Page 70 of Just My Luck

“Probably at least half a day. They’re on foot from Waipi’o.”

“Do you know what they’re after? We don’t have the crystal.”

“I don’t know for sure. I have my theories. I’d like to see what you’ve got on there.” He gestured to the laptop. “I know about your memes. I’ve been monitoring them online.”

They locked eyes in a standoff. Zara picked up suspicion on both sides. Clearly there was tons of history there, and she didn’t know all of it. Maybe the two men needed to work out a few things on their own. “Mathilda, would you mind showing me the bathroom, if there is such a thing around here?”

Mathilda nodded, clearly picking up on her assessment of the situation. “It’s not a room, and there’s no bath, but it does the job. Follow me.”

They ducked out of the tent. “You boys play nice,” Mathilda called as she zipped the tent behind her. A startled hen skittered away with a loud squawk.

“Should we post a guard in there to keep things civil?” Zara asked.

“No need. Lincoln seems…different.” She shot Zara a speculative glance. “You must be a good influence on him.”

Zara laughed. “If so, that would be a first. I’m usually the one in trouble.”

“Come on, you can tell me more while I pack up some evacuation supplies.”

34

“I didn’t violate my NDA,” said Rory, finally breaking the tense silence.

“Technically, you probably did. But I don’t care about that. Consider yourself released from that.”

“I…uh…already have been, quite frankly.” Rory gave a one-sided smile. “Some things are more important than legal agreements.”

“I get it. I know what you’re up to. You’re trying to crowd-source the hunt for the CHUM.”

“The CHUM?”

He’d forgotten that he’d never told Rory its technical name. There was a lot he hadn’t told Rory. “The Crystalline Harmonic Universal Magnifier. CHUM.”

Rory crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s a ridiculous acronym.”

“So I’ve been told. By Zara. No one dared to mention that before.”

“I would have, if you’d bothered to tell me.”

“Point taken.” Lincoln tilted his head in acknowledgment. “I was very on guard back then, understandably. Perhaps I should have shared more information with you.”

“Perhaps?”

“Definitely. Especially after you saved my life. I owe you, Rory, I know that. Why do you think I came back here to warn you?”

Rory’s eyes narrowed to a dark glitter. “I think you came back here because you think I know something.”

“That too,” Lincoln admitted. “Look, I’m being honest here. I’m not hiding anything from you. Tanaka’s people are on their way, and I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. One thing I do know is that they’re trying to make the CHUM into a weapon. That’s so much worse than anything I planned to do with it, Rory. We need to stop them.”

Rory chewed on the inside of his mouth. He didn’t seem convinced. “Are you still trying to sell it to your billionaire bunker buddies?”

“I’m just trying to keep it from causing harm. Rory, everything’s different since we crashed. I…I’ve been having these dreams that I can’t understand. I got booted out of my own company by my sister. I was working as a gardener, for fuck’s sake.”

Rory lifted one eyebrow. “Say more about that. I could use some entertainment.”

“It seemed like the best way to look for the CHUM, since it was last seen at the Royal Leilani. I didn’t find it, but I did meet Zara. I also learned quite a bit about growing hibiscus and cheesewood. I had to act busy every time a guest wanted someone to open a coconut for them, though. It’s harder than it looks.”

An expression of gleeful delight came across Rory’s face. Lincoln couldn’t blame him. He’d spent several years being at Lincoln’s beck and call as his go-to private pilot.