Walter said, “How could you have messed it up like that?” His wolf growled at him now.
Heidi said, “Back off, boss. You’re being a jerk. Amnesia, remember?”
For the first time, Walter wondered if she was simply pretending to have amnesia. But then realized that Dr. Johnson would have been able to tell the difference. Or would he?
His phone rang and Walter glanced at it. Owen Quincy, head of the London team.
Walter raised a finger to indicate he’d be right back, and went into his office. “Owen, what’s up?”
In his clipped British accent, Owen Quincy said, “We’ve tracked your original hacker to a specific geographic area, and it’s taken us some fancy work to get that information, too.”
“That’s good. Where?”
“The Miami, Florida, area.”
“Miami,” Walter said, thoughtfully.
“Yes. We’ll keep you updated as we find further information.”
“Thanks, Owen. I appreciate it.”
As Walter hung up the phone, he pondered. Sugar Monroe was from Miami. Coincidence? Or was there more to it?
The entire system had gone down when Sugar was working on it. More coincidence?
Either way, he didn’t like it. He was going to keep a close eye on Jade Monroe a.k.a. Sugar.
That made his wolf happy, but Walter’s mind was disturbed at the possibility of Sugar being the original black-hat hacker.
He walked down the hall when he heard a shout from the IT room. He hurried in.
Jareth grinned at him. “The system’s back up — and we found evidence of a hacker infiltration that seems to have been zapped out of existence.”
“So the crash turned out to be a good thing?” Walter asked.
Jareth nodded.
Walter looked at Sugar. Strangest serendipitous amnesiac hacker he’d ever known.
“I’d like to take you to dinner,” Walter said, hands on the wheel, as he glanced over at her.
“Actually,” Sugar said. “I’d rather prepare dinner for you.”
Walter looked surprised. “You hit your head just yesterday, and today’s been a long day. Are you sure?”
“Yes. Fixing food relaxes me.”
He glanced over again, his eyes intense. “Really? You’ve remembered something else?”
“I haven’t really remembered anything specific, but yes, it feels right. I like to cook. I wonder why.”
“I’ve read that hackers, whether wearing black or white hats, tend to be introverted, intuitive, and thinker types on the Briggs-Myers scale. I could see that combination doing well in the kitchen, too.” He shrugged. “If you’re going to insist, please at least just fix something simple. I don’t want you to overdo.”
She pulled out the phone he’d given her, clicked on the notes app, and started typing in a list of ingredients. For what dish, she wondered, and then it came to her. “Do you have a BBQ grill?”
“Yes.”
“Do grilled balsamic chicken breasts sound good to you? That allows me to make the marinade but you can cook it. I’ll toss a salad to go with them. Do you have the ingredients?”
“Probably not.”
“Okay. Stop at whatever Monster Mart grocery store you have in town.”
He laughed. “It is the Monster Mart.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Of course it is.”
Inside said Monster Mart, with displays worthy of any classic monster movie, Sugar led the way until they had what she needed for the meal.
Walter looked at her appreciatively. “This is definitely not my area of expertise.”
“It is mine, though.”
They exchanged another meaningful look, then she smiled. “One of these times I’m going to say something and back it up with an actual memory.”
The stupid amnesia was definitely a problem — but Sugar felt happy anyway. Was it because she was with Walter?
He pushed his glasses up on his nose in an unconscious gesture she’d noticed before. An endearing gesture.
Walter was amazed at Sugar’s quick recovery.
When they’d reached his home with the groceries, Sugar set about making dinner — and looked invigorated.
She mixed up dough and rolled it out in a circle. “Do you have a pie tin?”
“You’re making pie?” He chuckled as he pulled out a pan from when Mara and Ty had brought him over a thank-you pie. “Just like that?”
“Thanks. And yes.” She took it, rolled the dough over the rolling pin, and slid it expertly onto the pie pan. Just like that.
Then she pulled out the cans of lycanberries they’d bought, plus butter and other ingredients.
“Lycanberry pie.” He sighed. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“In your case, Doctor Clemmons, I believe it will be lycanberry Pi. As in 3.14.”
“You know Pi? Chess and Pi and pie? I may not want you to regain your memory because then you may not want to stay with me any longer.”
She turned on the oven. While she waited for it to warm up, she mixed balsamic vinegar with salt, pepper, and oil, then put the chicken breasts in a large zippered bag to marinate.
Setting that in a bowl in the fridge, she set about making a green salad, one with all sorts of delicious vegetables, including slices of avocado. When it looked pretty, she covered that bowl and set it in the fridge as well.
Belatedly, Walter realized he was just watching her work — and enjoying it immensely. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Sure.” She nodded. “Why don’t you cut the green beans?”
“Okay. I should be able to handle that.”
She set the green beans on his cutting board and held out a wicked-looking knife. He laughed. “You aren’t having memories of being an assassin, are you?”
She responded with a grin. “No. But if I were, I’d want a bigger knife than this.”
“Would you now?” he said, taking the knife from her.
“Cut off the ends and toss them, then cut them a couple of times.”
“Got it.”
And then she was chopping garlic and pulling out a container of red pepper flakes. “I’ll start cooking the green beans when the chicken is nearly grilled. They don’t take long to fix.”
“What are you doing with them?”
“We’re turning them into a delicious recipe officially called Spicy Green Beans. You’ll love them. Unless you don’t like spicy foods...?”
“I love spicy foods.”
“Oh, good. They’re not really super spicy, just really tasty.”
He watched her move around his kitchen like a dancer.
He’d like to keep her here, in his house. His wolf agreed, and had begun to murmur to him, Mine.
She can’t be ours, he murmured back. Human.
And that thought made him supremely sad.
“That was absolutely delicious.” Walter sighed happily.
“Thank you.” Sugar was pleased with his reaction.
“After I clean up, would you like to play another game of chess?”
“Do you mind if I look through some of your books first?”
“You’re asking me, a historian, if I mind someone who likes books? Not at all.”
“I didn’t remember you being a historian, but I’ll take your word for it.”
He chuckled. “Glad to hear there’s a level of trust there, even if it’s not very high.”
She grinned at him. “It makes so much sense.”
“You go ahead,” he said. “I’ll join you after I’m done here.”
She wandered into his den and studied the bookcases full of old books. It was delightful. She felt like Belle when the beast showed her his library, and she wondered what secrets her kind and thoughtful host kept hidden
She ran a finger lightly across covers, scanning titles, pulling out volumes and looking for dates and titles.
When Walter joined her, maybe ten minutes later, she said, “These are really old. I’
m almost afraid to pick some of them up.”
“The books on that wall are newer.”
She moved where he pointed and pulled one out. “Newer?” She laughed. “This is still over a hundred years old.”
She loved this room. There was just something about it that was peaceful to her. Books and more books — and a man who loved those books. He watched her indulgently.
“Do you have any cookbooks?”
“One from the 18th century. Will that do?”
She smiled at him. “If I want to fix wild turkey, perhaps.”
She raised her arm and ran her fingers along the covers on a higher shelf. She stopped at a book, not sure what had attracted her attention. “What’s this one?”
She looked at the cover, but couldn’t recognize the language. “And what language is it written in?”
“It’s one I studied several years ago on the history of Crete. And it’s written in Greek.”
She opened the book and carefully flipped through the pages. “Yup. It’s all Greek to me.”
She turned a page and a piece of paper fluttered down to the floor.
He picked it up and studied it, then her. He wore a perplexed expression. “I’ve been looking for this for several years.”
“How fortuitous I felt like looking through your books, then.”
“Yes.” He studied her as though she were a math problem he needed to solve.
“What?”
“There seem to be an inordinately large number of coincidences when you’re around.”
She didn’t understand it, either, so she just smiled sweetly. “It does seem that way, doesn’t it?”
“I’m thinking if I took you to Vegas, we could clean house.”
Walter was amazed. He’d searched for this note for over two years. He’d have sworn he pulled this very book out to look through it. He’d looked everywhere. Finally, he’d had to redo some of his research on a job because he needed the information on this note.
The one he now held in his hands.
The one that Sugar had miraculously found in the book.
Coincidence, indeed. She was the Queen of Coincidence. It was kind of endearing, actually. She had lost her memories — and yet she could still function. In the office, in his kitchen, and in his den.
She turned from the books and took a seat at the chess table. “Tell me about yourself, Dr. Clemmons.”
“Walter, please.”
“Walter, please tell me about yourself.”
He took the seat across from her. “Not much to tell.”
“Do you have family around here?”
He shook his head. His family had stayed behind when he immigrated to America. He’d found a new pack here in Moonchuckle Bay. “My parents and three brothers live in Scotland.”
“Scotland. No wonder you have such a delightful accent.”
“I’ve worked on not having an accent.”
“It’s still there. And I love hearing it.” She waved her hands in an encouraging motion. “Quick, say some more. Do your brothers look like you? Are they married?”
“They are married.” Happily, to werewolves. “And we have the same nose.”
She squinted at him. “Do you take turns with it?”
“We all have similar noses,” he clarified as she giggled. Actually giggled. And was adorable doing it.
She said, “How old are you?”
“Hundreds of years old,” he said softly, realizing his slip immediately. She was human, so he couldn’t tell her the entire truth. She’d think he was lying.
“You look very good for your age,” she said. “You must have had a bunch of wives over the years.”
“Just one,” he said. Why was he telling her these things?
Her eyes warmed with interest. “Tell me about her.”
“She was Scottish. Her name was...” Aigneas ingen Gille-Míchél. “Agnes.”
“That’s a nice, old-fashioned name. You seem very young to have been married. What happened?”
“She died.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Wanting to change the topic, Walter asked, “How about you? Your family?” Then he stopped. Of course she didn’t remember her family. Though maybe his question would jog something.
A mischievous twinkle flashed in her eyes. “I was born in the last century in Iowa.”
“Iowa, huh?” he said with a smile. She’d obviously thought he was joking and was now going along in the same spirit.
“I was Cornfield Queen in high school.”
“I have no doubt of it.”
“And I have magical powers.” She held out her hands and wiggled the fingers. “Though I can’t wiggle my nose like on Bewitched.”
“Your magic is coincidence. I saw it in action a few minutes ago.”
“I used to ride a unicorn named Blue.” She sighed dramatically. “I had such great times with ole Blue.”
Amused, he watched her.
She continued. “I think I was a witch or something. And when my sisters and I are together,” she wiggled her fingers again, “we get up to mischief.”
“Of that I have no doubt.”
“A witch. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Why, oh why, did she have to be a human? If she really were a witch, there might be a chance between them. He nodded in agreement and decided he could hope she truly was a witch. “Great fun.”
Because he couldn’t, shouldn’t — wouldn’t — fall in love with another human.
His traitorous wolf whispered, Mine.
Mind. Blown. Again.
WALTER HAD ALREADY MADE AN excuse to go into the IT room several times this morning, though he should be having difficulty walking, after eating so much of the biscuits and sausage gravy the pretty hacker had whipped up for breakfast. With a smile, no less. How was he supposed to resist her?
When he went into the room, Jareth looked up and rolled his eyes. The vampire was the opposite of sentimental. Ginnie, on the other hand, was a closet romantic of a genie, and offered Walter an encouraging smile.
He had a legitimate reason for coming in this time, though. He’d had another premonition. Usually they were vague, but this one had been specific. It told him that Sugar was not the original hacker. He could question if that’s just what he wanted to believe, but it had been strong enough that he thought it was legit. He was going to trust this premonition.
Relief didn’t begin to cover his emotions.
Sugar looked up and her smile was brilliant. It plucked at his heartstrings — and he did his best to ignore it. He was getting mixed messages from himself ... from Resist, fool! to Mine!
“How’s it going?” he asked all three, though he was looking at Sugar.
“I just found something. I think. I’m just not sure what it means.” Sugar shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t remember everything.”
“But you do have your magic of coincidence.”
“Serendipity,” Ginnie said. “We’re going to start calling her Sugardipity because of it.”
Walter waved Ginnie and Jareth over. “Okay. Show us what you’ve found, Sugar.”
She scrolled up and down a few times, and then put her cursor on the line that had caught her attention. She didn’t know what, because she didn’t understand the code, but she assumed it was like she could cook even though she didn’t remember how.
“May I?” Jareth pointed at the mouse.
“Sure.”
He bent over and moved the cursor, then whistled and stood up straight. “That’s the code for the hospital. Someone may have used a BOT to steal the code on the keypad to the egg’s room.”
“Egg?” Sugar asked. “What egg?”
Walter’s eyes widened in horror as the realization struck him. The hackers weren’t out to ruin the office, though that would happen if they got in. They were definitely out to steal the dragon’s egg — definitely and aggressively! He went cold. He couldn’t let that happen. “How long ago?”
Study
ing the screen, Ginnie said, “Ten minutes ago.” Then she was racing to her own terminal. “I’ll reset the codes.”
A moment later, she said, “Done. It looks like the keypad hasn’t been accessed for fifteen minutes, so the egg is safe.”
“For now,” Jareth said.
Walter called Heidi in, and told her, “I want a biometric scanner installed on the egg room immediately. Retinal, preferably. How quickly can we have that in?”
Heidi said, “I’ll call and get it arranged for today.”
“Good. I want it up and running within two hours, if possible.” He turned back to Sugar. “You may have just saved the day.”
Then he pulled out his phone and called his contact at the hospital, and told him, “Go check the egg immediately.”
“I was just in there fifteen minutes ago,” Manfred Ottison protested.
“Now. Check it again. The codes were compromised ten minutes ago. ”
“On it.”
“I’ll hold,” Walter said. He had to make sure the egg was safe or Ty and Mara would never forgive him. He practically held his breath while he waited. Had the egg already been stolen? Surely whoever did this planned to steal it and not damage it.
Finally, Manfred reported, “It’s here. Safe and sound. Temps are correct. Everything looks good.”
Walter let out a breath. “Someone is after the egg. Stay in the room. Bump up security personnel and have one outside the door at all times. A new retinal scanner will be installed later today.”
“You want me to stay in the egg room all day?”
“For a week, if that’s what it takes to get the scanner installed. Until the egg hatches, maybe. Unless you’d rather have an angry dragon on your tail.”
“Staying in the egg room,” Manfred agreed.
“Good. I’ll see you in two hours. I’ll have Ty and Mara come in for retinal scans as soon as it’s operational.” Walter looked at Ginnie. “Can you put some misinformation in the system?”
“Sure, boss.”
Walter was afraid he’d have an angry dragon on his tail if he didn’t get this contained.
This particular dragon was super secretive and, like in the old tales, he loved his treasure. In this case, he considered his Swan Maiden and their egg his most valuable treasures of all.
The Hacker Pushes Her Luck Page 5
