Page 14 of Capturing You

After she’d agreed to stay until she had somewhere to go, Ford had directed her to a powder room—though he certainly hadn’t called it that—tucked into a hallway off the foyer. Just large enough for a toilet and a pedestal sink, the bathroom walls were papered in a burgundy floral. The fixtures were shiny gold.

She stared at her reflection in the gilded mirror. Nobody would know by looking at her that she’d run for her life that morning. Her fear hadn’t left any visible scars.

But at the memory of what’d happened at the cove, terror still thumped inside. She didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if not for the grumpy stranger who’d rescued her.

She needed a place to go that wasn’t too far from Shadow Cove in case she needed to get to the gallery.

Nobody in her immediate family was in a position to help, but she had lots of cousins nearby. And while she wouldn’t consider staying with her sisters, maybe one of the Wright brothers could give her shelter.

She started with the oldest. Daniel and his wife were moving to Shadow Cove. She wasn’t sure of their timeline, though. She dialed his number and explained that she needed a place to stay—without giving him the whole story.

“We’re on the road,” Daniel said, “but we should be in Maine in a couple of days. We’re staying at Mom and Dad’s until our house is ready. They’re up at camp, so there’s plenty of room for all of us. Call Mom. I’m sure there’s a key hidden somewhere.”

Aunt Peggy and Uncle Roger would welcome her to stay with them, but the camp Daniel mentioned was actually a house on an island a couple of hours north, meaning they wouldn’t be able to pick her up.

Daniel would, if she explained the situation, but that wouldn’t be for days.

Assuming she could get to her aunt and uncle’s house, it would probably be safe. But she’d need to get to her Bronco, which was probably being watched.

For now, that was a dead end.

She thanked Daniel and dialed Michael.

“We’re in DC.” His voice was deep, his words brusque, as usual. “We’ll be back in Shadow Cove this weekend. You could stay at our place, but we’ve got someone house sitting while we’re gone. It’s a refugee family Leila met at the shelter. I don’t know them well enough that I’d feel comfortable with you staying with them. Let me see if they can find somewhere else?—”

“No. Don’t do that.” The last thing she wanted was to displace homeless people. “Thanks anyway.”

“Why don’t you stay with your parents?” he asked. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Uh…it’s just… It’s a long story.”

“Huh. Why do I get the feeling it’s a story you need to tell someone?”

“It’s fine. I’ll let you know if I can’t find a place.” She ended that call quickly. Michael was a CIA agent, an expert at uncovering secrets. The last thing she needed was for the whole family to freak out, and Michael would definitely sound the alarm.

She started to dial Sam. The third Wright brother lived in Shadow Cove. He and Eliza would take her in, but with a five-year-old and a new baby on the way, they had enough on their plates. And she wasn’t about to put children in danger to protect herself.

Bryan and Sophie had left for Europe a week earlier, where they planned to work as missionaries to refugees.

Derrick, Jasmine, and the baby were out jet-setting somewhere. Well, flying the jet-setters around.

How did a woman with two parents, four sisters, an aunt and uncle, and six cousins not have anywhere to go?

She could call Grant. The fourth Wright brother and his wife used to be bodyguards, but Brooklynn already knew what he’d say, the same thing Ford had told her—get out of town and stay hidden. He’d demand she come to Coventry, which was farther away than Roger and Peggy’s house.

Grant would pick her up himself or have one of his buddies—this particular cousin knew people everywhere—do it. They’d probably put her in protective custody. She’d be all but handcuffed for her own protection.

She loved Grant and Summer, she did. But his overprotectiveness would drive her batty.

For now, she wasn’t ready to do anything quite so drastic.

What she needed was for those guys, whoever they were, to leave Shadow Cove and stay gone—or, even better, to be caught.

Which left her one option.

The only thing that raised Brooklynn’s anxiety higher than being chased by smugglers was the thought of having to deal with Lenny.

If she reported what happened, her ex-boyfriend, a cop, would find out about it and make sure he was assigned to the case. And then she’d have to rid herself of him all over again.