Every Second Counts by Sophie McKenzie Read Free Book Online Page A

distinct tread of footsteps echoed through the air. It was a person. An EFA soldier? That was most likely, considering how close
the ops base was. Except I’d never met a soldier who crashed through the undergrowth so loudly.
    Still hiding behind my tree, I peered into the dark wood. A second later he lumbered into view, panting for breath and with a huge scowl on his face.
    Aaron. With a gun in his hand.

Charlie
    It was the middle of the night and I was wide awake. I got out of bed and checked the bedroom door was still securely locked. It was, so I crept back into bed and closed my
eyes.
    Sleep refused to come.
    It was surreal – not just being in Riley’s house, but being indoors at all. Yesterday evening in the unheated safe house, with its bare lights and cold water, already felt like
several years ago. Riley had insisted I ate, washed and slept before we talked properly in the morning. Martina had run me a bath frothing with bubbles and left me shampoo, towels and a huge
bathrobe to put on afterwards. I accepted all this hospitality feeling deeply unsettled. Riley seemed to have accepted my curiosity about my father at face value. He had asked no further questions,
not about Nat or the resistance – which he surely knew existed – nor what I’d been doing since I last saw him. I didn’t get it. Riley must know that I hated him, for
goodness’ sake. He had told me to my face that he organised the Canal St Market bomb which killed Mum. He was too smart to think I’d have forgiven him for that, to trust that my motives
were as straightforward as I said they were – and yet here I was, treated like an honoured guest.
    It had been almost midnight by the time I left the bathroom wrapped in the fluffy bathrobe, my clothes clutched in my hand. Martina appeared as if by magic from a nearby room. She reached out
for my jeans and hoodie.
    ‘I’ll have them washed and aired by morning,’ she said in her crisp voice.
    I hesitated, then handed the clothes over. Inside my robe pocket I was hiding a pair of nail scissor that I’d found in the bathroom cupboard. They were short-bladed, but sharp enough to do
some damage if anyone tried to attack me. I followed Martina into a large, elegantly furnished bedroom. I gazed around, taking in the polished wood of the dressing table and the four-poster bed.
Thick green and fawn curtains hung at the windows. There were matching cushions on the brown chaise-longue at the end of the bed. My feet sunk into the deep beige carpet. It was all so luxurious,
especially after my weeks on the run.
    ‘There’s a fresh bottle of water by the bed and a bell you can use to call me if you need anything.’ Martina indicated the wooden cabinet beside the four-poster, above which a
long, tasselled cord hung from a brass fitting on the wall. Okay?’
    ‘Er, yes, thank you.’
    ‘Goodnight then.’ Martina left the room, shutting the door behind her.
    I locked it immediately, grateful there was a key, then went over to the bed. A pair of white silk pyjamas had been laid out on the pale green duvet. I was guessing they were Martina’s. I
checked the door was still properly locked, then scrambled into the pyjamas. They were soft and smelled of soap powder. I got into bed and rested my head on the pillow. Now my hair was cut so short
it dried more or less instantly. I liked the lack of fuss – though, if I was honest, sometimes I missed my long curly hair too. I put the sharp nail scissors in the bedside drawer right
beside me, then lay back.
    I was still lying here now, hours later, listening out for the sound of anyone creeping about outside. The house was silent. I wondered where Nat was. Julius and Lennox had been due to leave the
safe house tomorrow. Would Nat go with them? With a pang I wondered how I would get in touch with him. I could have attempted to fish my mobile out of Riley’s pond, but there was no point; it
would be damaged beyond repair by now.
    I could always