Page 25 of Perfect Vengeance

“Could I stop you?” Not likely.

“Does your case have anything to do with the FBI agent who was murdered earlier this year?” Her voice held a sympathetic tone. “I read about it in the newspapers. There was speculation the Falzones were behind it.”

“Speculation my ass.” He fisted his good hand.

“Was he a friend of yours?” The tender look she gave him twisted his guts.

I don’t deserve anyone’s tenderness. “Yes.” He stared out the window, focusing on the bridges spanning the river. She was doing a good job of dredging up feelings he’d stashed so deeply, ones he prayed would never resurface.

“I’m sorry.” He flinched at the light touch of her hand on his arm. “About everything. Interfering in your investigation and about your colleague too.”

“Forget it.” He risked a glance at her and instantly regretted it. She’d dropped her hand, but the softness in her eyes tugged at his conscience. He was already beginning to rethink the wisdom of recruiting her and her friends for such a dangerous job. Like he had with Jim, he’d be putting them in danger. Then again, these women had been parking themselves front and center of more danger than they realized.

The clock in the foyer chimed twice. Christ, it was two in the morning. While he’d been making a sappy ass of himself, time had seriously flown.

“Here’s the deal.” He retucked his handcuffs into their usual place at the small of his back. “Get me into this location, and you and your friends don’t go to jail. I forget I ever saw you. I forget your name and what you did to me.” As if on cue, his wrist began to throb. “But there’s one more thing.”

“More ground rules?” A slight smile tugged at Gina’s lips.

“Yes, and they’re nonnegotiable.”

“What?”

“As long as my investigation remains active, there’ll be no more rips. Your little caper is shut down until I say otherwise.”

“What?” Anger flashed in her eyes. “You can’t do that. After I help you, you can’t tell me what to do.”

“You’re wrong. I can.” He lasered her a sharp look of his own. “And you should be thinking more about your own safety and the lives of your friends. You’re tangling with people so vicious and cruel they’ll torture you just for the fun of it. Then they’ll kill you to send a message to others not to mess with them.”

“Don’t you think I know that?”

“You don’t know anything about the people you’re dealing with.”

“Yes, I do. I—” She clamped her mouth shut.

“You what?” He narrowed his eyes. “What else do you know about the Falzones?”

“Nothing.” She lowered her gaze to his chest. “Except they’re mobsters, so of course they’re dangerous.”

Yeah, right. Gina Perot might be a world-class thief, but her lying skills sucked. The only question was what she was hiding. As long as she did the break-in for him, he didn’t really care. At least, he shouldn’t care. Oddly, he did.

“No more rips.” He ignored her I-hate-you glare. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “How do I know that after this is over, you won’t arrest us anyway?”

“You don’t. Except that I gave you my word. In return, I want yours that you won’t plan any more heists.”

He counted off ten more seconds.

Finally, Gina held out her hand. “Deal.”

When he clasped her hand, a soothing warmth passed from her smooth, shapely fingers to his large, callused ones. For several seconds their gazes met and held. Finally, he released her hand. “Where do you work?” he asked.

After she gave him the address, he headed for the door. “Today at noon,” he said over his shoulder. “I’ll pick you up and we’ll go over details at the location. Be ready.” He pulled the door open but stopped before stepping into the hallway. “Stealing from the mob to give to a women’s shelter is about the most courageous and admirable thing I’ve ever heard of.” The ridged knob bit into his hand as he yanked the door shut behind him. He really was turning into a sappy pile of mush.

At the elevator, he pushed the down button. The brass arrow above the elevator doors moved until it pointed to Gina’s floor and pinged. The doors creaked open and, as he stepped inside, he cast one last look toward her apartment.

How much of what was driving him was to stop the Falzones, and how much was to put an end to his own burning need to avenge Jim’s death? He wasn’t sure.