Ch 1 Detective Tommy Gates

He had read once that a sign of intelligence was the ability to hold two opposing ideas at the same time and still be able to function. Tommy figured he ought to be damn near genius levels by now.

Ch 2 Agent James Hoffman

James felt like somebody had dumped one of those thousand piece puzzles right in front of him, tied his hands behind his back and turned off the lights. Good thing he liked a challenge.

Ch 3 Katherine “Kiki” Downey

Kiki was never good at hiding her emotions. Instead, she hid herself.

Ch 4 Mary Gates

Yes, life was made up of these instances in time. Big moments hidden inside little decisions.

Ch5 Michael “Mickey” Downey

Yeah, Devil take it, the day he met Mary Gates was the day he figured he’d joined the Legion of Fools.

Ch 6 Agent Ginny Sommers

FBI Special Agent Eugenia Elaine Sommers not only didn’t mind when people underestimated her, she deeply appreciated it.

Ch 7 Tommy

Just because the bully was always nice to you, never stole your lunch money, didn’t make him any less of a bully, did it?

Ch 8 James

It wasn’t his job to keep tabs on mob princesses, but this one was sort of a hobby.

Ch 9 Kiki

She was so utterly sick of people thinking they knew her, knew what kind of person she was because she was always in the spotlight. Because of who her father was, who her mother was, who her grandfather was, who everybody was, but never really seeing her.

Ch 10 Mary

If that meant running into Michael, so be it; better to run into than run away.

Ch 11 Mickey

…and he had given all that power up for this man — this man! — who refused to even see him as anything but the sum of his worst actions.

Ch 12 Ginny

…but there was something about the rugged patrician features and quiet demeanor of Tommy Gates that made her feel … well … just made her feel.

Ch 13 Tommy

He thought about ignoring her but he was pretty sure he’d go to Hell or Purgatory or wherever it was that sons-who-ignore-their-mothers-who-sacrificed-everything-for-you-but-had-an-annoying-habit-of-micromanaging-your-life go to.

Ch 14 James

He kissed her madly, like a desperate man. Which, of course … he was.

Ch 15 Kiki

Yes, she needed not just a mother, she needed a strong mother.

Ch 16 Mary

“Love knows no time, or distance, and it certainly knows no reason.”

Ch 17 Mickey

After all, family came first, surely even over that thin blue line.

Ch 18 Ginny

Never negotiate with terrorists, make bargains with mobsters, or drive downtown on game day. Some things are just a given.

Ch 19 Tommy

He’d started to believe things could work out, but here again was proof of how incredibly different they were, he and his father.

Ch 20 James

He could taste her tears on her lips as he heard himself whisper against them, “I love you …” Then the world went black.

Ch 21 Kiki

Sometimes she loved him so much. The quiet big brother way he had of just … understanding.

Ch 22 Mary

She slowed her gait, not wanting to burst the illusion by either one of them noticing her, like when you blew the perfect bubble and held your breath so you didn’t accidently burst it, silently willing it to stay intact as long as possible.

Ch 23 Mickey

There was nothing more painful than losing something just after you’d gotten it.

Ch 24 Ginny

She stifled her feelings, like she always did, and nodded professionally back at him.

Ch 25 Tommy

He’d had people he’d called friends throughout his life but none he’d felt he could completely confide in like this. It was an incredible relief, like a weight was lifted from his soul.

Epilogue

“How very naughty of you, Agent Hoffman,” she said seductively, not having been fooled at all. He smirked, having not been fooled by her being fooled at all.