Page 73 of The Team

Rhett turned to King. “You have the name. Find out what you can. I need to speak to my team alone.”

King looked around the cabin. “Where do you want us to go?”

“The head, galley, cockpit,” Rhett suggested.

King eyeballed him for a long moment before grunting, snatching up his laptop and his cane and glaring at Rhett as he headed for the galley. He waited for Zihao, who stared at Yin and Chen before following King.

As soon as they were alone, Rhett turned to Yin. “Okay, tell us what we need to know, and start from the beginning.”

Yin looked perplexed, cautious, and so pale. Exhausted. He licked his lips and let out a huff of breath. “I told her to be careful. She is not safe.” He shook his head, sadness seeping into his eyes. “She’s a nurse in the military hospital. I met her when I was in recovery. I spent four months there...”

In recovery? Oh, right. “South Sudan?” Rhett deduced.

Yin’s eyes darted to his. “Yes.”

“You saved your unit and wore the full blast of an explosion to your back,” Rhett said for the sake of the others. “And someone carried you to safety,” Rhett said, smiling at Chen. “For more than a mile?”

Chen’s grin was wide, and he flexed both arms. “Am strong.”

Yin managed a smile, but it was weak at best. He got teary again. “She poured my tea and helped me to drink it because I couldn’t,” he said. “She was so kind and so pretty, and she was a light for me when everything else was dark. She would see me every day. Even on her days off...” He shook his head again, his glassy eyes meeting Rhett’s. “When she told me her truth... it didn’t matter to me. It was too late because I loved her already.”

Rhett got it. He understood.

God, how he understood that.

“I am no traitor,” he whispered, looking at each member of the team in turn. “I love my country. But Jun-mei is not safe. They do not accept her, and I...” He frowned but raised his chin. “I love her more. I choose her.”

“You requested this position,” Rhett prompted gently. “You asked for Milvus. Why?”

“It was my plan all along,” he said as if that explained everything.

“Your plan?” Jay asked.

Yin raised his chin defiantly, proudly. “To defect.” But then his chin wobbled. “If I was in Milvus, I could move more freely. Not be questioned, and I could find a place that is safe for her. I could get her out. I didn’t know how. They took her passport. The police say she doesn’t match their records. They make her life more difficult than it already is. She would never hurt anyone.” A tear rolled down his cheek and he scrubbed it away. “I don’t know why that man took her. To hurt me? To bring me back to China? I don’t know.”

“To bring Milvus to China,” Azrael said.

“But why?” Yin asked her. “Believe me, the last person he wants near him right now is me. If I find that man... if he’s hurt her...” He swallowed as if his throat were lined with razors, and he pulled at his hair. “It’s been four days.”

Rhett clapped Yin’s shoulder. “And we’ll help you.”

“Leverage,” Coyote said quietly. “That’s why they took her. To ensure that you do exactly what they want.”

“To manipulate Milvus,” Echo added. “To getusto do what they want.”

“So we can expect Frankston to come at us with demands,” Sid said.

“Probably, yeah,” Jay added.

“Yunho and King will handle that,” Rhett said. “What we need to do is worry about us. We’re good, yeah?” He looked at Yin. “You good?”

He kind of shrugged, kind of nodded, and got teary again. “Thank you for understanding, for not...”

Chen nudged him. “I tell you they understand, Tao.”

Yin gave Chen a smile, then looked up at Rhett. “No one knows. Only Chen. Not even Zihao.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” Rhett said. “From the look on his face.”

---