There wasn’t any snow yet, not in this part of the state, and the winter had been a mild one so far. But the chill in the air tonight made him think it might snow. The ground was nearly frozen, and the crunch of it could be heard under their booted feet. When they reached the looming barn, Marcus, who was the first to arrive, opened wide the front door. With a quick wave of his hand, he ushered them in with his gun.
Dawn was grateful to be inside the dusty barn. The wind had chilled her. The night had suddenly turned extremely cold, probably because of their proximity to the sea. Connecticut could be harsh in the winter, although so far they had warmer weather than normal this year. Off in the distance a single dangling light cast its beam of bright yellow on a long table that could easily seat twelve. There sat four men along one side. She recognized two from the casino, men she had seen with Jack.
“Leo, Johnny, what is going on here?” Jack asked. “My girl and I have been dragged out in the middle of nowhere in the freezing cold, at gun point no less. What is going on?” he repeated. Jack sounded angry, and a little nervous. She hoped he wasn’t and that it had just been part of his act.
“Sorry about that, Jack. But I’m surprised, too. We were not expecting the boys to bring along your companion.”
Joe spoke up next. “We couldn’t get him alone. Sorry, boss. He was with the Sassacus girl, and we didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
“No worries, Joe. It’s fine. Everything is fine.” Leo smiled brightly, flashing that John Travolta smile.
“Sorry, but it’s not fine. I don’t like my girl being here, and I don’t like being dragged here at gunpoint.”
An older man spoke for the first time, and Jack recognized him from the FBI files he had seen on the man. It was none other than Anthony Santorini himself. “We just want you to understand who you are dealing with, Mr. Black. WE have let you play some of our games, and you are doing well enough that we personally wanted to extend to you the invitation to some of our other bigger games.”
Jack beamed. “Well, thank you very much, Mr. . .”
“Santorini. Anthony Santorini. We are happy to have you play with us this week on Wednesday. But due to the nature of the game and the other players, we wanted to make sure you understood the rules.”
“Of course,” Jack stated matter-of-factly. He had played smaller games but knew the rules would be the same. “Players’ identities are kept secret. No phones, or other recording devices, electronics of any kind.”
Anthony just nodded while giving him a thorough once over, his eyes bulging in his puffy, weathered face.
Leo spoke again. “I have vouched for you even though your dalliance with this young woman has made some of the others uncomfortable. I have assured them that your feelings for her, and I am assuming they are mutual, make you an even better consideration.”
“How do you mean?” Jack asked, trying to sound confused, but he had a feeling he knew where Leo was going with this.
Leo smiled, and Jack knew just how dangerous this man could be. He had a long rap sheet. At least six murders they knew of, but could not pin on the made man. “If a man loves something, then he has something to lose if he talks.”
“Neither Dawn nor I will talk. Will we, Dawn?” Jack glanced her way.
Dawn shook her head, stayed quiet, but stood her ground.
Joe spoke once more. “Actually boss, we, um, had an interesting little talk with these two when we found them. We were suspicious so we did a little eavesdropping on the lovebirds, and there is more you might want to know about.”
The other man who had yet to speak interrupted next. “I don’t like surprises, Joey.”
Joe was nervous when he addressed his boss. “I’m sorry, Mr. Santorini.” The other man was Anthony’s older brother, Frank, the official boss of the Santorini family. “I should have called. But the two were fighting when we first saw them. They made up, and Dawn has a plan to get some money from her family’s casino and take off. The family don’t like her new boyfriend, Jackson, even if he is rich. She was asking the gambler to help her get some fake ID and accounts and stuff to pull off her scam and split.”
Leo exchanged glances with Johnny and then got up slowly out of his chair and approached Jack first. He was mere inches from him, staring him down eye to eye. “Is this true, Black? Your girlfriend wants to double cross her family?”
“I’m just a gambler. I said I’d take her away. I do well enough that the two of us could get by, but she wants a little extra security.” Jack didn’t blink.
Johnny then came to stand in front of Dawn. “Hmm, you are interesting.”
“Can you help us?” Dawn asked. She had stayed quiet long enough.
“Why would we do that?” His smile was slick.
Dawn shrugged her shoulders. “You set up these high roller games. You must know people.” She shook inside but appeared nonchalant. She couldn’t believe she could lie so easily while being terrified.
Leo watched her. He waited before answering, then took a step back. “I know people. We all know people.” He threw up his hands mockingly and glanced at his bosses. He saw Frank imperceptibly nod. “But, Miss Sassacus, you did not answer my question. Why would we do that?”
Dawn paused to think a moment before speaking. She had to make them believe her. “By helping me, you can help yourselves. All of my siblings have settled down and have wonderful jobs. They work in the casino in exciting positions while my mother forced me to go to school to become an accountant. What girl in her right mind wants to go to school for seven years to become an accountant! My family has always treated me like a delicate baby because I had a few medical issues as a kid. But I’m a grown ass woman. I’m sick and tired of it.” She raised her voice, feigning anger. “You can just have one of your guys do a little digging and find out. Have him go out, ask some of my friends, or better yet, some of the employees. They like to gossip. They’ll tell you about poor Dawn.”
All eyes were on her, and she knew at least some of them were enjoying her little tirade. She continued. “Well, they didn’t realize that teaching me computer basics and my knowledge and access to the books gives me quite a bit of power.”
Jack noticed that both Anthony and Frank Santorini were listening attentively now. He wanted to pump his fist in the air at Dawn’s story. His kitten baited the hook; and if they bit, the FBI could reel them in.
“Interesting.” Marcus brought his hand up to his chin in contemplation, and again glanced at his bosses waiting for the cue. When he got it, he asked, “Tell me more of this plan, Dawn.”
She sighed heavily. “Well, it’s one of the reasons why I got involved with Jackson in the first place. Sorry, honey. I knew it would piss off my mom. But I fell for you anyway. Now my mom wants me to end it or she is cutting me off. That’s when I came up with this plan. I mentioned it to Jack. He didn’t like it. Said he didn’t want to get caught. Taking that much money is a risk.”
His eyebrows arched. “How much are we talking about?”
“The accounts I manage fluctuate between twelve and thirty million, depending on the quarter. The holidays and summer net us some serious revenue.”
Marcus’s and Joe’s eyes raised. No one else flinched. The barn remained silent as Marcus rocked back and forth on his heels. “Well, this does sound interesting. But tell me, Dawn, what can you do for us if, say, if WE knew someone who could help you with certain arrangements.”
Dawn gave Jackson’s hand a squeeze. She was stumped. She didn’t know what would satisfy these men. She hoped he picked up on her silent cue that she needed help. He did.
“Dawn handles the merchandising accounts at the casino. This last quarter saw lots of merch fly off the shelves with the holidays and New Year’s. At the end of the month before money is sent to tribal accounts and dispersed to other accounts, pay roll and such, her plan was to siphon half, about ten million. That would make us very comfortable for a long time. But we need the money to be cleaned, and after the
laundry, we need it deposited into an offshore account. New identifications, too, so we can disappear. Ten percent could be yours.”
“Ten.” Joe laughed at Jack’s pitiful offer. Jack expected the laugh but wanted the criminals to think him silly and unskilled. Someone easily taken advantage of. Someone they would want to take advantage of.
“It would be more like thirty percent, but how do we know we can trust you and Jack, Dawn?” Leo asked her. Again, he was facing her. His expression a question.
Jack prayed they took the bait. He would be bringing down a cache of bad guys with this sting operation, and they would owe much of the credit to Dawn.
Dawn was stumped. She said the fist thing that came to mind. “I know it’s a gamble. But, I guess, since you don’t know me, it’s a crap shoot. You’ll just have to roll the dice.”
Anthony smiled before he spoke. “You are indeed an interesting woman, Miss Sassacus.” His chair scraped against the barn floor as he shifted his weight. “We will think about your offer. It has taken us all by surprise. Of course, we will see you at the game on Wednesday, Mr. Black. You may bring your lady friend with you, of course. Joe will come by with the details.”
The two older men got up from their seats and went toward the back of the barn where another door was open to the darkness and a waiting vehicle. Leo waved and went with them. He paused just before exiting. “Take them home, then call me,” he ordered Marcus and Joe.
Joe spoke after Leo left. “Let’s rock and roll, ladies and gentlemen.” His gun pointed the way.
With a nod of his head to Dawn, Jack started toward the door, and she came into step beside him. Joe spoke the words only to Jack as he held open the door. “Watch your back with your girl here, Black. She might be worth it, but you’ll be gambling more than just money.”
Jack nodded. He had gambled with his heart. If they got out of this unharmed, he’d count his lucky stars. And the good guys would be the big winners.
Chapter 11
‡
Dawn was relieved to be back at the hotel. She had been terrified despite her façade of bravado. Without talking they quickly walked across the lobby together and straight to the elevator. When the doors closed on them, Jack pulled Dawn into his arms and held her tight. “I am so sorry for getting you involved in this mess.”
At first, she was stiff from fear, but his words and warmth and clear concern soothed her, and she leaned into him. “It’s not your fault.”
“It sure as hell is.” She heard the anger in his voice. He was blaming himself. That would not do. “When we get to your suite, I need to call my boss. We will figure this out. I hate having you in danger.”
“I…” The doors slid open on her words, effectively cutting off her protest.
“Come, let me get you into your room,” he spoke hastily, relieved no one was in the hall.
She pulled her key card from her purse, and they quickly went inside. Again, he reached for her and engulfed her in his embrace. Just the feel of her against his body soothed his tattered nerves. She was here, safe in his arms. That was the most important thing. He normally remained calm and collected during tense moments but having her there made him realize just how much he had to lose. Just how much he loved her.
“I’m fine. Really,” she tried to convince him. He was holding her so tight.
Jack couldn’t believe that the family was contemplating Dawn’s made up on the fly scam. It sure would save his investigation a lot of time. He felt her shift in his arms, and he relaxed his hold a bit. “You know this little plot of yours was brilliant. This investigation could have gone on for months, but if they take the bait, it could be over in weeks. Hell, a week even. Where the hell did you come up with the idea?”
Dawn enjoyed the feel of his arms around her and didn’t want it to end, but she also knew he needed to see she was strong, too. But he was so warm, and she had literally been chilled to the bone. Involuntarily, she shivered. “Last year, a council man and one of the accountants had been skimming and embezzling money from the casino. My sister-in-law was nearly killed by one of the madmen.”
Jack remembered the incident from the news. “Oh, yes, I remember hearing about that. My goodness, you are still so cold. Why don’t you go take a hot shower while I call my boss? I should have reported in about thirty minutes ago.”
She sighed as he released her and retrieved his phone from his pocket. “Are you going to tell him what happened?”
“I have to. Now go. Take that shower.”
He watched as she obeyed, wishing he could join her, but he had work to do. He knew Neal Schusterman was going to be pissed off, but they had no choice but to improvise when his cover had nearly been blown. They had no idea what Joe and Marcus knew or Leo for that matter. They had no idea how long the henchmen had been standing there or what they had heard. It had been the only way to keep Dawn safe. He knew his bosses well enough to know they did not like to go off book, but sometimes it was necessary to bring down the criminals. This plan still could bring down several people in this crime syndicate, at least the six who had been present during the meeting tonight, plus the others he’d met at some of the smaller games, plus whoever showed Wednesday at the high roller game. They and the people they could get to roll on others would make for a nice clean up of Connecticut’s biggest crime family.
He punched in his boss’s number, and Neal answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Jack? I expected your call a while ago,” the older man’s voice barked into the receiver without bothering with greetings. “I was about to call the office to track you. Where are you?”
“At the casino. You’d better sit down, Neal. The shit hit the fan tonight and a lot happened. Some of it you’re not going to like.” It was time to come clean.
*
When Dawn came out of the shower bundled in a soft robe with her hair wrapped in a towel, she looked better, gorgeous, perfect, though he could tell she was tired. Seeing her like this was just as good as seeing her in that slinky red dress from a few weeks ago or seeing her naked with his hands spanning her torso. He knew he was gone for this girl and took a swig of the whiskey he had poured for himself from her small liquor cabinet. When she got closer, he handed her the glass he had poured for her. He’d figured when the adrenaline wore down, she’d need it.
“What happened with your boss?” she asked before taking a tiny sip. The whiskey warmed her from the inside, and the shower had done wonders for her.
Jack ran his hand through his unruly brown hair. He looked amazing to her, though tired, standing there without a shirt on. She had the urge to run her fingers through that hair. She heard Jack let out an exasperated sigh before speaking. “Well, he was seriously pissed off. I told him I became involved with you. I told him everything that happened tonight.”
He allowed those words to sink in before he continued. “He wants us both in his office first thing in the morning.”
“Are you going to be in trouble?” Dawn asked.
“Yes. No. Probably.” When her eyes went round, he quickly added, “Probably a note in my file. Nothing too bad. There is no policy for it really, so just a verbal reprimand. But I definitely should have mentioned it sooner. He was fit to be tied that I hadn’t told him earlier. I have to give a full report and timeline to him tomorrow.”
“About us?” He saw her swallow and just nodded while she took another sip of her liquid courage.
“He did like your quick recovery of the situation. The casino sting and embezzlement charges that we can make stick will put these men away for a long time. He was impressed with your quick thinking. Said something about your being the agent instead of me.”
That did not make Dawn feel better. “What’s next?” She sat in one of the big, comfy chairs in her suite, tucking her legs underneath her. Jack remained standing.
“Well, we have enough to get Joe, Marcus, Johnny, and Leo already, plus a half dozen more I’ve met on racketeering. Neal would love to get the Santorini
brothers in this sting. Taking out these two men will cripple the syndicate here and leave a power vacuum that won’t be filled easily with the people we can indict in the RICO case. So, these guys plus any others we can get by reducing charges for some of them if they roll on others. It will be a big coup.”
“Well, at least that’s something.” Dawn’s words sounded tired. Her adrenaline had spiked during the evening’s activities, and he could sense she was about to crash.
He took her drink from her and led her to the bed. He yanked the blanket down and she climbed in readily.
He went around to the other side and climbed in behind her. “Mmm,” she cuddled into him, enjoying the feel of being held. Tonight had scared her half to death.
“I just want you out of this mess, Dawn.” He said softly against her temple just before he pressed a soft kiss there.
“I think I threw myself right in the middle,” she murmured sleepily. The drink and shower had done their job.
He couldn’t deny it. He didn’t have any idea what Neal would want to do. He just hoped Dawn’s role would be as minimal as possible. Neal had mentioned that he might have to put Dawn into protective custody until the trials were done. He didn’t have the heart to mention it to her now. He would hate to be away from her for any period of time, but her safety was paramount. “I’ll be right beside you the whole time,” he promised as he heard her yawn. His girl was exhausted. She needed sleep, and he was more than happy to just hold her.
Jack felt her breathing slowly settle until she finally drifted off to sleep. When he felt her slumbering more deeply, he shifted his weight a bit to be more comfortable and rolled onto his back while tucking her safely into the crook of his arm where he could hold her all night if need be. He closed his eyes. He was tired, too. He listened to the soft sounds of her breathing as it become more regular. By now, Neal would have placed two agents downstairs in the lobby to keep an eye on them. Things were going to go down fast. He felt it.
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