Page 63 of Guarding Truth
“What about the car we stole?” Ivy asked.
McGregor chuckled. “I had an agent deliver a new car for you. It’s parked right out front. We’ll compensate the owner of the car youborrowed.” He passed a set of keys to Juliette.
They headed out of the restaurant. Alana wanted to get a jump start on security and headed off to let Savannah PD know about the operation. Juliette, Caleb, and Ivy headed to a nondescript four-door sedan and got in.
Juliette followed Agent McGregor’s car and watched her FBI tail in the rearview mirror. The plan was that once they got near the school, the agents would fall back a bit, in case someone was watching the area.
Caleb sat in the passenger seat, typing away on his laptop while they drove.
“Uncle Caleb?” Ivy’s small voice came from the back seat.
He paused his typing and craned his neck toward the back seat. “What’s up?”
Ivy sniffed. “You know I have to do this. If I can help the agents, then I need to. But I can’t do it alone. Remember? I need your help. And God’s. You taught me that.”
Juliette stiffened, because that was the same lecture he’d preached to her all those years ago.
“Right,” Caleb replied. “But I’m not sure putting you in danger is the best way to bring about justice.”
“But what if it is?”
He turned in his seat so he could face her. “Maybe you’re right. You’re smart, Ivy, and if you can help and feel that it’s the right thing to do, I’ll support you a hundred percent. I’ve got your back.”
Juliette could see Ivy’s smile in her rearview mirror.
“And maybe Uncle Caleb should take a piece of his own advice,” Juliette said. Caleb swiveled his head toward the front of the car. “I know you’re trying to track these hackers on your own, outside of the FBI. Make sure you don’t forget that you’re part of a team. My team.”
Agent McGregor’s car ran through a yellow light, but Juliette stopped. They were about two miles from the park. So far, she hadn’t spotted any trouble. But now she’d have to catch up to the agent’s car. He’d probably pull off and wait for her.
The light seemed to take forever, with cars stopped at all four intersections. Maybe her suspicious mind needed a rest. But after a minute of sitting at the intersection with all cars at a four-way stop, her bodyguard senses kicked into overdrive. “Something’s not right,” she muttered at Caleb, whose fingers hovered over the keyboard.
He didn’t say anything but commenced typing. For a former Army analyst, how could he be so oblivious?—
“They hacked the lights,” Ivy said. “Didn’t they?”
Caleb nodded. “They’re in the system and changed those lights to mess with our protection.”
Juliette’s stomach clenched. She checked her rearview mirror to confirm the agent was still behind her. “We need to get out of here. They’re coming for us.”
She pulled into the intersection, but it was too late. Two trucks raced toward them. One T-boned the FBI agent that had been following them.
The other headed straight for them.
* * *
FRIDAY, 11:45 A.M.
Caleb’s mind processed the scene as if it were happening in slow motion.
The truck barreled toward the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Ivy screamed.
The side of the car crumpled around Juliette. Metal creaked and popped as if all the bolts and nuts holding the car together were stretched beyond their limits.
The impact shoved Juliette toward the crumbling center console, almost into his lap. Her seat belt kept her in place, but the whole driver’s door pressed inward. The passenger-side airbag deployed, filling the front seat with a cloud of white powder. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he gasped.
His mind sped up. The movement stopped, but Caleb’s stomach continued to somersault. Juliette groaned. He reached over and touched her cheek.