Page 155 of Running to You

Michael gave one short nod at his brother and focused on her again. “I’ll drive you. That way, if Keller has somebody watching the bus stop in Augusta, he’ll see you get off. It’ll make for a long day, and I’m sorry about that, but it seems like the best option.”

“A bus ride won’t kill me.”

Sam flinched. Poor choice of words.

Grant had stepped out a few minutes earlier. Now, he carried the box she and Sam had gotten the day before into the sunroom and set it on the table.

Michael dug into it. “Here we go.” He took something out, something so small she couldn’t even see it. “Any chance you have a button-down shirt?”

“I did, but it’s at Colton’s.”

Grant swiped something off the floor on the far side of the table and tossed it to her. The plastic bag of clothes Camilla had bought for her last weekend. “Stopped by Colton’s on my way to grab your things.”

“Thank you. I’ll go change.”

In the restroom on the first floor, she slipped into the plaid shirt and the ugly canvas pants that Jed preferred for the women to wear. If she was going back, she might as well play her part well.

When she pushed back into the sunroom, the conversation she’d heard as she approached stopped.

Michael and Sam were staring at each other.

And then Sam swiveled and walked past her, not even meeting her eyes.

She turned and watched him disappear down the hall, fighting the urge to follow, to try to explain herself.

No. She was going to do what she had to do to protect Levi, and she wasn’t going to let Sam make her feel guilty for that.

She sat, and Michael studied the buttons on her shirt. “Those are perfect. Is it okay if I…?” He reached toward her, and she scooted closer so he could reach them. He slipped something small and mostly clear over one of them, then looked over her head. “Can you see it?”

Both Grant and Jon moved in. Nothing like having a bunch of men stare at her chest. After a long study, they both moved away. “Gotta really want to see it,” Jon said.

“I never did find it,” Grant added.

“And he was looking for it.” Michael’s tone was soothing as he leaned back. “I’ve used these before. Even if they search you, there’re no wires. You shouldn’t have any trouble.”

Grant was pulling things out of the box. Holsters and handguns and some sort of eyewear. This would be a rough time for a hotel staff member to step in. “What about metal detectors?”

“I’ve worn the camera through airport security,” Michael said.

Nobody seemed to question why that would be, and maybe now wasn’t the time. But eventually, she wanted to know more about the man’s “side gig.”

“Here we go.” Grant took a case from the box, opened it up, and handed it to Michael, who took out a little clear…thing.

“This goes in your ear.” Michael held it out for her to see. It was tiny, soft, probably silicone, much smaller than ear buds. “It’s a speaker and a microphone, so we’ll be able to hear everything you say. Like the camera, there’re no wires. We’ll control it from our end. You need to be within range, so it won’t work when you’re on the bus. Once you get on the property, we’ll be able to hear everything you say and almost everything you hear. We’ll only turn it on for you to hear us if there’s something you need to know. That way you won’t be distracted by our voices.”

She nodded but couldn’t seem to make herself speak. This was all getting too real.

Michael’s hands were cold as he slid the tiny thing into her ear. “There. That’s hidden. Is it okay?”

It felt weird, but it didn’t hurt. “It’s fine. Will other people be able to hear when you guys talk?”

“No. Not even if they’re really close.” They tested it, and it worked perfectly.

“What do I have to do, exactly?”

Michael stood and moved away, and Jon settled in the chair. He leaned forward and held her eye contact. “It’s very simple. You go in. You do what’s natural, what’s expected of you. We’re not asking you to do anything dangerous or risky. Just be there, look around. The camera and microphone will do the work. Whatever information you can get into conversation we’ll take, but don’t do anything to give yourself away. Don’t tell anybody we’re out there, not even your mother, not until we give you the signal. Your ear’ll be off unless there’s something you need to know. If you hear one of us, don’t react.”

“You said there’ll be a signal?”