Tomorrow they would both go to the office and be interrogated. It wasn’t going to be easy, but he would face whatever tomorrow would bring tomorrow. Tonight, he just wanted to sleep with his girl safe in his arms. His eyes closed as sleep began to overtake him, too. He’d bring them all down, he vowed to himself. There wouldn’t be anyone left to hurt her or scare her ever again. He’d keep her safe. She was his world.
This woman had gotten under his skin and into his heart so quickly. She was strong and brave and beautiful; and when this was all over and done with, he was going to marry her, make her his wife, and never, ever put her in harm’s way again.
“I love you, Dawn,” he whispered into the night. She was already sleeping.
Chapter 12
‡
Dawn and Jackson arrived at the FBI headquarters in Hartford just after eight AM. A soft tap at their door at seven prompted them to get dressed and go quickly down to a back entrance where a black SUV with tinted windows waited for them. It brought them to the unobtrusive underground garage that was shared by the FBI and a local shopping mall.
The two agents that drove the vehicle accompanied them to the elevator, and Dawn watched as the man pushed the button for the top floor of the twelve-floor building marked inconspicuously as executive suites.
Holding Jack’s hand, Dawn went with him ahead of the other two agents. It was obvious he worked here and knew his way around the building. He went through the main doors, passed the receptionist who greeted him by name, and then down a long corridor, stopping halfway when he reached the smoky glass door that was labeled Neal Schusterman, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI. He tapped softly on the door and opened it the moment he heard the disembodied voice call from the other side. “Come in, Gable.”
The first thing Dawn noticed was the great view of the city, and the second thing she noticed was her two brothers sitting across from an older man at a rather large shiny glass desk. She felt her jaw drop. She had not expected them to be at this meeting and knew she would have a lot of explaining to do.
Jack hadn’t told her that both Jonathan and Joseph were aware of the investigation going on at the casino. She knew Tom was aware of it and should have expected her brothers and mother to be aware of it, but still seeing them there made her stomach sink. By their angry expressions, they had just been informed of her knowledge of the investigation and most likely her involvement with Jack. Inside, she died a little. This was not going to be an easy day. Not at all.
“What the hell were you thinking, Dawn?” Jonathan stated, standing up to face the man who had gotten Dawn tangled up in a dangerous mess. Joseph joined him.
Two large and intimidating Native American men, one the size of a body builder with massive arms crossed over his chest, faced Jack. He could not begrudge them their rightfully deserved anger. He hoped someday these two brothers could forgive his lapse in judgment.
“I didn’t…”
Jack took over. He would not let Dawn make excuses for him. “This isn’t her fault. We met. We had a connection. I love her and will do anything in my power to protect her.” He admitted his love for her without flinching. He wouldn’t hide from his mistakes.
“Love her! You put her in danger.” Joseph flung with biting sarcasm.
“And for that, I will always be incredibly sorry. I plan on being in her life, so I hope someday you will forgive me.” He held out his hand, but both brothers barely glanced at it.
Joseph turned around in disgust, sweeping his hands through his hair before he faced them again. “This is just incredible. Fucking incredible.”
Jonathan spoke again. “We will see about that.” His words were menacing. His face red with fury.
Dawn intervened. “Jonathan, I make my own decisions. You will not scare Jack off.” As if he could, she thought. She was proud that he had directly told her brothers how he felt. But she wouldn’t let them browbeat him, either. “I am a grown woman now. I did not know who Jack was at first. But we hit it off. He is special to me. We want a future together. But instead of arguing about this, don’t we have more important matters to discuss than my love life? Is this really the time and place for that?” She noticed Neal Schusterman was smiling. He probably enjoyed seeing Jack squirm a little for his actions. She supposed Jack deserved that, but she wasn’t going to take a public flogging from her brothers in front of strangers, either. Her love life was none of their business.
“Dawn, you are our sister.” Joseph’s words were measured as he tried to remain calm. “We will always look out for you. We will always protect you.” His words were meant more as a message for this rogue agent who’d taken advantage of his sister than for her.
“And, whether you are willing to admit it or not, Dawn, YOU are in WAY over your head.” Jonathan punctuated his words.
“We didn’t expect to be brought in last night,” Jack interrupted.
Neal laughed. “Every time you were with this girl in public you had to realize you could have been seen. You can’t blame her family for being angry. You put this woman in serious danger.”
Jack turned to his boss. “As I explained last night over the phone, I did not realize who she was at first. She was just part of my cover. When I realized I had feelings for her, I stayed away for a while, but we just kept running into each other. It was a difficult situation. But instead of raking us both over the coals for it, why don’t we discuss what happened last night and the plan going forward?” He needed to put an end to the brothers’ tirade. Dawn was clenching his hand tightly, and he didn’t want her humiliated. It was going to take her family a long time to forgive him. He couldn’t blame them. If he had a sister, he’d feel the same way. But they would have time for that later. The first thing needed was to deal with the problem, and once it was over, there would be plenty of time for debate later. And, for good measure, he added, “I know my word means little right now, but please believe me when I say my priority is to keep your sister safe during what remains of this investigation and afterwards.”
“Holy ever-loving hell,” muttered Joseph as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He’d like nothing more than to pummel the agent who stood by his sister. He resented the hand he casually placed around her back. His baby sister!
Dawn stepped forward, seeing how angry her brother was. She went to Joseph and Jonathan. Jonathan pulled her into his arms and hugged her hard. Then Joseph did the same. “Jonathan, Joseph,” she stated low enough for just the two of them to hear, her voice muffled by her brother’s chest. “I love you. I’m sorry I frightened you. But I do love Jack. You are going to have to accept that. Please.”
Joseph looked down at his baby sister. They had always been protective of both of their sisters, but Dawn especially. She had been the littlest of them all. Premature, she had health issues when she was younger. Weak lungs that had improved with age and swimming. And she always seemed to pick the wrong guys, and this one seemed like a real winner. He exchanged a look with his brother over Dawn’s head. Jonathan shrugged his shoulders in resignation.
“Let’s sit and discuss the next steps,” Neal offered when the moment had become awkward.
Dawn disentangled herself from her brother’s arms and encouraged them to take up the two chairs they had been sitting in. She sat in the third one beside them, while Jack went to stand behind her.
There was a knock on the door, and Neal’s response was a quick, “Enter.” Two more investigators appeared. Dawn was relieved, hoping the new people would ease the tension in the room and keep her brothers calm for the rest of the discussion.
When the two men in suits entered the room, Neal introduced them. “These agents will be monitoring Dawn and protecting her. Agent Gable has already told me he gave Dawn some trackers as back up.”
“Trackers?” Dawn looked confused.
Jack looked guilty for a moment but quickly explained. “The earrings I gave you for Christmas have trackers in them. I was worried about our involvement during this
investigation, and if anything were to happen to you, or you disappeared, I would be able to pinpoint your location using GPS.”
Dawn did not know what to think. She was angry he hadn’t told her. But also pleased that he cared so much and wanted her to be safe. She’d bring it up later. There was already enough tension in the room.
Jonathan spoke next. “Nice safety precaution.” Jack saw Dawn’s brow furrow and then relax. Many wives of agents in the field wore such a device and he was happy she wasn’t putting up an argument about them. He was also glad to see a sign of appreciation from one of her brothers, too, even if the tone was sarcastic.
“Yes, Agent Gable can track the earrings from an app on his phone, and we can also track her from any of the FBI offices. As long as she wears them, we can immediately access her coordinates and send out a team to rescue her.”
“Great. But I still wish she weren’t in any kind of danger in the first place, that she would never need rescuing,” Jonathan commented. When no one responded right away, he added, “So, what is the plan? How do we move from here?”
“Agents Cooper and Bronson will be incognito and keep an eye on Dawn at all times. They will tail her twenty-four hours a day, along with two other agents, Johnson and Emerson on the day shift. We’d like to have a suite on her floor at the casino to coordinate things.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Jonathan replied and nodded at Joseph who pulled out his cell phone.
“I’ll text Tom and let him know. The suite will be ready in thirty minutes.”
“Very good. Of course, Agent Gable will be with her as well. From now on, you are inseparable unless directed and approved by me personally beforehand.” Neal directed his comment at Jack who nodded, while both her brothers frowned. “The agents, of course, will oversee her protection detail throughout the investigation and until the conclusion of any trial. I will put an agent on your mother, sister, and the two of you and your wives as well.”
“Perfect,” Dawn grumbled. She was glad for the protection but hoped the agents wouldn’t be too intrusive.
“Perfect,” repeated Joseph, though he was grateful someone would be watching Jewel, Aliya and his mother.
“They will stay out of sight completely, Miss Sassacus. I assure you that you or anyone else won’t even know they are there. These men are trained specifically for this.” Neal gave her a sympathetic glance, having picked up on her reticence before continuing. “We’re still going after the gambling ring and have the game this Wednesday. But we would very much like to continue the plan that Jack and Dawn have rolled the dice on. This plan, genius I might add, will bring down both heads of the Santorini syndicate. Having them in jail will ensure her safety and give us enough evidence to put them away for a very long time.”
“With our sister in danger, we’re going to need them all behind bars. This needs to go off without a hitch. We don’t want her looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.”
Jack knew this was on him. “She won’t have to. I’ll be there to do that for her.” Two grim-faced brothers gave him none too pleased expressions. Again, he couldn’t blame them. They had not signed up for this, and neither had their sister when she first met him.
Dawn sighed audibly in frustration. “Listen, you guys are going to have to stop blaming Jack for all of this. I make my own decisions. I trust Jack and you need to trust him, too.”
Joseph snorted. Jonathan rolled his eyes.
Neal intervened again. “The new plan that we’ve come up with will get all the top players and a great deal of the gang. At least a dozen other players will be indicted. This will destroy the organization. If anyone tries to reorganize and take over, we will be watching.”
“What if someone wants revenge later?” Joseph asked.
“Way to be positive,” Dawn remarked sarcastically.
Neal exhaled patiently. He was used to this, but it never got easy dealing with panicked family members. He explained, “When this happens, the new regime that replaces the old, IF that happens, tends to stay far away from any witnesses that testified against the old regime. They know they are being watched. It’s not likely. They’ll want to keep their new positions intact.”
“And I’ll be around.” Jack wanted to add always, but he didn’t think the two brothers were likely to find comfort in hearing that now. As expected, he got an evil eye from one while the other tried to ignore him.
Dawn felt ill. She knew her brothers were angry and afraid for her, but they would have to accept the fact that neither she nor Jack planned on a relationship progressing past their initial meeting. It happened. “Brothers,” Dawn sighed. “Please. Stop. This man protected me during the incident yesterday, and I feel safe with him. That should count for something.” The noise Joseph made was not flattering. Dawn just ignored his snort of disgust and continued speaking. “I’m a big girl, Joseph, and I know how to take care of myself, but I’m not stupid, either. Now that they know who I am, we’re just gonna have to deal with it, let it play out so Jack and the other agents can bring down the organization.”
“We don’t have much of a choice now.” Joseph crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window.
“Let me explain the plan.” Neal was a patient man, Dawn thought, as he took their bickering in stride and remained calm. “I promise that Dawn will be in as little danger as possible.” Both brothers sat back in their seats, resigned to listen as did Jack and Dawn.
Neal went over the operations of the organization and how they would reel everyone in. It was a good plan, and he laid it out step by step. They had all the paperwork and warrants ready to go, signed warrants for the wiretapping of phones and warrants for the arrests of all those they knew who were involved in the Santorini gang. Analysts were on standby to confirm the identities of voices, and two technicians were in place to follow the money on any transfers. “We created a dummy account with the capital to be transferred so the casino risks nothing in that department. Our people will be able to follow the money anywhere it goes and trace it to the accounts created by the organization in the Cayman Islands.”
“That sounds like a solid plan,” Jonathan stated. “But how long will all this take?”
Neal continued. “The moment the money is transferred into their accounts, we will have men situated outside all of their domiciles. Key figures are already being followed, and we will arrest them the moment we track the sources. We are hoping that this will go down after the game on Wednesday. When and if they confirm with Jack they can help set up everything, we will have Jack push for Thursday or Friday at the very latest.”
“So, four days at most.” Joseph seemed somewhat appeased by the timeline.
“Yes. Everything else is in place.” Joseph nodded at Neal’s confirmation, and Dawn saw his shoulders visually relax. “They will all be arrested by Friday afternoon or sooner if it goes down earlier. You will all be able to breathe easier then. Meanwhile, Dawn will be accompanied by these two agents everywhere she goes from now on and through the rest of the trial. Agents will be on hand for your entire family’s protection. As Dawn is now our key witness, she, of course, will have to testify, and for added measure, that can be done at a secure location through closed circuit TV if you are worried about a court appearance.”
“Is that allowed?” Joseph asked. If she didn’t have to go to the courthouse, that was one worry they wouldn’t have to deal with.
“In RICO cases. Yes. We have leeway with a grand jury to do these things.”
Dawn breathed a little sigh of relief. “That does make me feel better.”
“Then it will be done that way,” Neal reassured her.
“I will admit the plan does sound good,” Jonathan stated, giving Dawn a slight smile. “I just want to make sure there’s no retribution afterwards from one of their goons.”
As Dawn looked at the director, Neal responded, “There is no guarantee. No one hundred percent assurance I can give you on that. There is always prote
ctive custody in the witness protection program after the trial.”
“I don’t want to leave my family.” Dawn looked to Jack. He hated seeing the fear in her eyes.
He wanted to be honest with her. He wouldn’t sugarcoat it. “Dawn, Neal is right. There is no one hundred percent guarantee. But I will be there. By your side. With whatever you decide. We can hire extra security until you feel safe. I can teach you self-defense. We can put cameras in your home, your mother’s home. Install a panic button and room in your home and suite. There are other options.”
She let out a slow, shaky breath. “Okay, then let’s do it. I trust you, Jack. I know you won’t let anything bad happen to me.”
“To us,” he stated and pulled her close, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “I promise.”
Her brothers were watching, but she didn’t care. She turned into his embrace and held on. She knew in her heart that Jack would be there. Always. She had never felt so sure of something or someone in her entire life. And that’s why she knew their love, what they had, was real.
Chapter 13
‡
After everybody filed out of the meeting, Jack and Dawn stayed behind. Jack said he needed to stay to give a full reporting of the previous evening’s activities. He looked at Dawn’s two brothers, hoping they wouldn’t continue to grill her while he finished reporting to Neal.
“Dawn, can you come have a word with us?” Jonathan asked.
Dawn put her hand on Jack’s forearm, letting him know she would be fine.
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