Page 122 of Shadowing You

She looked at Ethan. “How does he have service?”

“He has access to tech the general public doesn’t—like phones that connect to satellites.” Ethan nodded at the food and water she hadn’t finished. “I know it hurts, but⁠—”

“You are very bossy.” But as much as it hurt to swallow, she was hungry and thirsty. She forced more donut and water down her swollen throat.

Gavin’s voice rose from a few rows back. “When did that happen?”

Ethan twisted to see him, and she stood, wondering what had the man so upset.

“Where did he—?” Another pause, then, “Keep working on it. I want to know the second you know, and tell them to hold off—” He nodded, but he didn’t look happy. “I’ll do my part. You need to do yours.”

He ended the call and spun, seeing them both watching him.

His expression shifted from angry to mild in a split second. He returned to his seat and set the phone carefully on the armrest. She had a feeling he was trying to decide what to tell them.

He looked past Ethan and met her eyes.

“Lu Feng left China yesterday.” His voice was even. “He’s scheduled to attend some global conference on human trafficking in Belgium next week, and the flight was booked to Brussels. He made it to Doha, but he didn’t get on his connecting flight.”

A chill seeped inside her chest, chasing away the safety she’d allowed herself to feel.

“Where is he?” Ethan asked, his voice sharpening.

“They’ll find him.”

“You don’t know?” Her husband’s voice rose. “Is he still in Qatar? What would he be doing there? Or… Surely if he took another flight out, there’d be a record of it.”

“There’s no record of him on another commercial flight.”

But that didn’t mean anything. Mei Lin was on a charter plane, and she was nobody. Lu Feng had money and connections.

Ethan pushed to his feet, then seemed unsure of what to do. “He could be anywhere.”

“Is he running because of me?” She gestured toward Gavin’s laptop. “Because I got to the evidence?”

“We don’t know what he’s doing.” Gavin’s tone was measured. “But we’ll figure it out. We’ll find him.”

Mei Lin brushed sugar off her fingers. She had hoped, the whole time they were running across China, that the moment she crossed the border with the evidence, she would be safe.

She folded her hands in her lap so her husband wouldn’t notice them shaking.

Would this ever be over?

Mei Lin lifted the shade an inch and looked out at darkness below and stars above. They’d refueled in Anchorage and were flying east. Instead of going to Montreal, they were going to a small town in northern New Hampshire. Right now, they were somewhere over Canada. She found comfort in being near the place where she’d once been so happy.

Would she be safe in New Hampshire? Was Lu Feng still searching for her, or had he decided to disappear now that she was out of China with the evidence that would expose him for the criminal he was?

She pushed the shade closed again.

Across the aisle, Gavin had put his laptop away and drifted to sleep. Beside her, Ethan was sleeping too. He’d reclined his chair and was curled on his side, facing her, one arm tucked under a pillow, the other hand resting near where hers had been. His mouth was slightly open, and the lines around his eyes had softened.

She watched him sleep, thanking God for the gift they’d been given, that they’d found each other and would have a future together—assuming Lu Feng was caught.

Scooting carefully around her husband, she slid out of her seat and made her way down the aisle to the lavatory at the back. The little room was spotless, and the soap smelled of lavender. She washed her face and studied the woman in the mirror. She still looked tired, but she was becoming herself again.

Almost, except she’d promised to call her mother from the ground, and then she’d forgotten. She, Gavin, and Ethan had been going through the evidence she’d collected, piece by piece, and she’d been so engrossed that she’d barely noticed they’d landed. The next thing she’d known, they’d taken off again.

She managed to get back into her seat without waking Ethan. His phone rested on the tray between their seats, screen dark. She could message her mother to let her know all was well and apologize for not calling earlier. He wouldn’t mind if she used his phone. She picked it up and brought the screen to life, and her breath caught.