Catch Your Breath

Chapter 1-3

On Saturday, Jimmy dressed in the rented tux and tried not to feel trapped. He was still getting used to wearing a suit on a daily basis. A tuxedo felt so formal and stiff, like being in a straitjacket. He walked downstairs to check on his dad before heading out.

“Where the hell you going all dressed up?”

“Work,” Jimmy answered. “Did you check your blood?”

His dad nodded and drank from a glass. Jimmy eyed the liquid to determine what it was.

“Diet root beer,” Dad said. “And before you ask, yeah, I ate dinner, even my vegetables.”

If this was what being a parent felt like, maybe he wasn’t cut out to be a father. Jimmy could barely control his temper over his dad’s attitude about everything. It’s not like Jimmy wanted to mother him.

“What kind of case makes you dress like a damn penguin?”

“Undercover.”

“There’s the reason I stayed in uniform. Things are black and white. None of that shite.” He slugged back more of his root beer.

While his father had been a good cop, Jimmy knew Dad hadn’t been particularly ambitious either, which had been the main reason he’d stayed in uniform his entire career. Jimmy wanted more. More money, more respect—he wanted it all.

Dad couldn’t understand, so they clashed pretty often when it came to talking about work. Jimmy avoided the topic whenever possible, but at the same time, he knew Dad loved to have a small piece of his life back by talking over a case with Jimmy.

He took the Blue Line downtown and walked the few blocks to the mayor’s office. The tuxedo irritated the s**t out of him. He tried not to claw at the tie and hoped the stench of the El didn’t stick to him.

Gabby offered to drive, but it didn’t make sense for her to drive to the Northside when she lived south. They planned to meet at the mayor’s office and he’d ride with the mayor. Gave him a chance to get chummy with the man.

As he turned the corner in front of the building, a long, high-pitched whistle broke the air. Gabby stood, leaning against her car, smiling at him.

Christ. It’s 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 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 were 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 t**s 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 is 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. f**k. 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 t**s 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.