Page 162 of Shadowing You

His grip remained tight on his gun.

But Summer was still squeezing his neck.

The man’s thrashing slowed and stopped. He went loose, and his eyes closed.

For a moment neither she nor Summer moved. Summer’s breath came ragged over the man’s shoulder.

Mei Lin took the gun and placed it behind her, then checked his pulse. “He’s still alive.”

“I’ll tie him up. See if you can find that phone.”

Mei Lin picked her way among the trees and bushes. It couldn’t have gone that far. There—a dark glint against the leaves. She picked it up, but the screen was dark.

Had he texted someone? Or called?

She had no way of knowing.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Ethan stayed curled in the leaves, arms over his head, until he was sure it was over.

A boot kicked dirt near his face, then stomped away. Bo spat a word he didn’t need translated, then stalked into the trees.

Each breath dragged against Ethan’s ribs. They were bruised, maybe cracked. The left side was worse than the right. One ear was ringing where a heel had caught him.

It could’ve been worse.

He was tempted to keep lying there, just let the cold take him.

But he forced himself to sit up, then found his jacket and put it back on. The pain in his chest had him pressing his hand to his ribs, not that it helped much.

Voices carried from a few yards away. There were more men out there. Some Chinese, speaking quietly in Mandarin. Others spoke English. Ethan couldn’t see them, but they were on the boulder above and in the woods behind and beside. These were more than just the ones Lu had sent to look for Mei Lin. There were at least four, maybe six.

He sensed they were coming and going, moving, working. Planning something, but what? There were so many of them. How had Lu amassed such a large crew in so short a time? Who were these people, so quick to help find and murder an innocent woman?

Lu hadn’t had Ethan’s hands bound again. In the rage and the hauling away of the body, maybe he hadn’t thought of it. Or maybe he didn’t think of Ethan as a threat. He was beaten and unarmed, surrounded by men with guns. Maybe a zip tie would have been an insult to his men’s confidence.

Lu lowered himself onto the gray rock again and folded his gloved hands in his lap. His gaze went to the trees where the other men had vanished, then fell to Ethan. “The one you let die?” He nodded toward the woods where the angry man had stomped off. “Bo was his brother.”

“I let him die? You’re supposed to be a doctor, and you did nothing.” Ethan’s palms were covered in blood and dirt.

Lu’s eyebrows rose, almost daring Ethan to continue.

What did he have to lose? “You brought him here. You flew Bo and his brother thousands of miles from their home and plopped them in a forest they’ve never known.” His voice was rising, and he didn’t care. “You put guns in their hands and sent them into danger. Don’t hang that man’s death on me. This is all your fault.”

“Perhaps your wife should have stayed out of my business.”

“Perhaps you should’ve protected your patients instead of exploiting them.”

“You know nothing.”

“You’re wrong about that. I know everything. I saw the evidence she collected. I saw names and figures. And you know who else saw it? Officials in intelligence, law enforcement. The women you kidnapped and trafficked are being tracked down. They found one last night, got her statement.”

Lu’s expression darkened, but he looked away as if he didn’t care what Ethan had to say.

Ethan cared, though. “You’re going down whether you find Mei Lin or not. And all these men”—he raised his voice to be heard by those in the woods, who’d gone quiet—“will go down with you. Whether they die like Bo’s brother, or they end up rotting in prison, they’re going down. If you had a brain in that greedy little head of yours, you’d already be building yourself a mud hut in some developing country and praying like crazy nobody ever found you. Not that it matters because there’s a God, and He promises justice for men like you.”

Lu smiled as if Ethan’s beliefs were amusing and provincial.