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Again Gina glanced around, searching for prying eyes and ears.

“ Tino Falzone’s place. I don’t think Jack planted a bug there.

Tomorrow night, all Tino’s soldiers are bringing their monthly payouts to his shore house.

The place isn’t impenetrable, but it’s going to be more difficult than Rocco’s or Psycho’s .

I’ll make it work because there is no other option. ”

Again , Anna shook her head. “ I’ll never understand how you come by all this insider information.”

“ Informants ,” she answered, then bit her lower lip.

“ All I have to do is slip them some cash and they talk. It’s that simple.

” She prayed her friends never discovered just how many informants she actually had, and that most were contacts she’d made while she was still Angelina Perotti , daughter to a mob bookie.

They were all low echelon Falzone associates, but their intel was usually reliable.

“ A rip that big is bound to make someone take notice.” Margo pursed her lips. “ You can bet Jack will hear about it.”

Margo was probably right. Jack always seemed to know everything. “ All the more reason for me to run this solo. That way, he’ll only have one hide to skin. Mine .”

“ Not a chance.” Kinsey leaned in, her eyes glittering with fierce determination. “ Remember our pact? Where you go, we go.”

“ Even I have to agree.” Anna pointed at Gina . “ We are not letting you do this alone.”

Slowly , Gina looked at each of her friends. The lump rising in her throat was the only thing cutting off the sob bubbling up. She should have known they would never let her do this without them.

“ Okay .” Please , God . Don’t make me regret this. “ We’ll meet at my place tomorrow at noon. It’s going to be a rush job, so we’ve got lots to figure out.”

“ Uh , oh.” Kinsey nudged Gina . “ Here comes Mr . Boring .”

She turned to see her ex, Paul , heading their way. As he bore down on them, she groaned. Dealing with him tonight was the absolute last thing she needed.

“ I told you to delete his name from your mailing list,” Anna said. “ And if I haven’t mentioned it, he’s been watching you all evening.”

“ Good evening, ladies.” He ingratiated himself into their circle with the smoothness and ease of one accustomed to getting his way.

His suave demeanor and blond good looks had once charmed the pants off her until she realized his charm wasn’t even skin deep. Beneath the surface was a positively dull human being. Not that he wasn’t a decent enough guy. He just wasn’t the right guy for her.

“ Gina .” He took her hand and held it to his lips. His unwavering intensity conveyed a less than subliminal message: he wanted back in her life.

“ Hello , Paul .” His lips were cool against her fingers and she felt…absolutely nothing. All it took was a glance from Jack to boil her blood and set her skin on fire. Not even Paul’s kiss could stir the slightest physical response. She tugged her hand away. “ How have you been?”

“ Missing you.”

Oh , boy. Even his choice of words was cliché. He might be every woman’s blond dream, and there was no doubt he was exceptionally good looking. Too bad he held not one ounce of attraction for her.

Her lack of reaction did nothing to deter the man. “ Dance with me,” he said, rather than ask.

“ Paul , I really don’t think that would be a good?—”

“ Oh . My . God .” Anna’s eyes widened.

“ What is it?” Kinsey’s gaze followed Anna’s , her eyes going equally wide. “ More like who , I should say.”

Gina’s jaw dropped. Suddenly there was no oxygen in the room, and she couldn’t breathe. The pounding in her heart drilled right up into her throat.

Standing at the entrance, surveying the room and looking hotter and sexier than ever in a black tuxedo, was Jack . When his gaze lit on her, every coherent thought in her head turned to pudding. Chocolate pudding. Something she could generally eat anytime, anyplace.

As if he hadn’t looked yummy enough before in a rugged, Rambo -esque kind of way, all that strength and power harnessed in a perfectly fitting tuxedo was enough to draw the attention of every woman in the room, even some of the men.

“ Who is that?” Paul asked.

The tightness in her throat worsened, and she swallowed. It didn’t help. She still couldn’t breathe.

“ What’s he doing here?” Margo whispered.

Conflicting emotions bubbled up inside her, although that could have been the three glasses of champagne she’d downed in the last hour.

“ Whatever the reason is,” Margo added, “it can’t be good.”

“ I agree,” Gina mumbled. So why was her body sparking with excitement?

“ Do you think the FBI bugged the ballroom, and that he knows what we’re planning?” Anna’s worried expression mirrored what Gina had already considered and discarded as impossible.

“ Shhh !” Kinsey nodded at Paul , who, luckily enough, had stepped away from them and seemed fixated on watching Jack as he maneuvered through the crowd.

Unexpectedly , Jack seemed to know several people, sharing a few words here and there.

Those who didn’t shake his hand, parted for him like the Red Sea .

There must have been over a hundred people in the ballroom, but for her, there was only one person.

Watching him eat up the distance between them with his long legs, she could practically feel his hands holding her again, cupping her bottom as he’d pulled her tightly against him.

The memory of his lips on hers, his tongue sweeping her mouth, was so vivid, she had to lick her lips.

Paul moved closer, then leaned down and repeated, “ Who is he? Did I hear Anna say something about the FBI ?” As his lips brushed her ear, Jack’s face hardened.

“ Hello , Kinsey ,” he said as he joined them.

“ Hi , Jack .” Kinsey took his hand, bestowing him with her classic royal smile.

“ Margo , Annabelle , how are you?” He shook their hands.

“ Gina .” Without hesitation, he rested his hand at the small of her back and leaned down to kiss her cheek as if they’d known each other for years—not one week, eighteen hours, and approximately forty minutes.

Not that she’d been counting. His lips were warm and firm, and there was that annoyingly sexy grin she was actually beginning to like.

His fingers made lazy circles on her bare back, rendering her speechless.

Worse , making her bones and muscles liquefy.

Whether it was voluntary or involuntary, she couldn’t say.

Somehow , she found her hip snugged against his upper thigh.

Where her leg was soft yet toned, his was lean and rock hard.

The other night she was sure they’d never see each other again.

Yet , here he was. Aside from the looks he’d sent toward her and her friends, the smiles he bestowed on everyone else were far from genuine.

He was in total work mode. She already knew him well enough to pick up on those little nuances.

Common sense told her he wasn’t here because of their newly formed plans to rip off Tino’s shore house, but him showing up at that exact moment had her nerves screaming with panic. Especially given his uncanny ability to read her like an open book.

She didn’t know if he really was just aces at his job, or whether there was some cosmic telepathic link between them . Either way, distance was key. Right now, there was no distance, and the heat between them was palpable, leaving her skin hot and sensitive to his touch.

Paul held out his hand to Jack . “ Paul Bartholomew .”

“ Jack Gates .” He accepted Paul’s hand with his good one, keeping the other possessively at the small of her back.

Unable to miss the gesture, Paul’s jaw tightened. A smile tipped Jack’s lips at the obvious irritation he was causing her ex.

Jack’s warm, lean fingers on her bare skin continued working their magic. She didn’t understand it, but she felt tense and relaxed all at the same time. She leaned in closer to that comfy spot against his shoulder and chest.

This is not good. She had to get out before she did something stupid, like…like… She didn’t want to find out, yet she couldn’t leave. Not with a ballroom full of guests.

“ What brings you to a charity fundraiser on a Saturday night?” she asked overly brightly.

“ Supporting a worthy cause.” He pulled two checks from his jacket pocket and handed them to her.

The first one had his name on it. A thousand dollars .

“ Thank you.” A lump formed in the back of her throat. The man was full of surprises. “ This is unexpectedly generous.”

He leaned down. “ I’m not as cold and unsympathetic a bastard as you think.”

“ I never said that.”

“ Actually , you did.”

She caught the brief glimmer of humor in his eyes—and was that a scooch of hurt? Couldn’t be. Then she remembered. She had said that to him the night he’d broken into her apartment. She’d accused him of having absolutely no feelings whatsoever for the women and their families at the Center .

His display of emotion lasted only a second before it was gone. The realization she had the power to hurt this man—this tough federal agent—tugged at her heartstrings.

“ Jack , I’m sorry.” When she touched his arm, his biceps bunched. “ I don’t know what to say.”

“ Forget it.”

He began making small talk with Margo , Kinsey , and Anna , pointedly ignoring Paul .

She looked at the other personal check Jack had given to her, also for a grand. This one had another man’s name on it. Kyle Gates . Kyle . Jack’s brother, the one he’d been talking to while they’d driven to Psycho’s . She recalled him saying Kyle was also an FBI agent.

She tugged on Jack’s sleeve, and he leaned in again. His clean, freshly showered scent enveloped her in a blanket of yummy manliness. “ Please tell your brother we greatly appreciate his donation as well.”

“ I’ll do that.” He speared her with one of his sharp, penetrating looks.

When he returned his fingers to the small of her back, her belly fluttered, overriding the signal from her brain to flee. Oh , dear lord.

It was wrong to use Paul , but he was her only escape route. “ Paul , do you still want that dance?” His grin made her grimace.

“ Thought you’d never ask.” He tugged her out of Jack’s one-armed embrace and onto the dance floor.

Within seconds, she was beginning to regret her invitation.

The way Paul’s hands slid all over her bare back was far too intimate, as if they were still lovers.

Then again, the torture was self-inflicted, and she really did feel horrible about using him this way.

Jack remained talking with her friends, but his eyes followed her and Paul around the dance floor. His jaw set, and the furrow between his brows kept getting deeper every time she looked at him.

Hah ! A sliver of repressed joy shot through her. He was jealous of Paul .

After the second song, she realized Paul had been rattling on about what he’d been doing since they split, and she hadn’t absorbed a single word. What was Jack really doing here? Despite his and his brother’s generous donations, she didn’t doubt he was here on government business.

Paul’s continued caressing of her bare skin pulled her back to reality. His touch wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but it was nothing compared to those incredible zinging sensations every time Jack touched her.

Lord , but she might have to dance the entire evening with Paul just to maintain distance from Jack .

Her friends would help keep him busy. It was nearly eleven, and by New York City nightlife standards, technically still early.

Most of these shindigs lasted well past midnight.

How would she ever manage to dance with Paul all night?

She could do it. She had to.

“ Excuse me, may I cut in?” came a familiar, deep voice.

Gina’s heart sank and her resolve went straight down the toilet.