Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(109)
Another scream tore from my chest. The pain was too much. I was trying to listen, still trying to fight Teddy’s orders, but it hurt too badly. I couldn’t stay focused. Couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t make my body obey me at all. Now I understood why Betty had referred to it as scrambling my brain. That’s exactly what was happening. I was turning to mush from the inside out.
“Let her go, damn it! You’re killing her! That’s not love, Teddy. How can you hurt the ones you love? Let her go before she’s gone! Jamie!”
The last thing I remember was an agonized cry from Natalia as she called out to Betty, and then darkness clouded over all my conscious thoughts.
My mind came back slowly but surely. Thinking was a slow process, like wading chest deep through a bog, but I could do it. Unfortunately, it hurt. My head was so sore. It throbbed with every pump of blood my heart pushed its way. And if I tried to concentrate too hard on anything, it cause sharp pains to stab at my brain. I know, because as soon as I regained consciousness, the first thing I did is try to figure out what happened and my brain was like I don’t think so.
I rolled over with a groan.
“Jamie? Sweetheart?”
The soft, weepy voice was music to my ears. I forced my eyes open, and my heart somersaulted at the sight of my mother standing over my bed. Memory after memory flooded my brain as she smiled down at me, full of worry. “Mom.”
She knew. Just from the way I’d choked on the word, she knew that my recognition of her was deeper than the past week. Her eyes spilled over with tears, which set off a chain reaction in me. And then we were hugging each other and sobbing on each other’s shoulders. And that’s how the ACEs found us when they all piled into the infirmary along with my father.
All of the big, tough manly men stumbled to a stop and cringed or fidgeted, uncomfortable with the emotion they were witnessing. Ryan, on the other hand, grinned at my father, who in turn smiled back and said, “Looks like things are back to normal for the Baker family.”
My mother and I both burst into laughter, all the while still sobbing. We looked completely crazy. Maybe we were completely crazy. But my father was right; bawling together was something my mother and I were known for. At our outburst, my dad threw his head back, roaring with laughter. He quickly joined us on my bed, scooping us both into his giant arms.
The hug set me off all over again. It was so comforting. And so familiar. Bursting with love and relief and just overwhelming joy, I threw my arms around my father’s neck and squeezed him as tightly as his huge body could stand. I felt like I was five years old, wrapped in the safety of my father’s arms where nothing could ever hurt me. “Daddy,” I sobbed. It was the only word I could get out.
“I know, baby girl. I know,” he whispered. His voice hiccuped and his chest jerked several times as he fought to keep control of his own sobs.
It took us a few more minutes to calm down enough to acknowledge anyone else in the room. Once I caught my breath, I wiped away the moisture from my cheeks and scooted over, giving my parents room to sit down on either side of me. They both kept their arms around me as if they would never be able to let me go again.
I was okay with that until I saw my best friend shyly standing at the back of the room, partially hiding behind all of the ACEs. Gasping, I jumped off the bed and pushed my way through the wall of soldiers and yanked Becky into a tight hug. “Beck! I am so sorry!”
She squeezed me back, sniffling. I envied her ability to keep the crying to a minimum. “Is it really you?” she asked.
“It’s really me. I’m so sorry I treated you so terribly.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I can’t imagine what it was like for you.”
“It was horrible, but you were here for me anyway. You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you for being my best friend. And I’m so sorry about Mike. Beck, I can’t even believe that the last time I saw you we—”
“Hey. It’s forgotten. Water under the bridge. I even spoke to Mike and I’m working on trying to forgive him. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you. I didn’t know everything you were going through.”
I gave her a half smile. “I should have trusted you with my secrets. I wanted to, but—”
“I understand why you didn’t.” Becky shook her head, as if my apology were ridiculous. Then her face lit up with a mischievous grin. “But now that I know, girl, we have a lot of catching up to do. And also, you realize that you’re in a hospital gown right now, with your backside exposed to your whole team, right?”
Gasping, I scrambled back to my bed, blushing at the roaring laughter that erupted in the room. FREAKING HOSPITAL GOWNS! Thankfully the stupid thing had been tied and the damage was minimal, but still—embarrassing. I’d have given all the smirking men a piece of my mind, but the ACEs were the sort to tease back, and I was so not going there with my father in the room.
“So.” I cleared my throat past the humiliation clogging it. “Will someone please explain to me what happened?”
The guys all chuckled at the obvious subject change, but they let it slide and Major Wilks stepped forward to explain. “Despite the small hiccup with Teodoro, the mission was a complete success. Harper has officially joined the ACEs and led the team that took down the Alaska compound while we came for you guys.” I cringed at the mention of Teddy and resisted the urge to ask what happened to him. I knew Major Wilks would get there soon.