Page 129 of Shadowing You

He was furious with Gavin for being right, with himself for being an idiot, and with Mei Lin for being at the back of the cabin when all he wanted was to sit beside her and start over.

Lord, I’ve made a mess. Help me fix it.

The prayer wasn’t much, but it was honest, and at the moment it was about all he had to offer.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Through the wall of windows, Mei Lin watched Derrick’s jet climb. The black sky had turned dark gray to match the bleak landscape. A hill rose in the distance, covered in leafless trees interspersed by a handful of lanky pines.

Derrick seemed like a very nice man. At the door of the plane, she’d thanked him again for the ride—as if ride could sum up what he’d done. He’d just grinned and told her he looked forward to seeing her again, as if there were no question about it.

She wished she shared his confidence.

His jet disappeared into the low clouds.

Somehow, she would have to get through the rest of this day before she could sleep again. Her throat still hurt. Her fever was down, but she could feel it underneath everything, waiting for an opening.

There was a single clerk behind a tall desk. Otherwise, aside from her, Ethan, and Gavin, the space was empty.

Ethan had been overly polite to Mei Lin since they’d exited the plane, telling her they needed to talk, that he was sorry, that it was all going to be okay.

She’d been polite in return. She owed him that and more. He had come into China to find her, and he’d kept her alive. He’d planned and plotted and protected her, and she’d let him be in charge.

Somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten she had hands of her own.

She’d survived without Ethan for most of her life, including six years in prison. She’d escaped Lu Feng in Changsha all by herself. Not that she could’ve left China without help, but perhaps she could’ve done it without Ethan’s help. She could’ve found somebody else to smuggle her into another country. Maybe.

The point was, whatever happened next, she could manage herself. She might not want to, but she could.

A phone rang behind her. Ethan’s, probably, or Gavin’s. Mei Lin didn’t have a phone, or a job, or a place to live, or a penny to her name. But she had her freedom. It would have to be enough.

In the reflection of the glass, she watched Ethan crossing the small lounge toward her, frowning. She turned when he reached her, and he held the phone so she could read the screen. Dr. Marcus Patel. The name meant nothing to her, which he knew. The point was, it wasn’t Holly’s name.

She lifted her gaze from the screen to his. “A friend?”

“A colleague,” he said. “I need to take it.”

“Then take it.”

He hesitated, the phone still ringing in his hand, as if there were something more he wanted to say. Then he lifted it. “This is Ethan.” He paused to listen. “I’m fine. Back in the States, but…” Another pause. “I remember the case. She presented with a fever and a rash…”

Mei Lin watched as he wandered across the room. His back was straight, his voice low and professional as he discussed a patient. She didn’t know that Ethan. She didn’t know any of the Ethans he had become without her.

Gavin sat in a leather chair, elbows on his knees, his phone in both hands. He had been working that phone since the wheels had touched the runway. There was a car coming and a place arranged. She hadn’t asked where it was. Just like with Ethan, she’d let Gavin direct her moves.

Somehow, she was still that frightened prisoner, facing a warden, afraid to reach for her own life.

She started toward him, and he raised his head as she lowered herself into the chair beside his.

“I’m sure you’re exhausted,” he said. “The car will be here soon.”

“I want to go to Vancouver,” she said. “My visa for Canada is still good. I have friends there.” At least she’d had them when she was in school. Surely, some were still nearby. If not, she could go to her mother’s cousin’s until she found a job and a place to live.

She’d done harder things with less.

Gavin nodded slowly. “I understand.” He set the phone on the arm of his chair. “I worry, though, that Lu Feng will look for you in Vancouver. For now, I’d rather you stay at the place I’ve arranged. Lu Feng shouldn’t be able to find you here.”

He made sense. Of course she shouldn’t go back to the one place in North America she’d once lived. “Okay.” She folded her hands in her lap. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Truly.”