Page 149 of Shadowing You

A man’s voice carried, and Mei Lin gasped behind him.

In the driveway, another man shouted—and pointed straight at Ethan and Mei Lin.

Asher’s machine turned in a tight circle. “Go.” He was already gunning it. “Follow the tracks.”

Ethan twisted the handlebars and pressed the throttle. They lunged forward.

Mei Lin’s arms clamped around his ribs hard enough to hurt.

It was difficult to see the tracks in the shadows. He squinted, moving as fast as the engine would go.

Asher’s machine ran close behind. Ethan couldn’t hear the ATVs, but they were back there. Snowmobiles should be faster, right?

Asher pulled even, then ahead, and cut left around a thick stand of spruce trees.

Ethan followed. On the far side, Asher had stopped.

Ethan cut his engine.

“We split here.” Asher climbed off the seat. “I’ll go north, draw some of them away. You head southeast.”

Behind him, Mei Lin’s grip tightened. “They are too many. If they catch you⁠—”

“I’ll be fine.” He pulled a pistol out from under his coat, holding it across to her, grip first. “Take it.”

She leaned away, pressing harder into Ethan’s back. “I don’t know how to use that.”

“I do.” Ethan grabbed it. The grip was warm from Asher’s body, the gun heavy in his hand. He knew how to shoot rifles, had gone hunting a few times.

How different could a handgun be?

He swung off the seat. “Slide up, sweetheart. You’re driving.”

She moved into the spot, gloved hands finding the grips. She’d never been on a snowmobile, but it seemed to work like a moped.

Asher was working on his phone, tapping at top speed. Then, he shoved the phone into a holder on her snowmobile. A map glowed on the screen, a red pin in the center. “Drive to the marker. Don’t stop for anything.”

The ATVs—the men—were closing in, their engines growing louder.

Asher tromped back to the other snowmobile. “Someone will be there to meet you.”

“Who—?”

“Just go!” Asher fired up his machine. “Go.”

He hauled the snowmobile around and headed north, into the forest, angling toward the men who were following them.

Ethan prayed he’d stay safe.

Mei Lin’s thumb found the throttle, and they lurched forward.

Ethan craned around in the seat. Through the gaps in the forest, he saw the wide expanse of the pond and the men following.

If Asher hadn’t agreed to get out of the house, if Ethan and Mei Lin had stayed there, how long could they have held them off?

Not long enough for help to arrive. They’d probably be dead already. Nobody had prepared for this. Nobody had thought Lu Feng would even find them, much less amass a force this size and attack in the middle of the day.

He faced forward and spoke into Mei Lin’s ear. “Can you go faster?”