Page 103 of Perfect Vengeance

“How do you know?” Her breath washed over his face, her eyes glazed with desire.

“Kyle locked the door,” he said, popping the last button and tugging the silk blouse from her skirt. One day, he’d have to thank his brother for that.

A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. “This has to be a violation of FBI policy.”

“It is.” Not that he cared. He backed her to his desk, then reached out and swept the stack of newspapers, files, and arrest warrants to the floor. “I always was a rule breaker.”

The gleam in her eyes went softer than velvet. “I love you, Special Agent Jack Gates.”

“I love you, Gina Perot…Angelina Perotti… Whatever your name is, I’ll love you forever.”

Epilogue

Six months later.

“Pigs anyone?” Annabelle held out the platter of pigs in a blanket.

“Absolutely!” Gina set her margarita on the picnic table and picked up one of the pastry-wrapped sausages, dunking it in mustard. She crunched into it, groaning at the delicious, meaty spiciness flooding her tastebuds. There could be two-pound lobsters on the table, but pigs in a blanket would always be a crowd pleaser.

“Me too.” Kinsey grabbed one and shoved it into her mouth, somehow managing to smile, chew, and sigh at the same time.

“Me three.” Margo did the same.

Jack’s mother, Elaina, put a plate of deviled eggs and a heaping bowl of macaroni salad on the table. “Quite a crowd.”

“Indeed it is.” Gina nodded as she surveyed Elaina’s large backyard.

Maybe the fact it was Saturday and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect had contributed. Not a single one of their last-minute invitations had been turned down.

At a comfortable eighty degrees, with the sun shining from a lovely blue sky and a light breeze fluttering the wispy branches of the enormous weeping willow tree, the afternoon had begged for a big ol’ backyard barbecue.

Annabelle was here with her husband. Margo had brought her twin eight-year-old boys and had somehow managed to drag her hubby away from playing golf with his buddies.

Gina waved to Smitty and his wife. They sat in the shade of the willow tree, watching their four kids and Margo’s boys play Frisbee.

Even Jack’s boss, SAC Mike Morrison, had shown up with his wife, Nancy. Kyle had come alone, as was usual for him. Deke, on the other hand, was never without a date. That man’s calendar was a revolving door of beautiful women, including his latest—a pretty blonde with the biggest blue eyes Gina had ever seen.

At the other end of the yard, Nancy Morrison chatted with Linda Hernandez from the Center. Linda held up her glass in salute. Gina returned the gesture with her own glass, her heart filling with joy because the woman sitting across from Linda was now one of the Center’s many success stories: Maria Tedesco, formerly Maria Falzone.

Not wanting anything more to do with the Falzone clan, Maria had reverted to her maiden name. With Linda’s help, she’d found a new job, rented a small apartment, and was gradually reestablishing ties with her family. There was a rosy tint to her cheeks that hadn’t been there before, and she’d put on a few much-needed pounds. Maria didn’t smile much yet, but every so often Gina detected the barest hint of one on the woman’s lips.

Wordlessly, Gina turned and met her friends’ gazes, knowing they were all thinking the same thing. They’d done a good thing.

They’d hung up their catsuits for the last time, but they still helped Linda out at various fundraisers around the city. Between the fundraisers and the city finally releasing the assets they’d previously frozen, the Center’s bank accounts would be nicely flush for quite some time.

Like the original pact they’d made to steal from the mob and donate the loot to the Center, they’d made a new one—to meet once a month for movie-and-martini night. They’d also discovered another outlet for their unique skill set.

Since getting to know Kyle over the last six months, which in reality meant she’d barely skimmed the surface, Gina and her friends had begun assisting him with a free self-defense class he taught once a week at a community center not far from 26 Federal Plaza. While he’d never admit it, she suspected his passion for teaching the class had something to do with “the friend” he’d lost touch with after she disappeared into a relocation program.

Elaina tucked an arm around Gina’s waist. “I’m so pleased everyone could come on such short notice.”

“I am too.” Although the short notice part had been all Jack’s fault.

She smiled, recalling the exact moment less than twelve hours ago when he’d decided to host a barbecue in his mother’s backyard for all their friends and family. He’d woken in her bed, tugged off her silk nightie, then, after making voracious love to her, declared he wanted to have a party that very afternoon.

Jack and his brothers stood in a manly huddle of testosterone by the grill, listening raptly to something their boss, Mike Morrison, said. Jack lifted a bottle of Yuengling to his lips—lips that had done their share of kissing every square inch of her bare skin this morning.

Gina shivered, her body still tingling from all the delicious things he’d done to her.