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

use the draft email method to try and reach him, though there was no knowing when he would next have a chance to check for messages. I turned over on my side. There was a tight
feeling in my chest. It was a long time since I’d lain in a comfortable bed. I missed Mum suddenly. There were days now where I went for hours without thinking about her, then all of a sudden
grief would hit me like a wall, taking my breath away with an agonising smack.
    I squeezed my eyes tight shut. I wanted Nat’s arms around me. Until we’d arrived at the safe house yesterday we’d been close.
Really
close. In fact, despite Nat’s
reluctance to talk about his feelings, I’d even wondered if we were in love.
In love.
I rolled the words around my head. We’d admitted that we liked each other, but we
hadn’t said
those
words. Did Nat feel them? Lying there without him I knew that I did, though I hated to admit it. A sob rose from my chest, into my throat. I swallowed it down,
determined not to cry. Missing Mum and Nat did me no good. I had to focus on Riley and getting evidence against him. I lay, listening to the sound of my own breathing. I was never going to get to
sleep tonight.

Nat
    There was no time to hide. Aaron had blundered into the small clearing so fast that he saw me straight away. It was dark in depths of the woodland, but here on the edge of the
trees the moonlight was bright.
    We stared at each other. All the blood felt like it was draining from my face. Aaron was panting, trying to catch his breath. I glanced at the gun in his hand. I could only make out its outline,
the detail was hidden by the shadow of his body, but it didn’t look anything like the Glock semi-automatics we’d been trained on. In fact I couldn’t place it at all. How on earth
had Aaron got hold of it?
    I couldn’t believe I had walked into his trap. I looked around, expecting to see masked men emerging from behind the trees. But no one came. The only sound was that whisper of the branches
in the wind:
leave, leave
and Aaron’s breathing, heavy and laboured.
    ‘Man, you have stamina,’ he said.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Stamina. I’ve been following you since you reached the wood. I’m fast but you were running for nearly half an hour without stopping. I thought I’d lost you
twice.’
    I frowned. What was going on? I looked around again. Still no sign of any EFA soldiers. Was Aaron here on his own? I stared at him.
    ‘How did you know where I was?’
    Aaron pointed to my phone. ‘I knew you’d come to this area, and I’d already got the money, so I took a cab.’
    ‘All the way here?’ I stared at him.
    He shrugged. ‘Your phone gave me your exact location when you switched it on for two minutes. I took my cab to the edge of the wood, then—’
    ‘You tracked my phone?’ My voice was an indignant whisper.
    ‘I used my dad’s secret GPS stuff. I told you already, he’s been giving a whole load of high-tech equipment just like it to the resistance.’
    ‘So why are you here?’ I demanded.
    ‘Helping you get Jas,’ Aaron said. ‘Like I told you I would.’
    I shook my head. This was a rescue that Aaron was spectacularly untrained and unprepared for.
    ‘I see.’ I pointed to the gun in his hand, still hidden in the shadow of the nearest tree. ‘And what about that?’
    Aaron grinned and a dimple appeared in the centre of his flushed cheek. ‘This is just an old toy of mine,’ he chuckled. ‘Thought it might come in handy.’
    For goodness’ sake.
‘This isn’t a game you know,’ I spat. ‘The last time I was here I nearly died.’
    ‘I know.’ The smile fell from Aaron’s face. ‘I know how serious it is. I came all the way here from London. I stole money. My parents will be furious. But I want to
help.’
    ‘I don’t need your help,’ I said, feeling deeply unnerved. I’d been totally on track before, thinking through how I would sneak into the ops base as I’d done before
and search for Charlie. Aaron was