Jerome pulled up to the gate of the sprawling estate of the late Walker Dunning Sr. He keyed in the code then pulled inside, followed by two other Black SUVs. He pulled in the circular driveway then parked.
“I’ll be right back,” Mike said as he jumped out of the passenger seat. He unlocked the front door. A total of eight men entered the house, then covered the grounds while Jerome waited with the motor running. Sereena had her weapon in her hand, eyes sweeping from the back to the front as they waited.
Cainan’s eyes scanned as far as he could in the darkness. The front lights came on blanketing the front lawn. The brightness made it appear to be daylight from the porch. He watched Mike as he came out the front door. Two men met him on the porch, spoke then retreated in different directions. Mike looked up then waved them inside.
Jerome turned off the vehicle. He walked around to the back passenger seat, scanned the area then opened the back door. Cainan stepped out and was quickly joined by Sereena, who walked in front of him as Jerome covered his back.
“Let’s get inside,” Jerome said as he scanned the area behind them.
Once inside, Sereena circled the huge room. “Whoa. Is this how Virginia do safe houses?” The entrance was empty of furniture, yet it was grand with hardwood floors, a beautiful white staircase, a fireplace and three sets of French doors that lead to other rooms.
“Private residence,” Jerome replied, as he guided them through one set of doors. “We have you set up back here. Men are stationed at every entrance and rooftop.”
They entered the kitchen that looked like a gourmet chef’s domain. They walked through a second door that appeared to be a bedroom suite with a sitting area. Two men were in the room. One standing at the entrance and another sitting on a sofa. Cainan walked over, with his good hand he punched the man standing at the entrance in his nose.
“Where in the hell were you?” He demanded. “For two years we prepared for an attack and when the time comes you weren’t there.”
Jerome stepped between Cainan and the man who was slumped over. “You missed a step, El. That bullet may not have hit it’s mark, but it was damn close. Unacceptable.”
El straightened from the blow. “You’re right. This got by me. You now have my word, it will not happen again.”
Cainan exhaled. “This attack took all of us by surprise.” He extended his hand to help the man up. “My bad man. I’m just….pissed.”
El shook his hand. “I’m with you. They will have to get through me to get to you.”
Cainan nodded accepting the man’s word. “This was unexpected.” He turned to Jerome. “The more I think about it, the more I doubt Johnnie Giuliani was involved.”
“You don’t think this came from the Giuliani family?” Jerome asked as Cainan took a seat on the sofa.
“I do not,” Cainan replied. “Johnnie is a perfectionist. He would have had a second and third backup to ensure the job was done.”
“If it wasn’t Johnnie, who do you think was behind that gun?” Sereena said as she sat in the chair across from him.
Cainan hesitated before answering. “Pauley.”
Cainan watched as Sereena slid from the chair to her knees on to the floor. He missed her drama filled antics.
“Oh kill me now, why don’t you.”
Cainan had to laugh out loud as she repeatedly slammed her hands on the floor.
“Just kill me now.”
Mike walked into the room and froze. “Nice ass,” he said at the sight of Sereena on all four and her behind up in the air. “Is she having a seizure?”
Cainan shook his head as he continued to laugh. “No just an adverse reaction to what she calls feminine stupidity. You’ll get used to them.”
“Do you need help getting up off the floor, little lady?”
“I’m not a damn little lady,” Sereena said as she took a deep breath then eased back into the chair. “I am the fucking FBI. Can I kill people for being annoying?”
Mike glanced at Cainan with a raised eyebrow.
Cainan held up a finger. “She’s not finished yet. Give her another minute.” He glared at Sereena. “We’ve had this discussion. No you cannot.”
Sereena grabbed the arms of the chair, threw her head back, then stretched out her legs and screamed, “Arguh!”
This time even Jerome smiled at her antics.
“She’s a part-time comedian,” Cainan cleared his throat. “Are you finished now?”
Sereena sat straight in the chair, took a deep breath then sighed. “Okay, I’m done.”
“Good,” Jerome nodded then glanced at Mike. “What’s the status?” Jerome asked.
“Two on the roof, one covering the front the other has the back view. One on the west end of the house and one on the east. Two patrolling the grounds.” Mike continued as he placed several black duffel bags on the floor. “The security system has been activated. The monitoring room in the basement is ready. Who is Pauley?”
Jerome nodded. “Warner was introduced to the Giuliani family by Shawn Bolton. The agency discovered Bolton was the middle man between one of the banks in Jersey and the Giuliani family. The agency placed Warner inside the bank as an employee. He befriended Bolton who in turn introduced him to Pauley Giuliani. As it turned out Pauley, is Giuliani’s youngest child. Warner gained access to pertinent family information through Pauley. Hence the take down of several divisions of the Giuliani family enterprise.”
Cainan and Sereena shared a look. He then glared up at Jerome. “How could you possibly know that?”
“I was let in on the investigation.” Jerome replied then continued. “I believe this is Pauley’s doing and not Johnnie. However, Johnnie is not going to sanction a kill on one of his own.”
“No,” Cainan agreed. “More than likely he will double down on the effort.”
“You think Pauley did this without notifying Johnnie?” Sereena asked.
“Yes,” Jerome responded. “Giuliani is being notified of the mishap as we speak. Which means we prepare for a full assault from now until the trial date.”
“How much can your testimony hurt Giuliani directly?” Mike asked.
Cainan sat forward. “I was in the room when he ordered the murder of five people. Sat next to him in a vehicle when he took out an entire family. I have copies of financial records on his entire operation.”
“The damage is enough for the family to put a six-figure bounty on Warner’s head. Our job is to get you to trial in one piece. Which means, each one of us will be in the crossfires.”
“It’s a part of the life,” Sereena shrugged.
“Not for all of us,” Cainan said as he glared at Mike. “You are going to have to sit this one out, Mike. I do not want you or your family in the middle of this.”
“Like hell, I will,” Mike replied.
“I have to agree with Cainan,” Jerome spoke. “You are a Dunning, one of my protectees. Your family has lost enough.”
“You two don’t understand the dynamics of what is happening on my end,” he glanced at Cainan. “You are under the misperception that this is about you. It’s not. It’s about AnnieMarie. She will have our ass if a hair on your head is out of place when you appear in court. I, and I believe I can speak for my siblings in this instance, do not want to have to deal with a pissed off AnnieMarie.”
Jerome nodded with a bit of a smirk. “I concur. I have seen her in action.”
Sereena glanced around the room at the men all nodding in agreement. “Let me get this straight,” She pointed around the room, “All of you are afraid of hurting AnnieMarie Dunning’s feelings?”
“You damn right,” Mike exclaimed.
She glanced at Jerome, “You too?”
“AnnieMaire and I have an understanding,” Jerome explained. “I stay on her good side—always.”
“So do I,” Cainan agreed.
“Are we talking about the Audrey Hepburn looking woman with her hair in a bun; high heel wearing Dunning woman you were involved with?” Sereena asked Cainan with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t let that bun fool you,” Mike chuckled as he turned to Cainan. “As for you, it is about to get real. You wanted a taste of AnnieMarie?” Mike chuckled. “You are about to get a mouth full.”
“I can handle Annie,” Cainan declared.
Mike laughed out loud. “You keep thinking that. As soon as everything is secure, she will make her way over here. You let me know how that goes for you.”
Jerome checked his watch. “Grace and AnnieMaire should be wrapping up public relations surrounding Jonathan’s detainment. That gives us a few hours to plan our departure.”
“Christina arranged for the corporate jet to be ready at a moment’s notice,” Mike announced.
“Has the pilot been checked out?” Sereena asked. “And what about the crew?
“We are the crew.”
Sereena glared at Jerome. “Umm…excuse me. “Who is flying this plane?”
Jerome replied without looking up. “I’m flying the plane. El you will take the first pilot position.” He glanced at Sereena, “You and Roark, if he decides to join us, and my remaining men will round out the security team.”
Sereena glanced at Cainan. “Is he for real?”
Cainan nodded. “Yes. Don’t worry about the flight. You will be fine.”
“Afraid of flying?” Mike asked.
“Prefer to drive,” Sereena replied.
“How did you get here from New Jersey?”
“I drove,” she raised an eyebrow. “You have a problem with that?”
Mike smiled. “You drove eight hours when you could have taken an hour flight. Sounds a little inconvenient to me.”
“Here’s the equipment you requested, sir.” A young man said as he walked in pulling a trolley of black duffel bags with him.
Jerome nodded. “There is a bag for each of you. We will have a briefing on what is inside and how to use the equipment. From the moment we leave this property, each of you will be dressed in body armor. Get used to carrying the extra weight for the duration of the trial.”
“The agency has vests,” Sereena said as the young man held one out for her.
“The agency does not have these,” Jerome stated as he pulled out small white boxes. “We will communicate through these only.” He passed small boxes around the room. “If someone does not have one of these they are not privy to our conversations. I’m going to suggest each of you get some shut eye tonight. It may be the last time you get a full night’s sleep until the trial is over. There are ten bedrooms upstairs, two on the main floor and three in the basement. We will meet in the monitoring room at eighteen hundred hours. The house will be under surveillance by my men. Once AnnieMarie enters, the house will be on lock down.” He closed up his tablet. “Warner,” he stepped over to stand in front of Cainan. “My life for yours.”
“I appreciate that, Jerome.” They shook hands. Jerome turned then walked out of the room followed by his men.
Mike glanced at Cainan. “The Dunnings have your back. Whatever resources we have at our disposal will be used to protect you. Once this is said and done, I’m going to kick your ass for getting my sister involved.”
Sereena jumped up. “You will have to go through me to get to him.”
Mike’s eyes slowly raked over her from head to toe. “It will be my pleasure.” He said then walked out of the room.
Sereena watched as the man strutted from the room. The internal heat she was feeling from his eyes scanning over her confused her. It would have to be pushed aside for now. She swung around to Cainan. “Who in the hell are these people and how do they have access to internal FBI investigative files?”