another day before we travel.”

  “We’ll need the time anyway,” Spenser said. “And I’d like to get some target practice in after we eat lunch.”

  “Count me in on that,” Tanner said.

  Amy and Alexa had combined their culinary skills and made both lunch and dinner. The aroma of a baked ziti was in the air as everyone had a lunch of homemade chicken noodle soup and bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches.

  When Alexa teased the Horsemen about their nicknames, Amy asked them what their real names were.

  “I know that Abrasion is Lionel and that Scar is Johnny, but what are your real names Bruise and Wound?”

  “Eddie,” Bruise said, and then he smiled, which displayed the gap in his teeth. The gap was the result of a kick from Alexa when they were on opposite sides in Oklahoma.

  “And I’m Sean,” said Wound, whose hair was the lightest of the four of them and would likely turn blond if he spent a lot of time in the sun. After answering, Wound looked over at Tanner. “What’s your first name?”

  “Tanner.”

  “Huh? Then what’s your last name?”

  “Tanner. I’m just Tanner.”

  Once lunch was over, the Tin Horsemen went out in front of the house and played with a Frisbee.

  As they were doing that, Amy started on the lunch dishes, while Tanner, Spenser, and Alexa were in the basement gun room, readying rifles for target practice.

  “I took the book out of the safe last night, Cody,” Spenser said.

  Tanner smiled. “How did you know I would have something to add to it?”

  “You always do, and except for Tanner Five, I think you have more entries than any of us.”

  “What is this book you’re talking about?” Alexa asked, and Tanner explained.

  “It’s an old leather-bound book with blank pages toward the back, but at the front there are a handwritten list of tactics and strategies. The first Tanner started it, and we’ve all followed suit.”

  “Are you serious? How old is this book?”

  Spenser was looking through a scope with his good eye, after determining that it was smudged, he cleaned it with a cloth.

  “The first entry concerns events that took place about a hundred years ago, it’s a long one, and it’s autobiographical. After that, Tanner One wrote down different tactics and things, the clever ways he had fulfilled a contract. It was handed down to Tanner Two whe
n he came along, and he followed suit, and after his autobiography, he lists his tactics. The book is a real goldmine of ingenious ways to kill and survive. Cody here has come up with a few of the best ones.”

  Alexa grinned. “Oh my God, I would love to read it.”

  “It’s only for Tanners, Alexa,” Spenser said, and then he added, “Of course, it would be Cody’s call, since he’s Tanner now.”

  Alexa held up a hand. “No, I don’t want to see it; I like the idea that only a Tanner can read it, it’s part of the myth and mystique.”

  Tanner and Spenser looked at each other and smiled. Alexa caught the exchange and stared at both of them.

  “Did I say something funny?”

  “No,” Tanner said, “It’s just that you sometimes act like a groupie around us.”

  She laughed. “I can’t help it. I grew up listening to stories about the exploits of Tanner Five, and for me, meeting you two is like meeting royalty.”

  They moved outside with the rifles After setting up paper targets on several trees at the edge of the property, Tanner, Spenser, and Alexa began target practice.

  Alexa was very good with a rifle, but she shook her head more than once in admiration of Tanner’s skill at long distance shooting. She thought it remarkable when at one point he hit a target that was more than a mile away.

  The Tin Horsemen had gathered to watch the exhibition. When Abrasion joined in with the sniper rifle that had belonged to the late strike team member, Hakeem, he found that he couldn’t hit even the edge of a target, and the other Horsemen laughed at him.

  Abrasion gave up after a dozen shots and headed for the house. Alexa felt bad for him and offered to give him a lesson.

  “No thanks,” he called back over his shoulder.

  “Dude, bring back some sodas,” Scar called to him.

  Amy had been looking into the refrigerator. When she closed the door, she jumped, as she found Abrasion standing behind it.