Page 52

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jack and Kyle scaled the fence surrounding the compound. Deke remained on the other side, his Glock drawn and pointed at the house. Once their feet hit the ground, Jack and his brother drew down while Deke climbed over and joined them.

As a unit, they charged to the house. Jack’s heart pounded the entire way to the door. Meat had never steered him wrong, and he prayed the door was really unlocked.

With his hand on the knob, he paused. From inside the house, a man shouted. Jack couldn’t identify the voice or make out the words. A woman—not Gina —pleaded and sobbed.

He turned, nodding once to his brothers as he twisted the knob and nudged the door open.

More sobbing, then, “ Tino , please don’t do this.”

Shouting came from the other side of the house. Jack pointed, silently directing his brothers to check it out. Kyle and Deke disappeared around a corner. Jack headed in the opposite direction, following the sobbing. He stepped quickly but quietly, doing his best not to alert anyone to his presence.

“ I don’t know which I want more”—now that he was closer, he recognized Tino’s voice—“my money back or watching your head explode.”

Jack didn’t think his heart rate could spike more, but it did. Tino could only be talking about Gina .

He edged around the next corner and froze. Tino had her shoved against the wall, the barrel of his gun jammed to her forehead. Tino leaned in until his face was inches from hers. Maria Falzone lay on the floor, sobbing at Tino’s feet.

Jack gripped his Glock tighter. He was an expert shot, but with his support hand still in a cast, holding the gun steady and aiming with any degree of certainty was dicey. If he missed, Gina could die.

He took a breath, exhaling it slowly.

“ Die , bitch,” Tino hissed.

Jack squeezed the trigger.

The woman on the floor screamed. Red spray peppered Gina’s face as she slid down the wall.

Sweet Jesus , no!

For one heart-stopping moment, he thought he’d missed. His entire world felt as if it were caving in on him like a black hole.

The gun fell from Tino’s hand. Blood trickled from a hole in his temple as he fell sideways, slamming to the floor.

Breath whooshed from Jack’s lungs. He ran to Gina’s side and crouched.

He holstered and took in the disarray of her clothes.

Her blouse was torn open, every single button gone.

Blood spattered her face, neck, and the exposed tops of her breasts.

Her chest rose and fell with ragged, uneven breaths.

Quickly , he inspected her for injuries.

The only things he found were a fairly deep cut on her right thumb and the beginning of a significant bruise on her face.

He ran to the bathroom and grabbed a handful of paper guest towels. Back in the hallway, he knelt and wrapped Gina’s finger securely to stop the bleeding.

Booted feet pounded closer, and he redrew his Glock , spinning on his heels and aiming in the direction of the approaching sound. His pulse tripped back into the stratosphere.

Kyle rounded the corner. “ Whoa .” His brother quickly holstered, holding up his hands. “ It’s just me, bro.”

Jack jerked his finger off the trigger. He’d been a hair’s breadth from blasting his brother to kingdom come. He sucked in a tight breath and reholstered.

Kyle’s brows snapped together. “ She okay?”

He tugged the edges of Gina’s coat together.

“ Gina ?” he said softly, willing her eyes to open.

“ Are you all right?” He already knew Tino had hurt her, but if he’d touched her…

He could barely think the words, let alone say them…

Half Tino’s brains were on the floor or dripping from the wall, and Jack wanted to empty the rest of his magazine into the man’s chest to kill him all over again.

“ Gina ?” He touched two fingers to her cold, clammy cheek. Every second that passed made him worry more. “ Can you open your eyes for me?”

Her lids flickered and opened. “ I’m okay,” she whispered.

“ Did he—” Jack swallowed, again taking in her torn clothes. “ Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head. “ No .”

Relief poured through him.

“ I’ve gotta get back to Deke ,” Kyle interrupted. “ We’ve got three in custody in the garage plus Franco . He’s alive but unconscious. Turns out your boy, there”— Kyle dipped his head to Tino’s lifeless body—“tried to strangle daddy dearest and nearly succeeded.”

Jack stared at Kyle for a moment. He shouldn’t have been surprised Tino tried taking out his old man, but he was.

“ Call 911. Let them know what’s going on and request two ambulances.

” Behind him, Maria Falzone lay huddled in a ball, whimpering softly.

One of her eyes was swollen nearly shut, and most of her face was covered in bruises.

“ Better make that three.” Although he suspected the woman’s emotional scars were far worse than her physical ones.

“ Copy that.” Kyle turned, and a few seconds later the door to the garage opened, then slammed shut.

“ Maria !” Gina crawled to the whimpering woman, then took her in her arms, rocking her gently. She stroked the woman’s hair. “ It’s all right. Everything’s going to be fine. I promise.”

Jack stood. Every one of his bones and muscles ached. His entire body felt as if it had aged fifty years in the last five minutes. Maria Falzone would be fine. Now that her POS husband was dead.

More blood had pooled around Tino’s head but was finally slowing. Things hadn’t gone the way Jack had expected. He’d fully intended to let the criminal justice system run its course in court. In the end, things were better this way.

Jim Spencer’s killer was dead, and Jack’s witness would never have to testify or worry about a bullet taking him out. Tino Falzone’s murderous reign was over, and he’d never become head of the Falzone Crime Family .

At the sound of approaching sirens, he went to the front door and punched a button on the wall to open the gates. He turned to watch Gina , still sitting on the floor, rocking Maria and crooning to her as if she were a small child in need of comfort.

On a scale of one to ten, his admiration for Gina Perot aka Angelina Perotti was already beyond a ten.

She’d been kidnapped, had probably come close to being raped and killed, yet she sat on the floor comforting the battered wife of a murdering mobster.

His estimation of her jumped to a solid twenty. Not that it mattered.

She could never forgive him, and he couldn’t blame her. The scars he’d unknowingly inflicted on her fifteen years ago were permanent. He had to let her go.

“ Jack ,” she said over Maria’s head. “ Thank you.”

Not being able to hold her or touch her again was killing him. All he could do was nod. As he walked out the front door to wait for the rest of the troops to arrive, he wondered if there would ever be a cure for the gaping hole in his chest where his heart used to be.