The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Read online

  Sara had left him alone after the food arrived, and he had eaten while gazing about at her apartment and asking himself why he agreed to help her, why he hadn’t just killed her and escaped his prison. He had no answers for himself, but the image returned to his mind of her sliding her gun towards him and he knew that the act had taken courage, but must have been fueled by desperation.

  There were family photos all along the hallway leading to the bedroom and he spotted several where Sara and a woman with blond hair were smiling together, and surmised from the strong resemblance that this was the sister she hoped to save.

  He had failed to save his own sisters, but like Sara, he had risked his life to save someone he loved, to save Laurel Ivy, and also like Sara, he had given up his weapon and surrendered to an enemy he knew would kill him.

  That they were both still alive was against the odds, but the odds seemed greater still that her sister could be found inside a vast jungle and then rescued, but he had beaten the odds his entire life and hoped to do so once again.

  In the bedroom, atop a side table, there was an unframed photo of Sara with Johnny Rossetti and yes, they appeared to be in love. Yet, it was her hate that had caused Johnny’s death, and Tanner knew that the woman blamed herself for his demise, and rightfully so.

  After taking a long, hot shower, Tanner left Sara’s bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist and she entered moments later carrying packages.

  When she spied the stitched-up wound on his left side, she made a face.

  “I heard you’d been shot. That’s not infected, is it?”

  “No, only reddened from the hot water, but I should cover it with a fresh bandage.”

  “I have some in the bathroom,” Sara said and after walking into the room that was still steamy from Tanner’s shower, she returned and told him to raise his arm.

  While applying ointment and a bandage to his wound, Sara stared up into Tanner’s eyes and saw that he was giving her a strange look.

  “This is all a bit surreal, isn’t it?” she said, and Tanner grunted his agreement.

  When she finished with the bandage, she pointed at the bags she had piled atop the bed.

  “The small bag contains a toiletry kit, while the big bag contains new clothing. Everything is in the sizes you asked for and they’ll be delivering the suitcase and the rest of the supplies to the airport within the next hour.”

  “When will the plane be ready?”

  “It’s a private jet and it will be taking off for Jakarta in three hours.”

  “It’s a long flight, how many stops will we make?”

  “Just one before we land in Jakarta, we’ll be refueling in South Korea and after that, we’ll have to spend the night in Jakarta.”

  “And from there we go to Guambi?”

  “No, the airport there is closed, but the resort we’ll be staying at in the neighboring country of Telunas will fly us from Jakarta on their plane. It’s a tight schedule, but we should make it.”

  “I see.”

  Tanner opened a bag and took out a pair of jeans.

  Sara spoke from the doorway.

  “I’ll be out on the balcony.”

  Tanner answered her with a nod and Sara left the room.

  When he joined her twenty minutes later, he was wearing the new jeans along with a black long-sleeved T-shirt and had shaved as well.

  The city was a blaze of artificial lights and the cacophony of sounds it produced drifted up to them from the busy streets below.

  Tanner poured wine into a glass and sat across from Sara in a wicker chair.

  “Tell me everything you know about what happened to your sister.”

  After sipping her own wine, Sara spoke.

  “Jenny runs a non-profit organization and was there on a humanitarian mission. The government had recently stabilized, or so it seemed, but rebels still loyal to the old leader killed the new president and plunged the country back into civil war.”

  “You said that they were religious extremists?”

  “Yes and it’s the extremists who were responsible for the anarchy and assassination, but the US State Department informed my father that they weren’t certain if that core group was behind all the kidnappings.”

  “Why the doubt?”

  “The group is fractured, most of them are driven by their idea of religion and practice it fanatically, but then, there are those committing kidnappings as a way to enrich themselves.”

  Tanner nodded.

  “I see, both groups ask for money, one to get rich and the other to fund their ideals. If that’s true, then there’s probably no way to know who has her.”

  “Yes, but I pray that the extremists have her. Their religion is very strict in matters dealing with sex... which means that she’s less likely to have been raped.”

  “How much is the ransom?”

  “Ten million.”

  Tanner cocked an eyebrow at the figure.

  “Your family has that kind of money?”

  “We can raise it, yes, but it will take time and during the last conflict in the country, it sometimes took months before they released the hostages, even after the ransom had been paid. They were also known to arbitrarily kill hostages for reasons only they understood, but it was usually when the hostage had offended them somehow, such as the men whose bodies were found. They were gay.”

  “And once the ransom is paid, they ask for more, right?”

  “Yes, and again, sometimes, they just, just kill their hostage.”

  The doorbell rang and Sara stood.

  “That’s Duke, please don’t harm him; he was only following my orders.”

  Sara waited for Tanner to reply, but he said nothing, and after sighing, Sara went to open the door.

  Duke’s eyes grew wide with fear as the door opened and Tanner reached past Sara and pulled the older man into the apartment, tripped him, and as Duke fell onto his back, Tanner placed his gun against Duke’s forehead, right above the broken nose he had inflicted upon him in their previous encounter.

  “Please don’t kill him, Tanner,” Sara said.

  Tanner ignored her and spoke to Duke.

  “You do things for her, from now on, you’ll also do things for me. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” Duke said and Tanner was impressed that there was no tremor in the man’s voice.

  Tanner put the gun away and Sara helped Duke from the floor.

  “I’d much rather work with you than against you, Tanner,” Duke said.

  Tanner raised up a finger.

  “For me, you’ll work for me, not with me.”

  “Whatever you say, I’m just glad that you two aren’t still trying to kill each other.”

  Sara suggested that they move back onto the balcony and, once there, Duke told them what little he knew.

  “As you can guess, Guambi isn’t exactly a place where I have a lot of contacts and so the two of you will be going in blind.”

  Tanner stared at Sara.

  “The two of us? You’re not planning on coming along after we get there, are you?”

  “Of course I am. This is my sister we’re talking about and I think you know that I can take care of myself.”

  “Yes you can, here in the city, but the jungle is different and as a woman you won’t be able to keep up.”

  Sara’s eyes blazed.

  “That’s sexist!”

  “No, that’s a fact and simple physiology. I’m faster than you, Blake; my legs are longer and I have greater stamina. I may need to cover long distances quickly without resting and if I do, you won’t be able to keep up.”

  Sara made a face of displeasure, followed by a nod of assent.

  “That’s all true and I may lag behind, but I’m still coming with you to find my sister, and I’ll be responsible for myself. Your only job is to find Jenny and get her to safety, agreed?”

  Tanner didn’t appear pleased, but he nodded in agreement and spoke to Duke.

  “Fin
e, now what about weapons?”

  Duke grimaced.

  “I do have contacts in Jakarta through an old friend and he says that the con artists and thieves in the region outnumber the legitimate gun dealers. So be advised, my friend says that this arms dealer in Telunas can be trusted, but not always and that you’ll have to check your weapons carefully to make sure that he’s not trying to sell you junk.”

  “That’s not reassuring,” Tanner said.

  Duke shrugged.

  “It is what it is.”

  “How well armed are the rebels?”

  Duke brightened, as he rubbed his palms together.

  “There’s one piece of good news there. When they attacked the capital, they were unable to breach the armory and the military there remains loyal to the government. Few of the rebels will have guns and most of them will be armed with machetes or knives.”

  “What about the passports?” Sara said.

  Duke reached into an inside pocket of his suit coat and his hand emerged with an envelope that contained two complete sets of phony ID’s.

  He laid them out on a glass-top coffee table before Sara and Tanner and after reading them, they both jerked their heads up and asked Duke the same question.

  “We’re supposed to be married?”

  Duke grinned.

  “It will arouse less suspicion.”

  His hand went into a side pocket and this time it emerged with two gold bands.

  “I guessed on the sizes; I hope that they fit.”

  They tried the rings on and saw that they were about the right size and then they both removed them until they would be needed.

  Duke typed on Sara’s laptop for a few moments and brought up a map of Guambi. Afterwards, he pointed towards a large section of the northwestern part of the nation, which was bordered on two sides by the Indian Ocean and the country of Telunas.

  “It’s believed by some that most of the rebels are based in this area, although satellites have been unable to verify that and they’ll likely move their camp frequently. Aside from the kidnappings, they’re also suspected of pirating small pleasure craft. The area is just a mess right now.”

  “How do we get to Guambi, by plane?” Tanner asked.

  “The airfield is still closed and the State Department is advising all Americans to stay away, so you’ll have to travel in on foot. This chaos all broke out while Sara’s sister was in the air, and if she had left a day later, her flight would have been cancelled.”

  Duke looked up from the screen and stared at both of them.

  “What you two are planning to do is hopeless. A native of the country would have a problem locating the rebels and if you did find a group of them, there’s no guarantee that they would be the ones that took Sara’s sister.”

  “What do you think Jenny’s odds are, Duke?”

  Duke sighed loudly.

  “The truth, fifty-fifty, and that’s only because your father is willing and able to pay. Most of the time, the negotiations fall apart because the rebels ask too much, but luckily for your sister, your old man is loaded.”

  “I’m not willing to sit back and just hope for the best,” Sara said, and looked at Tanner. “I studied you when I was tracking you down and over the last few weeks I’ve seen you do some incredible things, including today inside that freezer. If anyone can find and free my sister, it’s you.”

  Duke looked at Tanner and then Sara.

  “What happened inside the freezer?”

  “Tanner got free from the cuffs and rigged a trap. Once I stepped inside, he could have killed me.”

  “And she could have stayed outside the freezer and shot me to death, but she didn’t,” Tanner said. “Instead, she gave me her gun.”

  Sara leaned towards him.

  “I need you to trust me again. I really think you’re the only chance my sister has.”

  “I’ll do my best, Blake, but honestly, a team of Mercs might be a better option.”

  Duke cleared his throat.

  “Not so, I heard a news report on the way here. The father of one of the other hostages is Conrad Burke, as in Burke, the multi-national, the defense contractor. He allegedly assembled a team of ten men and sent them in after his youngest daughter. One of them stumbled out of the jungle today with third-degree burns and said that they were ambushed and slaughtered, as far as they know, he was the only survivor.”

  “An ambush that was set up that quickly tells me that they have eyes everywhere,” Tanner said.

  Duke nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah, Burke’s group had been headquartered in the neighboring country of Telunas, which is where you’ll be staying after your night in Jakarta, at their resort area, and the extremists are gaining ground there as well. Someone on the hotel staff, a taxi driver, or even someone at the airfield could have tipped the rebels. Trust no one.”

  Tanner pointed at the map.

  “From what part of the country was Blake’s sister kidnapped?”

  “She and two other hostages were at a relief center in the eastern part of Guambi,” Duke said.

  “How certain are you that she and the other hostages are being marched northward?”

  “I’m not certain at all. This is all just extrapolation from known facts, but the mercenaries were attacked north of the area where the hostages were taken, which does indicate that they’re moving in that direction.”

  “That’s good; it means that we’ll have a chance of intercepting them.”

  ***

  Duke wished them luck before leaving, and soon after, Tanner and Sara left the apartment and climbed into the limo that would take them to the airport.

  Sara offered Tanner her phone.

  “Do you want to call someone, maybe Laurel?”

  “No.”

  “Why not? You should let her know that you’re alive.”

  “I’ll do that if I live through this, otherwise, what’s the point?”

  Sara turned in her seat until she was facing him.

  “You’ll find my sister and then we’ll go our separate ways. I hated you for a long time, Tanner, but I never doubted your abilities. I locked you in a room with your feet shackled and your hands cuffed behind your back and I returned to a death trap. Most men would have surrendered, one or two might have gotten free of the cuffs, but only you could turn the tables like that. Use that devious brain of yours to find my sister and bring her home.”

  Tanner said nothing in return and Sara shifted back in her seat until she was staring forward once more. Five minutes passed before she spoke again.

  “I don’t hate you, not anymore. I don’t have the strength for it and it was my hatred for you that caused Johnny’s death. I have to live with that.”

  She cried softly, as Tanner watched her impassively, but as the taxi drove onto the Grand Central Parkway, he offered some advice.

  “You’ve stopped hating me, now stop hating yourself.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” Sara said.

  “Yes, but then, what isn’t?”

  Sara pondered those words, and despite her somber mood, she smiled.

  CHAPTER 4 - When it rains...

  Laurel Ivy opened her front door before Joe Pullo could ring the bell.

  After Pullo entered, they hugged each other in greeting and Laurel noticed that Joe hugged her longer than usual.

  When they separated, she searched his face.

  “How was your day?”

  “Insane, with Johnny gone, I’m running things and there’s a lot I don’t know. I spent most of my life on the streets. I’m not a manager.”

  “Has there been more trouble?”

  “No, which I find odd, but I’ll take the break.”

  Laurel took his hand and began leading him towards the kitchen.

  “I’ll heat up some food for you.”

  Joe pulled her back and searched her eyes.

  “How are you doing? I mean, we have to assume that Sara killed Tanner and I know
you loved him.”

  Laurel looked away for a moment, as her eyes grew moist, but when she looked back at Joe, she gave his hand a squeeze.

  “I don’t know if Tanner is dead, but I do know that he loved me, loves me, and knowing that... it’s freed me from the past.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For years I thought that maybe I had fooled myself into thinking he loved me, but now that I know he did, I also know that we never would have lasted, not if he could feel that way about me and still leave me.”

  “And if he’s alive... if he wants you?”

  Laurel smiled, and kissed Joe.

  “I’m with you now, Joe. Tanner is part of my past.”

  Joe hugged her again.

  “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too. First Johnny and now Tanner, Laurel, do you think Tanner could really still be alive?”

  “I do. He’s already come back from the dead once and until I know differently, I’ll assume he’s out there somewhere.”

  Joe looked towards the kitchen.

  “I’m not really hungry.”

  Laurel smiled.

  “Let’s go to bed.”

  Joe’s phone rang and when he looked at the caller ID, his face paled two shades.

  “This can’t be good news.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Sam’s nursing home,”

  Joe answered the phone and as the caller spoke, Joe’s shoulders sagged and he lowered himself to take a seat on the stairs.

  “I understand, yes, thank you and... um, I’ll be there in the morning.”

  When he put away the phone, Laurel saw that he looked utterly lost.

  “Joe?”

  “Sam’s dead, they say he died in his sleep. Oh Jesus, Laurel, I’m losing everyone.”

  Laurel sat beside him and hugged him, as Pullo cried fresh tears of grief.

  ***

  Duke stepped out of his van in front of his home in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and felt the barrel of a gun as it was jammed against his ribs.

  “Take the wallet, hell, take the van, the damn thing isn’t worth my life.”

  “Is he dead?”

  The female voice surprised Duke and when he turned his head, he saw Sophia.

  “Tanner is alive, I swear.”

  “Where is he?”