Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

FRIDAY, 4:20 P.M.

Juliette knew in the depths of her soul how Caleb intended to flush out these hackers from their hiding spot.

Because it was exactly what she'd do if given the opportunity to sacrifice herself to bring Ivy home.

She stood outside the office door in the hallway, hearing the click-click-click of Caleb's keyboard. All she wanted to do was ease Caleb's pain, promise him that they'd get Ivy back.

But she'd already failed him. Again.

Her hands throbbed from the tight fists clenched at her sides. How could she face Caleb, knowing her mistakes had cost him everything? Because she should never have agreed to let Ivy work for the FBI. Why hadn't she taken the girl and Caleb and run?

Part of her just wanted this to be over so they could try being…together. He made her feel whole, secure.

Loved.

But even if they had run, Caleb's program would have drawn him back. This wouldn't be finished until the bad guys were behind bars.

But she was the reason Ivy was missing. Without knocking, she pushed the door open. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself to get Ivy back. We're in this together."

His face paled. "What makes you think I'd do that?"

She couldn't stop the eye roll. "I know you. It's the most logical choice. Give the bad guys what they want, which is the ability to take down the bank's systems. And you're the perfect guy for the job. They've tried to get rid of you, their competition. But if they saw you as an asset, they might trade Ivy."

He turned the laptop screen. "I've already sent the message."

Her anger toward herself refocused on a new target. "What's the plan, Caleb? Just waltz in and they'll give up Ivy? They'll use you both. And you've already said, what happens when Ivy becomes expendable? You are not doing this without me."

Her voice growled the last two words. She put her hands on the side of the desk and stared Caleb down. He shifted in his seat, refusing to meet her eyes.

"If anything goes bad, I need you here to be there for Ivy. Make sure she gets to her grandparents if anything happens to me. I have to do this alone." He kept his eyes glued to the desk and fidgeted with his hands.

She crouched across from him, getting into his field of vision. "This is too big of a risk, Caleb. You of all people should know this. Ivy needs you. Alive."

He slapped the desk with his palm. "She needs me to find her."

"Then let me help."

They stared at each other until Caleb nodded. The ding of the computer sent Caleb spinning in his chair, his attention returning to the laptop. Juliette stood and moved to read over his shoulder.

"It's Rushmore," Caleb said. "They want to meet. In one hour."

"I'll let Agent McGregor know." Juliette pulled her phone from her pocket.

"They said no police or they'll kill Ivy." He turned the laptop toward her.

Meet us at this address. Thirty minutes. Tell no one. If we think the police are following, we will kill Ivy. We'll consider a trade. Ivy for you.

A picture followed the message. Ivy's emerald-green eyes stared blankly into what looked like a computer camera, her face streaked with tears. Juliette sucked in a breath.

A countdown clock showed the time ticking down. They now had twenty-nine minutes to get to Ivy.

"We can't go in alone, Caleb. This could be a trap." She headed for the door to find Alana and Noelle. Maybe they could help Caleb see reason.

Caleb grabbed her arm and spun her around. "We've got to go now. The address they sent is a marina about twenty minutes from here. There's no time. Either you're in or out."

Juliette shook out of his grip and faced him with her hands on her hips. "We need to call the FBI—or at least Matt. Let them handle it. They'll be able to be discreet. We can't do this alone."

In a complete role reversal, Juliette was telling him to play it safe. But her heart thumped with every second that ticked by. They couldn't waste time arguing.

He shook his head. "No. We need to surprise them, not swoop in with sirens and a SWAT team. These men will kill her if they get backed into a corner. I'm not taking any chances of spooking them."

"Caleb, some risks aren't worth taking. I know you love Ivy, but think this through. They aren't playing by the rules. They will kill you both."

"You know what?" Caleb grabbed his laptop and stuffed it into a backpack. "I'm going. Can we take Alana's car?" He marched out the door, presumably to find Alana. Juliette's car was still at the crime scene, so they needed a new ride.

"Fine." Juliette huffed her displeasure at their lack of a plan. What had happened to her logical Caleb? "You need to channel your inner Spock and think things through logically. But we can take my grandmother's car. I haven't sold it yet."

He nodded and Juliette led him down the hallway, out the back door, and toward the parking lot behind the house. "For the record, I don't like this idea. It's not like you to go rogue. But as your bodyguard, I go where you go. Let me get Alana and Noelle and let them know what's up."

"You used to run into danger all the time when the situation called for it," Caleb said. "What happened to Hazard Pay Montgomery? I need her to show up and fight hard."

She shot him a glare to send the message that he'd pushed her too far, but he ignored her silent clue and kept on talking. "I'm just saying that now is the time to take risks. I can't wait around for something to happen. We need to get Ivy back."

"Stop." She turned and put her hand on his chest. "I said I'm in, even though I don't agree. At least let me tell Alana and Noelle in case things go south."

"Text them from the car."

She relented and handed him the keys. She fired off a quick text to Alana and Noelle.

If ever she'd needed her teammates, it was now. Because how was she going to rein in her client if he recklessly walked into the bad guys' trap and surrendered?

* * *

FRIDAY 5 P.M.

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 name Nacho Boat across its stern. Another one read Sea-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 had The Rushmore painted across the stern in thick red spray-painted letters.

This was the place. "I'm here," he called out. "Show yourselves."

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 of The Rushmore .

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 Rushmore erupted 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.