Page 62 of Guarding Truth

“I’m going to let Ivy work with McGregor on the investigation.”

Indecisive Caleb had decided, and the matter was resolved. Juliette watched Caleb rise from the restaurant booth and walk toward Agent McGregor. Despite her being in the protection business, she was doing a terrible job at protecting her heart.

For starters, when had she fallen for her client? One peek in Caleb’s dark brown eyes and all common sense vanished. She watched him stroll with confidence across the restaurant and slide into the booth next to Ivy while she mentally inserted herself into their future. Because being with Caleb these past few days had made her long for more chances to spend time with him and Ivy. When they weren’t running from drones.

What would it look like to be a family? They were a team. His strength of intelligence and logic balanced out her irrational emotions. He made her feel complete, whole. Plus, she admired his reliance on God. If she were honest with herself, she wanted that kind of faith. Loosening his grip on Ivy took guts.

She shook her head as if that would get her mind back on her job. But Caleb’s and Ivy’s lives depended on her sharp skills.

Juliette made her way back to the group’s table and slid into the booth next to Caleb and Ivy.

“I’m willing to hear you out, Agent McGregor.” Caleb stared the man down. “I can see the merits in Ivy working with you. But I need a plan to keep her safe.”

They listened to the agent’s plan to flush the hackers out from behind their computer screens. “The goal is to have Ivy text Layna and get her to agree to meet in a public place. We’ll have undercover agents on standby to take Layna down when she shows up.”

“It’s not going to work,” Juliette announced, louder than she’d intended. “If Layna’s with Rushmore, she has inside knowledge of the drone attacks. You don’t think they’ll see the FBI coming and smell a trap?” If the FBI was going to risk Ivy’s life, they needed a rock-solid plan. This mission was deadly, and it relied on the acting skills of a twelve-year-old. Could Ivy sell this?

The wooden chair creaked as McGregor shifted to Ivy. “We’ll need to make Layna think that you want to defect to her side, that you’re ready to work with Rushmore. I believe if you agree to meet, they’ll think that they’ve won you over. Especially if you’re rebelling by ditching your uncle.”

Ivy chimed in. “I can text her to meet me after school by the bleachers where I met her last time.”

The man shook his head. “I think a public park nearby might work, and I like your thinking. But Layna needs a reason to trust you. She has to be convinced that you want to work with Rushmore.”

“I can pull the whole teenage moody thing and tell her I’m fighting with Uncle Caleb. That I’m tired of being under surveillance and am sneaking out to meet her at the park.”

Caleb blanched, and Juliette felt the same queasiness over Ivy calling the shots and creating an elaborate lie to catch a criminal. And she did it with such ease.

McGregor pulled the phone—the one Layna had given Ivy—out of his jacket pocket and set it in front of him. “We made sure there aren’t any trackers on the phone and set it up to show a fake location.”

He slid the phone toward the center of the table. “I think you need to go bigger. Let them know you want to be a hacker and work for Rushmore. What is something that would prove your loyalty?”

Ivy reached across the table and took the phone. Her fingers flew across the screen. She put the phone down and slid it back to Agent McGregor. “Does that work?”

He retrieved the phone, read her message, and smirked. The agent flipped the screen so Caleb and Juliette could see it.

Meet at the park across from school. Noon. I’m done with my uncle holding me back and want to show the world what I can do. I’m all in. I can disable Cyberskies’ security system.

“I’m not really going to do it, Uncle Caleb. I just need her to think I’ll betray you to work with Rushmore. I know Layna will believe me. Please let me do this.”

Juliette shivered at how easy it was for Ivy to concoct a plausible story, as if lies just rolled off her tongue naturally. The power of a genius mind in the petite twelve-year-old body. If only she didn’t have to grow up so fast in a world that played loose with the truth.

There was no way Caleb would allow her to?—

“Okay,” he said, his voice a whisper. And just like that, Caleb consented. On the outside, it seemed like he’d made peace with the decision. But inside Caleb’s genius mind, Juliette knew, grief and anger were churning up a storm.

The agent passed Ivy the phone, and she sent the text to Layna. Within thirty seconds, Ivy had a response.

“She said she’d be there. I’m in.” She said it with no hesitation in her voice. The girl reminded Juliette of herself. Always ready for the call of duty without a second glance at the consequences.

And now she saw why taking risks sometimes shot terror through the hearts of those who had to stand on the sidelines and watch.

God, please be with this girl.

“Is there enough time to get agents in place?” Juliette said, checking her watch.

Agent McGregor stood. “I’m going to make some calls. It’s a shorter time frame than I was thinking, but I’ve had agents on standby working on nothing but this case. I’ll get everything set up.”

He turned to Caleb. “Will you two bring Ivy to the park and drop her off maybe a block away? We’ll have agents trail her as she walks to the meeting.”

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