The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 470

Suzie's voice came through the receiver again.

"I'm in a village in the suburbs, heading toward Mornhaven City. It's about twenty kilometers past Timberwood Town... It's called Emerald Village, it'll show up on the GPS. I'm... I'm at the convenience store right at the entrance of the village. I'm safe. I'll explain everything when you get here."

Her voice was raw and ragged, sounding utterly exhausted. Between her words, she coughed heavily and sneezed.

"Stay right there. Don't go anywhere. I will be there in under an hour," Jamie ordered, his own voice tight and gravelly.

Then, a stranger's voice drifted through the line. "Miss, are you done with the phone? I have an emergency and need to use the landline."

"Oh... okay..." Suzie murmured.

The line went dead.

In the front seat, Stella, who had practically contorted her entire body to lean toward the back, realized Jamie had stopped talking. She reached back and ripped her phone out of his hand. Seeing the call had ended, she tried dialing it back, but it went straight to a busy signal.

Furious, Stella exploded. "You grabbing the phone scared her into hanging up! You know she doesn't want anything to do with you, so why the hell did you answer it?! I was trying to catch the address, so I couldn't yell at you, but I swear..."

*Tap, tap, tap!*

The sound of knuckles on the window interrupted her tirade. Aaron had heard the shouting from outside and immediately scrambled into the driver's seat.

Jamie fired off his orders with machine-gun speed. "Emerald Village, just past Timberwood Town. Top speed."

Aaron didn't need to ask questions to know they had found a lead on Suzie. He slammed his seatbelt into place and floored the gas pedal, the car rocketing onto the main road.

She whipped her head around, glaring incredulously at Aaron.

Before she could explode, Aaron spoke up with impeccable politeness. "Please calm down. It's best if we let Mr. Baylor handle this on his own."

"He's your boss, of course you're taking his side!" Stella snapped icily. "Can't you tell she wants nothing to do with him? What is the point of you guys forcing this?"

Aaron paused for a moment. "If it weren't for Ms. Sterling, he would have thrown you out of a moving vehicle for talking to him the way you did today. He's only tolerating you because he cares about her..."

"I don't give a damn! Unlock the doors!" Stella barked, utterly immune to his reasoning.

Aaron gave her a helpless, awkward look, his tone softening in defeat.