Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The trees streamed past on either side, dark trunks and the long blue shadows the pines threw across the ground. Mei Lin held on to Ethan and let the cold world rush by.
The snowmobile wasn’t moving very fast. Asher kept his own machine at an easy pace ahead, and Ethan followed. Speed wasn’t the point. Being outside was the point, the sunshine and fresh air.
She’d found a box of winter gear in the garage, a pair of thick waterproof gloves and a knit hat, the kind her Canadian friends would have called a toque.
When she’d used the word with Ethan, though, he’d shaken his head and muttered, “Canadians,” like that explained everything.
Pressed against her husband’s back, she was warm enough.
The forest opened and closed around them. Birds took flight as they approached, shaking their wings in complaint. She would apologize to them for disrupting their world, but she wasn’t sorry.
She felt free—truly free—for the first time since she’d said goodbye to Ethan and left Canada back in 2019. As soon as Lu Feng was in custody, she’d be able to go anywhere she wanted, do anything she wanted. It was almost too much for her to comprehend.
Soon, home would be Virginia. She turned the idea over while the pines slid by. Would she be able to work as a nurse there, after six years away from the field? She doubted very much anybody would consider her help in the prison infirmary legitimate experience.
But she was educated. She had passed Canada’s nurses exam. There would be a procedure, she assumed, to get a license or whatever would be necessary for her to prove she could do the job in Virginia.
Did she still want to be a nurse? She’d always wanted to be a doctor, but medical school was as far out of reach as it ever had been, and she wouldn’t ask Ethan to pay for it.
Perhaps she could get a master’s. The programs were shorter and more affordable.
She could become a nurse practitioner, which was very close to being a doctor.
There were options. She had options. That in itself was a miracle.
Thank You. This is all more than I expected and more than I deserve.
She would talk to Ethan about it, once they were back and warming by the fire.
Ahead, the pond came into view, which meant they were close to the house. Asher’s machine carved a wide turn, and they came around with him.
The snowmobile slowed.
She leaned to look past Ethan’s shoulder.
Asher had stopped. One hand lifted in a fist, telling them to hold.
She followed his gaze to the house.
Black SUVs were parked in the driveway. Two pickups were parked behind them, and ATVs were being unloaded.
She counted six men. Then more came around the second truck.
A voice carried across the field. One clipped word, then another.
The men spoke Mandarin, confirming what she’d most feared.
Lu Feng was here.