He jumped to his feet, catapulted around the tall bedpost, and struck her in the chest with both feet. Mac flew backward and into the closet door, nearly knocking the wind from her. Both men watched with amazement and shook their heads. Once Gil’s hands were free, he worked on untying his ankles while Monroe reclaimed his gun. Gil jumped to his feet, swayed slightly from his head injury, and then hurried to the bathroom door. Neither seemed particularly concerned for Zack’s welfare.
“We need to get Tonya,” Gil announced as he opened the bathroom door.
Darth ran out of the bathroom to join him. He greeted the dog with an affectionate ear scratch then turned to Monroe, ignoring the fighting man and woman by the closet.
“She couldn’t have gotten far,” Gil informed him. “They had her tied up, so she’s no more welcome here than we are. She’ll be looking for a way to sneak out.”
“We don’t know what her deal is,” Monroe informed him in a firm tone. “She alerted Sal’s men to ambush us at the lodge and abduct Lee.”
Mac tossed Zack roughly to the floor with a thud not far from them. She straightened and glared at the two men, who now looked at her.
“She’s not working for Sal,” Mac informed them while giving each an irritated look. “She double-crossed Sal. She’s the one who wants Lee, and she needs her alive.”
Monroe and Gil stared at her with some disbelief.
“I thought they wanted her dead, because she was a witness,” Monroe remarked.
“Tonya thinks Lee knows what Wiley did with the fifty million she stole,” Mac informed him. “She has fifty million little reasons to keep Lee alive. I want the bitch as badly as you do. That’s my boss’s money.”
“You attacked us at my beach house and at the lodge,” Monroe informed her in an accusing tone.
“I didn’t attack you,” Mac snarled at Monroe. “I was sent to protect Lee and keep an eye on Tonya for suspicious behavior. Tonya must have contacted Jericho’s men, who blew up your beach house. I guess that was before they realized they needed Lee alive for whatever information they thought she had.” Mac folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “I went to Colorado to talk to Sal’s daughter on his behalf. I wanted to reason with the girl. She let it slip that people believed her father wanted Lee and Tonya killed. I realized it had to be your team. Sal’s sources confirmed that a private plane was on its way to Colorado. I took a chance that it might be Jericho and staked out the only private airfield near that town.”
The men exchanged looks as if deciding whether or not to believe her.
“I followed Jericho and his men to the lodge,” Mac continued. “I intended to get Lee to safety, but they’d already gotten to her first, so I took the next best thing. Tonya.”
Zack slowly moved to his feet and looked from his friends to Mac. “If you’re telling the truth, why are we fighting?”
She glared while giving him a quick once over. “Because, you were too thickheaded to listen to me.”
“You jumped me,” Zack snapped with annoyance. “Not the other way around.”
“I’m sure you deserved to be hit for something,” she informed him.
Zack sneered and was about to lunge for her.
“Okay, wrap it up you two,” Gil snarled at them. “You can kill each other later. Let’s just find Tonya and work out what to do with her after we’ve captured her.”
Mac smiled sweetly at Gil while cocking her head. “I’m good with that.” She then looked at Zack and raised her brows seductively. “I think we determined I won that round, so let’s all be friends.”
Zack sneered and took a threatening step toward her. She maintained her smile and didn’t even flinch to his advance, almost welcoming it.
“Let it go, Zack,” Monroe growled. “Let’s find Tonya. Find her and we’ll find Lee.”
“Lee’s on her way someplace safe,” Mac informed them. “She’s in good hands.” She then considered the comment and smirked. “Well, slightly tainted, moderately good hands.”
Monroe tapped his ear then hesitated and looked around with surprise. “I lost my comlink.” He looked at Zack. “Contact Bogart on yours.”
“Bronco Betty destroyed mine when she kicked me in the head,” Zack muttered.
“Bronco Betty?” Mac snarled.
Monroe groaned, removed his cell phone from his pocket, and pressed a single button as they headed for the bedroom door. Bogart’s cheerful voicemail message began.
“Damn it, Bogart’s phone went to voicemail,” Monroe growled. “He’s completely useless.”
“He’s still alive?” Gil asked and appeared curious. “Huh, I thought Kirk would have killed him by now.”
They left the bedroom.
†
Bogart stood among a group of four young women, who had mysteriously gathered around him, each taking turns to flirt with the handsome man. He suavely held his champagne glass and entertained them with humorous stories all while keeping careful watch of Pinto’s movements. He glanced toward the servants’ wing of the mansion and saw Finn and another man escorting Lee, in her weakened condition, into the mansion through the servants’ entrance. His expression dropped slightly. He looked at his audience of four attractive women and smiled charmingly.
“If you ladies will excuse me,” he announced. “I need to visit the little boy’s room.”
All four women were pleased with his charming way of excusing himself. Bogart walked away from the women and touched his earpiece.
“Zack, Monroe,” he announced softly, so not to attract attention. “Do you read me?”
There was no response. He became frustrated while continuing his approach toward the patio entrance.
“Damn it, where are you guys?” he bellowed a little louder, although he seemed to catch the attention of several guests, who suspiciously eyed him.
There was still no response. Bogart smiled at the man who gave him a strange look to the conversation he was holding possibly with himself. As Bogart hurried into the mansion through the glass doors, Pinto stared across the garden and watched him with surprise. Her look was curious. She then scanned the crowd of guests, as if looking for something or someone.
Chapter Thirty-five
Finn and another man guided Lee into one of the empty bedrooms in the staff wing of the mansion. They assisted her to the double bed and helped her into a comfortable position against the headboard. Lee held her head and resisted passing out. Her head was now pounding in rhythm with her heartbeat. The other man whispered something to Finn then left the room. Lee glanced alongside the bed and saw a baseball bat between the bed and the nightstand. She contemplated if she could reach the bat in time, and if she had it in her to strike Finn with it. She shut her eyes and drew a deep, shaken breath. She didn’t have it in her; not right now.
Finn locked the door behind him then approached Lee on the bed. She kept close watch on his every movement all while thinking about the baseball bat just two feet from her. She felt distrusting in her vulnerable condition, but she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about her situation or even if there was anything she could do. Lee felt she owed Finn the benefit of the doubt, at least until he gave her enough reason not to trust him. He sat on the edge of the bed near her feet while facing her.
“Feeling better?”
“No, not really,” she replied softly while staring at him. “What do you want?”
He threw his head back, looked at the ceiling, and groaned softly. Finn looked back at her and stared into her eyes with look of possible annoyance or disappointment.
“Haven’t you been paying attention, darling?” he almost demanded. “I’m here to help you.”
“You work for Sal,” she announced. “Sal’s people attacked the lodge.”
“No, Jericho attacked the lodge,” he informed her. “Jericho and that little blonde twit you call a friend.”
She stared at him with a strange, startled look. “What are you talking about?”
; “Tonya,” he informed her sternly. “She’s the one who orchestrated this entire cluster fuck.” Finn tensed then gently cleared his throat. “Pardon my language.” He leaned closer causing her to tense. “Tonya and Jericho were skimming money from Sal’s business and transferring it into some other account. Call it cyber money. Before they could transfer their cyber money into their own private account, Wiley discovered the discrepancies. Discrepancies to the tune of fifty million dollars.”
“You’re wrong about Tonya,” Lee informed him. “Her life has been on the line the same as mine.”
“Has it really?” he asked almost tenderly. “After your little talk with Sal, we discovered Tonya was in on the scheme with Jericho. You could almost say she was the brains of the entire operation. So we’ve had an interest in bringing her in for, shall we say, questioning.” He straightened proudly. “The initial attack on the lodge that ended in your abduction was orchestrated by Jericho with help from his girlfriend, Tonya. We had been unsuccessful in tracking you two after the fed’s little ‘change of plans’, but we were able to locate Jericho and track his movements. Knowing he’d eventually lead us to Tonya, we kept eyes on him. Mac has the little blonde princess under lock and key in an upstairs bedroom. You’re not safe until we stop Jericho and the muscle he lured away from Sal. Once he hears you’ve escaped, he’ll be looking for you. Whatever Wiley gave you, he wants.”
“Why does everyone assume Wiley gave me something,” she demanded with annoyance. “He didn’t give me anything other than that flash drive. That’s all. Jericho told me there was nothing on it but family photos. The flash drive was just a ruse to cover Wiley’s tracks.”
“No, darling,” he announced. “There’s more to it than that. You just haven’t unlocked that little mystery. We need the information stored in that pretty, little head of yours in order to get Sal’s money back. In the meantime, it’s our goal to make sure that pretty, little head of yours remains intact and out of Jericho’s hands.” He suddenly grinned. “See, we’re the good guys.”
“I find that difficult to believe,” she replied while studying him, although her mind seemed to process the information he’d given her regarding her friend. “Tonya is my friend,” Lee announced with more conviction. “She’s a victim in this too.”
“Then explain how Jericho’s men found you in your safe haven?” Finn demanded.
“Mac,” she announced boldly. “We saw Mac in that little town not far from the lodge. She must have spotted us and called for backup.”
“Darling, I am Mac’s backup,” he announced. “Mac is no more a bad guy than your friendly former Navy SEALs. I’ll admit, she’s a bitch in every sense of the word, but she’s playing on my team. I saved you from those men. Sal’s always had a weak spot for you. I suppose you reminded him of his daughter. Even if he didn’t need what’s locked inside that pretty head of yours, he’d still have sent me to recover you from the hands of all that’s evil.”
She stared at him, uncertain what to believe. “Let’s suppose you are telling the truth,” Lee announced. “What do I know that will help recover the fifty million dollars?”
“A password, perhaps. An account number,” he announced. “Wiley did something to knock out the entire computer system to keep the money from being transferred. The ComServe guy and our security guard both disappeared without a trace; and ComServe just got permission to tear the entire hard drive apart.” He straightened proudly. “Wiley involved you when he slipped you that bogus flash drive. Whether you know it or not, you were Wiley’s back-up plan. Who knows more about the bank accounts than Wiley? That would be you, darling.”
The comment hit Lee hard. Had Wiley involved her on purpose? Did he mean for her to solve his riddle of the missing money in the event of his death?
“Once it’s learned that Jericho doesn’t have access to the money, his newly found friends will turn on him, and he loses his army,” Finn assured her while staring into her eyes. “He’ll be forced out of hiding by the same people who’ve been helping him. Your fed buddy can then throw the cuffs on him and lock him away forever.”
“I’m telling you, Wiley didn’t give me anything,” she insisted and almost pleaded with her eyes. “If I knew what you were looking for, I’d tell you.”
“Think back to that afternoon when you were in his office,” Finn remarked gently. “There has to be something. Something out of character; something off about him.”
Lee sank into thought and recalled her last moments with Wiley in his office before she left. She spilled her purse. That was when he must have slipped the lipstick flash drive into her bag. Something odd then struck her. Finn studied her and appeared curious by her expression.
“You remember something?”
She stared at Finn a moment as her mind reeled with information. “What if the photos on the flash drive were the key?” Lee suddenly asked.
Finn stared at her with bewilderment and tilted his head. “But they were just photos of his family.”
“I can’t be sure without actually seeing the files on the computer, but I think we’re looking for accounts with the names of his wife or children.”
“And that could be the file which he transferred the money,” Finn announced enthusiastically. He jumped up from the bed and started pacing the room while rubbing his chin as he sank into thought. “Unfortunately, we have no way of accessing the computer right now. We can’t do anything until the computer is up and running.”
Lee then considered when the computers first went down that afternoon. She had entered the computer closet and found Wiley working on the problem.
“He wasn’t trying to fix the system,” she muttered aloud. “He was shutting it down.”
Finn turned and looked at Lee. She looked up and met his gaze as a smile crossed her face.
“It’s not broken, it’s been disabled,” Lee announced. “That’s why the tech guy had to be removed. Jericho knew he didn’t have the last piece of the puzzle, so he didn’t want anyone going into the system and finding the money before he did.”
“You think it’s just a matter of flipping the ‘on’ switch?” Finn asked with surprise.
“No, not quite that simple,” she replied. “Wiley was an accountant, not a computer genius. He probably disabled the motherboard. Remove a few necessities, and it’s a one hundred pound paperweight.”
“So while everyone has been fixated on a program error, it’s been the hardware all along?”
“Exactly,” Lee announced while smiling.
Finn grinned and shook his head. “You are a genius, darling,” he informed her. “We’re going to have such smart children.”
Lee stared at him with surprise as her mouth fell open. He didn’t bother commenting on her look, just laughed.
“I’ll tell Sal what you discovered,” Finn announced cheerfully. “We’ll get another tech guy over there to check the motherboard and find that missing money.” His look then turned serious and surprisingly compassionate. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You’ll be safe here until we get our hands on Jericho and his men. I won’t let no body hurt you.”
There was a commotion in the hall. Finn removed his gun and hurried for the door. Lee slowly moved to her feet, snatched the baseball bat, and carefully hid it behind her back. She stared at the door with concern, not knowing who was on the other side. Finn listened a moment then opened the door. Lee revealed the bat, clutching it in a defensive manner. The man who had earlier assisted her into the staff wing with Finn tossed Tonya into the room and entered behind her. Lee relaxed her grip on the bat and stared at Tonya with surprise. Tonya saw Lee and nearly broke down into tears.
“Lee, thank God!”
She attempted to run for Lee, but Finn caught her around the waist and slung her backward and into the awaiting man, who caught her. Finn glared at her and cracked his neck.
“Ain’t no one buying your act, missy,” he growled in a threatening tone. “Peddle those crocodile tears elsewher
e.” He gave a stern look to the man standing behind her. “Take her to that locked room in the basement. Toss her a blanket or something until we’re ready to turn her over to the authorities.”
The man firmly took hold of Tonya’s arm. Tonya stared at Lee with fear in her eyes.
“Please, Lee. Don’t let them do this,” she begged softly. “You don’t know what Finn intends to do to me. You know the sort of man he is and what he’s capable of doing.” Tonya’s eyes pleaded with hers. “Do it, Lee. Do it now.”
Finn casually glanced back at Lee only two steps away from him. He eyed the baseball bat clutched firmly in her hands and then met her gaze. He replaced his gun to his shoulder holster and raised his hands slightly.
“You need to pick a side, darling,” Finn announced casually to Lee. “I trust you, but I can’t make you trust me. If you truly want to crack my skull, take your swing. If you’re going to break my heart, you may as well break my head too.”
Lee looked from Finn to Tonya, who pleaded with her eyes. It was possibly the first time she saw evil in her friend’s eyes. Tonya wanted her to crack Finn’s skull, and Lee had to ask herself why. Lee met Finn’s gaze.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Lee announced then tossed the bat aside. “But I trust you, Finn.”
He grinned with pleasure then winked at her. “I always knew you had a thing for me.”
Finn turned toward his man holding Tonya’s arm. Tonya stared at Lee with possible surprise or even horror. Her look suddenly turned angry and the evil woman emerged. Tonya kicked the man in the shin then rammed her elbow into his ribs. She grabbed his semiautomatic from his shoulder holster and spun toward them with the gun aimed. Finn drew his semiautomatic, but Tonya was already taking aim. She fired the nearly silent shot, hitting Finn in the shoulder. Finn dropped the gun and clutched his bleeding shoulder with agony as he fell against the nightstand. As the man behind Tonya lunged for her, Tonya shot him in the chest. Lee gasped as she watched the man fall to the floor, undoubtedly dead. Tonya then aimed the gun at Lee and the moderately disabled Finn, who held his bleeding shoulder. Lee stared at her friend with horror while Finn glared at Tonya with evil, hateful eyes. Tonya’s sneer told Lee every word Finn had said was true, and she had no doubt Tonya intended to kill her too.
Witness Protection 2: The Return of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Page 21
