Page 82 of Running to You

No maybe about it.

But the thought of her traveling with, spending the night with, waking up with some guy…just a few hours before she threw herself into his arms.

Yeah, jealousy was ugly. And sticky like sap. He’d need a lot of soap to wash it off.

He’d deal with that—and whoever Levi was—later. He needed to get Eliza calmed down or he’d be taking her to the hospital, despite her protests.

Her eyes were closed but scrunched up. Her fingertips pressed against her temples.

She’d been like that for a couple of minutes now, giving nothing away.

Then she opened her eyes and saw him. And if he weren’t mistaken, recoiled a little.

Great.

Apparently, his wasn’t the face she was longing for.

Which wasn’t supposed to hurt because he wasn’t supposed to care.

But he did.

He couldn’t help it, even if this ended in his delivering her to Levi and walking away.

She looked above him, and he glanced at the backs of Jon and Grant, who’d positioned themselves between her and the people moving through the small foyer, keeping prying eyes away.

He turned back to her. “Anything I can do?” There. That sounded kind, not jealous and petty, though those emotions were still close to the surface.

She shook her head, winced.

“Headache?”

“A little.”

He waited for more. An explanation would be nice. Like, who in the heck was Levi? And why did his name cause that reaction? They’d traveled to Manchester together, so where was he now?

And then he realized…

Was Levi the one who’d given her those bruises?

If so, Sam was going to find him…and hurt him.

Her voice was low, almost frightened. “Is there anything else Jon needs to tell us?”

Sam felt the men shift behind him.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Jon said. “I thought Sam might be able to shed some light… Well, anyway, I was trying to find a way to bring it up without upsetting you. I thought he would help.” He glared down at Sam, who suddenly found himself wishing he were standing, not crouched, head about knee-high to Jon, who looked like he wanted to rip it off.

Which…yeah. That was fair. Jon had taken him aside to ask if Eliza had mentioned a Levi or traveling with anyone. He’d thought the information might upset her because it was closer to home, more personal. Jon had been trying to protect her.

Sam hadn’t listened to his warnings as he’d stormed back into the building.

Eliza addressed Jon. “Thanks for trying, anyway.”

The man grunted. “You guys know everything I know.” He took a breath, almost smiled. “You’ve given me new leads. I’ll get going on them.”

Eliza looked at Sam then. “Can we go back to the cabin?”

“Are you okay to walk?”