Lessons in SECRET (18 page)

I walk into the
hospital and ask for his room number. The volunteer tells me he’s
in intensive care, but only family and those on his approved visitor
list can go upstairs. I smile and walk to the cafeteria.

I use some skills Darcy
taught me, and snag a badge from a young doctor who was flirting with
me. Good thing I cleaned up on the plane. I use the pass to access
the staff elevator and get into the ICU waiting room. Which is where
my luck ends.

There are a handful of
military guys in the room who’ve obviously seen my picture. “You
can’t be here, Ms. Carlton.”

“I need to see him.
Please.”

“We have orders, and
we need to follow them.”

I’m about to say more
when a beautiful brunette walks into the room. “Jake Mason, where
is he?” she asks the nurse behind the window.

“Your name?”

“Vicki. I’m on the
list.”

“Oh yes, his
girlfriend.”

The room starts
spinning, and I nearly fall over. I don’t hear anything else as I
start to fall to the ground. The guy I was talking to catches me and
helps me stand again. When I look around, I see that Jake’s
girlfriend is gone. Because she’s allowed to see him. Of course she
is. I never expected to be the “other woman” at any time in my
life. But that’s what I am now. And let me tell you, it really does
suck.

Being the masochist
that I am, I can’t leave town without talking to Jake. I need to
hear him tell me that it was all a lie, so I hang around town for the
next few days. I’m in the hotel across the street from the
hospital, and I see the press going crazy as Jake leaves the hotel.
With Vicki. I’m going to his parents’ house today for one last
try at getting the closure I desperately need.

I pull up to the gates,
expecting to be turned away. That’s not how it works, though. I’m
actually let in. Of course Liz is the one waiting for me in the room
the butler leads me into, and not Jake. I knew this was a little too
easy.

“Why are you here,
Isa?”

“You can’t be
serious. I
saved
him.
You know I love him.”

“I also know that you
saw Vicki at the hospital. My men said you nearly fainted.”

“I need Jake to
explain all of this to me.”

“That’s not going
to happen, but I’ll indulge your curiosity. Vicki and Jake were
high school sweethearts. Everyone knew they were perfect for each
other, but they decided to take a break. This little situation has
brought them back together.”

“You mean you brought
them back together.”

“It was Jake who
asked for her, not me. He’s realized that she’s the one he really
wants, and his other…feelings…weren’t what he thought they
were”

“I don’t believe
you. Let him tell me that.”

“My son is still
recovering from his injuries. He doesn’t need to see a scorned
little girl crying over him. He needs rest, not guilt.”

“I’m not a little
girl.”

“I know that and,
actually, that’s why I let you in today. I have a job for you, Isa.
One that I think will help you get closure. And will also help keep
my son safe. That’s what you want most, isn’t it? For the man you
love to be safe.”

“Of course I want him
to be safe.”

“Then let’s focus
on that, not your broken heart. You’re young, someone else will
come along. But could you live with my son being a target when you
could’ve eliminated the man who would threaten him?”

“You want me to kill
Mays.”

“Yes.”

I nod. “I’ll do
it.”

Because she’s right.
I love Jake enough to want to protect him, even as my heart’s
breaking.

* * *

Jake

I can’t remember much
about how I got out of that gym. But I know Isa was there. She was
wearing a wig, and her eyes were green, but it was her. My mother
denies it, but I know what I saw.

I want to call her, but
no one will give me a phone. They say I need to rest and recuperate.
But it’s been almost two weeks. And if I can talk to the police, I
should sure as hell be able to talk to the woman I love. I would get
one myself, but my mom’s been keeping me drugged up, and there are
guards at my door around the clock. I bribed my day nurse to lessen
my meds, though, so it’s game on.

“Jake, you’re up,”
my mom says as she enters my room.

“It’s the middle of
the afternoon, Mom. Of course I’m up.”

“And in as good a
mood as ever, I see.”

“I need a phone.”

“No.”

“You can’t keep me
from her.”

“If it protects you,
then yes I can.”

“She
saved
me. I know she was there.”

“You had serious head
trauma. And I’ve seen security tapes. There was no one there with
her description.”

“I won’t stay here
forever. When I get out, I’m going to find her. If you make me wait
that long, you won’t get a wedding invitation. I swear it.”

“A wedding? You can’t
be serious.”

“About spending the
rest of my life with Isa? I’m dead serious. About not inviting you
to the wedding, well I can be persuaded to change my mind. If you
give me a damn phone.”

“Jake.”

“Mom. Phone. Now.”

“Fine, but I really
am trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need your
protection,” I say, holding out my hand for the phone.

I dial Isa’s number,
but it goes to voicemail. I don’t want to leave a message on there,
so I use the browser on the phone to get the number for the
Foundation. Alex Griffin answers on the second ring.

“Hi Alex. It’s Jake
Mason. I’m trying to get in touch with Isa.”

“Oh my God, Mase. I
mean Jake. I mean…whatever your name is. She’s been so worried.”

“You can call me
either name. I haven’t had a phone until now so I couldn’t call
her. Is she there?”

“No. She…um, well I
should let you talk to Reina. Hold on.”

“Sure. I’d love to
talk to Reina.”

“Hang up the phone,
Jake. Please,” my mom says, and that’s when I know I’m not
going to like what I’m about to hear. I shake my head and hold the
phone tighter.

It takes less than a
minute before Reina’s on the line. “You’re looking for Isa,
Mase? Didn’t your mother tell you where she is?”

“No. My mother has
kept me from a phone and told me nothing.”

I glare at her, and she
shrinks before my eyes. She may control the Armed Forces, but she’s
done controlling me. What did she do to Isa?

“Mays got away when
the house was raided. He tried to take Grace with him, but she
managed to get to us first. The President gave permission for him to
be taken down, and your mother…well, she guilted Isa into going
after him.”

“My mother sent Isa
after Bartlett Mays? How did she make her feel guilty enough to do
it?”

“I don’t know the
exact details. I wasn’t there. I only know Isa came home and cried
for two days straight before she told us what happened.”

“Shit. What do you
know about anything else involving Isa and my mother? I need you to
tell me everything. And don’t worry about Dear Old Mom. She won’t
go after you unless she wants to never see me again. I’m putting
you on speakerphone.”

My mom sinks into the
chair next to my bed and holds her head in her hands. We’re
definitely having a serious talk about boundaries when I get off this
phone call. After I know the extent of what she’s done. I told her
how much I loved Isa, so it makes whatever she did to her even worse.

“Okay. Here’s what
I know. Your mother had already contacted my fiancé and his friends
to help you when you were taken. They help her with sensitive
missions from time to time apparently. After you saved Tegan, she
burst into our offices with a full military escort and demanded they
go get you. Isa said she was going to go with them. She didn’t ask,
she insisted that she be there to help get you out alive. We all left
them alone to talk for a few minutes while we made preparations, and
I thought it went well. Isa told our friend Stella that your mom
approved of her, and that once she got you back, everything would be
great.

“And she did get you
back. It was all her, Mase. She took out a guard in the house and
then all three who were with you in the gym. By herself. When we got
there, she was holding you in her arms. She held onto you as the
paramedics took your vitals and got you onto the gurney. And that’s
when it all started to go bad.”

“She wasn’t at the
hospital when I woke up.”

“No. When we were
waiting offsite with local law enforcement, some military men joined
us. We thought it was a good thing. Until they physically pried Isa’s
hands off of you and held her back while you were loaded onto the
ambulance. They made her stay to be questioned, even though the local
guys had told me they could find her at the hospital and get her
statement. We wanted to fight them, but since they were there on
behalf of you mother, and I couldn’t reach POTUS, we had to do what
they said.

“When Isa was done,
we rushed her to the hospital the paramedics had told us you’d be
at. They told us that you were gone already. That you had been moved
to a hospital in Virginia.”

“My mother took me
from her.” I look at her, and I know she feels my rage like it’s
a physical thing. “You fucking took me from Isa after I told you I
loved her. After she
saved
me.”

“Jake, please.”

I ignore her for now.
“Sorry for the interruption, Reina. Please continue.”

“I gave Isa the
Corrigan jet we had with us, and she flew to you, along with our
friend, Jade. They wouldn’t let her see you. There were military
men there who told her that your mother had given orders for her to
be kept away from you. She wouldn’t leave the city, though. She
slept in the closest hotel to the hospital and watched every day
until she saw you leave. She…um, she said there was a beautiful
brunette with you, holding your hand when you did.”

“Brunette? Oh, you
mean Vicki. She must’ve seen Vicki. She’s been my best friend
since I was five.”

“And your ex.”

“Well, kind of.”

“Isa said the nurse
in I.C.U. called her your girlfriend, and your mother told her you
were back together when she went to the house to talk to her.”

“Isa was here? In the
house?”

“Yes. Like I said,
your mother told her you were back with your old girlfriend and
didn’t want to see her. She told her you were caught up in what you
were doing, and it made you feel things that weren’t real.” I
hear her take a deep breath and watch as my mother’s eyes plead
with me. “She told Isa that you realized you never really loved
her.”

“No. No. She
couldn’t.” I look at her. “You wouldn’t do that. Please tell
me Reina’s wrong.”

“She’s not the one
for you.”

“I just told you I
want to marry her, so you’re obviously incorrect.”

“But Vicki is much
better for you.”

I’m so angry, I can’t
even respond.

“In high school, you
were the golden couple.”

“We pretended to be
that to make you and her parents happy. We weren’t interested in
each other romantically. We tried to kiss once, and it was gross for
both of us. I felt like I was kissing my sister.”

“She practically flew
to your bedside.”

“Because she’s my
best friend. Stop getting me off topic. I still need to know about
the mission Isa’s on. Sorry again for interrupting, Reina.”

“I understand. So,
yeah. All of that happened, and then your mother told Isa something
about how if she really loved you, she would make sure Mays could
never hurt you again. She came back, cried over her broken heart, and
then went after him.”

“You’re in touch
with her, right? You can tell her I do love her and that I’m coming
to her.”

“That’s just it.
She hasn’t called in for the past two days, and she doesn’t
answer when we call her. I’m getting worried because she went by
herself with another group of guys your mother uses.”

No. She didn’t. She
wouldn’t. But I’ve learned that she would.

“Where is she, Mom?”

“I only wanted the
best for you.”

“If she’s hurt,
I’ll never forgive you.”

“She’s not hurt.”

Yet. I hear that
unspoken word. “Stop whatever you have planned and get her back
here to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to
hear that right now,” I tell her. I speak to Reina again. “I’m
going to have her brought here, Reina. I’ll call you as soon as I
know anything else.”

“Thank you. And Liz?
You can forget about ever asking Matt, Nate, or Aiden for help.
That’s not going to happen. And no one in the Society will take a
call from you ever again.”

“Reina, you can’t
do that.”

“I just did.”

“I’ll go to Jane.”

“I’ve been on this
call from the beginning, Liz. What you have done to Isa is
unforgivable. She loves your son and risked her own life to save him.
Not to mention that going after one of my girls was the stupidest
thing you’ve ever done. It will never be forgiven, and as Reina
told you, no help will be given to you ever again. I’ve already
discussed this with the President.”

My mom goes pale, and I
think she may pass out. Good. I love her, but God help me, I don’t
know that I can forgive her for what she’s done. That she did it in
the name of her love for me makes it even worse.

“I’m going to get
off this phone, so she can call her dogs off and get our girl back
here. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I hang up and turn to
the woman I used to think hung the moon. “Make the call.”

* * *

Isa

This mission has been
weird and stressful. I mean, all missions are stressful, but this
one’s different. For one thing, I’m working with strangers who
took my phone. And then there’s the fact that I’m doing it with a
broken heart, which is not the mindset anyone should be in when
conducting a mission. Unless said mission is to kill the person who
tortured the man you love. Then it works pretty well.