Page 1 of Secrets and Lies

CHAPTER ONE

JAKE

Jake Boxer had just started to doze off when he heard, "Do you think they have dogs?" His head jerked up. Across the hall, Alex Buchanan leaned over the table in the glass-walled conference room, her expression focused, calculating.

Dani Pierce shrugged, her purple hair swaying like a silk curtain caught in a breeze. "Not likely. But if they do, those are on you. I don’t do anything with animals. Although"—she tilted her head thoughtfully—"I think I read something about a new app that might come in handy. Something to do with high-pitched frequencies. I’ll look into it."

Jake stifled a yawn. The jet lag was finally catching up to him. He’d flown in from London a few hours ago, and now the exhaustion threaded through his limbs like molasses. He glanced at his watch. Monty had said she was meeting up with friends tonight, which meant he was on his own. Right on cue, his stomach growled.

Alex leaned in closer to the schematic. “I don’t think they have dogs there on the regular. They’ve got everything else—infrared, pressure sensors, biometric locks. Dogs are justredundant. Maybe for a big event, but I’ll take that app if you’ve got it.”

Scattered around the blueprint were pictures—snapshots of the building, close-ups of security panels, even a few grainy, overhead drone shots. Jake’s gut tensed. Nothing good ever happened when Alex and Dani started hovering over blueprints like that. Beautiful, brilliant, and utterly fearless, the two women were a dangerous combination. He was forever grateful it had been Mitch and Gage who fell for them—and not him.

Alex picked up one of the photos, squinting. “It’s a damn good thing the item I need to steal is in the storage area. Otherwise, I’d have to use a grappling hook to get to the roof and then take the elevator down. That would be noisy… and messy.”

“Agreed,” Dani muttered, rubbing her lower back with one hand, skimming the other over the baby bump pushing out against her hoodie.

"A distraction sounds messy. Find another way," came Lacy’s voice as she strode into the room in her signature heels, sharp and purposeful. "And you two might want to shut the door if you don’t want the guys to know what you’re up to."

"Mitch knows," Alex replied with a sly smile. “And I found another way. No distraction needed to break into the museum.”

"Of course, he does." Lacy rolled her eyes. "Well, shut the door anyway. If Logan finds out, he’ll go DEFCON 5. You know how he gets."

"The museum? What museum? Are you breaking into the Museum of Modern Art?" Logan Callahan barked as he appeared in the doorway, zeroing in on the schematic like a heat-seeking missile. He tossed a wave at Jake. Jake lifted a weary hand in return, settling deeper into his chair. This was about to get good.

“Good to see you, Dani. How’re you feeling?” Logan asked, frowning down at the blueprint. “I thought we agreed—no more crazy plans after Russia.”

Dani grinned. Alex scowled.

"How was I supposed to know Putin had a cat at his summer house? I’m allergic, okay?"

Jake watched Logan close his eyes. The man was grinding his molars—Jake had seen that look before. Logan reopened his eyes, his jaw tight. “Please. Don’t break into the Museum of Modern Art. I do not want to explain your antics to the mayor. Or the governor.”

Alex and Dani shared a glance.

Alex dropped the photo onto the table. "Okay, Logan. I promise."

"Me too," Dani added, her tone too innocent to be convincing.

Logan narrowed his eyes. "That was too easy. What’s going on?"

"You asked—" Dani began.

“Logan,” Lacy interrupted smoothly, “we don’t have time for this. We need to finalize the wedding menu.”

Logan shifted his glare. “I thought we finished that. The wedding’s in a few days.”

Lacy just smiled sweetly. “We’re adding lamb lollipops.”

"Lamb? Isn’t there already a lamb dish?"

As Logan huffed and led the way down the hall to his office, Mitch Callahan slid into the chair across from Jake.

“Nice distraction,” Mitch commented with a grin.

Lacy followed Logan, leaving Alex and Dani to huddle over their plans.

Gage entered next, looking freshly showered and slightly wary. “They’re not seriously breaking into the Museum of Modern Art, are they?”

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