Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Ethan was struggling to make sense of it. Who was at the house? Had Gavin come, or…
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?”
She shook her head. “This is as fast as it goes.” She stayed on the route they’d taken earlier, following the double line out, the machine gliding over the snow.
Then the line bent westward, but she angled into the trees, aiming downward.
There was no trail, just tree trunks and narrow spaces between them.
The snowmobile bumped over something and came down hard, but Mei Lin didn’t slow, just kept threading the pines and bushes, branches clawing the windshield. She drove as hard as the woods and the machine would allow. If she wasn’t careful, she could crash them into a tree.
Ethan twisted again to see behind.
Four-wheelers were following. They were a hundred yards back, but the snowmobile was faster, even with two of them on it.
This might actually work.
But the farther they descended the mountain, the less snow was on the ground. It became patchier and thinner, and the snowmobile’s track struggled and coughed in the mud.
Mei Lin aimed for snow, but there wasn’t enough.
They were slowing down.
Whereas the enemies’ ATVs had gained traction. They were closing the gap. Seventy-five yards back. Fifty.
Think, Ethan.
There was nothing he could do. But he had to do something.
He had no choices.
He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the feel of his wife in his arms, knowing he could lose this, lose her, if he didn’t come up with a plan B.