More Than Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #2) (28 page)

“A little,” I admitted. “But it’s not just that.” I looked up at her through tear-blurred eyes. “I’m the worst best friend ever. I’ve been keeping so much from you. You’re going to hate me when you hear what I’ve been hiding from you.”

“Impossible.”

“No, really. You will.”

“Why don’t you tell me and let me be the judge?”

Becky gave me the most encouraging, loving smile, but she didn’t know what I was keeping from her.

We were both startled by a loud knock. “Jamie!”

I was surprised to hear Ryan’s voice. It was almost eleven, and Ryan was never up that late anymore on a weeknight. I would have been panicked, but his voice sounded oddly giddy. “Hey, babe! You’re not answering your phone! Are you there?”

Becky took in my tear-stained face and sighed. “I’d tell him to go away, but I think you need him right now. Come on in, Ryan!”

“You would not believe who just called me and told me that I had the coolest girlfriend ever!” Ryan said as he entered the room. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been visiting Mike in the hospital? I can’t believe you two have finally become friends! This is so awesome!” He plopped down behind me on my bed and went to kiss me, but stopped when he noticed my face. “What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer him. I was too busy watching my best friend’s heart break. “Beck.”

“
That’s
what you’ve been keeping from me?”

“I can explain.”

“Don’t.” Her voice was a faint whisper. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“You guys, what is going on?” Ryan asked. Neither Becky nor I even spared him a glance.

“He’s sorry, Becky. Really sorry.”

Becky gasped as she came to a realization that I couldn’t hide from her. “You’ve forgiven him! How could you
forgive
him?”

Her face paled, and I couldn’t pinpoint the expression on it. Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. Disgust. Hate. Devastation. All of the above…Whatever it was, it was something beyond awful. I started bawling all over again.

“He’s completely broken over it, Beck. It’s ruined his life as much as yours—more, even.”

“It’s ruined his life more than mine?
Are you kidding me!
” Becky finally decided to focus on a single emotion: anger. I knew she’d hate me for this.

“He’s lost everything. His friends, college, football. He’s not going to walk ever again. He’s a mess. He doesn’t even want your forgiveness. He just wants you to know he’s sorry. He turned himself in to the police for you today.”

Apparently this news was too much for her to process. Her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t seem to find any words, so she just shook her head at me and then ran from the room.

Ryan looked panicked and when he started to go after her, I stopped him. “Don’t. I’m sure she needs to be alone for a while.”

Ryan stared at the door
for a few seconds and then turned back to me with a bewildered expression. “Jamie, what is going on? What was she talking about?”

“Mike didn’t tell you what was going on when he called?” I asked carefully.

Ryan frowned. “He said he had something important to tell me and asked if I’d come see him tomorrow. Why? What happened? Please tell me what’s going on.”

Why me?

I’d promised Mike I’d let him explain. I’d also promised Becky I’d never tell anyone her secret, but I couldn’t keep it from Ryan any longer. Besides, Becky already hated me now, so what did it matter? Mike was about to tell him anyway, and if he knew the truth Becky would have him to lean on now that she was never going to speak to me again.

“Jamie?”

Screw it. “Mike didn’t dump Becky after homecoming last year. He raped her.”

“He
what
?”

I nodded. “I’ve known since before Becky and I became friends. I overheard a conversation between the two of them at school after it happened. I swore to her I’d never tell anyone.”

Ryan’s entire body sagged beneath the weight of my statement. “He…” His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t bear the idea of it enough to even think the words.

I watched a range of emotions wash over him and grabbed his hand when he finally settled into a murderous rage. “Ryan, don’t. Don’t get mad at Mike now. It will only make things worse. They’re both destroyed because of what happened and they both need you.”

“But he—”

“He made a mistake,” I said quickly. “And believe me, he’s paid for it. You’re the only friend he has left and he needs you. At least promise me you’ll talk to him before you write him off.”

I think that if it had been anyone but me pleading Mike’s case, Ryan wouldn’t have listened. I think he would have marched right over to that rehab center and finished the job that that SUV had started.

“Have you really forgiven him?” he asked in a small voice.

“I have. You really need to talk to him, Ryan.”

Ryan sat quietly for a few more minutes, clinging loosely to my hand while he tried to process everything he’d just learned about his two best friends. Eventually he looked up and met my eyes. “I never understood why you hated him so much.” I shrugged, not sure what he expected me to say. “What made you change your mind? Why’d you finally hear him out?”

I suppressed a sigh. I thought I’d have more time to prepare before I had to come clean about Mike. “He didn’t give me much of a choice. He knows I’m Chelsea’s Angel.”

“What? How?”

“I sort of told him, but I thought he was in a coma at the time. I was just venting and the cat was out of the bag before he let me know he wasn’t unconscious.”

“Mike…knows…about you…” Ryan’s voice trailed off after every word as if each one were causing his brain to short circuit.

“You know, I think it’ll be okay. When he found out he was mostly concerned that I was lying to you. There’s a little more to him than I’d thought. Maybe…”—I cringed, not believing what I was about to admit to—“Maybe he’s not so bad.” When Ryan’s jaw dropped in shock, I blushed and turned my attention back to my computer. “He’s loyal to you, anyway. I’m sure he’s not going to say anything. Just go talk to him tomorrow before you freak out. You’ll see.”

I didn’t look up to see whatever expression was on Ryan’s face. I knew him well enough by now that I could pretty much always read him, and this was one time I didn’t want to have any idea what was running through his head.

I went back to my Visticorp research, giving Ryan ample time to think. The poor guy probably needed it after the bombs of information I’d just dropped on him.

I’m not sure how much time passed before Ryan spoke again—one minute, two minutes, ten. It probably felt longer than it was, especially since I’m pretty sure I held my breath the entire time. I wasn’t sure which uncomfortable topic he’d decide to tackle first. He surprised me though, by not bringing any of it up.

“What are you doing?”

“Using Google Earth to get a look at Visticorp’s buildings. It’s not helpful that they are right in the middle of Las Vegas. Very inconvenient should the building need to—I don’t know—come to its sudden, ‘untimely demise.’”

“Babe.” Ryan rubbed his head as if I were giving him a headache. “What are you talking about?”

“Carter was a definite no-go on the researching Visticorp issue, so I’m doing it myself. If I can’t find any dirt on them, then I’ll just have to settle for destroying the place.
That
I can do.”

“Jamie, you know you can’t—”

“It’s strange, though.” I didn’t let him finish his sentence. At some point I was going to have to do something. “I was looking through their employee directory a little bit ago and I didn’t see Murphy or any of Demakis and his team.”

Ryan didn’t want to play along, but he couldn’t resist the opportunity to make up a new theory. “Carter said it was like the guy didn’t exist, right? Maybe they have some secret branch of the company where they do all their illegal stuff. Like how the government has its secret agencies that their spies work for.”

I groaned. “
The Bourne Identity
again, Ryan? Really?”

Ryan grinned. “You know they do that kind of thing for real.”

“It’s a movie.”

“It’s a good movie. And you like it, too.”

“I like Matt Damon.”

“Please. Matt Damon does it for you?”

“Consider yourself lucky I met you first.”

Ryan snorted. “Well, then maybe you should consider yourself lucky that I met you before Emma Watson.”

“Hermione?” I laughed. “Figures. Schoolgirl uniform, and all.”

“Mmm,” Ryan agreed appreciatively. He paused, thoughtful, and then smiled wickedly at me. “You know, if you really don’t want to give the Wonder Woman thing a try, you do have other options.”

“Oh, shut up!”

Laughing, I swung my pillow at Ryan’s head, but he caught it and chucked it on the floor. “Starting pillow fights in class, Miss Baker? I do believe that’s against school rules.”

With one of his eyebrows raised into a perfect arch, he set my computer on the floor and then crawled toward me on the bed.

I would have laughed, except the look suddenly in his eyes made my stomach flip. “Better give me detention, then,” I said, using the last bit of air in my lungs.

“Oh, I think I can get more creative with your punishment than that.”

I shivered from the desire so thick in his voice, and threw my arms around his neck as he pushed me onto my back.

Almost as if he’d been listening outside my door, Teddy chose that precise moment to knock. “Jamie! Open up! We have to talk! Now!”

Ryan growled and captured me in a heated kiss before I could answer Teddy.

“Jamie!”

I broke away from Ryan’s lips with a groan. “Nobody here by that name!” I shouted.

“It’s important!”

“Sorry! I’m busy pretending to be a naughty schoolgirl for my boyfriend! Call me tomorrow!”

Teddy tried the door handle then, and since it wasn’t locked he came bursting in my room. Ryan jumped to his feet, ready to pound Teddy into the ground, but Teddy held out a hand and froze Ryan in place with his telekinesis. “You guys can do the nasty later,” he said, looking at me. “You have a stalker.”

“No kidding,” Ryan grumbled.

Teddy rolled his eyes. “Not
me
. I was on my way here because you’ve been avoiding my calls all day.”

This was true. I had been blowing him off because I knew he would just ask me about being Chelsea’s Angel.

“I saw four guys hanging out in front of your building,” Teddy continued. “I’m pretty sure one of them was the same guy from the club the other night, and I’m also pretty sure all of them were armed.”

Ryan and I both went stiff.

“I snuck around the back of the building and there were more guys guarding the back exit. I had to climb in through the laundry room window to warn you. I think you’re in danger,
Angel
.” He said the name with bitterness.

Ryan threw his hands up in the air with a groan, but I wasn’t really that upset. “Fine,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “You caught me. I’m Chelsea’s Angel.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me? Don’t you trust me? Jamie, we’re the same! How could you not tell me after I explained my powers to you?”

“Do you really want to argue about this right now?” I asked. “With a whole group of psycho evil scientists standing outside ready to kidnap us for experiments?”

Teddy gasped. “You know who they are?”

I grabbed both his hand and Ryan’s and headed out the door. “They’re a genetics research company and they’ve known about me since my accident. I was planning to explain all this to you soon since, thanks to that stunt you pulled in the alley, I’m sure they’re after you, too. Which, by the way, I totally could have handled by myself.”

“That’s gratitude for you,” Teddy grumbled.

“Fight later, you guys,” Ryan said. “Teddy, you said you came in the laundry room window?”

“Yeah.”