Page 119 of Running to You

Levi.

Right.

Of course he knew about Levi. She would never have told Michael, Sam’s brother, but MC, the stranger on the other end of all those messages… He’d known what was keeping her at The Ranch. Getting away by herself—that would have been one thing. But escaping with her son…

She hadn’t been able to figure out how to do it.

“You rescued me, Michael. You got me out of there. Sam’s going to be grateful.”

“He’ll get there, but he’s not going to start there.” His golden-brown eyes seemed to look right through her. “It would be easier if he knew about Levi. The longer you wait—”

“I know. I get it. And of course I’m going to tell him.”

“Okay. Good. When he gets back, I’ll go inside, give you guys a minute to—”

“No. Not now.” The thought was a fist squeezing the air right out of her. “Now’s not the time. In a car. On our way to…to do all this stuff. I’ll tell him later.”

Michael stared at her. Maybe glared was the word. “Then, when?”

“As soon as we’re done with the FBI.”

“They know about Levi.”

Right. They’d interviewed her at The Ranch on one of their many visits.

“They’ll ask where he is,” Michael said. “He’s with your mother?”

“Yeah. They’re safe. Will Sam be with me when I talk to them?”

“You going to ask him to leave so you can keep your secrets? How do you think that’ll go over?”

She crossed her arms, rocked in the seat. She needed Sam on her side. She knew she’d have to tell him eventually, but not yet.

“What are you afraid of, Eliza?” Michael’s words were low and kind.

So many things. “It’s just… Every time I do something wrong, somebody gets hurt. Every single time. And leaving Sam… That was wrong. Stupid and… I never planned to stay away. I just needed some time to figure out…” She sighed. “Levi is the greatest gift of my life. Despite how he came to be, despite all my mistakes. So I did a bad thing, and I got a gift, and I know it won’t last.” She gathered her courage to face Sam’s brother. “I know it won’t last, so I’m holding on to Sam as long as I can.”

“He loves you, Eliza. What do you think he’s going to do?”

“Leave me. Hate me. I don’t know.”

Michael watched her a long time before he spoke again. “Sam’s a good guy. He’s not going to hold a grudge.”

“Really? He’s held a grudge against you since he was eleven.”

Michael’s mouth opened, snapped shut. “But I apologized, and he got over it. And you’re way more important to him than I am. I understand the position you’re in. I understand you’re afraid. And believe it or not, I even understand the need for keeping secrets. I’m good at secrets. Really good.”

That, she didn’t doubt.

“Which is how I know the damage they do,” he said. “Secrets separate us. They’re invisible walls that keep the people we love at a distance. And the thing is, those people, those loved ones? They don’t get it. They don’t know why they can’t get close to us. They think it’s them, that they’ve done something wrong. So they try harder. Or they pull away. You can’t truly love people you’re lying to.”

“I’m not lying—”

“Every minute you don’t tell him, Eliza, that wall gets thicker. Every minute you keep the secret, you make it harder for him to trust you. And forgive you.”

“An hour or two, Michael. That’s all I’m asking.”

His phone dinged, and he glanced at it. Put the car in reverse and headed for the store entrance. “I just got my brother back. I’m telling him about MC, about how I found you. And when he asks why I couldn’t get you out of there…I’ll leave that to you to explain.”