Chapter 43
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.
Good. Stay ignorant.
He’d meet his Maker soon enough—God willing, before the day was over.
Ethan glanced at his watch.
The crystal was cracked. The watch his father had given him was useless.
Didn’t matter. The watch didn’t matter. The time didn’t matter.
Color was draining from the world, the growing darkness turning everything from green and brown to various shades of gray. Soon enough, the gray would fade to black, and Lu would accept that Mei Lin wasn’t coming back.
Every minute closer to dark was a minute Mei Lin remained free. She’d escaped. Whatever help Asher had sent, she’d reached it. She was safe—she had to be by now.
The thought eased the pain pulsing in his chest. If she was safe, then Ethan had done the one thing that mattered. He’d slid off the back of the snowmobile to protect her, and it’d worked.
Whatever came next, he could handle it.
But Lu took out his phone, then rose, a smile crossing his face.
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
Lu called out in Mandarin, his voice carrying through the trees. Brush cracked, and Bo and another man came to the edge of the clearing. They spoke low and fast, Lu doing most of the talking, the other men nodding. Bo turned and jogged into the forest. The other man walked away more slowly.
A moment later, Kyle and two other Americans stepped into the small clearing.
“She is still here.” Lu’s mouth tipped up in a smile. “We will draw her into the meadow. Take up positions around the clearing.” Still speaking to the men, Lu looked at Ethan. “The first one who has a clean shot, take it. You will be rewarded for your work.”
She couldn’t still be here. She’d had time. She’d promised him.
She’d promised!
Think, Ethan. Maybe Lu was wrong. Maybe he believed it because he needed to.
But if he wasn’t wrong, if Mei Lin was still somewhere in these woods, then what did that mean?
Had she not found help? Had nobody come to help them? Was she on her own, just like he was?
No.
Asher had given her a target to aim for. He wouldn’t have done that without a plan.
And Gavin had proved himself. He’d flown to the other side of the planet to make sure Ethan and Mei Lin got back to the States safely.
Gavin wouldn’t leave her to die.
He wouldn’t leave Ethan to die either.
Mei Lin must have run until she’d found…whoever Gavin had sent. Then, she would have refused to take one more step toward safety without Ethan, because that was who she was. A hero.
Surrounded by other heroes, sent by Ethan’s father, who would not rest until Ethan was rescued.
Which meant…
Ethan didn’t know, but there was a plan. There had to be a plan, and when it was set into motion, he needed to be ready.
Where was that knife? He hadn’t had a chance to grab it before Bo started kicking him. Had the men remembered it?
While Lu and his minions talked above him, Ethan’s gaze traveled the clearing.
There. A few feet to his left, where Kyle had dragged the dead man into the brush, metal glinted, half-buried in the wet leaves.
The men started moving, following Lu’s orders.
But Lu sat back down on the rock, facing Ethan.
Ethan would wait. He’d slump in defeat and look like a beaten man, which took no acting at all, and when he had his chance, he’d grab that knife.
It wasn’t much, but maybe he could make a difference.