Night Vipers

by Carolina Mac

  “Pete Jimenez, you’re under arrest. Get out of bed and get dressed.”

  A big muscular guy, but not necessarily a good guy to see naked. Blaine cocked his gun and encouraged Pete to get out of bed. “Get some clothes on. We’re joining the rest of your gang at headquarters.”

  “What if I said I ain’t going?” Pete sat on the side of his bed and reached for his pants on the floor.

  Dillon spotted a gun on the dresser, picked it up and shoved it in his pocket.

  “If you said you weren’t going, it would be a lie,” said Blaine. “You are going, even if you’re in a fuckin body bag.”

  “Who pissed you off, Super?”

  “Sal did. He’s already at DPS waiting for you.”

  “Why y’all rousting us? We never did nothing.”

  “Your boys were grabbing girls at the mall and I want to know why and so does Farrell.”

  “That fuckin Dead-Eye just as soon shoot you as look at you. Mean piece of work that kid.”

  “He has a few issues,” said Blaine.

  Petey pulled a black t-shirt—barely big enough to cover his beer belly—over his head, and a lot of his ugly tats were out of sight. He seemed to be cooperating.

  Dillon leaned on the door frame watching while Blaine held the Beretta trained on Petey’s head and waited patiently.

  Boots were next. Petey put the left one on slowly, like he was stalling, then the right one.

  Blaine slowed his breathing as he waited for Petey to reach for his boot knife. He knew it was coming. He could feel it.

  Dillon had his eyes on Blaine and didn’t hear Petey’s mother sneaking up on him. She gave a yell as she rammed the butcher knife into Dillon’s side. Dillon groaned, dropped to his knees and the hammer hit the floor with a clunk.

  Pete used the distraction and went for his knife.

  Bang.

  Blaine put a Parabellum in the middle of Pete’s forehead and Pete blew backwards across the bed. Blaine grabbed for his cell and pressed 911 as he spun around, jumped over Dillon and tore down the hall after the mama. He caught her in the kitchen with her hand in the drawer grabbing for another knife. Blaine grabbed her chubby wrist, snapped a cuff on her and jerked her arms behind her back as she screamed at him in Spanish.

  “You stabbed one of my men, you mean bitch,” he hollered at her in Spanish and she started crying. He pulled out another set of cuffs and attached her to the handle of the stove.

  “You shot my baby.” She yelled at him as she jerked the oven door open and pulled as hard as she could.

  “Si.”

  Blaine ran down the hall and helped Dillon sit up against the wall in the hall. “They’ll be here in a minute. Does it hurt bad?”

  “It hurts a bit, but I’m okay. I should have been watching her. My own fuckin fault.”

  “I’ll send Lil to the hospital with medical info. You haven’t got a wallet card yet.”

  “Okay thanks.”

  Sirens sounded. “They’re here. I’ll go get them.”

  12:15 p.m.

  Santa Fe Regional Airport. New Mexico.

  JACKSON slept for the hour on the plane and he was full of energy to go to see his Nana and his Papa Pete. His grandfather was his favorite person in the whole universe. He wheeled his own suitcase and knew the way around the Santa Fe airport he’d been there so many times.

  “Let’s get a car,” said Annie, “then we won’t have to bother with a cab when we go to the casino.”

  After a few minutes at the rental desk, they had the keys. Tyler followed along behind her and Travis as they went outside to pick up the Jeep. He had been virtually mute since they’d left Austin. Annie could see in his face he was fuming mad Travis had to be with them.

  Travis is my bodyguard because of you. My own husband.

  Travis took the keys, slid behind the wheel and Annie got into the shotgun seat. Tyler was relegated to the back with Jackson who didn’t care where he sat.

  “I’m hungry, Mommy. We only had those little cookies on the plane.”

  “Uh huh. I’m meeting somebody for lunch, but I’ll get you a take-out and you can eat with Papa at his house.”

  “Can I go straight to Papa’s house without hanging around the store to wait for Nana?”

  “Yes, you can. Pete knows you’re coming.”

  “Papa’s taking me out to Lincoln this time to see the jail and all the rest of it. He promised.”

  “Ooh, I want to go there too,” said Annie. “I want to go on the Billy the Kid tour.”

  “I’ll ask Papa if you can come.”

  “Thanks, sugar pop.”

  Travis drove to Pete Salvatore’s house located in an older part of the city and the boys waited on the porch while Annie took Jackson and his luggage inside.

  She said goodbye to Pete, stepped out onto the porch and she could feel the tension between Travis and Tyler.

  Shit. This is going to be a bitch of a weekend.

  Before getting into the Jeep, Annie texted Tony Bardelli and told him she was on her way to La Posada. He texted back that he was on his way momentarily.

  Travis pulled up to the front of the hotel and parked.

  “Okay, boys,” said Annie, as they gave the Jeep keys to the valet, “let’s try to enjoy our lunch with Tony.”

  “Sure,” said Travis. “I enjoy eating.”

  Tyler nodded and remained mute.

  1:00 p.m.

  La Posada. Santa Fe. New Mexico.

  ANNIE, Travis and Tyler had drinks in front of them when Tony Bardelli arrived. Travis wasn’t sure he’d met the architect when he came to Coulter-Ross to work on the safe-house. Tyler thought he had met the man before but couldn’t remember for sure.

  Perfectly dressed in a custom gray and black pin stripe, Tony crossed the room with a swagger. His black hair was slightly longer, and a touch of gray had crept in around his temples. A handsome man in anyone’s book.

  Annie stood up and hugged him before he sat down. “I’m so happy to see you.” She kissed his well-groomed neck and he blushed slightly. “Sit here next to me, sugar pie. What would you like to drink?”

  Once he’d ordered a libation, Annie introduced him to Travis and Tyler and explained about Tyler renovating a building in Giddings for the Annie Quantrall House—a shelter for battered women.

  “Oh, my goodness. The building and the charity will be named after you, my precious one?”

  “It will, Tony. Tyler wants my name on it, and I’ve agreed to help him get up and running. That’s why I can’t let anyone else touch the design. You can see that, can’t you?”

  He took a sip of his vodka martini and nodded as he pointed the olive towards his mouth. “I do see that now. Tony Bardelli is essential to the design. It’s as clear to me as Waterford crystal.”

  They ordered lunch and while waiting for the food, Tyler passed Tony the floor plan and the pictures of the interior and exterior as they existed at the moment.

  “A large house on a quiet street,” said Tony. “Lovely mature trees and an expansive yard. It could be elegant with some imagination and hard work.” He turned to Tyler, “Did you have a budget in mind, sir?”

  Tyler spoke his first words since arriving in New Mexico. “The property wasn’t expensive, so we can afford to double up on the renovations. What do you think, Annie? Between three and four hundred thousand?”

  “I think so. Tony can take a few days to work with the floor plan and he’ll have an idea of what he wants to do and how much it will cost to get it done. He’s brilliant at what he does, and the outcome is always spectacular.”

  “You flatter me, beautiful one.”

  “I don’t think so,” said Tyler. “I agree with my wife if the safe-house and the Mill are examples of your work. I have faith and I trust you with my project.”

  Tony registered surprise when Tyler used the wife word, but he reached out and shook Tyler’s hand enthusiastically.

  “How about a deposit, Mr. Bardelli, to ge
t you motivated,” said Tyler. “I brought my checkbook.”

  Tony smiled and raised his glass.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sunday, January 15th.

  12:30 a.m.

  Buffalo Thunder Casino. Santa Fe. New Mexico.

  TRAVIS sat next to Annie at the no limit table in the poker room and from time to time cast a glance over at Tyler. He was one table over and seemed to be getting a fresh beer every time the waitress came his way. They’d been playing poker since late afternoon and Tyler hadn’t moved from his spot in seat three. A drunk Tyler was trouble in Travis’s book. Didn’t used to be, but something was going on with Tyler Quantrall and Travis was wary.

  “I’m not getting any cards,” Annie whispered. “Let’s go to the apartment soon and get some sleep.”

  “Sure, I’m tired too. We’ll cash out when the blinds come around.”

  After Annie and Travis cashed out they stopped by Tyler’s table to see if he was ready to go. “No, I’m on a good run of cards. I’ll take a cab.”

  “Okay,” said Annie. “I’ll leave the side door open at the top of the outside stairs.”

  Tyler nodded.

  As she walked through the rows of slot machines with Travis she said, “I wasn’t about to argue with him. Let him stay as long as he wants and take a cab.”

  “He’s had a lot to drink,” said Travis. “Hope he doesn’t do anything stupid like he did in Vegas.”

  “He won’t have a chance if you’re there.”

  The air was crisp with a breeze blowing down from the mountains as they stood at the front of the casino waiting for the valet to bring the rental Jeep around.

  “That was fun,” said Travis. “Think we’ll have time to play for a couple of hours tomorrow?” He took Annie’s hand and walked her to the Jeep when it stopped in front of them.

  “Sure. I’ll work in the store with Jean for a while in the morning, then we can play poker all afternoon and take an evening flight back. Jacks is staying longer. Pete won’t let him go in just a day—they have plans.” Annie smiled. “They always have plans.”

  Annie parked in her spot at the front of Mill Antiques, her flagship store, and they used the outside staircase to get to the top floor where her apartment was. It was handy to have her own space whenever she came up to Santa Fe and she loved her little apartment overlooking the river and the park.

  Annie stuck her key in the door and glanced back down the long flight of stairs. “Hope Tyler isn’t so drunk he falls down the stairs.”

  Travis didn’t comment as Annie stepped inside and flicked on the light. “Want a coffee before you go to bed, sugar?”

  “No thanks. I’m tired. Where do you want me to sleep?”

  “With me,” said Annie, “but that can’t happen tonight.”

  “Makes me happy to know you’re thinking about it,” said Travis. “You were pissed at me for a long time.”

  “I had my reasons.”

  “Damned good ones too,” said Travis. “I didn’t think you’d ever forgive me.”

  “I tried hard not to, but I think I’m softening a little.”

  Travis smiled at her.

  3:00 a.m.

  ANNIE opened her eyes when she heard the door to her bedroom open. She leaned over to the nightstand and turned on the light. “Tyler, you’re sleeping in the spare room. Did you forget?”

  “Hell no, I didn’t forget,” his words were slurred, “but I want to sleep with my wife. I deserve it. All the money I’m forking over for the fuckin shelter should buy me at least one good night of sex.”

  “Get out of here, Tyler. You’re drunk.”

  “Problem, Annie-girl?” Suddenly Travis in just his boxers appeared behind Tyler.

  “Tyler needs to go to his own room and get some sleep,” said Annie.

  “Yep, he does.” Travis grabbed Tyler by the arm and pulled him out through the door.

  “Don’t touch me, you big fuckin Marine,” hollered Tyler.

  Annie jumped out of bed, pulled on a robe and tied it around her waist as she followed Travis.

  “Go into your own room and sleep it off,” said Travis. He gave Tyler a push across the living room towards the other bedroom.

  Tyler turned and swung at Travis.

  “Don’t,” hollered Annie. “No fighting. Go to bed, Tyler.”

  “You can’t order me around, Annie. Not no more. I ain’t your puppet anymore.”

  “You never were my puppet, Tyler,” hollered Annie. “You weren’t even my husband. You were a whining, bitchy substitute for a husband. You left me every time you didn’t get your own way.”

  Tyler growled and charged across the room at Annie. Travis grabbed him and knocked him down onto the hardwood. Tyler rolled, grunted, then was on his feet like a clown you couldn’t knock down. He came at Travis with both fists flying and Travis clocked him a good one in the side of the head.

  Tyler reached behind him, grabbed hold of a pewter lamp and smashed it over Travis’s head with a loud thunk. Travis fell to his knees with blood gushing from above his left eye.

  “Stop it,” Annie screamed at Tyler. “I’m calling the police.” She ran for her phone in the bedroom and pressed 911.

  Tyler charged into the room, grabbed her phone and threw it against the wall. Then he grabbed Annie and pushed her onto the bed. He flung himself on top of her bodily and his hands closed around her throat.

  Tyler was strong. Annie clawed at his hands, and he squeezed tighter. She couldn’t breathe and couldn’t make a sound. Everything went black.

  TRAVIS scraped himself up off the floor and swiped away the blood funneling into his left eye. He charged after Tyler, caught up as the asshole was straddling Annie on the bed and choking the life out of her.

  With a loud growl, he grabbed hold of Tyler’s shirt and jerked him off Annie. He pounded him in the face and knocked him to the floor. Tyler moaned and Travis gave him a couple more. After Tyler stopped moving, Travis left him and tried to revive Annie.

  She wasn’t breathing. He started CPR.

  “Come on, baby. Come on and breathe for me. Jesus, Annie-girl, don’t die.”

  Sirens sounded.

  Annie must have called.

  Travis kept up the CPR hoping they’d hurry. He couldn’t leave so he hollered to them. “Up here and hurry.”

  The paramedics came running into the room and one immediately took over the CPR while the other asked questions. “What have we got here, sir?”

  “Her husband tried to kill her. He choked her, and I knocked him out. He’s on the floor there at your feet.”

  “I think I’ve got her,” said his partner.

  Travis took a step back and gasped for breath. He was happy to let the medics take over. They needed space so Travis backed up into the living room.

  Huffing and puffing from the climb, two uniforms came in the side door and took in the scene in the living room. Broken lamp, upended table, the blood all over Travis’s face.

  Travis tried to peer through the bedroom door to see what was happening with Annie.

  If she dies it’s on me. I didn’t prevent it.

  One of the officers motioned him away from the bedroom. “We’d like you to remain out here, sir, and give us your statement.”

  Travis pulled out his creds and showed the officers.

  “Uh huh. Texas Ranger. Deputy Bristol, tell us what went down here.”

  Travis told them what had happened just as it had unfolded.

  “So, Mr. Quantrall is Mrs. Quantrall’s estranged husband and you are her bodyguard because she’s had so many problems with him. Why then would you all be in the same apartment?”

  “I’ll explain it,” said Travis, and he did the best he could. As he listened to himself he knew it sounded like a fucked up mess to the cops.

  The uniforms went into the bedroom, stood Tyler up on his feet and cuffed him. They removed him from the bedroom to give the paramedics more room to help Annie. The room was small, and they ne
eded to get her onto a stretcher and on her way to the hospital.

  “Charge him with attempted murder for starters,” said Travis to one of the uniforms, “and I’ll add more charges later. I’m going to the hospital with Annie. If you want me, that’s where I’ll be.”

  The officer pointed. “While you’re there have someone look at that gash on your forehead, Deputy Bristol. That’s a nasty cut and might need stitches. And before you leave, could you give me your cell number?”

  “Sure.” Travis recited his cell and the uniform recorded it.

  “We’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Thanks for your help,” said Travis. “Appreciate it.”

  4:30 a.m.

  Santa Fe Hospital. New Mexico.

  TRAVIS leaned against the wall in the small cubicle and kept his eye on Annie lying on the stretcher. She was a ghostly shade of pale, awake but not talking. The doctor had warned her not to try to say anything until after X-rays were taken to ascertain the damage to her larynx.

  I’ll kill that fuckin Tyler.

  An orderly dressed in hospital blues arrived, grabbed hold of the stretcher and steered Annie out the door. Travis followed and took up a new post in the X-ray waiting area. He scrolled up to Blacky’s number and thought about calling, but then decided to wait until he heard the verdict on Annie. It would be better to tell the boss that she was okay when he knew that for sure, and not freak him out.

  Blacky has a short fuse.

  A few minutes later, the orderly emerged with Annie and retraced his steps to the cubicle they’d started from. Travis stood next to the stretcher and held her hand as tears dribbled down her cheeks. “Don’t cry, baby. We’ll be out of here soon.”

  The doctor, a young lad in green scrubs, came into the cubicle with the X-rays in his hand. He put them up on the wall screen, flicked on the light and pointed to the problem areas. “There is minimal damage, but it might hurt when she swallows for a couple of days. Liquids and soft foods would be best. And a follow up appointment with her family doctor in a week.”