Page 52 of Just My Luck

Zara snapped her fingers. “Which explains why I haven’t seen him here at the resort. I bet he got fired or sent back to Japan. So what do you think it is?”

An idea was forming, one he didn’t like one bit. “We need to find it. Where is it now?”

“It’s probably at home. I doubt she’s carrying it around with her. She wouldn’t want to lose it.”

“Let’s go, then.” He caught her by the hand.

“Now?”

“If Tanaka had any idea it was there, his people would tear your place apart. If they didn’t burn it down first just to make sure.”

She turned pale. “Our insurance policy lapsed. I can’t afford a house fire right now.”

“Don’t worry about that.” He scowled at her, amazed that she didn’t understand this situation. She was under his protection. Whatever harm came to her, he’d fix. “You’re with me now. I’ll get you a new house.”

He tugged on her hand, pulling her off the arm of the couch.

“What? That’s insane, you can’t just get me a new house.” She pulled her hand out of his grip. “And I’m not going anywhere. Have you forgotten about Eddie?”

He put a horrified hand to his forehead. He really had forgotten Eddie for a moment. And he loved the kid! But the excitement of learning about a possible lead had chased everything else out of his head. “God. Sorry.”

“You are the worst freaking manny in the world,” she said. “Your next performance review is going to be hell on your oversized ego.”

He wanted to laugh, but at the same time he felt so bad that he couldn’t. “I’m really sorry. I got carried away. Of course we’re not going to leave Eddie, not even if the fate of the world is at stake.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “The fate of the world? Are you serious?”

“If the chip you found isn’t from the CHUM, my educated guess is that it’s part of how they plan to weaponize it. If Tanaka does find my missing sample, then he’ll have complete control of the CHUM technology. If he also has every scrap of this other material, whatever it is, well…”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. No wonder Nathan’s doing ten shots of tequila every night. Tanaka’s probably furious because if I get ahold of his missing chip, I’d be able to reverse-engineer it and make that weapon.”

She came close to him, fixing serious honey-sunshine eyes on him. “Tell me the truth. Is that what you would do?”

“Of course not.”

“And how much of your interest in all this is about the potential profits?”

He couldn’t blame her for asking these questions, and he owed her the truth. “I’m a businessman, so at the start, almost all of my interest was in maximizing the profits. Almost all, because I also found the CHUM to be magical and fascinating.”

“That’s what caught your attention?”

“Yes. Then I wanted it to make money. But now, I just want to save the world from whatever Tanaka is planning.”

“Save the world,” she repeated slowly.

He nodded, hoping it didn’t sound ridiculous that he thought he could save the world. “I developed the CHUM. I’m the reason Tanaka knows about it, because he keeps such close tabs on me, as the son of his biggest rival. This is my fault. So it’s my responsibility to fix it. That’s where I am now.”

After a long pause, during which she seemed to search the depths of his soul, she murmured, “Just my luck. How’d I get mixed up with a man trying to save the world?” She took his hand, and he felt a rush of pure relief. “Come on, then. We’ll drop Eddie off at Marley’s and go look for that good luck charm.”

25

Lincoln called ahead for the valet, who had the Mercedes waiting for them. He drove around town long enough to make sure no one had followed, on the off chance that someone had made the connection between Lincoln Kerr and Jim Spencer the manny. Then they dropped Eddie off at Marley’s and raced to her house.

Which…was still standing.

The relief made her lightheaded, until she walked inside. Then her breath caught in her chest. It looked as if a horde of hyperactive toddlers had torn through the house.