Page 117 of Shadowing You

“I was worried.” Gavin held him for a long moment before he stepped back. “You’re okay?”

“I am. Thanks for…” There were too many things to list.

“Of course.” Gavin squeezed his shoulder, turning to Mei Lin, who was standing very still, arms crossed tight under the oilskin.

“Mei Lin. I’m Gavin, Ethan’s father.” He looked like he wanted to step toward her, but he didn’t, maybe reading her body language.

“Hello.” She attempted a smile. “I’m grateful to you.”

“She’s sick.” Ethan wrapped his arm around her back. “I’m pretty sure it’s strep. A throat infection, anyway.”

“Then let’s get you someplace warm.” Gavin lifted the packs off Ethan’s shoulder and started walking.

Ethan and Mei Lin followed along the maze of docks.

A sedan was idling in a small parking lot, exhaust pumping into the cold air. Gavin opened the back door, and Ethan helped Mei Lin in, then hurried to the other side and climbed in beside her. The seats were gloriously warm.

Gavin settled into the passenger seat, and the driver pulled away. “We’re headed to a hotel near the airport.” He twisted to see Ethan. “You two will have a few hours to rest and get cleaned up. We’re leaving later tonight.”

“She needs an antibiotic, so we’ll need to go to a doctor or hospital.”

“What medication?”

“Azithromycin if you can get it. Amoxicillin if you can’t. And a fever reducer—ibuprofen or acetaminophen, preferably both so we can alternate.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Ethan didn’t have the energy to ask how. He didn’t have the energy to watch the city slide by outside the window. He let his head rest against the seat back and listened to the tires hum on the pavement.

For the first time since he’d heard his wife’s voice on the phone, he let his guard down.

It was just after two a.m., the sky dark beyond the lights of Seoul.

The driver turned toward the airport. Gavin hadn’t said much of anything since they’d met in the lobby after too little sleep, offering a smile and a nod before they all climbed into the car.

The bed at the hotel had been the best he’d slept on since he’d left the States—maybe better than the one he had at home. Unfortunately, he hadn’t gotten nearly enough time to rest.

Mei Lin’s head lolled on his shoulder. She’d showered before him the night before, scrubbing off the fish smell and salt and whatever else clung to her skin. He’d given her a clean T-shirt from the suitcase Gavin had collected from the hotel in Changsha. She’d worn it when she’d crawled between the sheets, her hair still wet.

An hour later, Gavin had knocked quietly and handed over the medications.

Ethan had woken Mei Lin and gently urged her to take the first dose. Her fever was down now, but her eyes still had that glassy, somewhere-else look that made him want to put her back in bed.

Whose idea was a flight this early? What airline even had flights this early?

The driver turned off the main road long before the terminal and parked in front of a squat, plain building.

“Let’s go.” Gavin exited, already getting the suitcases from the trunk by the time Ethan and Mei Lin climbed out of the backseat.

They followed him inside and through a small coffee-scented lobby. There were no metal detectors here. No line of passengers. No bored agents checking documents.

They stepped out of a glass door on the opposite side, right onto a tarmac.

A small jet sat with its stairs down. Gavin walked straight toward it.

Mei Lin’s steps faltered, and she shot Ethan a look.

He shrugged. “I guess we’re riding in style.”