Lessons in SECRET (15 page)

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Once the rooms clears
out, Reina has Ainsley and Tegan tell us what they’ve found. Which
isn’t much. The head of this operation has buried himself deep.
They couldn’t find much on Mason, either.

“Reina told us he
wants you to call him Jake. There’s absolutely nothing on a Jake
Wells. Mason Wells, however, has a laundry list of teen infractions.
All petty things like shoplifting, underage drinking, and joyriding.
After that, he appeared to be a model citizen. Until now,” Ainsley
tells us.

“How did he pass a
background check to work at the school if he had a record?” Ellie
asks.

“He was under
eighteen when all that happened. Those records are sealed,” she
tells her with a pointed look that makes Ellie smirk.

“Ainsley just
unsealed him. Because she’s talented like that,” Tegan says. “I’m
not too bad myself, though. I managed to find out the other cities
where the group is operating. I’m pretty sure which one they’re
taking you to this weekend. It was a little surprising since it’s
not what I was expecting. Especially knowing where else they
operate.”

“Where is it?” I
ask.

“Milwaukee.”

“Which is why I
wanted Scott here,” Reina says.

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re
friends with Lisa Dess right?”

“Lisa? Yeah. Sarah
Vela and she have been big supporters of Yas with their blog. They’re
helping with the literacy project, too. But how can she help?”

“She’s a CPS
supervisor in Milwaukee.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot
about that. You want me to call her?”

“Yes. We can use all
the help we can get this weekend. If opportunity to take down another
city arises, I want to be ready.”

“I hope I am,” I
accidentally say out loud.

“You’re worried
about this weekend, Isa?” Reina asks me.

“Yeah. Grace said she
was promised the trip for months, but they gave it to me instead. Are
you going, El?”

“No. I have three
dates this week, but he didn’t mention a trip.”

“I have no dates. He
said I’m supposed to save my energy for the weekend.”

“Well, we can’t all
be the one with the highest bid.”

“Ha-ha. Aiden bid a
pretty penny for you too, and you know it.”

“Which reminds me, I
have to get those millions back for them,” Ainsley tells us.

“Millions?” Ellie
asks, going pale.

“Yes. Those guys each
paid millions for you. Well, Matt fronted Aiden the money, but
still.”

“You need help?”
Scott asks her.

“I’m not going to
refuse it,” she tells him with a smile.

“Okay. Just keep me
posted as usual. Especially you, Isa,” Reina says.

We agree and then
everyone but Ellie and I leave the room. I’d texted Jade already,
so she joins us. We don’t say anything at first. I knew Ryan had
paid a nice chunk of change for me, but Ellie had no clue that Aiden
did the same.

“Millions. He paid
millions. For me.”

“Well, you’re worth
it,” Jade tells her.

“It’s not fair. One
night’s not fair.”

“Then make it more,”
I tell her. “Don’t take no for an answer.”

“I’m not planning
to. After this mission is over, I’m going full on into the new
clothes and behavior. I can’t yet, though. Not when I have to dress
like this for ‘school’ and all. But after this, all bets are
off.”

“And then hopefully
the clothes will be, too,” Jade tells her with a smirk.

“Yes, that.”

“We need to work on
you and Nate, too.”

“I’ve been thinking
about that. I can’t really do the understated sexy thing, but I
have some other ideas.”

“Details, please,”
I tell her.

“All in good time, my
dearies. All in good time.”

“Fine. Be that way,”
I tease her.

“I will. Besides, I
want to hear all about the classroom. Did you get all the chalk off?”

“We weren’t near
the blackboard, or whiteboard for that matter.”

“Then where were
you?” Ellie asks, her eyes twinkling.

“My desk,” I tell
them as I blush and cover my face.

“Nu-uh. No hiding
from us,” Jade says as she pulls my hands away.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m
going to be trying to figure out which one is yours every time I’m
in there, but spill. Was it hot?”

“Yes. I mean, it’s
always hot. But it was…different this time.”

“How?” Ellie asked.

“I was more
confident. More bold. Being with him, and spending time with all of
you has really helped me. It’s made me feel more comfortable in my
own skin. Like it’s okay to be me.”

“Of course it’s
okay to be you. You’re amazing,” Jade says.

“I never really saw
it before. Because I’m so, you know…awkward. At least socially. I
wanted to change, but now I know I don’t need to. I think it took
falling in love with someone who loves me for me. And having friends
who feel the same. It made me really look at myself, and realize how
much I like myself. I’ll never be totally comfortable around a
bunch of people, but I think I’m going to be okay with it. Even if
I feel like they’re judging me, or not totally getting me.”

“Well, good, because
we all love you. And if anyone judges you, we’ll kick their ass.”

“Thanks, J. Now what
are we going to do about Aiden?”

“Why do you need to
do anything about me?” he asks, walking into the room.

“You paid millions
for that night with me,” Ellie tells him.

“Worth every penny. I
mean it.”

“What if they can’t
get the money back?”

“I made up a payment
plan for Matt. He says he won’t take my money, but he will. I’ll
make sure of it. I pay my own way.”

“You didn’t have to
do it.”

“Yes, I did. Don’t
you get it, El?”

“No, I don’t. Do
you…want to be with me? Like really with me?”

“Yes. Which is why I
have to leave.”

“What? No. You can’t
leave me.”

“I love you, El. I
shouldn’t tell you that, but it’s not right for you to think that
night was just fucking.”

“Then we can be
together. I love you, too.”

“No. We can’t.
There’s things…things I can’t tell you. And I can’t be with
you if you don’t know.”

“Then tell me. You
can tell me anything, please.”

He looks to Jade, and
then me. “I can’t. I’m leaving after the wedding.”

“Please don’t go,
Aiden. Please.”

“You’re going to be
happy. Someone else is going to make you happy, and that’s all I
want. If you need me, if you every truly need me, I’ll be there for
you. Always. I swear it. You call me and I’ll come to wherever you
are. But I can’t stay here, and see you every day, hoping that I
can have you.”

“You
can
have me. Why won’t you see that?”

“Because I know
better. I bought your dates all week, so you’ll be safe. Goodbye,
El.”

“Goodbye? You said
you’re staying until the wedding.”

“I am. But it’s
best if we stay away from each other.”

“Best for who? You
damn coward. Stay here. Be with me. Let me show you I love you enough
to not care about your secrets.”

He pulls her to him,
and hugs her tight. There are tears shining in his eyes when he lets
her go. But he still walks out the door. And we catch her as she
falls towards the floor.

Why do all these stupid
men think they’re not good enough for us? Or that we can’t handle
their truths? We’re stronger than we look, and what breaks us is
them being too scared to give us a chance. Maybe one day they’ll
get it. Until then, we’ll just have to pick up the pieces for each
other.

* * *

Jake

This week has been
close to perfect. I’ve pretty much moved into Isa’s place. She
knows it all now. Well, at least the all I can tell her. There’s
still a couple of things I have to keep from her. I feel bad about
it, but there are just some lines I can’t cross.

Knowing that she loves
me and wants me, even though she knows the bad within me, is beyond
every hope and dream I’ve ever had. There’s nothing like her
love. I’ve been doing my best to show her that I love her just as
much as she loves me. I’ve also been giving her as much information
as I can about how everything works. I know it’s going to make
things way harder for me, and that I could lose my freedom, but it
means I’ll be keeping her, and that’s way more important.

The only thing that has
me worried is the lack of communication from my boss. He told me Isa
needed to be on the plane tomorrow. She says Kurt told her she’s
leaving tomorrow, but I have no info. I have a very bad feeling about
this. We made all that money last weekend, so why would he keep me
out of the loop? I’ve worked hard to prove my loyalty. What I told
Isa was the truth—he really is a friend of my mom’s. Or at least
he was before she found out what he offered me. Now she keeps him
close because he’s an enemy, not a friend. And I do what I have to
in order to stay alive.

I’m in the middle of
class when Kurt comes in with a note in his hand. “I have
permission to take Isabelle home for the day. There’s been a death
in her family, and a plane is waiting to take her back home.”

Shit. I didn’t see
this coming. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“She’s not going
with you.”

“That’s not up to
you.”

“In my office. Now.
You too, Isabelle.”

I tell the class to
study the next chapter. When Grace tries to follow us, I tell her to
get back in her seat. I close and lock the door behind us, placing
myself in front of Isa.

“What the hell is
going on Kurt? I was supposed to take her.”

“Change of plans. The
big boss doesn’t trust you for some reason. And since you just
outed yourself in front of the merchandise, I’d have to agree with
him.”

Merchandise? I swear
I’m going to end the little bastard when I get a chance. “She’s
not going with you.”

“I have some friends
outside who would beg to differ.”

“Even you wouldn’t
be so stupid as to bring those thugs into the school. Your daddy’s
power only extends so far.”

“You’re a dead man
if you try to stop this. You know that.”

“I’ll go,” Isa
says. “Don’t put yourself in danger because of me.”

I grab her arm as she
steps around me. “I already have. You can’t go with him.”

She seems to get that
something’s wrong, so she stops walking, but instead of standing
behind me, she stands next to me. Crossing her arms, she glares at
Kurt. “I guess I’m going to have to pass on this trip, Kurt.”

“Like hell you will.
Do you want to go back to the food and the comments? Did you enjoy
that?”

“No. I don’t want
that, but I can take whatever you dish out.”

I’m so proud of her.
She’s amazing, which I already knew. But her courage just humbles
me. I know how much being looked at and talked about scares her, yet
she’s going to do it to protect herself. I didn’t think I could
love her more, but I was wrong.

“You’re getting on
that plane today, even if I have to involve others to make it happen.
You’re too valuable. Our new clients know how much you went for at
auction, and that you got rave reviews. They want you bad, and
they’re going to have you. Well, once my friends and I are done
with you.”

“You’d have to kill
me first.”

“Unfortunately, we
can’t even mark you. But it will still be fun…for us.”

I lunge for him. I
can’t help myself. I get in two good shots before he plays dirty
and stabs me in the arm with a knife. He gets away before I can
react.

“Jake. Oh my God.”

“It’s fine. He
didn’t get it in deep.”

“Let me look.”

“There isn’t time.
I need you to get safely to your apartment or the Foundation. Can
your friends do that?”

“I’m sure they can.
But I should be on that plane. I need to finish this.”

“If you get on this
plane, they will do just what Kurt said. You’ll be gang raped. I
know you’re tough, but four to one on a private plane is not the
odds we’re looking for.”

“Four? How do you
know?”

“My boss uses the
same three guys when he needs some muscle for the dirtiest jobs. He
threatened to send them if I stepped out of line. I must have given
something away about you when I talked to him. I tried not to, but it
was after that night of no sleep, when I thought you and Ryan had
sex. I was a little crazed.”

“I’ll get away. But
will they go that easily?”

“No. Your fake
parents aren’t at the house, are they?”

“No. They’re at
their real house today. But…oh my God. Tegan’s there. I have to
call her.”

I wait anxiously as she
dials the number. The bell rings, but I don’t go check on my class.
The charade is over, anyway. When Tegan answers, Isa tells her what’s
going on and then something happens.

“Teeg? What’s going
on?”

I grab the phone from
her. “Tegan, it’s Mason. Are they there?”

“Yeah. They just
broke through the gates.”

“Is there a panic
room or somewhere you can barricade yourself in?”

“No panic room, but
the servant’s bathroom has only one entrance and is pretty
secluded.”

“Get yourself there.
I’m on my way.”

“No offense, but I’ve
already sounded the alarm for our friends. They’d be much more
help.”

“Don’t be so sure
about that. Plus I’m probably closer. And I’m coming for you,
regardless.”

I hand the phone back
to Isa and head out the door. “Get safe, Isa. I love you.”

“I love you, too,
Jake. You need to be safe, too.”

“Right now, I need to
help your friend. I’ll be as safe as I can.”

Jake

I realize my
miscalculation when I sneak into the staff parking lot of the school.
Tegan said there were people at the house, but there are also some
guys here. They’re not the usual three, but they look just as bad.
It’s a good thing I have my bike across the street in case of
situations like this. I sneak through the cars, which is easier than
it should be, telling me these guys aren’t pros. That could make
things go either way here at the school. They could be bumbling
enough to make it easy for Isa. Or they could be desperate to prove
themselves, and cause problems. I know Isa and her friends can handle
whatever comes their way, so I need to concentrate on Tegan since
she’s alone at the moment.