Page 69 of Guarding Truth
Nothing was stopping Caleb from getting to Ivy. He’d risk everything, including his own life, to get to her.
He stopped short at Juliette’s car, or rather, her grandmother’s ancient Lincoln Town Car. The vehicle looked like it hadn’t been driven since 1993, and when he cranked the engine, the car chugged.
“She didn’t drive it a lot,” Juliette said while she hammered out text messages. He hit the gas, and the car lurched into reverse. Dust blew out of the air-conditioning vents, and he coughed.
He needed to apologize to her. But he wasn’t backing down on his decision to leave without backup. These hackers played by their own rules, and he could speak their language.
“Jules, I’m sorry I snapped at you. But you understand my position. I can’t do anything that will put Ivy in jeopardy. If they said no cops and we cross that line…”
“Right,” she huffed. “You’d rather put yourself in danger instead.”
“I’m barely hanging on to my life, Jules. My company might go under. Ivy’s grandparents might take her away. She’s all I have left.”
A voice in the recesses of his mind chided him. Ivy wasn’t the only one he loved.
He loved Juliette. He just couldn’t say it. Because once those three words were put out into the atmosphere, he couldn’t take them back.
Everyone he’d ever loved had left him, whether by death or by choice. And she’d already left him once. Love just wasn’t worth the risk.
He took a deep breath and debated running a red light. At the last second, he slowed. No sense in getting into a car accident before they arrived at the marina.
His smartwatch chimed a fifteen-minute warning.
“I texted Matt and Decia the location,” Juliette said. “Alana and Noelle are going to head here in their own cars, so they’ll blend in and not look like the police. But Matt could help.”
Caleb swallowed hard. “They’ll kill her if we make one wrong move. I’m not even sure you should be here. They said for me to come alone.” He refused to trade Ivy’s life for Juliette’s. He needed to protect them both.
Like she’d said, he always played it safe. But not now. Not with Ivy’s life on the line.
“I need you to hang back, Juliette. Let me go in. You have to watch my back and wait for backup once they release Ivy.”
“This is a bad idea. You’re assuming they’ll release Ivy. They aren’t going to give up that easily.”
They rode in silence, with Caleb’s foot heavy on the gas the whole trip. They approached the entrance to the marina. Caleb pulled onto the side of the road and cut the lights. “I have to do everything within my power to get her back.” He stared out the windshield at the docks leading to the parked boats and million-dollar yachts.
Juliette put her hand on his shoulder. “Stop shutting me out. We’ve always been a team. I’ll hang back and look for trouble.”
He stared into her eyes, and longing hit him like a freight train. His mind muddled and he needed to get out of the car before he had a chance to do something stupid.
Like kiss her again.
Juliette jumped out of the old Lincoln, breaking the spell between them. She’d go in on foot to remain undetected. Meanwhile, Caleb drove into the marina and parked in the lot in front of the docks.
The place had three docks that had boat slips on the right and left, with probably fifteen boats on each side. He picked the center aisle and started walking. The crisp fall air gave him chills, but the coldness revived his senses. He surveyed the area, committing everything to memory. From every boat name to the number of yachts parked in the marina, he’d remember every detail.
The dock extended out into the Intracoastal Waterway. He checked each boat, searching for signs of life or clues that it might belong to a hacker. People had the strangest names for boats. A forty-five-foot yacht heralded the nameNacho Boatacross its stern. Another one readSea-Sick. He needed a break, some name to jump out at him as a possible location for Ivy. Or maybe just a big neon arrow falling from the sky, pinpointing Ivy’s exact location. Was that too much to ask for?
He glanced behind him and didn’t see Juliette, but he could feel her eyes watching his every move. In front of him, boats rocked back and forth in the waves, but none of them had any signs of life. Was Ivy on one of these boats?
Part of his logical brain knew that this whole thing might be nothing more than an elaborate trap. But he had to believe that if he gave the hackers a trade they couldn’t refuse, they’d free Ivy. Now he regretted not waiting for backup to arrive. Why had he allowed emotion to win out over sound logic? This wasn’t like him.
Had he made things worse for himself by rushing into danger? Even Hazard Pay Montgomery wouldn’t take this risk, which should say something about his decision. But if there was one thing Caleb understood, it was the world of hacking. And these men wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to have the chief architect of the security software in their clutches.
A bang sounded from one of the boats at the end of the dock. He raced down the wooden planks to the last boat slip and stopped short.
The yacht hadThe Rushmorepainted across the stern in thick red spray-painted letters.
This was the place. “I’m here,” he called out. “Show yourselves.”