Page 61 of Perfect Vengeance

From the determined look in her eyes, he could see where this was going, and the direction wasn’t good. He shook his head. “You can’t keep doing this.”

“I have to,” she whispered. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I can’t stop.”

He clasped her chin. “If you and your friends get caught, there’ll be no police, no charges filed, and no trial. Tino Falzone’s nickname is cx ‘the Beast.’ If he catches any of you, he’ll torture you just for fun. That’s what that sadistic bastard does. He collects body parts from his victims—fingers and toes, souvenirs from everyone he’s ever clipped. Did you know that?” She shook her head, and he released her chin. “He cut off my colleague’s finger and blasted him full of holes. Taking out a federal agent meant nothing to him. Trust me, he won’t hesitate to kill you or your friends. If you don’t stop, eventually you will get caught. I don’t want to lose you.” Did he really just say that? Yeah, he did.

Her lips flattened. The tears he’d glimpsed were quickly replaced by something else. Exactly what that something else was he couldn’t pin down. “What’s really going on here?”

Again, her eyes glistened, but she blinked the tears back. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” Right then, he’d do anything to ease her pain.

“I can’t lose them,” she answered on a shuddering breath.

“Lose who? The families at the shelter?”

She shook her head. “No. My friends. We have a common goal that bonds us together. Once we stop doing this, I’ll lose them.” She covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders quaked with quiet sobs.

His mind fought to understand, but he was still missing something major here. “Why do you think you’ll lose your friends if you stop stealing?” He tugged her hands from her face and stroked her cheek. “Help me understand.”

Tears streamed freely from the corners of her eyes. “You have family. Your mother and your brothers. Without Margo, Kinsey, and Annabelle, I have no one. They’re the only family I’ve got. Without them I’d have nothing. I’d be nothing.”

Jesus, what in the world had Gina gone through that she actually believed she was nothing without her friends? He shoved his fingers through his hair, struggling for the right thing to say and coming up blank. With every passing second, he watched her pull away from him both physically and emotionally. The misery on her face gutted him.

“I’m sorry.” She waved a hand. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s my problem. Not yours.”

Somehow, it was his problem. He ran his fingertips down her cheek. “I don’t think you’re giving your friends or yourself enough credit. I’ve seen the way you are together. You’re as tight as any blood sisters. Maybe tighter. As for you being nothing without them, that’s baloney. You’re smart, talented, a successful businesswoman. You’re amazing, and people care about you. I care about you.” He hadn’t meant to say that last part.

“Why?” Her voice took on a bitter, challenging edge. “Why do you care?”

“Because—” It was killing him more than he could admit to see her in so much pain. “I just do.” No, he more than cared, and he didn’t know how or when that had happened.

Gently, he rolled her onto her back and kissed her until she sighed and parted her lips, allowing his tongue to tangle with hers. The second he settled between her thighs his dick hardened painfully. He could easily push inside her the way he’d done on the sofa. Now that they’d gotten all that pent-up passion and emotion out of the way, he wanted to make love to her properly. Slower and sweeter, and he wanted it to last.

“Jack.” She sighed as he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking on the tight bud and rolling it around with his tongue.

Condom.

“Be right back.” Seconds later, he had a fresh condom rolled on and was pushing inside her incredibly wet heat.

She gripped his ass, and he loved the way her fingernails dug into his muscles. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he angled deeper, thrusting slowly, deliberately, gauging her responses by every intake of her breath and every tightening of her body around his.

“That’s it,” he murmured against her ear, knowing she was close. Knowing he was even closer to losing it and going straight over the edge.

Beneath his weight, her breasts mounded, her nipples rasping against his chest as he moved and making him impossibly harder inside her. He gritted his teeth, willing himself not to come before she did.

“Oh. Oh, Jack.” She clamped her thighs around his waist and came hard, arching her neck and back.

Her tight walls squeezed him, sending bolts of pleasure shooting to his cock and up his spine. He groaned and let himself go.

Jack pressed his face to Gina’s neck, breathing as heavily as she was. He should run from her. Run hard and run fast.

As he touched his lips to hers, he doubted he had the strength of will to take his own advice.

Chapter Fifteen

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Annabelle asked.

“Park here.” Gina indicated an empty spot on Ocean Avenue a hundred yards south of Tino’s house and closer than where they’d been parked for the last two hours. “And no, I’m not sure.” In fact, she’d been vacillating over the wisdom of going through with it. Especially the part about involving her friends.