Young Guns Box Set

by Kane, Remington

  * * *

  The attack on Vivian and its emotional toll left Romeo weak. He was down on his knees and breathing through his mouth when a male voice came from the other side of the rock wall.

  “What’s happening over there? I heard a woman screaming. Miss? Ma’am? Are you all right? Hello?”

  Romeo looked around. Farther along the beach people were pointing toward him. A look down at himself revealed that he was splattered in blood from his murder of Vivian.

  He rushed into the surf while unzipping the jacket he wore, then used the chilled seawater to wash the blood from his face, hands, and hair. He left his bloody jacket floating upon the waves and went back toward Garcia’s car. As he passed Vivian, he looked at her dead body, then bent down and went through the saddlebags on her motorcycle.

  Vivian’s purse was in there. A quick peek inside revealed the usual accoutrements of a young woman. There was also a thick envelope that contained cash. It was money Vivian had found in Garcia’s room after killing him.

  Romeo took the purse. The Lincoln Town Car had a puddle of coolant beneath it. The crash had damaged the front end and ruptured the radiator. Prior to taking the vehicle, Romeo had loaded his scooter into the car’s cavernous trunk. His training with Spenser had him conditioned to think ahead and plan for contingencies. The scooter’s engine protested, but then caught on the third try.

  Romeo headed for his boat. Once aboard he would go through Vivian’s purse and look for anything that might lead him to Ryker’s location.

  * * *

  An hour later, On One-Man Island, Ryker watched as an unfamiliar boat docked. He went out to investigate while carrying a rifle. As he grew closer, he recognized the boat’s pilot and waved in greeting.

  A mechanical whirling sound came as the anchor was dropped into the water, then an extendable gangplank was lowered onto the dock. Ryker hobbled up the ramp and onto the boat. When he peered down into the combination cabin and galley, he saw a body lying down there, the body of a man.

  The dead man was Bart Rodgers. The right side of his head was bloody; he’d been struck several times with one of his heavy trophies.

  Ryker grinned at the boat’s pilot. “I’m glad to see you’ve made it, but you’re running late.”

  May Ling left the wheel and approached Ryker.

  “Hello, Father.”

  138

  Conflicted Emotions

  ONE-MAN ISLAND, FEBRUARY 2004

  “What the hell do you mean he’s still alive?” Ryker asked his daughter and protégée.

  May Ling looked up at him with pleading eyes.

  “Xavier doesn’t have to die, he doesn’t. I know I can bring him around to my side.”

  “You’re crazy if you believe that, and what if he followed you here?”

  “He can’t. I drugged his coffee. He’ll be out for hours.”

  “You were supposed to poison him.”

  “I couldn’t do it. I’ll kill anyone else you ask me to, I even killed Emma, but I can’t hurt Xavier.”

  “If you can’t kill him then I’ll have Vivian do it,” Ryker said.

  May Ling made a face of disgust at the mention of Vivian. She had never liked the woman her father had hired to help them. Ryker first met Vivian when May Ling’s half-brother Damon was dating Vivian’s younger sister in Australia.

  Vivian was a mercenary. Ryker had contacted her months earlier and brought her into his plans for revenge.

  It was Vivian who had tracked Cody and Romeo down and located them in England. Then Ryker had sent her and May Ling in to befriend the boys and gain their trust. Vivian was the one whom he had wanted to get close to Cody, while May Ling was to hang back and observe.

  Vivian was on her way to attend Eddie Quinton’s party in London, but she became stuck underground in a subway car after an accident delayed her arrival. May Ling was at that party, and when she and Cody locked eyes, it was love at first sight.

  Ryker was furious when he learned of the relationship, and yet, it did place them at an advantage. May Ling could report back the boys’ movements and let him know when Spenser Hawke appeared. May Ling’s stated dislike for Vivian, although genuine, was also part of the plan. If it was believed that they held animosity toward each other, it would take suspicion off May Ling once Vivian showed her true colors.

  May Ling’s feelings for Cody had her torn. On the day of Begley’s planned attack at the jobsite, May Ling had traveled there to try to get Cody to leave early. Vivian had discovered her attempt and gone there to stop her.

  After Vivian reported that behavior to Ryker, he obtained a poison that was a derivative of Tetrodotoxin. The neurotoxin would kill quickly and had been combined with a powerful sedative.

  When Vivian delivered the poison to May Ling, she included a message from her father.

  “Vince says this will kill your boyfriend painlessly, and there’s to be no more attempts to warn him.”

  Still, when Jack Begley and his men were ambushed in Oregon, May Ling had known about the trap Cody set with Emma’s help. She hadn’t said anything to her father. If she had warned Ryker, Cody may have died. Afterward, she lied to Ryker and told him that she had been kept in the dark about the scheme.

  As a test of her loyalty, Ryker had later handed her a knife and told her to kill Emma. May Ling had done so reluctantly while also performing the act without reservation. Although she liked Emma well enough, she had always had little regard for anyone other than her family. That had changed when she’d met Cody.

  “Father, I’m begging you to let me have a chance to save Xavier. I… I … love him, and he loves me too.”

  “Love? I could understand you using him for your pleasure, as disgusted as that makes me feel, but love? You can’t be serious.”

  “It just happened, and Xavier loves me, he does.”

  Ryker was shaking his head vehemently.

  “Love you or not he’ll never trust you again after we kill his friends. If given a chance, he’d kill you. He’ll kill you for helping me and betraying him. May Ling, that boy is no joke.”

  May Ling hung her head and leaned against the boat’s railing. She knew her father was speaking the truth, but they were words she did not want to hear.

  Ryker’s expression softened. He opened his arms and May Ling went to him and hugged him.

  “It will be tough for you, baby, I understand that, but Zane has to die; I know it and you know it too.”

  As her eyes grew moist, May Ling nodded against her father’s chest.

  * * *

  Romeo was on the water again after fleeing Cork Island on his boat. He had gone through Vivian’s purse. Along with the money he’d found, he also held a rental agreement for the house and grounds of One-Man Island.

  Thinking it was possible that Ryker was there, Romeo charted a course for the small island. The smart thing would have been to grab Vivian and make her talk. Hatred had overcome good sense and Romeo had killed Vivian instead.

  He hoped that giving in to his desire for revenge wouldn’t spawn regret. It wouldn’t, not if Ryker were on One-Man Island.

  Romeo used a satellite phone to make contact with Spenser, who was in his truck and checking motels along the highway.

  “Any luck?” Spenser asked. “I’ve had none.”

  “I found Vivian,” Romeo said in a flat voice.

  There was silence between them for long moments, then Spenser spoke.

  “I guess I’ll never get to meet her.”

  “Damn straight,” Romeo said, “and I have a line on Ryker too. He might be on a strip of land called One-Man Island, I’ll give you the coordinates, but wait for me when you get there.”

  Spenser copied the information down, then gave Romeo some alarming news.

  “Cody isn’t answering his phone. I can’t reach May Ling either. That worries me.”

  “Shit, but there’s no way Ryker could have found them.”

  “That’s what we thought about Roy Hutchins’ pla
ce.”

  “Maybe there’s something wrong with their phone reception.”

  “Let’s hope so, but I’m going back to the house to check on him and May Ling.”

  “All right, and call me when you get there.”

  * * *

  Ryker and May Ling carried Bart’s body up from the cabin and laid him out on the deck.

  “What was Zane wearing when you left him?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I have an idea.”

  “Xavier was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.”

  Ryker looked pleased as he pointed down at Bart. “He’s got on jeans and a dark-blue shirt; that’s close enough.”

  “Close enough for what?”

  “We’re going to bait a hook.”

  * * *

  A few minutes later, May Ling helped her father dump Bart’s body off the end of the pier.

  “If the fish don’t get him the currents will,” Ryker said.

  May Ling climbed into the speed boat Ryker had been using and started the engine.

  “Send that message, then get back here,” Ryker told her, “and be careful that no one spots you.”

  “I just need to get within range of a cell tower. I shouldn’t be long.”

  Ryker smiled at her. “We’re close, baby. We’re so close to getting revenge for Damon and eliminating these Tanner wannabes.”

  “Yes,” May Ling said.

  Ryker lost his smile as he saw the pain in her eyes.

  “Why the hell did you fall in love with that boy?”

  “It just happened.”

  “He has to die, just like Slade and Hawke. They all have to die, or we’ll never be safe.”

  “I understand,” May Ling said.

  “Go, and be quick.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Ryker watched his daughter speed away toward the mainland in the distance.

  She’ll kill him. When it comes down to it, she’ll kill Zane, love or not. That girl is just like me.

  As May Ling hurried toward shore while disappearing from view, Ryker wondered what was keeping Vivian.

  139

  Springing The Trap

  NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, FEBRUARY 2004

  Spenser was only a few short miles away from the bayside house where Cody was sleeping in a drug-induced stupor. When Spenser’s phone received a text, the message contained only two words.

  ONE DOWN.

  It had been sent from May Ling’s phone, to be followed by a photo. After pulling to the curb, Spenser opened the attachment, then groaned.

  The photo was taken by Ryker in selfie fashion. It showed a frightened and weeping May Ling down on her knees. She was at Ryker’s feet with a gun pressed to her head. In the background was a body lying on the deck of a boat. The body had dark hair.

  Emotions swirled in Spenser’s mind as he tried to cope with the thought that Cody could be dead.

  Another text came in. It gave the location of One-Man Island and issued an ultimatum.

  IF I DON’T SEE YOU HERE SOON, HAWKE, SHE’S DEAD.

  Spenser gripped his cell phone with enough force that a crack appeared along its case. Picking the satellite phone up from the seat beside him, he called Romeo.

  * * *

  Spenser told Romeo about the photo and the danger that May Ling was in. Romeo had gone numb thinking that his best friend might be dead. That numbness faded to be replaced by rage. Although he had agreed to wait for Spenser to join him off the coast of the island, Romeo couldn’t wait. He pushed his boat to its top speed and prepared himself for the fight of his life.

  * * *

  May Ling had returned to the island after sending off the text. Ryker gave her the gun that was strapped on his hip and told her to get on Bart’s boat and wait.

  “There’s no hurry though, my guess is that Hawke and Slade are at least an hour away.”

  “Why isn’t Vivian here?” May Ling asked.

  The corners of Ryker’s mouth drifted downward.

  “I sent her off to kill Garcia, now I’m wondering if he’s killed her instead.”

  “The man I stabbed at that house in Oregon, that was Garcia?”

  “It was, and the fool was too smart for his own good.”

  “You never told him I was your daughter; he thought I was just Xavier’s girlfriend.”

  “Is that a mistake you’re making too, May Ling, or can I count on you?”

  A bitter expression darkened May Ling’s beautiful face at what lay before her, but Ryker was pleased to see resolve in her eyes.

  “I’ll kill Xavier when I return to the house.”

  “Don’t give that boy a chance; shoot his sly ass the second you walk in the door. I learned the hard way in Utah how clever he can be.”

  “He is remarkable, and so is Romeo. Don’t underestimate Romeo either, Father.”

  “Anyone approaching the island can be seen from miles away. There’s no chance for them to sneak up on me. Thanks to this rifle, I can kill them before they ever dock the boat.”

  “They could shoot back at you.”

  “True, but firing from a bobbing vessel is a tougher proposition.”

  As they waited and scanned the horizon, Ryker told May Ling about his plans for the future. He wanted them to travel the world together while fulfilling contracts. It was what he himself had done with his mentor, Farnsworth.

  May Ling saw the boat first. It was far out at sea but moving toward the island on a steady course. Remembering that Bart had kept a pair of binoculars on the bridge of his boat, May Ling fetched them, while Ryker studied the vessel through the scope on his rifle.

  “Does it look familiar, May Ling?”

  “That could be Romeo’s boat, but its too far away to tell for sure.”

  When the boat was about a mile from the dock its course changed, taking it in a direction that would have it going around the island.

  “If that’s Slade, he’s checking things out before he approaches. You’d better hide on the boat, baby,” Ryker told May Ling.

  “What if he drops anchor on the other side of the island?”

  “If he tries that it will still take him some time to make it here by foot. I’ll pretend to use you as a hostage and then you can shoot him while his guard is down.”

  “That’s a good plan,” May Ling said as she moved toward the boat to hide. “But please be careful. I’ve already come close to losing you once.”

  “Yes, you did, and today we get payback.”

  The boat reappeared as it circled the island in a wide oval. May Ling called to Ryker from the boat. She was out of sight while sitting on the steps that led down to the galley.

  “Can you see the pilot through your scope?”

  “No, the angle is wrong, but the boat is on a path to circle back around.”

  Minutes passed as the boat made its way westward, only to swerve slowly back on a course to go behind the island again. Ryker moved toward the end of the pier and looked out through the scope. As the boat drew closer, he could see the helm at maximum magnification. The blurry image revealed that no one was at the wheel.

  The answer for what he was seeing came into Ryker’s consciousness at the same instant his ears registered the sound of pounding feet on the boards behind him.

  Automatic pilot, the boat’s running on autopilot.

  Ryker was bringing the rifle around when Romeo slammed into him. They hit the wooden surface of the dock hard and Ryker lost his grip on the rifle. The scoped weapon slid several feet then slipped off the end of the pier and into the water. Before Ryker knew what was happening, Romeo was beating him to death.

  140

  Fatal Innocence

  ONE-MAN ISLAND, FEBRUARY 2004

  After taking his boat out of sight of the pier, Romeo slowed the engine.

  He then fed a course into the automatic pilot and slipped over the side and into the water. This section of the island had a rocky shore that Romeo had to navigate past befor
e reaching dry land.

  He skirted around the house while staying hidden from view among the small pine trees that grew on the island. Ordinarily, Romeo would have checked out the home and made certain that no one was inside. He didn’t have time for that; Ryker could discover his ruse once the boat came back around.

  Romeo increased his pace when he saw that Ryker was holding a rifle with a scope. If Ryker glimpsed the empty helm, he would lose the element of surprise.

  Ryker did catch on, but not in time. Romeo ducked under the rifle he swung around and tackled Ryker, to land on the pier.

  Romeo’s first blow struck Ryker in the throat, while the second fist thrown smashed into the side of his head. A right to the nose followed and started blood flowing, then a final punch caused Ryker to cut the inside of his bottom lip on a tooth. Romeo gripped Ryker by the collar of his shirt and shook him.

  “Where’s Xavier? Is he wounded, or is he… where is he?”

  Ryker was dazed, but he managed to smile a bloody grin.

  “My daughter will kill you.”

  “She’s dead, Ryker. Vivian is dead! I made your daughter pay for killing Emma.”

  Ryker’s grin widened. “Vivian didn’t kill your slut, and she wasn’t my daughter. My daughter killed your woman, and she’s behind you.”

  Romeo heard the scrape of a rubber sole on wood. Whipping his head around, he saw May Ling closing in on him while gripping a gun in both hands.

  “May Ling?”

  Romeo was lifting Ryker up to use as a shield, but he was too late. He saw the muzzle flash at the same instant he registered the pain on his left side. As Romeo reached for his gun, May Ling shot him again, hitting him in his right shoulder. It made Romeo fumble his weapon. Romeo turned to dive off the pier, to get away, but a third shot struck him in the back. That round broke a rib, exited in a spray of blood beneath his left collarbone, then glanced off his temple.