Catch Your Breath Read online

  Christ. It was going to be a long night.

  “You clean up good, O’Malley. Maybe this should be your new uniform. You’re not as scary in a tux as you are in your suit.”

  He took in her clothes—jeans and comfortable shoes—and wished he had suggested that she take this assignment. She did have seniority.

  But backup didn’t impress people. The guy who went through the door first was the one everyone remembered.

  He was determined to be that guy.

  They walked to the mayor’s office and sat in the reception area waiting together. They were on time. Why couldn’t everyone else be?

  When the mayor emerged from his office, wearing a tux that looked much better than his, Jimmy stood. “Mayor Park, it’s good to meet you.”

  “Detectives O’Malley, Ruiz.” He nodded at them and pointed at his office. “Join me a few minutes before we head out.”

  Once they were behind closed doors, the mayor’s countenance changed, relaxed. “Look, I know my request was strange and the two of you probably think I’m crazy. But a good friend of mine lost some very expensive jewelry in the theft. I don’t think he’s the only one. I’ve heard rumors of other burglaries, and I think we have a sizeable theft ring running in the city, targeting wealthy men.”

  He paused and waited for a response.

  Jimmy asked what he knew both he and Gabby wondered. “Why haven’t the burglaries been reported? Alert other members of the social circle to be aware, hire extra security . . .”

  “I don’t know about other cases, but I know in my friend’s, he was in a compromising position that he didn’t want to get out. These are important men with deep pockets and reputations they need to protect.”

  The muscles in Jimmy’s jaw tightened. As if men with less money didn’t have reputations worth protecting. “What do you hope will come from this operation, sir?”

  “I’m thinking that if I bring you in, you’ll see or hear things I don’t. You’ll be able to build a case and put these men’s minds at ease.” He pressed his lips together, then inhaled deeply. “I don’t like to waste city resources and I don’t take this lightly. Give me a few weeks. By then, you’ll have had the chance to meet people and be accepted into the circle. If you find nothing, that’ll be the end of it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The mayor moved forward and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “And starting right now, I’m Bill, not sir. Am I right, James?”

  James would take some getting used to. He’d only been James when he was in trouble growing up. In the recesses of his memory, he could hear his mom calling James Matthew O’Malley. . . . He stopped the memory from going further and focused on becoming James Buchanan.

  Some tech guy in the department created a whole online life for James Buchanan and Jimmy had spent the day memorizing enough to be able to pass basic conversations. James Buchanan had led a charmed life.

  Hours later, he still felt strangled by the bow tie and he’d shaken so many hands that he probably had a lifetime of germs on his palm. How did politicians do this day after day? Mayor Park—Bill—had introduced him to many men, and in the few moments they had between introductions, Bill had pointed out the men who had been rumored to have been robbed.

  Now Bill left him standing with Stan Decker, some guy who was in real estate using hard sell tactics on James. Jimmy listened with half his attention, while scanning the remaining guests. Through the crowd, he caught a glimpse of a woman with a great rack. Her tits were spilling out of the top of her green dress. Not obscenely so, but enough to draw attention.

  Jimmy stared at the milky white globes barely contained by the slippery material. His eyes wandered across the expanse of skin up over her collarbone and to her face.

  And then his heart stopped.

  What the hell was Moira O’Leary doing here?

  As if she felt him staring, she started to turn his way and he ducked a little to the side. Fuck. So much wrong with the entire situation. Forcing his tongue to work, he said, “Sorry to interrupt you, Stan, but I need to make a call.”

  Jimmy fumbled for his phone and dodged out of the way before Moira made eye contact. He jostled through the crowd, zigzagging like he would on the football field. He spared a moment to glance over his shoulder and saw Moira heading to where he’d left Stan. A crowd stood in front of the elevators, so he veered toward the stairs and dialed Gabby.

  “My cover’s blown. Meet me out front.” He hung up before she could rattle off questions.

  He couldn’t believe it. Of all the people to show up at this party, it had to be Moira O’Leary. He hadn’t expected any of the O’Learys to be there—they weren’t part of this circle any more than he was—but in the back of his mind, he knew seeing Griffin Walker was a possibility. He was one guy from the neighborhood who had made it big. He also knew Walker would keep his mouth shut.

  Moira was a completely different story. That girl talked a mile a minute to anyone, anywhere, anytime. He’d made it a few measly hours into his special assignment before being blown out of the water by Moira. The girl was a menace.

  Some things never change.

  As he pushed through the revolving door in the lobby of the hotel, the image of Moira’s tits stuck in his head. He tried to push the picture away. He had no right to ever think about her that way. She was Liam’s little sister, for Christ’s sake.

  Nothing looked too little tonight, though. Blood stirred in his body where it shouldn’t and he clenched his jaw.

  Yeah, some things never change.

  Moira strode across the room, sure she’d seen Jimmy O’Malley talking to Stan Decker. She’d avoided Decker for the first few hours of the party. The man hit on her relentlessly, and whenever he talked, he spoke directly to her chest. She had no idea how he managed to sell so many properties if that’s how he treated clients.

  But right now, her curiosity got the better of her and she had to see if it was Jimmy. She’d barely caught a glimpse, but something about the man made her believe it was him. Like on an instinctual level, her body knew.

  Which was just plain silly, and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it. She’d been in love with Jimmy since the age often and he’d never given her the time of day. Except to tell her to scram because she annoyed him.

  She approached Decker with a friendly smile, not that he’d notice. “Hi, Mr. Decker. How are you this evening?”

  “Good, and you?”

  She tried not to inhale, forcing her boobs higher and closer to his face. “I’m fine. The man you were just talking to, was that—”

  “James Buchanan, new to town. Friends with the mayor.”

  “Oh.” Why the news should disappoint her made little sense. Maybe part of her wanted to see a friendly face in the crowd. A real friend, not the phoniness of people who wanted their picture taken. Jimmy might not be a real friend, but being Liam’s friend, he would probably put in the effort to be nice to her. Probably.

  Moira made her rounds, talking to donors and visiting with the parents of sick kids. Listening to their stories was both inspiring and heartbreaking. One thing she took away from it, though, was the strength they displayed. Especially the couples. Trying to hold a family together while caring for a sick child had to be devastating. Watching them hold hands and support each other while talking about their families gave her hope.

  One day, she’d find the man who would hold her hand and help her meet her dreams and goals. They’d build a life together, have a family, find happiness. She wanted what her family had. Sometimes she thought she was born in the wrong decade. If only she could be like Bogie and Bacall or Tracy and Hepburn.

  Life in a black-and-white movie with witty banter and true love.

  She wandered through the crowd looking for James Buchanan. Thinking back, she realized her imagination had simply run away from her again. Not every good-looking man was Jimmy. Maybe Mr. Buchanan was actually better looking. Plus, he probably had money. She wanted to introduce he
rself and definitely include him in her article.

  “Mr. Mayor,” she started. Then she realized he might not remember her. “Moira O’Leary.”

  He smiled and nodded. “I’m not doing interviews today, Moira.”

  “I was wondering if you could point out your friend James Buchanan. I spoke with Mr. Decker, who mentioned you and Mr. Buchanan are friends. I’d like to interview him, if possible.”

  The mayor shifted as if surprised she would ask about Buchanan. She always asked about new players. Curious.

  “I’m not sure if James would want to be interviewed. He’s rather private.” The mayor peered over the top of her head and scanned the crowd. “I’m not seeing him just now.”

  Moira pulled a card from her purse. “Well, when you do see him, please pass on my card. I’d love to chat.”

  The mayor pocketed the card, but she knew the look. Her card would be dropped in the nearest trash can. Now she had a mission. Something was up with this Buchanan and she planned to find out what his juicy little secrets were. Moira liked to have a mission. It’s not like she didn’t enjoy her job. On the contrary, she loved it, but every now and then the boredom bug bit her. Today was one of those days.

  Trailing after a sexy, rich man new to Chicago wasn’t a bad way to spend some time. If she happened to get a story out of it too, well that was just a bonus.

  Later that night, face scrubbed clean of makeup and beautiful gown hanging back in her closet, Moira stared at her computer screen. James Buchanan had very little information online. His Facebook page didn’t have any photos. A whopping three blogs mentioned his name, always after the mayor’s name.

  Something was definitely up. She tried every directory and search engine she could, but still came up empty. Desperate, she scrambled to think if she knew anyone who would be able to dig deeper.

  Griffin would be able to find information. Although he made his name and money as a video game developer, she knew he could hack into anything. The question became whether a possible goose chase was worth breaking the law. She thought about baby Colleen and decided that satisfying her curiosity was not that important.

  Maybe she’d e-mail Griffin and see if he knew the guy.

  As she crawled into bed, she tried to conjure up the image of the man she’d seen. He had a beard-in-progress thing going on and his hair was cropped short. Jimmy never had facial hair, so why would she think it had been him? The look was more sophisticated than any guy she’d known growing up. She fell asleep with images of Jimmy O’Malley floating in her head, dreaming about how she wished he’d give her a chance, just once.

  CHAPTER 2

  Jimmy and Gabby stood in Elks’s office.

  “Damn it, O’Malley. How could you have screwed this up in a matter of a few hours?”

  Jimmy bit down on his response.

  “Who is this woman who saw you?”

  Jimmy unclenched his jaw. “Moira O’Leary. She’s a reporter.”

  “Fuck. And how do you know her?” Elks paced the length of his office. Gabby stood at attention, like she expected the ax to fall.

  “I’m friends with her brother. We grew up on the same block.”

  “And you didn’t think it important to inform us of that when we brought you in?” Elks’s face turned an unnatural shade of red, nearing purple.

  “She’s my friend’s little sister. I knew she was a reporter, but I had no idea she’d be at the party.” He’d made a point over the years to try to ignore everything about Moira O’Leary. The girl spelled trouble. Now she managed to get him into hot water without even trying.

  “You’re sure she made you.”

  Jimmy shrugged. “I left as soon as I saw her. She was headed in my direction, so I think she did. I didn’t stick around.”

  Elks pulled out his chair and sat. “You and Ruiz pay her a visit. See her reaction. Find out if she told anyone your real name.”

  Shit. He’d rather do just about anything than ask Moira for a favor. He and Gabby left the office. “You need to take point on this one.”

  Gabby stopped in her tracks. “If she’s your friend, why would I take lead?”

  Jimmy didn’t answer.

  “What’s the story here?”

  He didn’t know what to tell her. “She’s my friend’s kid sister.”

  “Did you sleep with her? Is that why you’re avoiding her?”

  “No.” Like he needed Gabby’s help putting that image in his mind. “We tend to . . . butt heads a lot. If I say the sky’s blue, she’s going to argue it’s purple. Just to fight. If she knows that keeping her mouth shut means doing me a favor, she’ll run down the street screaming my cover.” He turned back to head out the door.

  Gabby’s footsteps clomped behind him and she grabbed his jacket. “I’m not buying it, Jimmy. You must’ve done something to make her want to fight you.”

  He shrugged. He had no idea why Moira pushed his buttons. She’d been doing it most of her life. He remembered when she was little and she’d look up at him with those big baby blues and she was the sweetest thing on two legs.

  Then she hit puberty.

  He hadn’t been able to look at her like a little girl anymore, and he had no business looking at her any other way. So he’d stopped talking to her unless he absolutely had to. He wasn’t rude to her, but he kept his distance. It was like doing so just drew her closer. She was always looking for ways to get at him, talk to him, rile him up.

  “I don’t know, Gabby. You have younger siblings. You know how it is. They bug you just to bug you.”

  “I guess.” But she didn’t sound convinced.

  They drove to Moira’s apartment. After they parked, he scanned the street, but realized he didn’t know what kind of car she drove these days.

  They walked up to the building and climbed three floors to her apartment. The entire building was completely unsecured. He wondered if Liam knew she lived here. Not only was there no security at the main entrance, but the front door didn’t even lock. Anyone could get in. What the hell was she thinking living in a place like this?

  Gabby took lead and knocked at Moira’s door. Jimmy stood to the side out of sight of the peephole. With any luck, Gabby could talk with her without Jimmy ever having to show his face.

  Moira swung the door open quickly enough that she probably hadn’t even checked the peephole. “Hello.”

  Not an ounce of wariness in her voice.

  “Moira O’Leary?”

  “Yes.”

  Gabby flashed her badge.

  “Oh, my God. What happened? Who’s hurt?”

  Gabby’s hand flicked up. “No one, Ms. O’Leary. I have a few questions for you about a function you attended last night.”

  “What about it?”

  Jimmy heard her tone change, like she was preparing for a fight.

  “There was a guest there, James Buchanan.” Gabby paused.

  Jimmy listened for Moira’s smart-ass remark, but none followed.

  “Mr. Buchanan is part of an ongoing investigation, so I’m here to request that you not include his photo in whatever article you might print about the party.” Gabby shifted closer, standing a full head above Moira. “Did you take any photos of Mr. Buchanan?”

  “Hmm . . . surprisingly, he disappeared as soon as I was heading over to meet him.”

  Jimmy heard the smirk. She knew. He rolled his shoulder off the wall and pressed his palm against the door, widening the opening to reveal himself.

  Moira let out a little yip and jumped. “I knew it. I only saw you for a second, but I knew. Why the hell did you run out? And what’s up with the phony name? Oh. You’re undercover, right? I bet it’s something good. Tell me—”

  “Moira.” The single word came out sharper than he’d meant, but it worked. Moira’s jaw snapped shut.

  Gabby continued, “Ms. O’Leary, did you mention to anyone that you saw Detective O’Malley at the party last night?”

  “No. I thought it was Jimmy, but by the ti
me I made my way through the crowd, he was gone and Decker said he was James Buchanan. I thought I’d imagined seeing you.”

  Although Moira spoke directly to him, Gabby interrupted her. “Ms. O’Leary.” When she had Moira’s attention, she went on. “Detective O’Malley is undercover and it’s imperative that no one know his real name.”

  Moira slid her gaze back to Jimmy, and being the oldest of five, he knew what was coming.

  “What’s in it for me?”

  “The thanks of the Chicago Police Department.”

  She snorted. “That’s not gonna pay my rent. I want an exclusive. I’ll keep my mouth shut and you give me the details before anyone else.”

  “How about you keep your mouth shut or I’ll haul you in on obstruction charges?”

  Gabby touched his forearm, but he refused to back down. No way was Moira going to get the better of him. He’d never bowed down to any reporter and he wouldn’t start now.

  Moira stood, staring at him with her arms crossed defiantly below her full breasts, daring him to threaten her again.

  The problem was, legal threats weren’t crossing his mind just then. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and Gabby stepped between them.

  “Ms. O’Leary, we can’t promise you’ll get the story first, mostly because there might not be much of a story when we’re done with our investigation. But we’ll do our best.” She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to Moira.

  She accepted it and smiled up at Jimmy, who glared at her over Gabby’s head. “What, Jimmy, no card from you? However will I contact you?” She snapped her fingers. “Oh, yeah. I can probably knock on your dad’s door.”

  He stiffened at the implication that he couldn’t support himself, mostly because Moira knew the truth. He’d moved back home to take care of his dad. Shit, she’d been there to help him move in. Gabby stepped back and he either had to move or knock her over.

  “Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. O’Leary.”

  Moira moved back inside her apartment and wagged her fingers at him before closing the door. Her smile returned to the sweet one that he found so hard to resist. He listened, but she didn’t lock the door. Gabby turned and started down the stairs. She looked over her shoulder. “You coming?”