The Devil of Downtown (Uptown Girls, #3)

by Joanna Shupe

“And who is your friend?” Mrs. Grant asked quietly. “He’s certainly a handsome one.” “That is Mr. Mulligan.” “Well, it appears many of our guests already know him. Is he a politician? Or a fancy railroad magnate?” “He’s . . .” She hesitated. “A businessman.” It felt wrong to dissemble but the description wasn’t exactly a lie. “That ain’t no businessman,” one of their guests said as he passed by. “That’s Jack Mulligan. South of Fourteenth Street they call him the very devil.” Mrs. Grant’s face changed, wariness creeping into her expression. “Oh, I hadn’t realized it was that Mr. Mulligan.” “He’s not as bad as that,” Justine said. “He’s quite generous.” “But he’s also dangerous.” Mrs. Grant watched Jack as he shook hands with a table of men. “I’ve heard stories. Should you be associating with a man like that, Miss Greene?” Her back straightened, the urge to defend him tightening her muscles. She wished the world knew him as she did: a sweet, funny and kind man. Who else would have rushed here to help tonight, merely because he wished to spend time with her? Who else would have made a speech at the Metropolitan Opera House as a way of saving her reputation? What about teaching her bowling and promising to help get her into the police department? He’d done all that and more since she met him. “He’s merely a friend.” “If you say so. Please tell him we are grateful for his help tonight.”