Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(23)

Oh, that’s right. I forgot that when I first woke up after the explosion the only way I could ever successfully transfer my powers to Teddy was through a kiss. I hid my chagrin behind a scowl and clamped onto Ryan’s hand. Glaring the entire time, I pumped him full of energy until he started shaking and the hair on his head stood straight up. “Any questions?” I snapped.

“When’d you learn how to do that?” he asked. “You mostly just used to zap people anytime you tried that before.”

“Practice. I had a lot of motivation. Teddy kept finding reasons he needed to use my powers, and I was tired of kissing him.”

“Well, that’s comforting.” Ryan chuckled. “You promised me once that the superkisses were only for me.”

I smirked. Superkisses. That was the perfect description of them because they were so much more powerful—stimulating to the point of overwhelming—than regular kisses. Some superpower, huh? I wonder what superhero name Tyson would make up for me if he knew my special ability was the power to superkiss people.

“You know,” Ryan said, pulling me from my thoughts, “just because you have the control now doesn’t mean you can’t still do things the fun way.”

He laughed at whatever look I gave him and winked at me. “Just something to think about.”

Sending him one last eye roll, I grabbed his hand and took off for Las Vegas.





Flying is so slow. It was going to take us nearly two hours to go the same distance it would have taken me minutes. I was antsy as we boarded the small military transport plane. The ACEs were already buckled in for the flight, and they stared with open curiosity and excitement when Ryan and I boarded the plane together.

Major Wilks met us with an overeager smile and a firm handshake. “Glad you decided to join us, Angel.”

I shook his hand, but didn’t return the smile. “I haven’t decided anything yet.”

“Well, hopefully we can change your mind about that after a good night’s rest and a tour of the base in the morning. For now, just buckle in and take it easy. The men will leave you alone until you’re feeling better. Right, men?”

I nearly laughed when the answering round of nods and “yes, sirs” seemed so sullen. I couldn’t blame them for being curious, but I was grateful to the major for insisting on the peace.

Ryan led me by the hand to a couple of empty seats. I was surprised to feel his hand slip into mine, but was too tired to protest. “How’s your head feeling?” he asked as we buckled in. “The superrun didn’t make it worse, did it?”

I shook my head, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath as I massaged my temples. “It’s better than it was, but it’s still pounding like crazy. I’m sorry if it’s been making me such a grouch today.”

Ryan immediately shook his head. “I should be the one apologizing. I completely freaked out on you earlier and you didn’t need that. It won’t happen again. I promise.” He managed a crooked smile and said, “I’m pretty sure I got it all out of my system.”

Remembering that moment brought the awkwardness back, but my lips still quirked into a smile. “It was a rather impressive temper tantrum. I thought I held the title on those, but now I’m not so sure.”

Ryan laughed. “Oh no, babe, you definitely have me beat in the drama department. It’s just, if I have one weak spot in my otherwise unshakable calm, it’s Teddy.”

I blushed because he’d called me babe, but it had flowed so naturally from his mouth I didn’t think he even realized he’d said it. “Why do you call him Teddy?” I asked before he could comment about my red cheeks.

“His real name is Teodoro Vivenzio.”

“Tay-oh-what-o?”

“Exactly. You never could say it right, so you started calling him Teddy, and it stuck.”

I thought about it for a moment and nodded. “I guess I could see it.” I tried it out slowly, once, just to see if I could get used to it. “Teddy…” It didn’t seem any stranger than Ryan calling me Jamie after six months of my being April. Thinking about Teddy made me sigh. “I have to get him back.”

Ryan flinched. “You want him back?”

“Not like that. I’m so mad at him I could kill him, but it’s my fault he was captured. You said they could trace my phone, and that’s how they found me. Well, I’m assuming they could trace whomever I called, too. Tony, I mean Teddy, was always so paranoid. He warned me a million times that I couldn’t break the rules or Visticorp would find us. But I went to the doctor anyway, and now he’s gone. They’ve taken him to do who knows what to him. He lied to me, but no one deserves to be caged up and experimented on.”

I expected Ryan to be upset, but he had only sympathy for me. “We’ll find him, and we’ll get him back. We’ll get them all back.”

I got a little choked up that someone who had such a personal stake in this mess could put his own feelings aside out of concern for me. Tony had never done that. He’d always been selfish.

Before I could express my gratitude, the plane’s engines roared to life and we went zooming down the runway. I hadn’t expected to be afraid of flying, but when I felt the ground disappear under my seat, I sucked in a breath and gripped the armrests of my chair.