“I found this in the closet,” he announced gently.
She uncertainly accepted the shirt while seemingly in her own world. She never would have believed she’d be so upset over Finn’s death, but she never would have expected the man to sacrifice his life to save hers either. Monroe turned to leave.
“I treated him so badly,” she announced softly.
Monroe turned back toward her and stared at her a moment. “It wasn’t your fault, Lee,” he assured her. “He valued your life above his own. The team and I have done the same for one another on many occasions. None of us has ever regretted it.”
She wiped her eyes with a trembling hand, sniffed, and straightened proudly. “Tonya was supposed to be my friend,” Lee announced sternly. “She was supposed to be my friend, and she tried to kill me. Finn is dead because of her. If I had a gun and her in front of me--”
“Let us handle Tonya,” he announced firmly. “That’s not something you want to ever live with.”
She frowned and slowly nodded. Lee slowly slipped into the button shirt and grimaced slightly. She’d been tackled several times over the course of a few days, and she couldn’t deny her body was protesting. Monroe’s eyes again strayed to her abdomen and his expression dropped slightly.
“Oh--” he mumbled softly.
Lee followed his gaze and looked to the blood covering her abdomen. She couldn’t believe all the blood that had soaked through her shirt. She looked back at Monroe and frowned.
“Yeah, I’ll shower when this is all over.”
Monroe cringed and took a step toward her. “It’s not that,” he announced. “Hold still.”
Lee was puzzled as she watched Monroe reach for her abdomen. Bogart stepped into the bathroom just in time to witness Monroe plucking the bullet from the small wound on Lee’s abdomen. She yelped with surprise. Monroe smiled weakly and showed her the blood covered bullet. She looked from the bloody bullet to the small, bleeding wound on her abdomen.
“Seriously? I’ve been shot?” she almost demanded.
As Bogart stared at the bloody bullet fragment, all color drained from his face and his eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the floor. Both looked at Bogart out cold on the floor. The main bedroom doorknob jiggled, alarming Lee and Monroe. Monroe indicated for her to wait inside the bathroom. He dragged Bogart by his feet into the bathroom, stepped over him into the bedroom, and shut the door behind him. Lee stepped over Bogart’s unconscious body and approached the bathroom door. She opened it a crack and looked out just in time to see Monroe remove his gun and aim it at the bedroom door. The door was kicked open with a thunderous crack. Beck stood in the doorway with the snub-nose revolver aimed at Monroe, who had his semiautomatic aimed at Beck. Both men relaxed at the sight of the other and lowered their weapons. Beck ushered Pinto into the bedroom and shut the slightly battered door.
“I heard a thump. Where are the others?” Beck asked Monroe. “Did they find Lee? Jericho’s man was holding her in the penthouse at the office building, but Pinto said Finn brought her here.”
The bathroom door opened and Lee stepped out. “Finn rescued me,” she informed Beck. “Sal wasn’t behind any of this.”
“I told you so,” Pinto snapped. “Can we find my father and call the police now?”
“Holden and his men will be storming the place any minute with a search warrant,” Monroe announced. “We need to find Jericho and take him down quietly. There are too many innocent lives outside. There’s no telling what Jericho is capable of if he feels trapped.”
“Never mind Jericho,” Lee announced. “Tonya’s the one you have to worry about. We need to stop her.”
“Tonya’s working with Jericho?” Pinto suddenly asked with surprise.
“The bitch killed Finn and another one of your father’s men,” Lee informed Pinto with a hiss in her voice. “She’s armed and extremely dangerous.”
“She also has all the information they need to access the server and get the fifty million dollars they stole,” Monroe added.
Bogart stumbled out of the bathroom while holding his head. “Thanks for just leaving me on the floor,” he muttered.
“We shouldn’t be standing around discussing this,” Lee announced sternly. “We should be at the office building. That’s where Tonya needs to go to access the company server. If she gets her hands on that fifty million dollars, she and Jericho will disappear forever.”
“We’re not going to the office building,” Monroe insisted. “Ross said to keep you safe. They’re going to handle Jericho and his men. Tonya too.”
“So Tonya stole fifty million dollars from my father’s company?” Pinto asked while looking from Lee to Monroe. “And she needs to access the company’s server?”
“The accountant disabled the server,” Lee informed her. “I’m pretty sure all she needs is to reattach the motherboard, and she can access the server. Thanks to me, she now has a good idea of the account where Wiley transferred the money for safekeeping.”
“We can access the server from my father’s computer,” Pinto informed them. “The company tech guy set it up so he could use it from home.”
“But she still needs to enable the server first,” Monroe informed her. “That can only be done from the office. Holden sent some officers to keep anyone from accessing the building.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to anticipate her getting through,” Pinto informed them. “If she manages to get past them and repairs the server, we can access the files before her, if we have the necessary information.”
“We do,” Lee announced.
“I suggest we take this party to the study,” Beck announced.
“But Ross said--” Monroe protested.
“When Ross isn’t around, I’m in charge,” Beck informed Monroe. “We’re going to the study.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Jericho and one of his men entered the master bedroom on the second floor. Both men crossed the elegant room in opposite directions with their guns drawn and searched the room. Jericho approached a portrait of Sal’s deceased wife and pulled it away from the wall to reveal a safe with a digital lock. He entered a number combination, but the light remained red. He cursed softly. Before he could attempt another combination, Jericho’s phone vibrated within his pocket. He removed his phone, looked at the caller ID, and appeared curious as he placed the cell phone to his ear.
“Yeah?” he gruffly announced. Jericho suddenly stopped, appeared surprised, and looked around. “Tonya? Baby? Where are you?” He hesitated then appeared relieved. “You have the information?” There was a pause. “No, head for the garage from the employees’ wing. No one will see you there. The guys should be waiting.” He listened a moment. “No, we have one of their men as a hostage. It’ll be okay. I’ll meet you in the garage. See you in ten minutes. Love you.”
Jericho disconnected the call and looked at his man, who watched him with great interest.
“Tonya’s free,” he announced. “And she has the information we need to access the computer.”
“The feds are waiting outside,” the man announced. “They’re going to be watching the exits.”
“That’s why we’re taking one of the catering vans,” Jericho informed him. “Contact the guys. Tell them to head for the garage but keep watch for more of Lee’s babysitters.”
The man nodded and removed his cell phone from his pocket as Jericho entered another combination into the wall safe number pad. The light turned green. Jericho grinned and opened the safe. There were several bundles of cash and boxes of jewelry. Jericho grinned and emptied the contents of the safe into his bag. He then looked at his man on the phone who hadn’t spoken. The man gave him a strange look.
“No one’s answering,” he announced.
“Try the men in the garage,” Jericho ordered while securely closing his bag.
The man made another phone call. He spoke to a man briefly then disconnected the call.
“Frank’s still in the garage,” he
announced. “The others never showed. We have to assume our hostage escaped.”
Jericho slammed his fist against the safe and approached the door. He heard someone just outside the bedroom door. He aimed his gun as the door opened. One of their men joined them but appeared out of breath.
“Leroy is dead,” he informed Jericho. “They’re inside the mansion.”
Jericho cursed under his breath then glared at the man. “Who’s left? No one’s answering.”
“Just Wilson and Paul,” the man announced, “but they’re keeping an eye on Sal out back.”
“Contact them,” Jericho snarled. “Tell them to meet us by the servants’ wing exit.”
The man nodded and removed his phone.
†
The nearly two hundred guests socialized in the backyard, enjoying the open bar and the elaborate buffet set up along the patio. One of Sal’s men stepped aside to answer his cell phone. Sal talked with one of his guests then seemed to notice the man on his phone several yards away. The man disconnected the call, nodded secretly to another man, and then headed toward the house. Sal watched the second man follow. He smiled at his guest and excused himself. He removed his cell phone and pressed ‘Finn’ on his call list. Finn’s voicemail picked up. He then tried ‘Mac’. There was no answer. Sal replaced his phone then looked a couple feet away to another man. He gave a slight nod then headed for the house with the man following. The man easily caught up to him.
“Finn and Mac aren’t answering,” Sal informed him. “I want you to check the staff quarters where Finn was taking Lee. If you don’t find them, don’t bother contacting me, just call Agent Falcone and get the security guard out front to let the feds in.”
The man nodded as they entered the house.
†
Jericho kept watch on the second floor hallway and then looked back at his two men. He nodded. Both men left the room and headed toward the back, kitchen stairs. Jericho followed behind, keeping his gun carefully hidden beneath his jacket. The backstairs would lead them through the kitchen and into the servant’s wing virtually undetected except by the caterers. Once in the servant’s wing, it was a quick journey to the detached eight-car garage. They were halfway to the backstairs when Ross and Kirk appeared in the hallway, cutting off their path. Kirk and Ross aimed their guns at the men.
“Drop the weapons!” Ross shouted.
Jericho turned and ran in the opposite direction as his men fired on Ross and Kirk. The nearly silent shots struck the wall not far from Kirk’s head. Ross fired back and winged the first man in the shoulder, dropping him to the floor. The second man continued to fire, forcing Ross and Kirk to leap to the safety of a nearby doorway. The second man continued to shoot at them then ran down the hall after Jericho. Jericho stopped by the stairs and fired at Ross and Kirk, allowing his man a chance to meet up with him by the main staircase. Both men ran down the grand stairs. Ross ran after them while Kirk turned and ran for the backstairs. Jericho and his man thundered down the grand stairs and swung the banister at the bottom. Sal and his man entered the massive hallway and stopped when they saw Jericho. Sal’s expression dropped then turned to hostility.
“Get him!” Sal shouted.
His sidekick removed his weapon as Jericho and his man aimed their weapons and fired at both men. Sal leaped to the safety of the archway while his man fired at the intruders. Jericho’s man shot Sal’s man in the chest, throwing him against the wall. He slid down the wall leaving a bloody streak. Jericho’s man approached Sal where he remained standing just out of his line of fire. Sal slowly raised his hands in the air, having no place to run without risking a bullet in the back.
“Is this how it’s going to go down?” Sal demanded.
Jericho approached, although remaining behind his armed man, and grinned slyly.
“I’m afraid so, Sal,” he announced. “It’s nothing personal, you know. I’m just tired of working my ass off while someone like you gets richer and richer.”
“You can kill me,” Sal announced without showing fear, “but there will be retribution. You’ll never be able to live without looking over your shoulder in fear that someone is waiting to kill you.”
“Yeah, I thought about that,” Jericho announced then grinned, “but I’m willing to live with those odds.” He nodded to his man. “Do it.”
The man tightened his finger on the trigger. Sal was suddenly struck in the chest by a flying foot, which sent him through the air and to the floor several feet away. As the gun fired, Zack was already rolling across the floor to safety. Jericho’s man took several steps closer to locate the rolling man when Mac appeared from a nearby doorway and kicked the gun from his hand. Mac went for the return kick and struck him in the face, throwing him into the nearby wall. As Jericho aimed his gun, Zack was suddenly standing in front of him. Zack grabbed his wrist and twisted it until the gun fell from him hand. He followed through with a powerful flip that sent Jericho in a full, hands-free somersault. Jericho landed harshly on his backside with a loud grunt. The bag struck the floor, opened, and scattered cash and jewelry along the foyer. Jericho attempted to scramble to his feet. Zack shook his head with irritation and then thrust his knee directly under Jericho’s chin, sending him back to the floor.
“Why do they always insist on getting up?” Zack demanded then looked at Mac with the man against the wall.
Mac rammed her knee into the man’s groin and allowed him to drop to the floor. Zack grinned his approval.
“Nice form,” he announced.
She smiled sweetly while tilting her head, adding to her innocent appeal. “Thank you.”
Ross leaned casually on the railing from the second floor with his gun dangling relaxed in his hand. He hid his smile and shook his head. As Ross headed down the stairs, Sal slowly entered the foyer while tenderly rubbing his chest and glaring at Zack.
“I suppose I should be grateful for that,” Sal remarked lowly.
“You’re welcome,” Zack replied.
Jericho leaped to his feet and bolted for the front door. Ross casually pointed, although he didn’t fire his weapon.
“Got a runner,” Ross announced matter-of-fact.
Zack and Mac both turned in the direction of Jericho and the front door. Jericho threw open the door. Darth stood in the doorway with his teeth bared while snarling.
Jericho stared at the dog with some surprise. “Darth, no,” he announced loudly.
Gil casually leaned against the doorframe not far from the snarling dog.
“Sorry, Jericho,” Gil announced. “Darth no longer works for you.”
“Ross, you there?” came Kirk’s voice through Ross’s earpiece.
Ross hesitated and touched his earpiece. “Yeah, Kirk, I read you.”
“I spotted Tonya,” Kirk announced. “She ran into the garage. I’m making my approach now.”
“Hold your position,” Ross announced. “There could be more men waiting to ambush you.”
Ross looked across the foyer, but Zack was already gone. He shook his head then looked at Gil.
“Kirk has Tonya trapped in the garage,” Ross announced. “He needs backup.”
Gil nodded then looked at Darth and slapped his thigh. The dog followed him across the foyer. Mac finished zip tying Jericho’s wrists behind his back and looked around.
“What happened to the littlest ninja?” she suddenly asked.
“Damned if I know,” Ross remarked. “He tends to roam when he’s off his leash, but he always comes back home.”
“Where’s Lee?” Sal asked, seeming slightly anxious.
“I got word they were chilling in your study with your daughter,” Ross replied.
“You know about my daughter?” Sal suddenly asked.
“A few of the guys took in her show,” Ross replied.
“I’d better check on them,” Sal announced and hurried for the hallway.
“I’ll join you,” Ross replied casually, although he seemed slightly suspicious.
/> Ross grabbed Jericho and forced him into the hallway behind Sal. Mac watched them leave as she tied the second man. Once the others disappeared down the hall, Mac left the tied man and hurried out the front door.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Gil approached the detached garage with his gun securely in his hand. Kirk remained flattened against the wall with his gun against his chest. Both men eyed the side door then shared a conversation with slight eye movements. Kirk hurried past the door while keeping low, so he wouldn’t be seen through the small window. He reached the other side and flattened himself against the wall then looked at Gil, who now moved up to the door on the opposite side. Gil placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it slightly. Obviously, it was locked. Darth approached the door and put his nose to it, as if waiting for someone to let him inside. The men exchanged looks. Gil approached Darth while keeping low and moved the dog off to the side while facing the door. He held Darth by his collar and spoke softly to him in German. The dog focused on the door and let out a gruff woof. Kirk stepped in front of the door and kicked it open. As the door flew open, Gil commanded the dog. Darth bolted into the garage. Gil and Kirk stormed in after him.
As they entered the garage, a car was heard burning out with the smell of burnt rubber and smoke filling the bay. They heard a thunderous crash as the sports car jetted through the stylish, wooden garage door, exploding it across the driveway. Gil and Kirk ran for the broken garage door and aimed their guns at the car racing down the driveway, but they were too late. Darth ran after the car regardless, unaware that he’d never be able to catch the speeding sports car. Gil groaned and ran down the driveway after Darth. Kirk shook his head, muttered a curse, and returned to the garage to search for any remaining henchmen.
†
Holden stood alongside another federal SUV across the road from Romano’s mansion and talked with the agent behind the wheel. Holden’s cell phone rang. He removed his phone and answered the call in his usual, gruff manner.
Witness Protection 2: The Return of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Page 23