Catch Your Breath (3 page)

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 herself 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.

J
immy 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 time 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?”

“In a minute.” When Gabby hit the landing and turned the corner, he grabbed the doorknob
and turned. Sure as shit, it turned without any resistance whatsoever. What the hell
was that girl thinking?

He opened the door and strode in. She had the radio on and he knew she couldn’t hear
him. He leaned against the wall in the hallway at the epicenter of the apartment and
waited. She wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without seeing him.

Within a minute she emerged from her bedroom wearing a skimpy robe while reading the
label on a jar. Although he hadn’t moved, it was like she felt his presence and looked
up. Everything froze. Her eyes widened.

Then she screamed, threw the jar at him. The bottle bounced off his chest and he grabbed
it from the floor. Wax.

Jimmy let out a chuckle.

Moira’s heart lodged in her throat before recognition hit.
Jimmy? What the hell?
Air flooded into her lungs and her heart steadied, but her blood boiled. “What the
hell are you doing in my house?”

“You didn’t lock your door.”

“I certainly didn’t leave it open either. There was no invitation to enter.” Her voice
rose steadily and she jabbed a finger in his direction. “You had no business coming
in. I should call and have you arrested.”

He raised a hand in defense. “When you closed the door, I listened for you to lock
up and you didn’t. I turned the knob and let myself in.”

“You scared the shit out of me. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me scaring you is the least of your worries. What if I was a rapist or murderer?
You’re making yourself an easy target. This building has zero security. It
is
like an invitation for some creep to come after you.” His voice stayed quiet and
strong, and was somehow way more menacing than her screaming rant.

She took a step back and crossed her arms again. She suddenly realized that she wore
nothing but her bathrobe, which was currently gaping. Tugging it closed and pulling
the sash tighter, she stared at her feet.

Could she get more embarrassed?

Jimmy’s hand holding ajar filled her field of vision. Her wax. “I think you dropped
this.”

Yes, her night just got more embarrassing. She curled her fingers around the jar and
tucked it into the pocket of the robe. His feet nearly touched hers and she focused
on his scuffed dress shoes in front of her bare toes.

They stood in silence and Moira noticed that they breathed in rhythm. He stood close
enough that the heat from his body permeated the thin material of her robe. Holy shit.
Jimmy O’Malley never got this close to her. If she leaned forward, she could rest
her face on his chest.

She couldn’t look at him. It was bad enough that he scared her half to death, but
now he’d seen her freak out while half naked, all while he was holding her leg wax.
And she might actually die if he realized she was just fantasizing about him.

“Hey,” he said softly. Nothing else. He waited silently until her eyes met his.

She expected to see his usual ridicule, but instead, there was something else. Kindness?

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He paused. “Well, I did, but only because I want you
to understand how completely unsafe you are. I wouldn’t want something to happen to
you.”

Her heart, which had been making its way back to its normal position, plummeted to
her feet. Jimmy stood so close, mere inches separating them. How many times over the
years had she dreamed of being in this exact position? And he was here because he
cared
.

She leaned forward and was certain she’d seen the look on his face shift. His eyes
darkened and she knew he wanted to kiss her. The knowledge sent tingles through her
body.

He suddenly stepped back, turned, and walked to the door. Opening it, he said over
his shoulder, “Make sure you lock up.”

Then he was gone.

Moira stood frozen in place for a second.

“Now, Moira,” he yelled from the other side of the door.

She scrambled to the door, flipped the dead bolt, and collapsed against the wood.
What the hell just happened?
Moira closed her eyes and replayed the scene in her mind. When she’d first come out
of her bedroom, all she saw was a hulk of a man standing in her hall.

Thinking back now, she should’ve recognized him immediately. Jimmy had a way of standing,
he had this air around him that was a constant buzz of motion, but he never moved.
He hadn’t been threatening, just leaning against the corner of the wall. And she had
to go and throw wax at him.

But what happened after, now that she could work past the embarrassment, she hadn’t
imagined. She could still feel the warmth of his body even though they hadn’t actually
touched. And while she would never claim to be an expert on all men, and certainly
not one on Jimmy O’Malley, she knew a lusty look when she was on the receiving end.

That was no one-way lust.

Moira pushed off the door feeling lighter than she had in a long time. Jimmy O’Malley
almost kissed her. She didn’t know how or why it had happened now, but she knew she
wanted to be in that position again.

With the jar of wax thumping against her thigh as she walked back to the bathroom,
Moira developed a plan. They needed each other. She could help with whatever investigation
Jimmy had going on and he could help her get a story that was more than high society
fluff. And if she was lucky enough to get lucky with him, well then, that would be
all the better.