Page 71 of Perfect Vengeance

“What about your investigation?” Nailing Tino for killing his colleague was the most important aspect of Jack’s case. “Did I just destroy it?”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “Probably. Maybe. Hell, I don’t know. Locking you up won’t help anything. What’s done is done. For now, I covered for you.”

Margo eyed him suspiciously. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means I lied. I told those cops you’re all working for me, and that if tonight’s events came out it, it would destroy a major federal investigation.”

“Why did you do that for us?” Gina touched his arm. “You didn’t have to.”

His gray eyes softened as he clasped her hand, linking their fingers. “I don’t want anyone else’s death on my conscience. Especially not yours.”

“Thanks again for the jar of flowers,” Kinsey murmured as her eyes closed.

Gina jerked her head up. The jars. “Wait! I forgot to tell you something!” She squeezed Jack’s hand. “I forgot to tell all of you something. In the back of Tino’s safe were small jars filled with body parts.”

“Eew.” Anna grimaced.

Jack tensed. Eyes that only moments ago were soft, were now steely hard. “What body parts?”

“I didn’t look at all of them. One had an ear in it, and it looked fresh. You know, still kind of pink and with gooey strands of…something.” Just thinking about it made her nauseous.

Jack’s brows drew together. “What else?”

“A finger. It was dry and dark, and there was a ring on it.” He’d said Tino cut off that agent’s finger before killing him.

His jaw tightened. “Can you describe the ring?”

“It was gold. A man’s ring with a green gemstone. Maybe an emerald.”

“Jesus.” He turned away, parking his hands on his hips and tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Does that finger belong to the agent you told me about?”

“Yeah. Jim Spencer.” When he faced them again, his eyes blazed with fury. “That was his wedding ring.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jack set the duffel bags on the floor. It was 6:00 a.m. and he was beat.

As Gina walked to the sofa, favoring her twisted ankle only slightly, he was glad to see the injury wasn’t serious. She sat and lowered her head to her hands. They’d both been awake for twenty-four hours. She’d insisted on one of them remaining with Kinsey at all times, at least until she was feeling better. Naturally, Gina had insisted on taking the first shift, and he’d stayed with her while Margo and Anna went home to get some shut-eye.

He sat beside her and tugged her to his side. Despite the lack of sleep, his mind still spun with the vital information he’d just obtained.

Jim Spencer’s wedding ring—and his finger—are in Tino’s shore house.

He should be jacked up and banging on a federal judge’s door for a search and an arrest warrant. Locking up Tino for Jim’s murder was why he’d been working his ass off for the last six months. Gina had just dropped the probable cause he needed right in his lap. And he couldn’t use it.

She’d described details of the ring to a T. To establish a fair and reliable eyewitness identification, he’d followed protocol and shown her a photo array of six rings, including Jim’s, and five fillers—rings similar in overall appearance to the one Spencer had been wearing. Gina positively identified Jim’s ring. Problem was, if he used her ID as probable cause for the warrants, he’d have to explain where the information came from and the circumstances under which it had been obtained.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. He’d been over and over it in his head. He had to keep her out of it. He hadn’t been exaggerating. Even from a jail cell, Tino would send someone to kill her, and Jack couldn’t protect her 24/7. He could try to persuade her to go into witness protection, but he wouldn’t do that to her either. Besides, she’d never agree to it. Gina could never be confined to a life she didn’t want to be in. She was too stubborn, too unpredictable and spontaneous, everything he wasn’t. They were polar opposites in every way, but the laws of physics never changed. Polar opposites always attracted, and that was the way it was with them. No matter what she did to turn his world upside down, he wanted her like nobody’s business.

A strand of thick, silky hair fell in front of her face, and he tucked it behind her ear. When had she gotten so far under his skin that he’d do anything for her? Including giving up the most important evidence of his career. There had to be another way. Whether it took another six months or six years… If it took the rest of his life, he’d find a way to nail Tino Falzone.

“C’mon,” he said. “You need to get some rest. I’ll send someone out later today to fix the window on the Charger.”

Tired eyes pinned him. “You’d do that? Why?”

“So you don’t have to answer questions about what happened to it.” He’d do everything possible to distance her from his investigation and the Falzones.