Flesh and Blood (A Tanner Novel Book 35) Read online

  “No, not since he started dating Angelina.”

  “I still don’t like him being here.”

  Olivia put her arms around Henry and kissed him. She was wearing a red bikini and he was shirtless and wearing matching red swim trunks.

  “Forget Jax and have a good time. It’s my birthday.”

  Henry smiled back at her. “You’re right. He doesn’t matter.” Henry slipped a hand down behind her knees and lifted Olivia into his arms. “We’re going to have our own party after everyone leaves.”

  Olivia nodded, then tickled Henry. They fell into the pool while laughing together.

  Jax behaved and didn’t make any moves on Olivia, but Henry wasn’t convinced that he still didn’t desire her. Olivia’s friend, Angelina, was beautiful, but she paled when compared to Olivia. Henry wondered if Jax was with her as a way to get close to Olivia.

  He spoke to Jax alone as the party was winding down. They were in the kitchen after having carried in the heavy buckets that had been full of ice and had held cans of soda and smuggled in beer. The beer and soda were gone and most of the ice had melted; the water was dumped into the sink.

  “Of all the girls in town I find it odd that you’re dating one who is good friends with Olivia.”

  Jax smiled at him. “What’s so odd? Hot babes tend to all stick together. I think it’s strange that a goddess like Olivia would hook up with a runt like you.”

  Henry felt his temper rising, but then he sighed and smiled. “What are you trying to do, piss me off? You think if I make a scene or start a fight at Olivia’s party, that she’ll get mad and dump me?”

  Jax put on an innocent expression. “You think I’m that devious?”

  “I don’t know. I do know that Olivia isn’t interested in you. If you want to embarrass yourself by chasing after her, knock yourself out. I think it sucks that you’re using Angelina the way you are.”

  Jax winked at him. “Angelina doesn’t mind having me around.”

  “Just remember, Olivia is off-limits.”

  “Sure,” Jax said, and the way he said it with a sly smile made Henry want to punch him in the face.

  Caroline walked into the kitchen and thanked them for helping to clean up. They told her she was welcome and headed back to the pool. As they were leaving the kitchen, Henry saw Jax looking back at Caroline, his eyes roaming over her.

  “She’s way out of your league,” Henry whispered.

  “It doesn’t hurt to look,” Jax whispered back.

  Several of the couples went off to see a movie together, including Jax and Angelina. As they were leaving, Angelina pecked Olivia on the cheek. Jax stood back and wished her a happy birthday. It was the first time he had spoken to Olivia all day, except to say hello when she had greeted them.

  “Let me know if the movie is any good,” Olivia told them. “If it is, Henry and I will go see it.”

  Angelina said she would let her know, but Jax had already turned to walk away. After Angelina left, Olivia turned to find Henry shaking his head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Jax, he ignored you tonight.”

  “He’s with Angelina now. Why would he pay me any attention?”

  “I think he’s ignoring you and hoping you’ll be hurt because he’s not showing you attention.”

  Olivia laughed. “First you were mad when he was hitting on me, now you’re mad because he’s ignoring me?”

  A smile crept onto Henry’s lips. “It sounds silly when you put it like that.”

  Olivia took his hand. “Caroline is going out too. She’s meeting with friends of hers that also have autistic children. That means we’ll have the house all to ourselves for a while.”

  “Good. Should I leave and come back after she and Jarod are gone?”

  “No. We don’t have to sneak around like kids anymore. That was mostly for Mrs. Lang. Now that she’s in the nursing home it’s just me and Caroline here. My big sister knows we’re sleeping together, so why hide it?”

  “I always figured she knew, but it feels weird to know that she knows. My grandmother probably knows too, but she never mentions it, and she gave me that birds and the bees speech when I was thirteen.”

  “Grownups are weird.”

  “I can’t wait to be one. Look at Jax. He’s eighteen and he’s traveling the country by himself.”

  “Angelina said he was an orphan.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that. If I didn’t have my grandmother, I’d be an orphan too.”

  “Your father is still alive, right?”

  “I guess, but I don’t know who he is or what he looks like. He might as well be dead.”

  “Caroline and I have the same mother, but different fathers. Our mom is a flake and she never wanted either of us. She sent me to live with Caroline and her father when I was nine. I barely know my real father, but Caroline’s dad raised me like I was his own.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He travels a lot, so he thought I’d be better off with Caroline. He was right; I like it here, and Daddy still visits us often.”

  “I’d like to meet him the next time he comes to town.”

  “Okay.”

  Henry took Olivia in his arms. “What time is Caroline leaving?”

  “Any minute now.”

  “Good,” Henry said, and kissed her.

  Chris Monte was in a foul mood again. He’d wanted to get together with Caroline after his shift ended, but she reminded him about her monthly meeting with parents of other autistic children. Monte said he understood and asked if he could drop by later. Caroline said no, that she would be too tired after chaperoning her sister’s birthday party.

  They’d had several arguments recently. The first occurred when he became jealous over the peck on the cheek she had given Cody Parker on the night they had been to his ranch for a barbecue. Caroline said he was being ridiculous when he accused her of being attracted to Parker. He didn’t think so. Parker was older, yeah, but the guy was in shape and obviously rich. He also had a bad boy vibe going. Women liked that sort of thing.

  A few days after that argument, he’d slipped and said something unkind about Jarod, Caroline’s son. Monte was sick of Jarod, who he found to be weird, and he also wished Olivia was old enough to move out of the house or go off to college. They both required attention from Caroline and Monte would have preferred that her focus be solely on him. He wanted to get laid more often and Caroline’s brat and her spoiled little sister often got in the way of that.

  Caroline had also caught him flirting with their waitress when they’d been out to dinner two nights earlier. The waitress was a hot redhead. He had been close to getting her phone number when Caroline returned from the ladies’ room and saw him touching the waitress’ hand. Caroline asked what was going on and the waitress had stayed mum while he made a lame excuse. He wondered if Caroline was thinking of dumping him.

  He thought about heading to a bar and seeing if he could hook up with someone, but the town was small and if he did that Caroline would be sure to learn about it sooner or later, then she’d dump him for sure. He could have driven to Culver and tried his luck there, but in the end, he decided to go home and watch porn on the computer.

  Monte had stopped at a fast food restaurant on the ride to his rented house and grabbed a cheeseburger and fries. As a treat, he bought a chocolate shake.

  He parked his black Silverado in the driveway and entered the house. Monte turned on the light in the foyer and tossed his keys on the table by the door. He didn’t sense anything odd and was surprised to find a man sitting at the table when he walked into the kitchen and turned on the overhead lights. The man was Kagan Andreas. He was handsome, with curly hair and expressive dark eyes. You could tell he was tall even though he was seated, and his build was muscular.

  “Kagan! Holy shit. You’re here.”

  Someone came up behind Monte and spoke. He hadn’t known they were there and released a cry of surprise as he looked back over
his shoulder.

  “Raise your arms up,” the man said; his voice carried a Spanish accent. Monte knew him as well. His name was Vasquez. He was Kagan’s right-hand man, or maybe he was his partner. Vasquez was the only person Kagan showed respect. Vasquez was squat, dark-skinned, and powerfully built. His bushy mustache covered his top lip and his eyes shone with an intelligence that didn’t fit the rest of him.

  “What?”

  “Put your arms up. I’m going to frisk you.”

  Monte did as Vasquez said. His bag of food was in one hand and the milkshake in the other.

  The pat down was quick and expert. Vasquez had even smacked the back of his hand against his crotch to make sure nothing was hidden there. He came away with his phones, wallet, a pocketknife, and the gun Monte had taken to wearing in an ankle holster. When he was done with the search, Vasquez told Monte to take a seat.

  Monte moved over to the kitchen table and sat down across from Kagan. Kagan had lit a cigarette and was studying Monte.

  It wasn’t until Vasquez entered the room and leaned against the wall that Monte saw there were two other men in the house. They were young Mexicans dressed in olive drab clothing and armed with guns on their hips. They both stared at Monte with an unblinking gaze.

  Monte was still holding the bag containing his food and the milkshake. He sat them on the table, his hunger forgotten.

  Kagan gestured at the bag with the tip of his cigarette. “Eat if you want.”

  “Um, no. I’m not hungry anymore.”

  Vasquez headed toward him and Monte flinched. He knew the violence Vasquez was capable of dishing out. Monte also knew that Vasquez didn’t like him, or any other cop for that matter. The short man had gone through his wallet and found nothing odd or suspicious. He plunked the wallet on the table in front of Monte before pointing at the milkshake.

  “What’s in there?”

  “It’s a chocolate milkshake.”

  Vasquez picked up the cup, popped off the top, and took a sip. “That’s good.” He returned to his spot against the wall and began slurping up the shake.

  “Have you seen my boy today?” Kagan asked.

  “No. I had to work, but he was at his girlfriend’s birthday party. Olivia turned seventeen today.”

  “That’s how old his mother was the last time I saw her.”

  Monte swallowed hard before speaking again. The gun he’d bought to kill Kagan with was in Vasquez’s possession. It wouldn’t have done him much good against four men anyway. It was probably for the best. Had he killed Kagan, Vasquez or one of Kagan’s other friends would have come after him and killed him.

  “You’ve come to take Henry away with you?”

  “That’s right. My son belongs with me now that he’s nearly a man. I’ll let him have tonight with his girlfriend and make my move tomorrow.”

  “And what about his grandmother, Laura?”

  “That bitch will finally get what she deserves.”

  “Henry loves her. If you harm her, he’ll hold it against you.”

  “Henry won’t know what happened. Anyway, I won’t be the one hurting her.”

  “Oh,” Monte said, and glanced over at Vasquez. Vasquez had finished the shake and was wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He tossed the empty drink container into a corner of the room; it dribbled droplets of chocolate shake onto the tiled floor.

  Kagan stood. “We’ll be staying here tonight; I hope you’re not expecting any visitors?”

  “No. Caroline’s only been here once.”

  “Is she your only woman?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about men, maricón?” Vasquez asked. The question made the two young Mexicans smile.

  Monte ignored the remark and told Kagan that he had extra blankets in a closet.

  “I know. We found everything we’ll need when we searched your house. I’ll be sleeping in the bedroom.”

  Monte looked up at Kagan. “Can I leave this town once you have Henry?”

  Kagan ignored him and spoke to Vasquez. “Wake me before you go out in the morning.”

  “You got it, and we’ll take turns keeping an eye on the cop.”

  “Good idea. I wonder if he had plans for that gun you found on him.”

  Monte realized they were talking about him as if he weren’t there. It sent a chill through him. They were acting as if they had already written him off.

  Vasquez looked over at him. He made a gun with his hand and pretended to drop the hammer on him by lowering his thumb.

  “Kagan?” Monte said, but Kagan had already left the kitchen and was climbing up the stairs to the bedroom.

  6

  Run For Your Life

  Henry rose later than usual the next day. He had gotten home from Olivia’s house around midnight but didn’t fall asleep until past one a.m.

  He wasn’t hungry, and after downing orange juice from the carton he decided to go for a run. Before leaving, Henry scribbled out a note for his grandmother, then left through the front door. Laura was sleeping even later, after having worked a double shift.

  Sometimes on the weekend Henry would rise early enough to go running with Cody, now that was a workout. Cody usually ran a minimum of ten miles and did so while maintaining a swift pace.

  Henry had decided to take it easier than that and simply jog. There was a three-mile path that encircled the property. It ran past the new bunkhouse that had been built east of the home. When Cody had lived in the house while his home was being built, he had used the path as a running track.

  Henry utilized the porch railing to stretch his leg muscles and hamstrings. Because of the slight elevation he could see the bunkhouse in the distance. There was a figure standing outside it that appeared to be stretching too. Whoever it was had one leg sticking out to the side while keeping the other knee bent.

  There was a man on a horse there as well. Henry thought the horse had markings like the one Rick Winhoffer rode. The rider on the horse moved off toward a field where a calf was wandering alone.

  When he felt he was sufficiently warmed-up, Henry left the porch and headed away from the house to get on the track. As he moved along, he spotted someone running toward him, as the gap closed, he saw that it was Jax. The ranch hand was wearing a white long-sleeved T-shirt with the slogan of a beer company on it, along with a pair of denim shorts and orange sneakers with iridescent green socks.

  Jax smiled at him as they were about to pass each other. “Are you trying to burn off your baby fat, runt?”

  Henry sent him the finger. At five-foot-nine he wasn’t a runt and there wasn’t an excess ounce of fat on him.

  Jax passed him, then made a U-turn to run beside him. “Let’s see if you can keep up with me.” Jax increased his speed and pulled away. Henry knew he should ignore him and run at his own pace, but he couldn’t help himself and sped up.

  Before long, the two boys were rocketing along the path side by side. Jax grunted in surprise when he realized he couldn’t run faster than Henry and decided to raise the stakes by leaving the path. Jax ran up a steep hill and took the lead as his longer legs ate up the ground. However, Henry followed and made up the difference when the terrain leveled out again.

  They took off across a pasture that ran parallel to a road and maintained the grueling pace as they went up and down a series of small hills. Miles passed in rasping exhalations as they each refused to be the first one to stop.

  An hour later, Jax slowed. Henry lasted only a few seconds longer and decelerated as well. At the fourteen-mile mark they were both down to a jog and wore expressions that revealed the pain they were feeling. Their lungs were ablaze, and their legs felt like lead. Henry’s black T-shirt was drenched in sweat and clung to him like a second skin.

  Jax laughed, although it could hardly be called that since he was having trouble sucking in enough air to even breathe. Henry began laughing too, as they both slowed to a walk.

  “Tie?” Jax wheezed out.

  Henry nodded in agree
ment and they collapsed on the grass and rolled onto their backs to gulp in air. When they had recovered somewhat, Jax gave Henry a playful punch on his shoulder. “You’re a tough bastard.”

  “For a runt?”

  Jax laughed. “I was shorter than you when I was sixteen. I bet you’ll be my height soon.”

  “Maybe,” Henry said. He had no idea how tall he might be. He was already taller than his mother had been, and he had no way of knowing how tall his father was. He hoped to at least hit the six-foot mark before he stopped growing.

  Jax sat up as he spotted movement. “Who are these guys?”

  Henry raised his head and looked in the direction Jax was facing. Walking toward them from the road was Vasquez and the two young Mexicans.

  “I’ve never seen them before,” Henry said. He stood as Jax did the same. His legs felt odd and rubbery. He had never run so far or for so long before, and the hills had made it more taxing.

  “What’s up, dudes?” Jax said.

  Vasquez answered him by reaching under his shirt and bringing out a gun.

  “Whoa! Shit. What’s with the gun?” Jax said. “We don’t have any money; we were out running.”

  Henry remained silent as he studied the weapon. It was a Glock 26 with the Marksman Barrel. Cody had one like it and Henry had fired it recently on the shooting range.

  One of the young Mexicans spoke to Vasquez in Spanish. “Which one is he?”

  Vasquez pointed at Henry and answered him in Spanish. “That one, but we’ll take them both.”

  Henry had been studying the language for months and understood them. He wondered why he was being singled out.

  The Mexicans moved in with one going for Henry and the other headed for Jax. Jax took a swing at his man, missed, and was struck by a fist on the side of his head. His second punch connected with his opponent’s chest but lacked power because he’d been dazed by the punch he’d received. Then his feet were swept out from under him by a kick and he went to the ground with a grunt.

  Henry had raised his fists and waited for his attacker to make the first move. The guy held up his hands and smiled at him. When he spoke in broken English, his accent was thick.