Page 70 of Guarding Truth

The dock rocked under the swell of the waves. He sensed someone watching him, and not in a good way, like Juliette patrolling the area.

A scream pierced the twilight sky. “Uncle Caleb! Help!”

Ivy! His niece’s voice ripped a hole through his heart. The sound had come from below deck on the yacht.

“I’m coming, Ivy!”

He rushed toward a ladder on the side ofTheRushmore.

Heat and a blinding light knocked him backwards, and he stumbled to right himself. But the force of the blast had thrown him to the other side of the deck. He grabbed the rope guardrail to keep from plunging into the water.

The Rushmoreerupted into a giant fireball. The wood deck beneath his feet rumbled, and the fire spread to the neighboring boats. He grasped the rope, but fire began to consume the dock plank by plank until he had no choice but to let go.

A thousand sharp needles of cold water pricked his body at once. His choices were to suffocate above the surface from the smoke and flames, or swim away and pray he didn’t drown.

He allowed himself to sink into the water, one thought racing through his mind.

Ivy.

SEVENTEEN

FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.

The dock dissolved into the churning water, and Caleb was gone.

And so was Ivy.

Juliette clung to the rail and steadied herself on the rocking remnants of the pier. Alana and Noelle rushed in behind her, flanking her on either side to hold her up. They half dragged, half carried her to the concrete sidewalk, otherwise she might have dived in after Caleb.

They let her go when her feet hit the solid ground, and Juliette paced, searching the waters for any signs of life. “No! I don’t see Caleb. And I heard Ivy call out. She was on the boat. She’s gone. It’s all my fault. I should never have let him come. I knew it was a trap.”

Sirens wailed in the distance. Why hadn’t she insisted on calling the police sooner? Maybe they would have arrived in time.

Juliette stared at the burning hull of the yacht. There were six other boats between them and the explosion, but Juliette could feel the heat searing her skin. The fire spread, and black smoke poured into the sky.

“He’s out there.” Juliette grabbed a flashlight from Alana and searched the murky water. “Caleb’s an excellent swimmer. We’ve got to find him.”

Alana, Noelle, and Juliette took different sides of the dock, checking the debris in the water in hopes of spotting Caleb. The boat had been obliterated. Pieces of fiberglass and contents from not onlyThe Rushmorebut the other two parked boats on either side of it were floating through the marina.

Noelle passed Juliette a pair of binoculars so she could scan the area. “Please, Caleb. Be alive.”

How could she claim to be a bodyguard? She’d just watched both of her clients blow up in front of her eyes.

“I can’t believe I failed so spectacularly,” she muttered as she scanned the area. “I’ve lost them both.” Tears pricked her eyes, and she sucked in a breath. Until they pulled Caleb’s body from the depths of the ocean, he was alive.

Alana nudged her. “Check that buoy out about a hundred feet. The one to the west.” She pointed and Juliette focused the binoculars on the floating orange beacon that marked the edge of the marina.

She saw movement. Just the slightest blur of bright blue.

Juliette exhaled. “It’s Caleb. He’s on the buoy. I can see his shirt. He just pulled himself to safety.”

She watched to make sure he was breathing. Caleb had hoisted himself onto the buoy and collapsed. The device barely held him, and with his added weight, the beacon listed to one side. Juliette watched his chest rise and fall, making sure he wasn’t injured. Through the binoculars, he appeared to be in one piece.

But she knew his heart had been ripped to shreds.

“He’s okay,” she told Alana and Noelle. “He’s going to lose his mind over Ivy.”

She was thinking about searching the waters with the binoculars for any other signs of life when Noelle put a hand on Juliette’s shoulder. “If this was a trap, maybe they had a recording of Ivy so that we’d think she’s dead. After all, it looks like they want to keep her alive to complete their program. They’ve tried to take out Caleb numerous times.”