and smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to try to convince you to change your mind. I believe we each find our way in our own time. But I do believe with all my heart that God is watching over us right now. Both of us.”
“If that makes you feel better, then I’m all for it.”
She shook her head. “It’s not just about making me feel better. I realize you don’t think this, but God is not imaginary. Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
He shrugged his shoulders. His phone rang, and he was glad to have an out from the awkward conversation. The last thing he needed was a lecture on faith. He knew better. He’d lived through a childhood with parents who acted one way on Sunday morning and a totally different way the rest of the week.
“Deputy Preston,” he answered.
“It’s Elena. We have a problem.”
“What?” Immediately his pulse started to thump.
“I just got off a conference call with local police and the FBI. Kevin Diaz has violated the terms of his bail. He’s not in Atlanta, and no one on his staff or his legal team knows exactly where he is. Or if they do know, they aren’t saying.”
“What? You can’t be serious. How in the world did that happen?”
“His lawyers are trying to say there has been some sort of miscommunication about his schedule. They’re pushing back hard that there’s nothing wrong here, and that Kevin will be located promptly. But the judge has been informed and is not happy. The FBI will start to look for him along with the police,” Elena said.
He didn’t need to hear any more. “I’m implementing the alternate strategy we discussed yesterday.”
“Yes. That’s the best thing to do given the circumstances,” she said.
“Roger that.”
“You should move soon. I’ll keep you posted on any developments on Diaz.” She paused. “And watch your back, Max.”
He hung up and looked over at Sydney. Her eyes were focused on him like a laser beam.
“What’s going on? And don’t sugarcoat it. I need to know the truth. I deserve to know the truth.”
He agreed. It was better to just say it. “Kevin Diaz has violated his bail. No one seems to know exactly where he is.”
Her eyes widened as she sat for a moment in silence.
“I’m sorry. But this means we’ve got to get out of here as soon as you can get ready,” he said.
“What’s the plan you were talking about implementing?”
“We’re leaving Atlanta.”
“Whoa.” She stood up and walked over to him. “Are you talking about witness protection?”
“Not yet. Just protective custody for now, but we are going to leave the city. It will be safer that way. And the location is not attached to you in our electronic system, so we have that angle covered just in case there’s any risk of a security breach.”
“But I can’t just abandon my life.”
“I realize your apprehension. This is only a temporary solution until we figure out exactly what’s going on and the level of all the threats against you.”
“Temporary? How can you be so sure?”
He sighed. “I can’t. But for now we’ve got to start mobilizing. Go get ready and gather up what little stuff you have. Then we’ll get out of here.”
She nodded and walked away, and he resisted the urge to go to her. He needed to stay alert. Focused and determined to protect Sydney Berry at all cost. Her words about God watching over them were nagging at him, though. It wasn’t God, but hard work by the US Marshals that was keeping her safe.
And where had God been when he had needed Him in the dark days of his youth? When his dad had been gone for days on end doing who knew what and his mom hadn’t been able to put together a coherent sentence because she had been so strung out on prescription meds?
Abandoning that line of thought, he gathered up his stuff, and within half an hour they were on the road. The rain had gotten worse and lightning streaked through the sky. He had to drive much slower than he would’ve preferred given the circumstances.
“Where are we headed?” Sydney asked him when they had been on the road a while.
“We aren’t going to stay in one spot too long. We’re going to use the small Georgia towns to our advantage. First stop is a town called Pikeville in south Georgia.”
“Never heard of it.”
“I hadn’t, either, until this case. It’s a rural area, though. I know that much.”
“And what will we do there?” she asked.
“Lie low.”
“Doing what?”
“You sure do ask a lot of questions.”
She shrugged. “I think I have the right to do so. And small towns can be difficult. Everyone knows everyone. We’ll stick out.”
“That’s why we’ll have our cover story and never stay long enough for anyone to start asking the really tough questions.”
She sighed. “When are you planning to share the cover story with me?”
He dreaded this explanation because he knew she wouldn’t like it. “I need to explain something to you. This cover is just temporary and specific to our current strategy. If the situation changes and you are formally placed in the Witness Security Program—otherwise known as witness protection—your cover would be entirely different. In fact, it wouldn’t be a cover but a new life. A new name, a new past, a new everything.”
“I don’t want a new life. I already told you that. I’ve worked so hard to have the life I have now.”
Loud thunder boomed, and he saw her flinch. Something deeper than what he had tapped into so far was going on with her. It wasn’t just the Diaz case that had her edgy. “I get that. I just didn’t want there to be any confusion between what’s happening now and what could possibly happen in the future.”
“Now that you’ve gotten that off your chest, let’s get back to my original question. Our cover.”
“Right.” He glanced over at her. She sure was feisty this morning. “We’re working on a special story on Southern towns for a national magazine. If anyone asks, we’ll just say that we can’t reveal the identity of the magazine because the feature is a surprise. The less we have to say to anyone the better.”
“Where will we stay?”
“Mostly hotels or inns. We’re just traveling through. Getting what we need for our story and then moving on.”
“So we’re coworkers?”
“Exactly. And just to make it simple, I’ll call you Syd instead of Sydney, and we’ll switch last names. So you’re Syd Preston and I’m Max Berry. Once again, if you were to go into the program, you’d have a completely different name. These names are only temporary to get us through the first town.”
She let out a breath. “I’d rather not even think about that right now.”
His phone rang, and he put it on speaker as he drove. “Deputy Preston,” he answered.
“It’s Elena.”
“Hey, you’re on speaker with Sydney.”
“Great. How are you holding up, Sydney?”
“Given the circumstances, I guess I’m all right.”
“Hang in there. You’ve got a team of people