Page 96 of Shadowing You

Ethan swung off the back. “We’ll have to stick to the side roads and alleys. Too many cameras.”

She glanced down at the gauge. “We need gas.” The final word came out on a yawn, and she stretched.

“If we see a station, we’ll stop, but I don’t want to risk being seen.”

“And if we don’t see one, what will we do? We need fuel to continue.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, powered it on, then stared at the screen a moment before powering it off again.

“No service?”

“Not yet, but once we get into town…”

“We will find gas.”

“If it doesn’t put us on cameras, but⁠—”

“We must find gas to keep the moped going.”

He pressed his lips together. “But what if the moped was reported stolen? If we’re seen in town with it…”

She considered the conundrum. “Then we must buy a gas can and fill it and carry it back.”

“Let’s call Michael and do what he says.”

She didn’t appreciate having her ideas brushed aside. Before she could say so, he added, “Does that sound right to you? What do you think?”

He was attempting to include her in decisions. He wasn’t very good at it, but she appreciated the effort.

She’d worked for many doctors since she’d become a nurse, and every one of them needed to be in charge, all the time. Even the kind ones.

Ethan was no different.

“Okay,” she said. “We won’t make any decisions until we speak to Michael.”

“Agreed.”

“But I’m not giving up the moped without a fight.”

A small smile. “Thanks for the warning.”

She started to swing her leg back over the seat, but he caught her elbow.

“Wait.”

He opened her backpack and held out one of the protein bars.

“We need food.”

We. But he wasn’t worried about himself. She took the bar and bit into it. It wasn’t as good as the ones he’d bought in…had it been Changsha? It might have protein, but it tasted like cardboard.

They hadn’t eaten breakfast, and they’d been on the bike for hours, but until he’d put the bar in her hand, she hadn’t realized she was hungry.

It was troubling.

Hunger had been her companion for so long that she’d stopped noticing it, perhaps the way a person stops noticing a clock ticking. Her body had forgotten how to ask for food.

How long before she would be herself again?