Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The morning before, Ethan had watched his wife sleep because he’d been worried for her health. Today, he knew why Mei Lin looked like she hadn’t eaten a decent meal or gotten a decent night’s sleep in years—and no treatment would fix it.
She’d been in prison.
Prison.
All night, that thought had turned his stomach like contaminated fish.
He hadn’t been able to stop himself from imagining the unimaginable.
Six years of…of what? He had no context, no idea what it would have been like.
Were Chinese prisons like American prisons?
Concrete floors, metal bars, and dangerous people?
American prisons had some standards, at least. The prisoners were well fed, whereas Mei Lin definitely hadn’t been.
Ethan hadn’t wanted to believe the report that she was dead, but Gavin, with all his foreign resources, hadn’t been able to disprove it. After a while, after she never got in contact with him or her parents, he’d had no choice but to accept the truth and move on.
While his wife had languished in prison, he’d been dating.
He squeezed his eyes shut. He owed Holly a call or a text, but he didn’t have his phone, and he’d never bothered to memorize her phone number.
Mei Lin said something in her sleep, and Ethan’s eyes popped open, watching to see if she’d wake up.
This was all Lu Feng’s fault.
Ethan’s anger was no more helpful than his horror had been. He needed a plan.
Outside the apartment, the sky over Zhangjiajie had gone from black to pale gray to a fleeting gold. Two crows argued in a tree. Heat whirred.
Mei Lin slept.
The smudges under her eyes had faded a degree, maybe. She was still too thin, but her cheeks had a little more color than they’d had the afternoon before. Even her hair seemed less dull.
Her hand was curled on the pillow, her diamond ring loose on her finger. He’d had it sized for a healthy woman, one who could lift weights and do burpees.
He reached out to brush a lock of hair out of her face, then let his hand drop back to the sheet.
As much as he wanted to look into her beautiful eyes, she needed her rest.
Lord, get us home. Lead us and protect us and guide us every step of…whatever it is we’ll be doing.
He needed more information so he could make a plan.
She shifted, then stretched. Her eyes opened just long enough to meet his, then closed again.
“You’re staring,” she murmured.
“Maybe.”
“Creepy.”
He touched her, just a fleeting brush of his fingers against her cheek. “Husband…ly.”
“If you say so.” Her voice was gravelly, her eyes still closed, and her breathing settled into rhythm again.
He didn’t want her to sleep. He wanted her to wake up and talk to him and tease him. He wanted her to be the Mei Lin he’d fallen in love with.
After a minute, she cracked one eye open. “Have you been awake long?”
“Define long.”
She huffed a sound close to a laugh, and a knot of fear loosened in his chest.
“You didn’t sleep.” She said the words like an accusation.
“I slept…” He weighed his answer, going for honest, if vague. “Some.”
“Define some.”
He chuckled.
She rolled onto her back. “Good doctors know they need to sleep.”
“I’m an excellent doctor.”
“Humble too.” She faced him again, propping on her elbow. “You went to medical school, then?”
“I’m an ER resident in Virginia.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened a little. “I thought you planned to stay on the West Coast.”
“After you…disappeared, I was…” Was he really about to tell her how hard his life had been? “Anyway, I wanted to go back.” He hadn’t had any family in Virginia anymore, but his mom’s house in Arizona certainly didn’t feel like home.
Without Mei Lin, he hadn’t had any family at all. At least Virginia had felt familiar, and it was an easier place to rebuild. He’d had friends there, a community that knew him. He’d made a life for himself. A half-life, anyway. He’d never thought he’d feel whole again without Mei Lin.
And here she was, in his bed, just inches away.
He wanted to kiss her. Maybe do more than kiss her.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and make them both forget the world outside. But it was too soon for any of that. They needed to reconnect in other ways before they reconnected in that way.
He fell onto his back. “I’m gonna shower.”
“Okay.”
“You need the bathroom first?”
“There are two, I think.”
“Right.” He’d forgotten. He held her gaze one more beat, half hoping she’d ask him to stay.
Okay, not half.
He made himself get up and walk away.
A cold shower sounded like a very good plan.
He was drying off when the other shower turned on. He dressed and carried the burner phone into the kitchen, where a laminated packet listed nearby restaurants in multiple languages. He found a breakfast place and ordered congee—traditional Chinese rice porridge—scallion pancakes, and egg tarts.
He was finalizing the payment when his burner buzzed.
It was Michael.
His stomach swooped as he answered. “Everything okay?”
“Yup.” Michael’s voice was brisk. “How’s your wife?”
“Better today.” It was odd, chatting with this total stranger who was his cousin—and also had saved his life.
“I’m glad to hear it. I owe you an update. You asked how they found you in Changsha.”
Ethan braced himself. “And?”
“I think it was the taxi driver.”
Ethan took that in. “I flagged him down. I didn’t use an app or anything.”
“But cameras picked it up. I watched the footage of him after he dropped you at the apartment. Nothing interesting happened that night, but the next morning, he was parked near the hotel where you’d stayed.
A guy approached him. They had a short conversation, and then money changed hands.
An hour later, that same guy was in one of the cars that pulled up outside your building. ”
“The taxi driver told him where he took us?”
“Yup.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“Not an idiot,” Michael said. “Just not a pro, that’s all.”
“How’d you know they were coming?”
“I didn’t know for sure, but we were watching cameras in the area and saw a group of guys a few blocks away. They looked like they were planning something. I guessed they were coming after you and Mei Lin. By the time I was dialing your number, they were moving.”
“Wow. Thank you. That’s… How are you doing that? Watching?”
A low chuckle came from the other end of the phone. “My cousin… Well, your half sister, Alyssa.”
The name had Ethan’s stomach swooping a second time in two minutes.
It did that whenever he thought about his sisters—because the thought always brought him back to the restaurant where they’d discovered Ethan and Gavin eating lunch.
None of them had reached out to Ethan in the months since they’d learned their father’s secret, not even Delaney, not that he blamed her.
“What about Alyssa?” Ethan asked.
“She’s got mad hacking skills.”
“Are you saying she hacked the Chinese surveillance system?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying she has mad hacking skills, and also, I happen to have access to the Chinese surveillance system.”
“But…why? Did she know it was for me?”
Ethan’s question was followed by a long pause. “Nobody blames you, man. You had nothing to do with Gavin’s…indiscretion.”
“I’m just the result of it.”
“Doesn’t make it your fault. Your sisters know that.”
Maybe, intellectually, but that didn’t change how they felt about him.
He’d deal with all of that later. “Are we still safe here?”
“Your name’s not attached to the room, and there are no cameras with eyes on the building. Gavin and I are watching the feeds. You’re safe.”
“That’s good to know.”
“What’ve you learned about this pit stop in Fuyin? Any idea why she needs to go back there?”
When Ethan had called Michael from the car the day before, he’d explained Mei Lin’s insistence that they return to the hospital where she used to work.
The shower was still running down the hall. “She was in prison.”
“No kidding? How? How did you not know?”
“I guess it wasn’t legal. Someone just stowed her there, which is why she’s out. The new warden told her there were no records supporting her incarceration and just let her go.”
Michael whistled. “That took some courage. I hope the warden doesn’t experience any blowback. Any idea who did it?”
“Apparently, a doctor she used to work with was involved in some kind of crime, and Mei Lin found out. She was gathering evidence about him. The evidence is in Fuyin.”
“I see.” Michael was quiet for a moment. “Where exactly?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Name of the doctor?”
“Lu Feng.”
“Got it. I’ll look into him and learn everything I can about the village. Once we have a plan, I’ll hire a black car to get you two in and out. You’re going to need to move fast.”
The thought of taking Mei Lin back there sickened him.
“Meanwhile,” Michael said, “rest, find out everything you can, and call me back when you’re ready to make a plan.”
“I will. And…thank you. I appreciate all you’re doing for us.”
“You’re family, and so is she. Talk soon.”
Ethan stood for a moment, phone in his hand, even after the call ended, taking in his cousin’s words.
You’re family. So is she.
He’d been a Wright his whole life, but he’d been a secret for most of it. Now he had a cousin he’d never met fielding calls at all times of the day and night in America… Because he was family.
Five minutes later, Ethan got a Signal notification.
DW
Just wanted to say hey. Michael updated us. We’re praying for you.
Us? Who was us?
Hope you don’t mind if I share your number with my brothers.
BTW, stole your number from Michael, in case you’re wondering. Don’t worry. We’re safe.
Who in the world was DW? Someone who knew Michael, so…
BW
Hey, Ethan. Let us know if there’s anything we can do. I’m good at research, if that helps.
Ethan was trying to figure out how to respond when another text came through.
GW
He is good at research. I’m decent at tactical. I can help with a plan, if you need one.
GW? Ethan’s first thought was Gavin, but he didn’t think his father would be on this Signal thread.
BW
When he says “decent,” he means, “I can maim with a look and kill with a butter knife.”