Page 58 of Perfect Vengeance

“Agent Gates,” Franco said, his tone gentling, “I’m truly sorry to hear what happened to your colleague. Such a tragedy should never have happened.” He shot Tino a derisive look, confirming what Jack already suspected.

The old man was sending him a message. Franco hadn’t sanctioned the hit. That had been all Tino’s doing. Didn’t matter. They were both going down for it.

His chest heaved at the effort it took not to plow his cast into Tino’s face and smash his nose to a bloody pulp. Get your shit under control. “I appreciate the sentiment,” he growled. “That doesn’t bring Agent Spencer back, and it doesn’t make things right.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t.” Franco nodded briefly, then turned back to Gina. “I don’t know who you are or why you’re angry with me. All I wish to do is make a significant donation to a worthy charity. I would be happy to send you another check in the mail.”

“Don’t bother,” she snapped. “I won’t allow you to use this charity in some ridiculous attempt to make the public believe you’re a fine, upstanding citizen, because you’re not and you never will be. If you think you can waltz in here and throw your blood money around, you’re sadly mistaken. You’re nothing but a ruthless criminal who murders people.”

Jack ground his teeth as Tino’s hot gaze slithered down Gina’s body. If he so much as touched her, Jack would kill him on the spot. Witnesses be damned.

“Forgive me. It’s your party.” Franco gave her a mock bow, then hooked his wife’s arm over his and left the ballroom with Tino and the rest of the Falzone entourage in tow.

Gina took a deep breath before turning to the sea of people whispering around them. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the disturbance. Please go back to enjoying the evening.” Her face paled. “Who am I kidding?” she whispered. “I just ruined everything.”

Slowly, the crowd melted away, but not before darting furtive glances her way.

Jack admired her ability to regain her composure so quickly and execute triage damage control. Then he was just plain pissed. His assignment had been shot to hell and, once again, Gina was the cause. He could no sooner control her than he could a tornado.

“Way to go, girlfriend. Telling off a mob boss.” Even lighthearted Kinsey looked worried. “A sight to behold, but maybe not the wisest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Begging the question, why?” Margo demanded in a less than pleased tone.

“How in the world do you know him?” Annabelle’s eyes held accusation.

“All excellent questions I sure want answered.” Jack sent Gina a meaningful look. He’d suspected for some time now that it was more than pure coincidence she’d been ripping off only the Falzones, courteously leaving the other five mob families in the Tri-state area alone. Tonight’s event confirmed his theory.

She gulped in a deep breath. “I need to get out of here.”

“We’ll take you home.” Kinsey draped an arm over Gina’s shoulders.

“No!” She shook her head. “You need to stay here. All of you. You need to get more people to write more checks. I’m sorry, but I can’t stay.” Jack had to agree. She looked on the verge of either exploding again or having a total meltdown. “I’ll be fine alone.”

“No, you won’t,” he said. “I’ll take you home.”

She lifted her chin. “There’s no need to put yourself out.”

“Too late for that. I’m already put out.” Whatever was up with her had screwed with his investigation and jump-started major protective urges inside him. Either way, letting her escape without an explanation… Not happening. “We need to talk.”

He clasped her arm gently but firmly. “Good night, ladies. I’ll make sure she gets home safely.” At the skeptical look on Margo’s face, he added, “I promise I won’t cuff her and take her in for questioning.”

“Maybe a little handcuffing would take the edge off.” Kinsey winked, eliciting a grim smile from him.

That idea had occurred to him more than once while they’d been dancing. Now all he wanted were answers. And he wouldn’t back down until he got them.

Chapter Fourteen

What have I done? She’d let her emotions get the best of her, and now she’d exposed not only herself but her friends.

Gina could practically feel the heat of Jack’s suspicion as he closed her apartment door behind them. To say his professional curiosity was tweaked was a gross understatement. He wanted answers about her outburst, and she had no idea how she was going to give them.

The heels of her shoes clicked on the floor as she headed to the kitchen for a fix. After tossing her woolen coat onto the sofa, energy drained from her body like air from a tire. Even chocolate couldn’t fix the disastrous mess she’d created.

There was no denying now that she had more than a passing interest in the Falzones, but admitting to it would make her charitable motives for ripping them off seem like outright revenge. Maybe that’s all it had ever been. Maybe she’d been deluding herself all this time that her motives were solely to help others.

Memories of her father and how much she loved him threatened to crush her. She missed him so much her heart hurt. She hadn’t laid eyes on Franco in over fifteen years. Even though he’d attended her father’s funeral, he didn’t remember her. She’d barely been out of high school at the time and hadn’t known Franco was the one who’d ordered the hit. She knew it now, having heard the secondhand accounts from more than one low-level associate in the Falzone food chain. Nothing concrete and certainly nothing provable she could take to the police.

Seeing Franco again tonight lit every one of her smoldering fuses. Now she was absolutely drained and craved so many other things besides revenge.