Page 36 of Guarding Truth

He caught her glancing at him as Ivy prattled on about Jar Jar Binks, whoever or whatever that was. Heat fanned across her. She turned her attention back to Ivy and nodded as if this was the most interesting conversation on the planet.

It was not.

A knock at the door sent Juliette’s pulse thumping, and Caleb checked it out. He let Agent McGregor into the apartment, followed by Noelle, back from her security sweep.

Caleb tilted his head toward the bedroom at Ivy and she understood. She complied, though her frown followed by an exaggerated sigh suggested that she wanted to be part of the adult conversation. He ushered the agent into the living room.

“Can you make sure Ivy is entertained while we talk?” Juliette asked Noelle.

“On it.” Noelle ducked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Agent McGregor took a seat in the chair and cleared his throat. “The safe house won’t be ready until tomorrow.”

“They’ll stay with me tonight, with round-the-clock protection.” Juliette sat down next to Caleb on the couch.

McGregor nodded and let out a long breath. He steepled his hands in front of his lips. “I know you won’t want to hear this, Caleb, but in light of the new evidence, we’d like for you to consider allowing Ivy to meet with the hacker group.”

“No,” came Caleb’s swift reply.

The man leaned forward in the chair. “We researched the name Layna in the school records. Just like you suspected, there’s no student by that name. We think Rushmore tried to contact her, but we’d like to turn the tables on them. This may be the only way for us to take them down. They must have left Ivy a way to contact them.”

Caleb glared at Agent McGregor. “I will not let Ivy be used as bait for hackers. We still don’t even know where Theo is. She’s twelve. And once they find out that she can recreate their program, they’ll target her for sure.”

“We understand your concern. For now, we’re waiting for Rushmore to make contact about Theo.”

Juliette interjected. “But what are they going to do once they realize the laptop is in FBI custody?”

No one responded. She knew the answer, and based on Caleb’s clenched jaw, so did he.

Theo’s life was on the line. So was Ivy’s.

Agent McGregor took out his phone. “Consider allowing her to draw the hackers out into the open. Because they already know what she can do.”

He handed the phone to Caleb. “This is another conversation we uncovered between the hackers. Our agent was able to decode it based on Ivy’s notes. She’s on their radar.”

Caleb’s hand trembled as he took the phone. Juliette pressed in close to him to see the screen. The message jumped off the screen, and her vision blurred at the email chat between the hackers.

General: The girl knows too much. We need to take her out.

Liberator: No. She can help us. You said you could recruit her.

Rough Rider: Agreed. She’s an asset. We use her to send a message to her uncle. He needs to pay just like those corporate pigs. He helps them hide our hard-earned money.

“How can we let her face off against these men? She’s just a girl.” Juliette stood, hands on hips, glaring at the FBI agent.

Caleb sucked in a breath and rubbed his hand across his face, his five-o’clock shadow coming on strong. “I can’t let her do this. These are more than just hackers. They’re kidnappers and highly skilled thieves. She needs to be protected, not paraded around town so she can be a target.”

A pulsing headache threatened to destroy Juliette’s ability to keep her cool. She needed to get her new clients settled without the stress of Mr. FBI Agent hanging around. “It’s been a rough few days. Caleb and Ivy are going to be protected tonight. We can regroup at the safe house tomorrow. But for now, let’s let Caleb rest and think things over.”

Agent McGregor shook his head. “We need to interview Ivy regarding all she knows about the laptop, the program, and the hacker group. At least ask if they’ve told her how they’ll be in touch.”

So much for resting. Caleb slumped back onto the couch. “You can interview Ivy, but no mention of her meeting with these hackers. Let me decide this, not her.”

The agent nodded in agreement, and Juliette retrieved Ivy. The girl plopped down on the couch next to Caleb.

“Did Layna give you a way to contact her?” Caleb asked.

Ivy’s eyes widened. “Layna gave me a phone. I’ll get it.” She dashed into her bedroom and emerged with an iPhone.