Page 3 of Secrets and Lies

Alex stuck her head into the room. “You guys want to hear the plan?”

Jake was already on his feet. “Not on your life. I’m heading back to the hotel. Need my wits about me if I’m shadowing Drake.”

He bro-hugged the brothers and walked out, heart thumping a little harder than before. As he exited the building onto the street, the warm scent of early summer wrapped around him. He breathed in deeply. God, he missed New York. Europe was amazing, but it was nice to be back.

Monty loved Europe, though, and if they were to make things official, he’d have to be able to live with that. He smiled. He’d live at the North Pole if it made Monty happy. He fingered the box that was burning a hole in his pocket. He’d been carrying the ring around for weeks, waiting for the right moment. Maybe he should ask while they were here in New York. He’d have to see. The opportunity would present itself. The question was, would she say yes? God, he hoped so. He would be destroyed if she said no. She was the love of his life, and he would do anything she needed to seal this deal.

But first things first. He needed to survive the next two weeks with Jameson Drake. Then he would see about the rest.

CHAPTER TWO

MONTY

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Madison Montgomery, Monty, leaned back in her chair. “Seems like you guys are a little short on details for this one, not that it’s any of my business.”

Alex let out a little huff and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure.” She glared at Monty and then dropped her arms. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten defensive with you. You’re right. Leo was a little light on details. He says a friend of his asked him for this favor, and I have to accept that, but if I’m being honest, I’m feeling like there’s something off about it all.”

Monty raised an eyebrow. “I certainly don’t know much about this sort of thing, only what I learned from you the few times you’ve come to Europe and asked for help. But if you’re not feeling one hundred percent on this one, maybe don’t do it… or at least put it off?”

“I would, but Leo said it has to be done quickly.”

“Huh. Well, that’s not helpful.”

“What’s not helpful?” Mitch asked as he entered the room.

Alex shrugged. “The speed of this job. I would like more time, but I’m stuck because… I mean, it is Leo.” If Monty recalledaccurately, Leo was Alex’s handler, mentor, and something of a father figure for her.

Mitch wrapped his arms around Alex. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

“I must say, you and Gage are taking this well,” Monty commented.

“We’ve learned to deal with it. Logan, on the other hand, will freak out if he finds out what you two are up to.”

Alex chuckled. “He’s a wee distracted because of the wedding on Saturday, isn’t he? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so wound up.”

“It’s true,” Mitch agreed. “He’s a nervous wreck. Never thought I would see Mr. Smooth, Calm, and Collected being so jumpy, but he wants everything for the wedding to be perfect.”

Mitch sat down. “We talked to Jake. You just missed him, by the way.”

“I know. He’s exhausted. If he saw me, he’d stay up and hang with me discussing business. He needs a solid twelve hours sleep, and deserves a break in general. The paperwork is killing him. His brain is on fire, I swear. He really needs this time in the field to put him right again. Thanks for that.”

“Our pleasure,” Gage said as he re-entered the room. “He’s saved our asses more times than we can count and we owe him. You were wise to reach out. He’ll never tell us he needs a break from running things. He would see that as letting us down. So, thanks for filling us in. We want to talk about job expansion for him and, by expansion, I mean time in the field.”

Monty frowned. If they mentioned their desire for him to work out of the office, he would probably figure out she’d reached out to Mitch and Gage. That would go over like screen doors on submarines. She started to shake her head.

“Don’t worry,” Mitch said. “The way we’re envisioning it, he’ll work with each guy randomly to see how they do. A day here, twodays there. Just enough to give him a better sense of each person on the team and how the whole system is running. He won’t know you gave us the heads up.”

“Thanks for that,” Monty offered. “He takes his responsibilities very seriously and always gives one hundred and ten percent.”

“We’ve noticed,” Gage agreed.

Alex stared at the blueprints, seemingly lost in thought.

Monty pursed her lips. “Back to tonight: If you’re really feeling some trepidation about this job, is there a way to get Leo more involved so that he realizes what’s at stake? That it will take more time than he imagined?”

Alex pursed her lips. “I wish I could, but Leo is in Europe. This operation is a favor to him, and I owe that man so much. He said his friend needs the statue back ASAP. Something about a will and her father wanting to be buried with the statue. Leo’s friend should never have given it away. Apparently, it wasn’t hers to give so when her ex donated it to the museum along with a pile of other stuff, she was screwed.

Monty shuddered. “That’s just…icky somehow. Burying a piece of art with someone.”

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