Page 9 of Perfect Vengeance

“What I mean is that I understand if you don’t want to come with me, and maybe that’s for the best after what happened tonight.”

“No way.” Kinsey came around the coffee table to tower over Gina. “You go,” she said, pointing a long, pink fingernail at her, then sweeping her arm toward the other women and adding, “we go.”

“She’s right.” Annabelle had also come around the table and rested her hand on Kinsey’s slim shoulder. “We’re a team. Remember?”

Annabelle’s words tugged at Gina’s heart. They were a team, a team of friends who loved each other unconditionally. She couldn’t suppress the grin forming on her lips at the vision the two women standing before her made. Annabelle would chew her ass out if she said so, but tucked in next to Kinsey, the two of them reminded her of Friar Tuck and Will Scarlett. They were as different in physical appearance and personality as night and day and fought outwardly like cats and dogs. Secretly, they adored each other.

“We knew what we were getting into when we formed our little band of merry women.” Margo joined them and drew Gina up from the love seat into their tight circle until they stood with their arms linked. “We’re family. Whatever happens, we do it together.”

Family.

Guilt stabbed her deeply enough that she had to avert her eyes. Each of her friends was in this with her because someone close to them had been a victim of domestic violence. What would they think if they knew her real story? Or that twelve years ago she’d legally changed her name to keep that story permanently buried? She wasn’t about to risk them learning her original motives behind their scheme weren’t necessarily as pure as she’d led them to believe.

People you love will always leave. That had been her ironclad mantra since she turned eighteen. Since then, she hadn’t gotten close to anyone. Except these women. If she lost them, she’d have nothing. She’d be nothing. Having their love and support, helping others who were powerless to help themselves, was all that mattered, all she needed in life to be happy. Without it…her life would be empty, meaningless.

For a moment, none of them said a word. Kinsey began to sniffle, then Annabelle, followed a second later by Margo, and Gina couldn’t help but join in. Suddenly, they were all crying and laughing, hugging each other tightly.

A few minutes later, Gina walked her friends to the door. “As soon as I confirm, we’ll reschedule.”

“It’s a date.” Annabelle stood on the tips of her toes to drop a light kiss on Gina’s cheek. “Let’s just pray there’s no story in the papers tomorrow about an FBI agent killed in a hit-and-run.”

“Don’t start that again.” Kinsey dragged Annabelle out the door and into the hallway.

Margo was the last to leave. Her eyes held no small amount of understanding. “He’ll probably just wake up tomorrow with nothing more than a major headache, a cast on his wrist, and a foul disposition.”

“I hope so.” Yet the pressure in her chest only worsened. “I really, really hope so.”

An hour later, she sat cross-legged on her sofa, staring at the empty chocolate boxes on the coffee table. With a grand total of five hours sleep in the last two days, her eyelids were closing but sleep eluded her. The mother of all worries glared in her mind like a neon sign.

That they hadn’t seen the last of FBI Special Agent Jack Gates.

Chapter Three

Monday morning, three days after getting run down, Jack’s skull still pounded. Beneath the fiberglass cast, his busted wrist throbbed even worse than after the doctor had set the bone. Sixteen years as an FBI agent and no injuries. Until now.

He fumbled with his good hand to flip the cap off a bottle of aspirin. The cap sailed end over end before splashing into the saltwater tropical fish tank on his credenza. His two clownfish—John Wayne and Annie Oakley—darted away as the cap sank to the bottom of the tank.

“Sorry, guys.” The brightly colored orange-and-white fish were the highlight of his mornings, something beautiful to look at when his days went to shit. Like today.

John Wayne rose slowly to nibble on a blade of algae-tipped seaweed. Over the last week, JW had become listless, swimming around the tank with sluggish swishes of his fins. A pang of remorse hit Jack in the gut. He recognized the signs. The old fish had reached the end of his lifespan.

He let out a long exhale. Just like people, fish came and went.

Jack flipped the lid back over the tank and shook his head in disgust. He’d be a one-armed man for the next five weeks and one sorry excuse for an FBI agent. If Smitty and the paramedics hadn’t found him knocked out cold behind Rocco’s building, he’d have frozen to death.

As Jack’s backup, Smitty had been parked a block away. Being in hot foot pursuit, Jack hadn’t had the opportunity to reach out to him. Only the arrival of a patrol car and an ambulance had alerted Smitty something had gone down.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. He had nothing to go on.

There were no cameras in the alley where he’d been hit. Somehow, his assailant had avoided getting picked up by any other city cameras during that timeframe. He’d even checked with the emergency communications center, hoping to ID a witness from the 911 call. Turned out the anonymous call that had come in reporting a man lying on the side of the road was made from an untraceable burner phone, and no one had stuck around. Leaving him wondering if the caller had been the same person who’d run him down.

Or the woman he’d been chasing.

A spasm of pain shot through his injured wrist. He jerked his arm, whacking it against his coffee mug. Mud-brown droplets spattered on his white dress shirt and gray slacks.

He gritted his teeth, though what he really wanted to do was heave the mug and its remaining contents against the wall. This wasn’t his day. Or his week.

Truth was, the last six months had been the worst of his life. That interfering little cat burglar had only added to his frustration. Whoever she was, she’d made a serious mistake wrecking his op. If it weren’t for her, he’d have had that bug planted and been long gone before Rocco had shown up. As it was, there was no bug, and he was totally screwed.