Page 118 of Running to You

“At a friend’s lake house on the Cape.”

“You know how to get in touch with her?”

“She got a burner phone, but I don’t have the number.”

“It’s a start.” He faced forward again.

Michael’s eyes found hers in the rearview. “Hey, Sam. Find a place where Eliza can get a new jacket.”

“We’re going shopping?” Sam said. “Now?”

“The jacket she has is too easy to pick out in a crowd.”

He wasn’t wrong. Bright red, way too big for her. “I’ll just take it off.” Eliza did, but Michael wasn’t appeased.

“They’ll expect that. They won’t expect you in a different jacket. Also, you wear your hair like that a lot?”

She fingered the ponytail. “Yeah. It’s easier, since it’s so long.”

“We need a way to disguise it. Maybe a bun?”

“Um…I think I’ve been wearing it in buns too. I can just…” She yanked the ponytail holder out and let her hair fall.

“Too distinctive,” Michael said, then to Sam, “Did you find a place?”

“Yeah. Just stay on this road…”

Ten minutes later, Michael parked at the curb in front of a department store. Eliza reached for the handle, but he stopped her. “Eliza, stay here where it’s safe. Sam can do it.”

Sam gave his brother a long look. “You think someone followed us?”

“Better safe than sorry.”

He shot a look her way, maybe asking if she was okay with the plan. She had a strong suspicion that this was about more than just shopping.

“Grab a jacket, small”—Michael’s gaze flicked to her—“right?”

“Yeah.”

“Nothing like that one. Different color, different style. Fitted, I think. Also, big sunglasses that’ll hide her face, and a hat if they have any. Nothing that’ll draw attention, though. A neutral-colored cap. And get yourself a hat too. And a new shirt, in case they saw you at the airport.”

Sam looked down at the nondescript navy-blue sweater he’d bought the night before. “This doesn’t exactly stand out.”

“Right now, they’re looking for a woman in a red jacket and a tall guy wearing a blue sweater. You change the obvious things, you throw people off.”

“Aye, aye, Inspector Gadget.” The playful words weren’t delivered with a smile. To Eliza… “Anything else you need?”

A whole new wardrobe, one that hadn’t come from a grocery store or the secondhand bin at The Ranch. “No, thanks.”

He slammed the door a little too hard, and Michael drove to the back of the lot and parked. “Can you come up front?”

She did, fearing what was coming.

“I have to tell him that I found you.” Michael faced her, jaw tight and strong. Sam had grown a beard since Eliza left him, but Michael's beard was trimmed close, the cleft in his chin pronounced with that intense look. “He’s going to be ticked off that I didn’t tell him right away.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“A couple of reasons. But one of them was Levi.”