“I no hurt you. You come with us, yes?” He reached into his pocket and brought out a large plastic zip tie.
Henry shook his head. “You can stick that up your ass.”
Vasquez walked over to where the other man had already secured Jax’s wrists behind his back. Vasquez placed the barrel of the gun against Jax’s head.
“Henry, come with us or I’ll kill your friend.”
“Kill me? What the fuck?” Jax said.
Jax was far from being his friend, but Henry didn’t doubt that Vasquez would carry out the threat.
“I’ll come with you,” Henry said. “But you’re not tying me up.”
Vasquez laughed. “You aren’t afraid, are you?”
“What is this about?”
“My name is Vasquez. Your father sent me to get you.”
Henry blinked rapidly and wondered if he’d heard Vasquez right. “What did you say?”
“Your father wants to meet you.”
“Who is he? I don’t even know his name.”
“His name is Kagan Andreas. He is rich and has power in my country.”
“Kagan Andreas,” Henry said, repeating the name he had so long wished to know. On reflex, he took out his phone to search for information on his father. Vasquez snatched the device from his hand and tossed it away. “You won’t be needing that.”
Henry watched as Jax’s phone received a similar treatment. It was obvious they didn’t want anyone to be able to track their movements.
“Take me to see my father,” Henry told Vasquez.
“Vámonos!” Vasquez said. His men jerked Jax to his feet and started marching him toward the road where a black van was parked on the shoulder. Several cars passed by as they approached, but there was nothing unusual enough about the small group to make anyone slow down or take undue notice.
“What the hell is this all about, Henry?” Jax asked.
“It looks like I’m finally going to meet my father,” Henry said.
Jax was placed in the back of the van atop a mattress while Henry sat in the rear seat beside Vasquez and the two young Mexicans sat up front. The van took off and Henry felt a combination of excitement and dread.
Laura had risen shortly after Henry went for his run. She’d read the note he’d left telling her he was going running and had smiled.
“Running? More power to you, kid. All I want is a cup of coffee.”
She drank her coffee while seated outside on the front porch and was still dressed in her robe. It was a mild day and she had a view of gently rolling hills. Laura had the day off and no plans of any kind. The first cup of coffee went down quickly, and she went inside to get a second cup.
When she was seated on the porch again, she sipped on her coffee as she thought about reorganizing the closets, then nixed that idea. That was the sort of project you tackled on a rainy day.
Laura smiled as she thought about a man she had met recently. He was a lawyer in a nearby town who had come to the station to see a client who’d been arrested on DWI charges, driving while intoxicated.
They had hit it off right away and a few days later he was back in town for something else court-related. Laura had run into him inside the diner and they’d had lunch together and exchanged phone numbers. He had called and asked her out, but their schedules had conflicted. She wondered if he were free and was considering giving him a call when she saw a vehicle coming along the road.
Traffic was rare, since the road ran through the Parker ranch and dead-ended at another ranch, which was inactive. Cody Parker had recently bought that parcel of land as well.
As the pickup truck turned to head down her winding driveway Laura recognized it. It was Chris Monte’s black Silverado.
There was someone in the passenger seat, but Laura couldn’t tell who it was, other than that they were male. The passenger wore dark sunglasses and had a red cap on his head.
Laura ran fingers through her hair and stood to greet them. Monte parked his pickup near the porch and cut off his engine. His windows were down to let in the breeze.
“This is a surprise,” Laura said. She couldn’t imagine why Monte had come to see her and hadn’t been aware that he’d even known where she lived.
Monte stepped out of his vehicle at the same time his passenger did. Laura didn’t notice that it was the passenger who was holding the keys to the truck. Monte looked up at Laura and sighed.
“I’m sorry.”
Laura cocked her head. “What are you sorry about, Chris?”
“He’s talking about me,” Kagan said. He headed toward Laura while removing the sunglasses and the hat.
Laura looked at him as he approached the stairs, and for a moment, there was no flicker of recognition. She hadn’t seen Kagan since Henry was a baby; however, he hadn’t changed much, and Laura soon realized who it was she was staring at.
“No! What the hell are you doing here? You can’t be here. Henry wants nothing to do with you.”
Kagan took the stairs two at a time and towered over Laura as he stood before her on the porch.
“He’s my son and he’ll be with me from now on.” As he spoke, Kagan removed a gun.
Laura looked down at the weapon, then up into Kagan’s eyes. The thought occurred to her that she might not live to see another day.
7
Kill Or Be Killed
Vasquez had taken Henry and Jax to Chris Monte’s home to wait for Kagan to come back. The two Mexicans hustled Jax into the kitchen, but Henry was told to stay in the living room with Vasquez.
Henry had never been to the home before and wondered aloud whose house they were in. There were no photos on the walls to give him a clue.
“Christopher Monte lives here,” Vasquez said. “Your father owns that cop.”
“What is my father?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is he a terrorist or something?”
“He’s a successful businessman and somewhat of a legend. You should be proud to be his son.”
“I know the FBI are looking for him.”
“That’s right. He’s taking a risk by coming here to see you. You should be honored.”
Vasquez kept staring at Henry.
“Why do you keep looking at me?”
“I was thinking of my own son; he would have been about your age… had he lived.”
“He must have died young.”
“He was murdered.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Kagan is fortunate to have a son, and you’re lucky to have a father like him.”
“Where is he now?”
Vasquez smiled. “He’s off taking care of some old business.”
At Henry’s home, his grandmother, Laura, took in several quick breaths as her heart beat faster. She knew Kagan hated her and feared that he would use his gun on her. Along with the fear she felt anger. She jabbed a finger at Kagan’s chest.
“You have no right to see Henry. You’re not his father, you’re only the man who raped his mother.”
“Rape? Anne gave herself to me willingly, and I loved her.”
“She was sixteen, still a child, and you took advantage of her while I was in the hospital.”
Kagan opened his mouth to refute her assertions, then only sighed. “I’m not here to talk about the past but to finally put it behind me. Monte! Come here.”
Monte trudged up the porch steps like a whipped dog coming to heel at its master’s side. Kagan revealed a second gun and thrust it toward him.
“Take it,” Kagan told him. It was the weapon that Vasquez had removed from Monte’s ankle holster the night before.
The deputy took the gun from Kagan while giving him a quizzical expression.
“Kill this bitch for me.”
“What?”
Kagan aimed his gun at Monte’s face. “You heard me. Kill Laura or I will kill you both.”
“Kagan, why does she have to die? Just take Henry and leave.”
“Kill her.
If you don’t pull that trigger in the next three seconds, I’ll blow your brains out.”
Laura didn’t wait for the countdown to begin, instead, she buried a foot between Monte’s legs. The deputy moaned from the assault on his testicles as he bent over. Laura’s slipper stayed clamped between his thighs as she lowered her foot and turned to flee into the house. She feared that a bullet would find her back at any moment, but she made it inside and locked the door.
Kagan’s voice boomed. “Get her! Kill Her!”
At the rear of Laura’s home and more than a mile away was the small airfield where Cody kept his plane. He hadn’t flown in weeks and decided to get in some time in the air. Remembering that Henry had shown an interest in learning to fly, he wondered if the boy might not want to come along.
Cody called him but was only able to leave a message. By the time he had completed his pre-flight check, he’d expected to hear from Henry, who had never taken long to call him back. On an impulse, Cody started walking along the narrow road that connected the airfield to the main roadway. It placed him on a route that would circle around to Henry’s house. He hadn’t run that morning because Lucas had woken early and Cody had taken him riding. The short walk to Henry’s house was better than nothing.
He was more than halfway there when he heard a scream and looked over on his left to see a woman running out the back door of the home. He couldn’t make out her features, but the blonde hair made it likely that he was looking at Laura Knight. Cody left the access road he was on and cut across a field to run toward her on an angle, while wondering what was wrong.
A man followed Laura out of the house and stood on the rear porch watching her run away, then a second man appeared and shoved at the first man while shouting at him. The words he spoke were unintelligible from a distance, but their tone was angry and commanding. Cody saw the first man raise up an arm; it appeared that he was holding a gun. Instead of shooting, he lowered his arm and went in pursuit of Laura. Cody freed the concealed weapon he carried and increased his speed to intercept him.
After locking the front door, Laura remembered that she’d left her cell phone on the porch beside her coffee cup. She had no way to call for help. She looked down and seeing that she had on only one slipper she took the other one off and tossed it aside.
When Monte began kicking at her door frantically, she’d debated running up the stairs to grab Henry’s rifle, an M1 Garand. The weapon had once been Kagan’s. She had never fired it and wasn’t sure she could use it effectively.
As she heard wood splinter behind her, her panic increased, and all she wanted to do was to flee and get away. Laura rushed into the kitchen, unlocked the back door, and flung it open just as a crash came from the front of the home. She released a scream and ran outside with terror fueling her steps. The harsh ground scraped and scratched at her bare feet.
This is a fucking nightmare, Chris Monte thought as he pursued Laura. Kagan was forcing him to kill the woman so he wouldn’t have to do the deed himself and have to admit as much to his son someday. Henry wasn’t stupid. The boy would know that it was Kagan who had her murdered.
It doesn’t matter anymore, Monte thought. It’s kill or be killed. If Laura lives, she’ll tell anyone who will listen that I’m working for Kagan.
Monte stopped running, raised his gun in a two-handed grip, bent his knees slightly, and sent three rounds Laura’s way.
Laura’s terror had left her mind a blank save for the impulse to keep running, to get away, to stay alive.
The soles of her feet had received several cuts as she’d run but the pain went unnoticed.
She heard the sound of the gunshots at the same time agony erupted in her back. She’d been hit twice and felt her strength melt away like ice caught in the heat of a blowtorch.
The momentum of her run carried her several more steps before her legs gave out and she fell, rolled over, and settled onto her side. She was breathing hard from her exertion and each inhalation was sheer agony due to her wounds. Blood flowed from a ragged tear in her upper abdomen where a bullet had exited. The blood was turning her blue robe red.
She heard footsteps approach her at a run, then they paused. Her eyes had been clenched shut against a wave of pain, but she opened them to look up at Chris Monte. The deputy was standing over her, panting slightly, and pointing his gun at her head.
“I’m sorry. This wasn’t my idea.”
Laura shut her eyes again. She didn’t want to see the bullet coming.
Cody grunted in frustration as he watched Monte take shots at Laura. He was still out of range and his own gun would be useless at such a distance. His feet pounded and his arms pumped mightily as he closed the gap.
Laura went down and Cody was certain she’d been hit at least once. When the shooter lowered his gun, Cody saw him in profile and recognized Chris Monte. Why the deputy would want to kill Laura was a mystery, as was the man who had apparently given him the order to do so. That man spotted him coming across the field and cupped his hands around his mouth to call out a warning to Monte.
Cody was at the edge of the effective range of his gun but knew he had to act before Laura suffered another wound. After taking several more steps, he slowed, came to a stop, and took aim at the murderous deputy.
Monte heard Kagan’s cry of warning but couldn’t make out the words. He turned to see him pointing off to his right, then spun around to see what Kagan was gesturing at. It was a man, and although he was hundreds of feet away Monte recognized him. It was Cody Parker, and he had a gun pointed at him. Monte was raising his arm to fire at Cody when pain blossomed in his chest, followed by a stinging sensation along the side of his head. He took a staggered step backwards then felt his knees give out and collapsed to the ground near Laura. The sky above him was bright blue and cloudless. Its wide expanse shrank down to a tiny dot then faded to black and total darkness.
Back at the rear of the house, Kagan cursed as he saw Monte go down. He assumed he was dead. He’d seen blood visible along the side of the deputy’s head and was certain he’d suffered a fatal wound.
Laura had been wounded as well, and he thought it might have been more than one bullet that had taken her down. If she died too, then Monte’s death wouldn’t matter. Kagan had been planning to kill the deputy anyway.
He stared out at the man who had shot Monte. They were too far away to make out details of each other, but he guessed the dark-haired man was about six feet tall. He was obviously in great shape. When Kagan saw him cutting across the field he had marveled at his speed. He was also a hell of a shot. He had put Monte down while more than a hundred yards away.
The man stared back at him, then rushed over to where Laura and Monte lay, while taking out a phone. Kagan marched back through the house to get to Monte’s truck. It was time for him to meet his son at last.
Cody called Steve Mendez directly and told the chief what was going on. He kept him on the line as he checked on Laura’s condition. She was alive, but bleeding mortally and had gone unconscious. Monte was breathing as well. Tanner kicked his weapon out of reach and saw that one of his rounds had buried itself in Monte’s chest while the other had carved a groove along the right side of his head and took off a chunk of his ear.
Mendez’s voice was loud and relayed the angst he was feeling. Laura had become a friend and Monte was one of his men. Now it seemed that one or both of them might die.
“Ambulances are on the way, Cody, and so am I.”
“There was another man here, Steve, but I didn’t get a good look at him. He appeared tall and had dark hair. Hold on.” Cody saw Monte’s truck moving along the road at a high rate of speed. “There’s a black pickup truck leaving the house.”
“Chris Monte drives a black pickup. It could be his vehicle. How bad off is Laura?”
“It’s not good. I’m going to put the phone down so I can apply pressure to her wound, and Steve, Henry isn’t answering his phone. I don’t know if he’s in the house or not and I ca
n’t leave Laura to check.”
“We’ll find him, Cody,” Mendez said amid the sound of a car door slamming shut. Cody could hear the sirens start as Mendez sped towards him. He stared back at the house, wanting so badly to run to it and check for Henry but knowing that if he did so, and took pressure off Laura’s wound, that it might cost Laura her life.
Cody gritted his teeth and stayed where he was. Henry might be a boy, but Cody was certain he had a heart and soul that would someday make him worthy of being a Tanner. Cody had to have faith that it would be enough to keep his promising apprentice alive.
8
We Meet At Last
Kagan called Vasquez and told him to leave Chris Monte’s home and meet him somewhere else. They had checked out the area before making contact with Monte and decided to rendezvous at the old mill that had burnt down weeks earlier. It was in a secluded part of the town and there was no reason for anyone to go there.
Kagan also had to get rid of Monte’s truck. He did so after coming upon an old man fishing along a stream. He left the truck near the water with the old man inside it. Kagan debated whether to kill the fisherman but decided against it and left him tied up in the truck’s bed after wiping the vehicle down. The old man would be found eventually and by then Kagan hoped to be back across the border and into Mexico.
The stolen vehicle was an ancient brown Ford with mushy brakes. Kagan drove the car to the charred remains of the old mill and saw his son in person for the first time since Henry was a baby. He was amazed how much he resembled his mother, although Anne’s hair had been blonde and her eyes blue. Henry’s dark hair and eyes had come from him, though the hair wasn’t as curly as his own.
Flesh and Blood (A Tanner Novel Book 35) Page 5