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“ I’ll bet it is.”

“ You really do look beautiful.” Tight catsuit or slinky evening gown, the woman was stunning.

She smiled at him in a way that made him think no one ever said that to her, which was ridiculous since any man who couldn’t see her beauty needed his head examined.

“ Let’s get a drink.” He led her off the dance floor, snagging two flutes of champagne before heading them to a corner.

Tipping his glass, he downed half the contents and nearly gagged.

What he craved was whiskey, not bubbly grape juice.

He took another swig of the offensive liquid just as Gina bit her lower lip, her tell .

“ Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind? ”

“ Nothing’s on my mind. It’s just that—” She frowned.

“ Just what?” He found himself wishing more than anything that he could erase the worry etched into her beautiful features.

“ I’m concerned about funding for the Center .”

“ Won’t they be flush after tonight?”

“ Maybe , but not right away.” Again she frowned, creasing her forehead more.

“ We just found out the city is auditing all nonprofits, and they can’t use any money until after the audit.

Everything we take in tonight is essentially frozen.

If the Center violates the city’s edict, they could lose their permit and their nonprofit status. They’d have to shut down.”

“ That doesn’t sound good,” he agreed.

“ Yeah , well.” She made a nondescript sound in the back of her throat as she momentarily averted her gaze. “ So tell me more about your brother Kyle . What’s his interest in the Center ?”

She was good at changing the subject. He’d let it go. For now.

“ Kyle worked for the FBI in Chicago .” Normally he was as tight-lipped about his family as he was about himself. On the other hand, if anyone could help him understand what Kyle was going through, it would be Gina . “ When he came back to New York he was different.”

“ How so?”

“ Something happened in Chicago . I don’t know the details and Kyle refuses to talk about it.

I do know it involved a woman.” When his brother returned to New York , barely speaking, Jack made some discrete inquiries through his own contacts.

“ She was nearly beaten to death by her husband. Kyle risked his life and the undercover op he was working to save her.”

“ Did he? Save her, I mean?”

“ Yes , but he hasn’t seen or spoken to her since he left her in a Chicago hospital. That was ten years ago.”

“ He must have had deep feelings for her.”

“ I think he did.”

“ Why hasn’t he spoken to her in all this time?”

“ A shelter, just like yours, relocated her and got her a new identity. He doesn’t know where she is.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “ It sounds as if he was in love with her, so why wouldn’t he track her down? He’s FBI . You guys can find anyone.”

“ It’s more complicated than that.”

“ What’s so complicated about love?”

He couldn’t answer her question because he’d never been in love. At least, he didn’t think so. “ Sometimes ,” he said after a moment, “even when there’s a deep connection between two people, they’re better off apart. Maybe Kyle thinks she’s better off without him complicating her life.”

Jack didn’t know for sure if he was talking about his brother or himself.

The more he wanted Gina , the more he knew he should stay away from her.

Their lives could never mesh, and she could never be a one-time thing.

After tonight, he’d go back to concentrating on what he’d come here for in the first place.

To nail the bastards who killed Jim Spencer .

Gina smiled, but she wasn’t laughing at him. “ You know, I think those are the most words I’ve heard come out of your mouth at one time.”

In her eyes he was beginning to see things he shouldn’t.

Like a relationship with her. He deposited his empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray.

When he turned back, her jaw was tight. She’d balled her hands, and her body tensed.

She looked ready to go ten rounds. “ That man has the most unbelievable audacity showing up here.”

He turned to see who’d lit Gina’s fuse, then he tensed.

Targets in sight.

Standing just inside the entrance of the ballroom were the Falzones .

Franco and his wife, Carmen . Tino and his wife, Maria .

Jack understood the fury coursing through his bones at the sight of Jim Spencer’s killer walking around free.

What he didn’t understand was the look of pure, unadulterated fury on Gina’s face.

“ Rat bastard,” she growled and took off.

He had a hard time keeping up with her as she stormed through the crowd on her four-inch stilettos. “ Gina , wait!” She ignored him and kept right on going like a torpedo shot from a submarine. He didn’t know what was about to go down, but it clearly involved the Falzones .

“ Get out!” she shouted at Franco . “ You’re not welcome here.” Her body trembled, and her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

What the hell?

He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her resistant body tightly against his just before she launched at one of the most powerful mob bosses in the country.

Good thing, since the two goons in black undertaker suits standing behind Franco moved closer, primed to intervene.

If that happened… He’d destroy anyone who touched her.

Franco raised his gray brows, a genuine look of curiosity on his face. The man had aged considerably since the last time they’d crossed paths. Franco was about sixty and, while still trim, his once brown hair was now as silvery as the satin handkerchief sticking out of his breast pocket.

“ Franco .” He gave a curt nod to the man who’d been his target for over a decade.

“ Special Agent Gates .” Franco nodded in return, an old-fashioned, gentlemanly display between longtime enemies.

If the evidence presented itself, he wouldn’t hesitate to toss Franco in jail, yet there was an underlying air of respect between them. Each considered the other a worthy opponent, and both understood the first one to slip would go down. Hard .

“ Who is this woman?” Carmen Falzone clutched her husband’s arm.

In the years he’d been on the FBI’s Strike Force Team , he’d never seen Carmen Falzone up close in the flesh, only in photos or from a distance. Wearing a full-length dark green dress, and with her hair piled on top of her head, she looked every bit the regal Mafia queen she was.

Gina struggled in his grip, trying to twist free. “ Let me go,” she spat.

“ What are you doing?” he whispered harshly, doubting anything he said would get through to her. Her body was vibrating with enough fury to fuel a fighter jet.

“ Good question, Gates . ” Tino sneered.

Not even the expensive, double-breasted suit made that sonofabitch look or act any better than the lowlife piece of trash that he was.

Franco was no saint, but at times Jack had a hard time believing Tino really was the fruit of his father’s loins.

“ Control your bitch, or I’ll call the police and have her charged with assault. ”

Jack fisted his good hand so tightly several bones popped.

There was nothing he wanted more at that moment than to smash Tino face first into the wall, then repeat the process multiple times on the floor.

If he gave in to the urge, he’d be the one in jail, or at least on suspension for thirty days.

Meanwhile , his investigation would go down the crapper.

“ Assault ? That’s a laugh.” Gina turned her attention back to Franco . “ After all the people you’ve murdered? You bastard.”

“ My dear,” Franco said, “ I assure you I’ve murdered no one.”

Jack snorted. The list of murders Franco was suspected of having committed or ordered others to commit was longer than his arm. Was Gina’s accusation specific or in general? Given the heated way she’d flung it at Franco , Jack’s gut told him it was specific.

“ This event is by invitation only,” she continued, “and you are most definitely not on the guest list.” A crowd had gathered around them.

Miraculously , the orchestra played on. Margo , Kinsey , and Annabelle tucked themselves protectively at Gina’s other side, all wearing the same dumbfounded expressions.

“ We’re all here for the same purpose, contributing to charity. I’d think that would more than make up for me crashing your party.” Franco pulled a check from his suit pocket and held it out to her.

She grabbed the check and ripped it in half, letting the pieces fall to the floor.

“ Your money’s no good here. You need to leave.

All of you.” She glared at every one of the Falzones , including Tino’s wife.

Not even the poor woman’s makeup could hide the dark purple shiner just below her left eye.

Jack tightened his hold around Gina’s waist. “ Franco , I’d take the lady’s suggestion and leave while you can.

” He still didn’t get what was going down here, but this kind of hatred went beyond outrage at seeing a criminal pretending to be a pillar of society.

This was personal. He recognized that kind of anger in himself.

“ Franco , perhaps we should leave.” Carmen tugged on her husband’s arm.

He patted her hand, then his bushy gray brows bunched. “ Young lady, have we met before?”

Gina didn’t answer. Jack looked from Franco to Gina .

There was sincerity in Franco’s words and expression, as if he really thought they’d met previously.

The same way he’d felt when he first met her.

Again , something in the deep recesses of his memory tried breaking free, something critical his gut told him he needed to remember.

“ Listen to your wife,” Jack said evenly. “ Leave now.” So much for shadowing the Falzones tonight.

Behind them, the crowd murmured something about a mob boss.

“ What’s going on?” Margo shot Gina a look of concern. Kinsey and Annabelle’s expressions mirrored Margo’s .

“ They’re trespassing,” she spat. “ That’s what’s going on.”

“ Trespassing , my ass.” Tino put his arm around Maria , who flinched. “ The FBI trespasses all the time. Isn’t that right, Agent Gates ?” A smug smile spread across his face. “ Although , I’ve heard they prefer solitary walks in cornfields.”

“ Tino !” Franco shot his son a look of warning.

“ So young to die so soon.” Tino smirked. “ Whoever sent that boy in to do a man’s job was an idiot.”

Franco’s eyes were murderous. “ That’s enough .”

Jack’s blood boiled, and he gritted his teeth at the obvious reference to where they’d discovered Spencer’s body.

He wanted to rip Tino’s head off. Then again, goading him into saying something stupid was precisely what he’d come here for.

Everything Tino had said was public information the press had already reported.

It wasn’t anything he could use in court, but it was a good start.

“ 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.