Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(102)
Like this?
Betty gave me a subtle nod.
We have friends coming for us.
She was obviously a smart woman, because she didn’t react to my statement at all.
Donovan jolted us out of our conversation when he rose to his feet and clapped his hands together. “Well, Jamie, I have some things to attend to, but I will be back shortly with Dr. Chen. I’m sure he’ll have questions for you concerning your memory, and then we can discuss your place here and your duties. In the meantime, the kitchen is stocked and I’m sure you’d like time to rest and get to know Betty and Natalia, and maybe catch up with Teodoro.”
Both my heart and my stomach leapt at once as relief and anger warred inside me. “Teddy’s here?” Somehow I’d thought he would be in the other residence quarters, with the soldiers and the evil scientists, as opposed to being one of the captives.
Donovan waved toward the far end of the room, where a long couch faced a gigantic television mounted to a wall. Someone was playing a rather violent video game without the sound on. I couldn’t see anyone lying on the couch playing the game save a pair of feet hanging over the arm, but it didn’t matter. I knew that game, and I knew whose feet those were.
My relief vanished, and all that was left was the anger and hurt I’d felt since I learned of his betrayal. I tried to hold back my anger for the little girl’s sake, I really did, but seeing him made something in me snap. The power blitzed with my surge of anger, making the lights flicker and the television screen across the room click off.
“Oh, come on!” Teddy sat up with a groan and ripped a pair of giant headphones off his head. “It’s bad enough that they’ve taken my Internet access! Can’t they at least invest in a decent generator in this freaking place?”
“Teodoro, look who’s here,” Natalia called just as Donovan said, “You can’t blame me for not trusting you with Internet access, and I believe the power outage is of your own doing.”
Teddy frowned at Donovan, but that quickly changed the look into a sardonic smirk when he saw me. “Well, well, well, look who’s here.”
Teddy reeked of so much bitterness I could practically taste it. “So you finally felt bad enough for getting me captured that you decided to stop by?”
So, so, so the wrong thing to say. The last thread of my temper snapped, and I flipped into what Ryan called Danger Mode. “I got you captured? Excuse me? Who set the trap for whom? You’re the reason I went to Las Vegas. You’re the reason I have no memory!”
Donovan chuckled, though whether he was laughing at my barely contained rage or Teddy’s uh-oh-I’m-in-deep-crap expression, I couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was the situation in general that amused him. Jerk.
Teddy stumbled a few steps forward, holding up his hands as if to calm me. “Hold on, Jamie; I can explain.”
It was the first time he’d ever called me by my real name. For some reason, that hurt just as much as all the lies he’d told me. I stepped a safe distance from Natalia, because I couldn’t control the electricity roaring inside me. It rose to the surface of my skin, making my eyes start to glow and my hair whip about my head. “Explain why you betrayed me the first time? Or why you lied to me about everything? Or maybe you want to explain why you kept my true identity from me?”
“You would have gone to your family. You would have given yourself up, putting them and yourself in danger. I was protecting you. You know that, don’t you? You know I only ever wanted to help you.”
I was so angry. I wanted to bring a freaking lightning storm down on his stupid head. But there was something in his voice, something in the words he spoke, that I couldn’t argue with. Teddy did care about me, loved me, even.
“I was protecting you, Jamie. I was doing my best. I shouldn’t have lied to you about your identity. I know that now. I made a mistake, but I was only ever trying to keep you safe. I love you.”
My body sagged as my anger faded. I took a deep breath and sunk down into the nearest chair at the small table where Natalia had been coloring when I entered the room. I noticed the drawing she’d been working on, and my chest tightened. It was a picture of her family. I could easily recognize all of us. Abiodun and Betty were on the ends, Tyson and Natalia next to Betty, and Teddy and me beside Abiodun. She’d drawn Teddy and me holding hands, and there was a heart between us. It was cute and heartbreaking all at the same time. He must have been lying to Natalia and Betty, too.
“I know, Teddy.” I sighed heavily. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, but you did. You betrayed me.” I clenched my jaw against a sudden pain in my chest, and when I met his gaze, there were tears in my eyes. “You broke my heart.”
Teddy dropped to his knees in front of me. “Jamie,” he whispered as he took one of my hands in his.
I shook my head against the regret in his voice. “You lied to me, Teddy. About everything. I was vulnerable, and you took advantage of that, of me. I’m not sure I can forgive that. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust you again.”
Teddy swallowed. “Yes, you will. I’m sorry, Jamie. I love you so much. I know you know that. And I know you care about me, too. Don’t you?”
He waited for an answer, but it took me a while to give him one. Did I still care about him? I hadn’t thought so. I’d been so angry. I’d hated him. But looking into his deep brown eyes, feeling his hands holding mine, hearing him ask me if I cared about him, I couldn’t say no. My brain simply wouldn’t let me. “Yes, Teddy. I do care about you.”