Young Guns Box Set Read online

  YOUNG GUNS BOX SET - BOOKS 5 - 8

  A TANNER SERIES

  Remington Kane

  Contents

  Join My Inner Circle

  Acknowledgments

  YOUNG GUNS 5 - ULTIMATE TRAINING

  1. Help!

  2. Cat’s Eye View

  3. Maz

  4. Judas Goat

  5. A Case Of Mistaken Identity

  6. Fancy Meeting You Here

  7. Threat Liquidation

  8. Like Old Times

  9. Brothers

  10. The Great Escape

  11. Now They Have A Reason

  12. Not So Fast

  13. Banished

  14. Ambush

  15. Smile When You Say That

  16. Chaos

  17. The Ace

  18. Quiet Is Good

  19. The Razor’s Edge

  20. The Old Switcheroo

  21. Flaming Lady

  22. Time Slows

  23. The Dead Rise

  24. One Down, One To Go

  25. Friends Again

  26. Two Down

  27. Playing With Fire

  28. Someday

  29. Off To See The World

  Epilogue

  YOUNG GUNS 6 - CONTRACT TO KILL

  30. Audacious Plans

  31. Bonding

  32. The Expert

  33. Tragedy

  34. The Citadel

  35. To Protect And Serve Up

  36. Training & Planning

  37. A Gift From A Friend

  38. The Client

  39. Lured Away

  40. Do Or Die

  41. Two Down

  42. Meditation

  43. Making Plans

  44. Plan C

  45. The Black Sheep

  46. Money To Burn

  47. Thinner Than Blood

  48. Worse Than Imagined

  49. Ventilated

  50. In A Flash

  51. Poetic Justice

  52. Bodyguard, Shmodyguard

  53. Accidentally On Purpose

  54. With A Bang

  55. A Chance To Live

  56. Escape

  57. Shock And Awe

  58. Unintended Consequences

  59. Let’s Meet

  60. …But They Don’t Check Out

  61. Two-Prong Attack

  62. Something’s Amiss

  63. Shocking Developments

  64. Trapped

  65. Gone Too Far

  66. The Truth Comes Out

  67. Under New Management

  68. The Rise And Fall Of Legends

  69. A Fresh Start

  YOUNG GUNS 7 - FIRST LOVE

  70. An Offer To Kill

  71. Memories

  72. No Deal

  73. A Plea

  74. The Client

  75. The Pact

  76. One Happy Dude

  77. Security Guard

  78. Thanks For Letting Me Live

  79. I Spy

  80. Real Terror

  81. Cousins

  82. It’s About To Get Personal

  83. A Familiar Face

  84. First Love

  85. Different Name, Same Guy

  86. Taken!

  87. The Law Comes To Call

  88. A Risk Worth Taking

  89. Backfire

  90. Someone To Kill

  91. Timber!

  92. Captured

  93. Here’s The Deal

  94. Target Practice

  95. A Proposition

  96. Dire Straits

  97. Double Cross

  98. Talk!

  99. Lambs To The Slaughter

  100. Search & Rescue

  101. Flash Fire

  102. Mystery Men

  103. An Offer You Can’t Refuse

  104. Make It Painful

  105. Breakup

  106. Yes Or No?

  107. Pistols At Dawn

  108. A Cautionary Tale

  109. That Family Feeling

  110. The Element Of Surprise

  YOUNG GUNS 8 - THE END OF THE BEGINNING

  Prologue

  111. The Best Day Of My Life

  112. Enemies, Old & New

  113. Fancy Meeting You Here

  114. Out To Sea

  115. Attacked

  116. Jumping The Gun

  117. Freak Accident?

  118. Curiouser And Curiouser

  119. Love And Death

  120. Back-Up Plan

  121. Living On A Prayer

  122. Kill The Dead

  123. Kill The Living

  124. Shelter From The Storm

  125. Mr. M.D

  126. The Calm Before The Storm

  127. Hard Rain, Harder Truth

  128. Bombs Away

  129. Desperate Measures

  130. Out From The Shadows

  131. Sorrow

  132. The Call Goes Out

  133. Friends Helping Friends

  134. Too Late To Save Her

  135. Love, Lost And Leaving

  136. Home Nursing Care

  137. Blood Will Out

  138. Conflicted Emotions

  139. Springing The Trap

  140. Fatal Innocence

  141. Betrayed

  142. Tanner Vs. Tanner

  143. Empty Heart

  144. The Worst Day Of My Life

  145. No Doubt

  146. The Choice Is Made

  147. Last Contract

  148. First Contract

  149. Home

  150. Making Friends

  Epilogue

  Bibliography

  Make Contact

  Join My Inner Circle

  Afterword

  Join My Inner Circle

  REMINGTON KANE’S INNER CIRCLE

  GET FREE BOOKS & SHORT STORIES, INCLUDING THE TANNER NOVEL SLAY BELLS and THE TAKEN! ALPHABET SERIES.

  Acknowledgments

  I write for you,

  REMINGTON KANE

  YOUNG GUNS 5 - ULTIMATE TRAINING

  1

  Help!

  PADANG, INDONESIA, SEPTEMBER 2001

  Cody and Romeo strode along a well-worn dock as they took in the pleasure craft berthed in calm blue-green water. Many slots along the dock were empty, as more boats had yet to return for the day.

  They had been in Padang for only a few hours after long flights interspersed with two layovers, including one in Tokyo which had lasted several hours. Neither Cody nor Romeo had done much traveling, but both of them enjoyed seeing new sights.

  Spenser had left them to explore the marina while he had a meeting with a fishing boat captain. Vince Ryker had been in Australia for an unknown number of years. There was no way to know what connections the man had fostered during his time there. Keeping that in mind, Spenser planned to enter the country illegally aboard a boat.

  If Ryker had contacts that might spot Spenser at an airport, they would be out of luck. Whatever Ryker’s reach might be like, it had been enough to enable the man to amass a small army and travel to America.

  For all Spenser knew, Ryker could have a network of associates in place. Spenser thought it wise to steer clear of them, that is, unless a meeting took place on his terms. Spenser was determined to find Ryker and put him down. The man had threatened his boys, Cody and Romeo. Spenser would show him no mercy.

  * * *

  Cody was surprised as Romeo displayed a knowledge of boats. He knew all the nautical terms and proper names for different parts of the vessel.

  “How come you know so much about boats?”

  “Dude, my uncle used to take me out fishing whenever I visited Cali as a kid. If I could, I’d live on a boat.”

  “I�
��ve never been on one, but I’ve done some fishing on land.”

  “Being on the ocean is ten times better, Cody. I’ll see about renting a boat while we’re here.”

  A cry erupted from behind them. The boys turned to see a girl racing along the dock. She was twelve-years-old and running barefoot while shouting something.

  “Membantu!”

  One of the local fishermen spotted the frantic girl and stopped her to ask a question. Whatever she told him made the man shake his head and retreat back onto his boat. The girl pointed at him and said a word that needed no interpretation. By the look of disgust on her face, Cody knew she was branding the man a coward. “Pengecut!”

  “Let’s see if we can help,” Romeo said, and they started toward the girl. When she spotted them, she stared at Romeo with an open mouth, then her face lit up in a smile. She was a beautiful girl and her eyes seemed to sparkle.

  “What’s wrong, little chick?” Romeo asked.

  The smile left the girl’s face as she remembered the reason for her angst and became distraught again.

  “Ayah saya butuh bantuan!”

  “Do you speak any English?” Cody asked.

  She could, and quite well, with only a trace of an accent. The girl had grown up around tourists, many of whom spoke English.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. I said, my father needs help. He’s being beaten.”

  “Where?” Romeo said.

  “Follow me,” the girl said.

  The boys raced along behind the girl who was fast despite her shorter legs. When they neared a large charter vessel, the girl went up the gangplank. Once they were aboard the boat, Cody and Romeo saw that six young men were standing over a man in his forties. The older man was lying on the deck and clutching his stomach. His nose was bleeding and there was a cut over his left eye.

  “Leave the guy alone,” Romeo said.

  One of the men spoke English, he had light brown skin like the others, but was taller and wore a gold watch.

  “You should mind your own business before you get hurt.”

  “Try it and see what happens,” Romeo told him.

  The man said something to one of the other men, who wore a blue tank top. That man produced a knife and headed toward Romeo. Romeo disarmed the punk easily before sending a kick into his face. That made the others charge at the boys.

  Despite being outnumbered, Cody and Romeo handled the six men as if they were children. Their skill was more than the untrained thugs could handle. A minute after the confrontation began, the boys were shoving the punks down the gangplank with a warning to never come back. Afterward, they stood on the dock and watched as the six men headed off toward the parking area.

  The girl’s father had recovered enough to join them as they watched his attackers recede in the distance.

  “Thank you for helping me,” the man said in accented English.

  When the boys turned to him, he offered his hand.

  “My name is Bagus and this is my vessel.”

  As Cody and Romeo were introducing themselves, they saw Spenser walking toward them from the opposite direction the punks had taken.

  “What’s going on, guys?” Spenser asked.

  “A few dudes were hassling Bagus here and Xavier and I ran them off.”

  “They were warning me to leave the marina. I think they work for a man named Chance Cramer. He is a New Zealander.”

  “Cramer must like to play rough if he sent those men here to hassle you,” Romeo said.

  “What does this Cramer want from you?” Spenser asked. “Is he trying to run you off, or is he after your boat?”

  “He wants me gone, and not just me,” Bagus said. “Cramer wants to take over the charter business in the area. He started with one small boat, but now has three, and several of my friends have been frightened away. Those men were warning me to leave as well. They said I was getting too much charter business.”

  Spenser smiled as he looked at the boat. “You’ve got a great vessel, how long have you been in business?”

  “Sixteen years. Most of that time was with an older, smaller boat. With this vessel I’ve tripled my business and get lots of referrals.”

  The girl moved closer to Romeo and took his hand. She was staring up at him with a strange smile.

  “My name is Nadya. I’ll be your wife someday.”

  Romeo looked at Cody and Spenser and found them both grinning at him, then he gazed down at Nadya.

  “If I marry you, little chick, they’ll lock me up and throw away the key.”

  Nadya laughed. “I’m too young now, but someday we’ll marry. You’ll see.”

  Bagus was staring at Romeo and examining him as if he were a strange bug he had just discovered.

  “This man, Nadya?”

  “Yes.”

  Romeo put his hands up, as if in surrender. “Dude, I never touched her. I just met her.”

  Bagus smiled. “My daughter has second sight. She knows things before they happen.”

  “You’re saying she’s psychic?” Cody asked.

  “Yes,” Bagus said, as he stared at Romeo and offered his hand again. “I would like to thank you for helping me. Please join my family for dinner.”

  Nadya wrapped her arms around Romeo’s waist. “They would love to come.”

  “It’s settled then,” Spenser said with a smile. Then he and Cody laughed at the look of discomfort on Romeo’s face.

  2

  Cat’s Eye View

  OUTSIDE DENVER, COLORADO, AUGUST 2018

  Mary Andrews smiled at her cat, Buttons, as she placed a collar around his neck. After giving Buttons a peck on his furry head, Mary stood up and looked down at him.

  A sound came from outside. At first, Mary thought she had been hearing the cry of another cat. When the sound grew louder she recognized it for what it was, a cry for help.

  Mary and her husband, Frank, had retired a year earlier after selling the chain of jewelry stores they had started and nurtured into a multi-million-dollar business. Before retiring, they had built their dream home, a beautiful log cabin up in the mountains. Their goal had been to find seclusion without being too far from Denver, a city they both loved.

  Mary gazed out of the large picture window that looked out over a meadow filled with wild flowers. Buttons was with her, and it was the black & white feline that saw the woman first, saw her and hissed.

  “What’s wrong, Buttons?” Mary asked. But even as the words left her lips she spotted the woman limping toward them at the edge of the trees.

  The woman had long blonde hair hanging down in front of her face, which hid her features. It mattered little, since Mary’s eyes were fixed on the woman’s right arm, which was dripping blood.

  “Help me, somebody please help me,” the woman called out.

  Mary rushed out the front door to see if she could give assistance. She never even made it off the porch. A man in a ski mask had been lying in wait. He struck Mary in the face with a blow that was hard enough to dislocate her jaw.

  The punch sent Mary sprawling atop her wraparound porch while moaning, as blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. The man who had hit her stared down at her. Behind the mask, he appeared repulsed by what he’d just done.

  The blonde woman called to him. “Kick the bitch in the head!”

  The man steeled himself, then he sent a vicious kick to the side of Mary’s head, which rendered her unconscious.

  The blonde woman removed the plastic baggie she had secured beneath her sleeve. The bag contained tomato juice with red dye added to it. From a distance, it resembled blood. As she wiped her arm clean with a cloth, the woman shouted to her masked partner again while growing closer to the house.

  “Take out the cameras.”

  “Right,” said the man in a deep voice, as he removed a small can of spray paint. Within seconds he had the lenses of the two security cameras at the front of the home covered with black paint.