Free Too Wicked to Keep by Julie Leto Page B

use sometime before he woke up. He thought he was always ready for any contingency, but she had him beat. What she probably saw as basic hospitality and preparedness, he saw as careful attention to detail.
    Maybe planning a heist with her wouldn’t be so bad.
    Maybe winning her back would be better.
    The thought was insane.
    Impossible.
    And yet, Danny had pulled off unlikely heists before. His reputation for taking on the most difficult schemes and breaking through the most sophisticated security had not been unearned. And who knew? Maybe the ring would help him.
    Stranger things had happened.

7
    â€œS O , WHO IS HE ?”
    Abby cursed under her breath, then trudged into the living room. Instead of leaving quietly, as she’d hoped, Erica had planted herself on the couch, ankles crossed demurely and hands folded beatifically in her lap. She’d poured herself a cup of coffee in one of Abby’s china cups and waited for her friend to dish.
    Abby pushed aside her annoyance. If her best friend had sent her on such a mysterious errand first thing on a Monday morning, there was no way she’d scoot out without learning as many details as she could. She and Erica were peas-in-a-pod—two young ladies of wealth and privilege raised to be smart and capable. They’d both gone from their small, exclusive private school to Northwestern. They’d both collected master’s degrees and now had low-key, but respectable jobs: Abby as an art curator and Erica as an event designer. While Erica had never married, she’d had three long-term relationships with three of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors.
    Although Erica disappointed her mother daily because she hadn’t produced at least one grandchild by now, she was as close to perfect as Abby could stand.Time and again, she’d proven to be an ideal friend—mostly because she didn’t ask too many deep and probing questions, waiting instead for Abby to come clean on her own.
    Except today.
    Erica already knew Abby had a man in the house. What she didn’t know was who—or why.
    â€œHe’s a friend who is helping me out on a project.”
    Erica’s blue eyes narrowed. “I know all your friends.”
    Abby grinned. “You don’t know this one.”
    â€œDo I want to?”
    â€œNo,” Abby answered, remaining standing as a not-so-subtle hint that she wasn’t in the mood to chat. “But thanks for bringing the clothes. I’m sure his luggage will be delivered sometime today. Airlines.”
    Erica snorted, the sound unapologetically unladylike. “What do you know about airlines? Even when you fly commercial, you ship your things to your destination ahead of time.”
    â€œI only did that once! And I wasn’t the one flying into O’Hare. He was.”
    â€œReally? Then why wasn’t Captain Brennan available to fly my grandfather to Dallas for an emergency shareholder meeting yesterday? Sucks that our families lease the same jet, doesn’t it?”
    Abby opened her mouth, but Erica cut her denial short with a raised palm.
    â€œSave the excuses, Abigail. You’re up to something. And since this is a rare and noteworthy occurrence, please don’t lie to me about it. You’re acting like you did right before your wedding, remember? All secretive and bending the truth in little ways. Please don’t shut me out again.”
    Guilt pressed Abby into the chair across from Erica.They’d been close friends since high school, when she’d been a junior and Erica a sophomore. Together, they’d run a successful campaign for the top two jobs in student government. Then they’d attended the same college, a year apart, and when Abby pledged Alpha Delta Pi, Erica joined her the next fall semester. They’d spent a thousand early Saturday mornings attending teas and fundraisers with their mothers and another thousand late nights holed up in Abby’s