Knocked Up by the Killer

His face looked like pulp. His eyes would be black and bruised again in the morning.

I barely felt it as he tugged me into the bedroom. He took off my top, took off my pants. I let him pull me into bed.

The covers felt like an oven around my skin.

“Sleep,” he said. “Shower in the morning. Brush your teeth. Get up and drink coffee. We’ll talk about what happened when you’re not in shock anymore.”

“Shock?” I asked. Then, “You just tucked me in.”

“I know,” he said and smiled. “You need someone to tuck you in right now. You need someone to take care of you.”

“Bennigan’s really gone.” I curled into a ball. “Does that mean it’s over?”

“No,” he said, and I could hear the sadness in his voice. “The Leone family will send another. They have plenty of money and there are other killers looking for work. Bennigan was better than most, though, so whoever they send next won’t be as big of a problem. But it’s still not over.”

I nodded against the pillow and squeezed my eyes shut.

I could still see Tanner standing over Bennigan in the darkness. I could see the flash of the muzzle.

I could still smell the copper tang of blood deep in my nostrils.

“Try to sleep,” he said.

“Can you stay?” I asked, feeling dizzy and insane. “Please.”

He hesitated then climbed into bed next to me. He still had his pants and shoes on. He looked exhausted, rumpled, dirty, bloody. “I’ll stay until you sleep,” he said. “Then I need to clean myself off.”

“Thank you.”

I didn’t know why I wanted him there. I was afraid of him as much as I wanted to be around him.

But I felt dizzy and horrified, like my world was splitting at the seams. And I just wanted someone to be close to me, to try to comfort me.

And he was the father of my unborn child.

That had to count for something.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t think I could fall asleep. My head moved in anxious dizzy circles.

But soon everything dimmed, and I drifted off.20TannerI managed a few hours of rough sleep on the couch before the sun rose and woke me up. My shoulder ached from where Bennigan’s bullet ripped through skin. My face felt like a pulped chicken. I wanted to dunk my head in an ice bath and leave it there for days.

But I had work to do.

I pulled on clean clothes and slipped into the hallway. My shoulder had stopped bleeding, which was good. I’d have a nasty scar, but I didn’t need stitches, at least I didn’t think so.

I got lucky back there. It was dark and Bennigan was rushing his shot, which is the only reason we survived. I think I hit him when I fired back, but I didn’t stick around to find out. The fight was brutal and quick, and I just barely managed to get the upper hand again. I hated myself for getting surprised like that, but at least we survived.

I wasn’t sure how Elise would handle it, though.

She was pretty far gone when we got back to the hotel. Her eyes were glazed and I could tell she was deep in shock. I wanted to give her a bath but I didn’t think she was up for it. I stayed in bed until she fell in a deep sleep then cleaned myself off before curling up on the couch like I normally did.

What a goddamn night.

I took the elevator down the lobby and smiled at the front desk guy. He was still on duty, the same chubby pale guy from the night before, though I suspected his shift was almost over. He had a faraway look in his dark eyes.

I stepped outside. An old woman walking two aggressive Westies gave me a glare. I smiled back then looked down at my phone.

I called Dante. The line rang then went to voicemail. I called a second time, and he picked up, sounding pissed.

“What?” he said. “It’s early as fuck. This better be good.”

“Hello, Dante,” I said.

He was quiet for a beat. “Tanner.” He cleared his throat. “What are you calling me for?”

“I saw Bennigan last night,” I said.

Another pause. “And?”

“And Bennigan is very much dead.”

He groaned. “Goddamn it, Tanner.”

“What did you expect me to do?” I asked. “The idiot was hell-bent on finishing the job. He came after us and I defended myself.”

“You know this is only going to make shit harder, right?”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I said as I strolled into the park. I smiled at a homeless guy that was just waking up. He smiled back and was missing several teeth.

“Explain what you mean.”

“Well, I killed the only guy in this city that could even slightly give me a run for my money,” I said. “So from here on out, it’s just a long list of losers. Sure, maybe a few desperate idiots will take the contract, but eventually they’ll all give up. You know how it goes, killers like killing, but not getting killed.”