Page 61 of Guarding Truth

Not going to happen.

“You’re not taking chances when it comes to her life, Jules.”

Fire sparked in her eyes, and she practically slammed the fork to her plate. “Do you really think that little of me? That I’d put her in harm’s way? I plan to be right beside her the entire time. I’m not letting her do this alone. But if it helps catch these guys, I think we should at least hear the agent out.”

Everything within him wanted to protect them both…

“I need some air.” He scooted out of the booth and headed to the parking lot. On the way out, he passed Alana heading into the restaurant. Caleb nodded but kept moving.

A hand on his arm stopped him at the restaurant’s exit. “It’s not safe to be outside, Caleb.” Juliette stood between him and the door. She nodded to a section of the restaurant where there was a private table.

“Fine,” he muttered. He followed her to the private section and sank into the vinyl booth. An old-school jukebox brandished a rainbow of flickering colored lights across the back wall.

How had things spun so far out of control? The building blocks of his world consisted of numbers, order, and logic. This situation was chaos, unpredictable. No instruction manual existed. And the thing that bothered him the most?

He was falling for Jules, but at what cost? How could he trust her to protect Ivy when the woman who had his heart refused to play it safe?

From his spot, Caleb could see Ivy talking with Agent McGregor and Alana. His eyes were glued on Ivy until Juliette gave him a soft kick under the table. “Ivy is fine. Alana came in and won’t let her out of her sight. For the record, I’m not siding with Agent McGregor. I’m just saying hear the man out. That’s all. You know I’d never risk anything happening to Ivy. Or to you.”

He nodded, a lump forming in his throat. “I refuse to let go of her. Or you.” He stared at Ivy again, who laughed at something Alana said. When was the last time Ivy had giggled like that?

Juliette reached across the table and squeezed his hand, letting her fingers tangle in his. “We will get through this. The three of us. We will make it to the other side, and I’m not resting until we do. But we need to lay out all our options. I would think you, as Mr. Logic, would want to study all possible outcomes.”

He shook his head. “Be serious.”

“I am. I have my focus a hundred percent on protecting Ivy. No matter what. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

Caleb sighed. He’d have to trust Jules to do her job and protect Ivy.

Because he was the one who would be hunting these criminals down to protect all of them.

“I know this is a terrible situation all the way around. But just last night, we talked about trusting God with Ivy.”

His own words stabbed him like a thousand bee stings. He couldn’t argue with his own words.

“I don’t know, Jules. I feel so helpless. I close my eyes, and I’m back on that mountainside with Laz crushed in that Humvee, and I can’t do anything to pull him out. And I watched Laz and Tank die on an endless loop in my mind some nights in my dreams. It makes me want to play it safe. Especially with Ivy’s life.”

Juliette hadn’t released his hand, but their connection ran deeper than physical touch. She understood him. They’d both had a front row seat at the same horror show. It haunted them both.

His throat constricted. “I trust you, Jules. I know you’ll protect Ivy. And I know I have to let go of control here.”

“We’re a team, Caleb. I’ve always got your back. Remember how we fought our way out of the unwinnable training exercise? What did you call it?”

“The Kobayashi Maru. You changed the rules of the exercise. How can you forget?”

Her lip quirked up, like she was trying to stifle a smile in a somber moment. “I don’t speak Klingon.”

“It’s not—never mind. But I get your point. We’ve faced circumstances where the odds were stacked against us, and we found a way out.”

She leaned in closer over the table, her fingers still entwined in his. “I’m all-in, Caleb. I’ll watch out for Ivy. Even if I have to Kobayashi Maru my way out of the situation. I’m not running away this time. We’re in this together. As a team.”

Oh, how he wanted to lean over the table and kiss her again. But Juliette defineddangerous, and right now, he needed all of her attention on Ivy.

Because he was going to let his niece help the FBI take down a dangerous gang of criminals, while trusting that God had all of their backs.

FIFTEEN

FRIDAY, 9:45 A.M.