“I’ll get in touch with the FBI,” Levi said. “I need to let them know that Zhao’s made contact again. They haven’t been good for much, but they’re good enough to back us up.”

I clenched my fists. “But they can’t be there—not if they’re going to try to take over at the site. We can’t do anything to compromise this.”

“Except for you showing up, right?” Levi shot me a look.

Ash looked up from his laptop. “It’s the FBI. I’m pretty sure they can handle themselves.”

“How does that work?” Lauren asked. “Your company and the FBI? The police?”

“We don’t break the law, and they stay out of our way,” Levi explained. “If we have knowledge of illegal activity, we share that information with them. If we come across a person of interest, we turn them in. I’ll call Agent Marks and let him know what’s happening.”

“It’s a symbiotic relationship,” Ash said. “Sometimes they’re actually our client.”

“Okay. Good to know.” Based on Lauren’s expression, the information was cold comfort. She started pacing. “I guess there’s nothing else we can do right now…”

“I’m going out there to look for her,” Ash said, closing his screen. “Some of the guys are already tracking down those plates. I’ll check in with them, and I’ll check the residential areas near the airport. If we could find her before the meeting…that could change everything.”

“Do you want company?” I asked, anxious to be useful.

Ash shook his head. “Not this time. Take care of your own business for right now—I have a feeling the rest of this week is going to be busy.”

“I’m going to meet with Agent Marks, my other contact, and also check in with my friend from the NSA,” Levi said. “I need everything they’ve got on Li Na’s operations. I’ll check in with you later—keep security with you, and stay safe.” He and Ash headed out.

I turned to Lauren. “What do you want to do? Are you going to head to the office?”

Lauren’s face was pale, with two hectic spots of color dotting her cheeks. “I should. I need to tell my people about what’s going on…about the status of the sale.”

“Have you thought some more about my offer? Because it still stands.”

She reached out and took my hand. “If you’d be willing to give my people a home at Dynamica, that would mean everything to me.”

“What about you?” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “I’d love to have you in the office next to mine for…reasons.”

“Ha.” But she knew I meant it. “I’m thinking about it, and I want you to know how much it means to me. But I can’t make a professional commitment right now. I don’t feel capable.”

I pulled her into my arms, feeling anxiety rolling off her in waves. She was wound taut, close to fraying. “Take your time. When you’re ready, make plans for the future—for our future.”

She buried her face in my chest. “I will. Just let me get through the end of this week, okay? I have to deal with this one step at a time.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Of course.”

Since there was nothing left to do at home but wait, we both decided it would be better to be busy at work. I went to Dynamica, and Lauren went to Paragon—with Timmy and three other security guards, at my insistence—and she promised to check in later. I called Olivia, my disgruntled London partner, when I got to the office. “Our conversation’s been on my mind. I know you don’t want to reveal your source, but I need to know who gave you the information about Paragon. It’s important.”

“You’re putting me in a bad spot,” she said.

“I’m still asking.”

“I’m really not at liberty to say, which I know is going to bother you. But I will tell you that you need to watch your back, and so does Lauren.”

“What the hell does that mean?” We were already busy watching our backs—and trying to pull Li Na’s preexisting daggers out.

“I can’t tell you, because I can’t have this coming back to me.” Olivia sounded firm. “I might need more information from this person, so I’m not burning the bridge.”

“Even if it means you’re burning a bridge with me? I know business is more important than friendship, but we have been friends for a long time, Olivia.”

“I know. So trust me when I say that you really don’t want to know who told me.”

“Call me when you come to your senses.” I hung up before I started yelling.

I spent the rest of the morning drinking coffee, feeling distracted, annoyed, and wary. Someone had compromised our confidentiality—someone who was looking to undermine the sale of Paragon to Jiàn Innovations. But the circle who knew about the impending transaction was small, and it was tight.

I swallowed a bitter taste in my mouth. I knew the person who’d done this was close to us. I’d get to the bottom of it. Whoever I met down there had a lot of explaining to do.

I pushed the issue to the side—I would have to deal with it later. If I was offering Lauren’s people positions, I needed to make sure everything at Dynamica was in order. I spent the rest of the day going through compliance reports, meeting with my department heads, and checking in with the rest of my international distributors. There was no sign that information about the sale had been leaked elsewhere, but what was happening in London hadn’t taken place in a vacuum. I had to isolate the problem and deal with it quickly.

And when I said deal with it, I meant exterminate it—before Li Na learned that people wanted out of the sandbox before her grubby paws got into it.

* * *

I sent Lauren a text as the late afternoon turned into evening. Meet me at the Stanford hotel? I think we could both use a break tonight. She’d been so tense at the house. I wanted to do anything I could to cheer her or distract her. She’d mentioned The Stanford before—it was one of Hannah’s favorite places in the city, but we’d never taken the time to check it out.

She called a minute later. “What’s up?”

“I just thought we could use the night away for just us, before we deal with…everything else this week. Does that sound okay?”

“That sounds perfect.”

“I’ll meet you there. I can’t wait.”

Before I left, I remembered what Ash had said about my mom. I needed to speak with her anyway, so I hit her number quickly as I headed to my car. “Hey, Mom.”

“Well, the prodigal son finally remembers he has a mother! How are you, honey?”

“I’m fine. Mostly. It’s been sort of…hectic out here.”

“That’s what Ash told me—it’s terrible about Lauren’s sister. I would love to call her, but as I haven’t actually had the privilege of meeting her yet, I thought I should wait. Can I send her a card?”

“A card?” Did people still do that? “Sure.”

“It doesn’t seem too formal to you? I feel like since I haven’t met her, it’s the only appropriate way to reach out, without overwhelming the poor girl…” She sniffed.

I groaned and hoped she didn’t hear me. “I’m bringing her to the wedding.” That is, if she doesn’t defect to China as Li Na Zhao’s prisoner.

“You’d better,” she said.

Time to switch gears. “How’s everything going? How’s Alexander?”

“He’s great!” Distracted, she chatted happily for a few minutes about her fiancé, Alexander Viejo, and his latest semester at MIT. “He said that Lauren was one of the best students he ever had,” she continued.

My mind was somewhere else. “Uh-huh.”

“Gabe, are you even listening to me? Why did you call anyway? You never call.”

“I need to ask you for something.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line. She probably couldn’t fathom what I wanted—I was a self-made billionaire who never asked for anything.

“Are you okay, honey?” My mother’s first instinct was always to panic.

I groaned. “I’m fine. I just need something.”

She went quiet for a minute. “What?”

We’d only talked about this once, years ago, but I knew she’d figure it out. “You know…that thing we talked about in the kitchen at Christmas a few years back…”

“Oh my God!” she yelped after a moment, realization finally dawning. “Are you serious?”

I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

“You don’t want something…different? I know you could afford it.”

“Wouldn’t be the same.”

“Aw, honey,” she said, and I could tell she was crying. “You always knew how to make your mother proud.”