Seamless by R. L. Griffin

then Patrick tells Billy everything. It’s like you guys think I’m a fucking moron or something, which I’m not, by the way. I’m way smarter than you—I was in the top third of our law school class. I’m not just some girl you keep around so you can have someone to buy shoes with, I’m your best fucking friend and you better start acting like it or maybe I should get a new best friend that doesn’t get shot or blown up or called a whore constantly on Twitter...”
    Stella’s eyes widened at Millie’s outburst and she cleared her throat. “The reason why we haven’t told you is because we’ve been trying to protect you.” This was it. She had to tell her.
    “Protect me?” Millie was incredulous. “My two best friends can’t stand to be in a room together, but when I finally get you guys to see each other, he almost drools just looking at you.”
    “Oh, now you’re just being a jackass. No, he doesn’t. He’s been helping me, Millie.”
    “Do what?” Millie slammed her glass down on the table.
    “Fuck,” Stella muttered and turned to look for the server. Catching her eye, she waved and signaled two more. “We’re going to need another round before I can launch into this story.”
    “It must be bad.” Millie analyzed Stella’s face for any indication of what was to come; Stella’s face gave nothing away.
    “It is,” Stella agreed as the server sat the drinks in front of them. Stella clinked her glass with Millie and drank the entire martini like a shot. “Shit. Okay. You need to understand that, by telling you this, I’m putting you in danger and Patrick might fucking kill me.”
    “Fuck Patrick.”
    “Okay, wait. Let me start from the beginning. I’d been working for the General Counsel for the FBI for a couple of weeks when I was called into a conference with the ATF. There was some fuck up with an undercover operation and they wanted a little help from the FBI in the cleanup. As you know, they assigned me to go out to Montana to be a liaison for the DC office. Well, at that meeting, I was sitting with my supervising attorney when the ATF personnel came in with one of the undercover agents. It was Jamie.” Stella had been looking out the window at the New York sights. When she paused, she looked at Millie, surprised to see her face blank.
    “Jamie who?”
    “Jamie. My dead fiancé who turned out not to be dead.”
    “Wait, what?!” Millie yelled. “Sorry, I’m just…”
    Stella paused, curious. “Who did Patrick tell you who the guy was who George beat up at your house, Mil?”
    Millie didn’t move, she just stared at Stella’s face. Then she shook her head. “He said that it was someone George used to know, that he’d seen the house on the news and pretended to know everyone, to work with Patrick. He said that he’d wanted to get pictures of your old house, get close to you. I didn’t ask any more questions; it scared the shit out of me…”
    “Shit, sorry. That day is a fucking blur and Patrick said he’d take care of everything,” Stella apologized. “I thought that meant he’d tell you. Fuck.” She shook her head.
    “So I let Jamie into our house?” Her voice was nothing but a squeak.
    “Oh, Millie,” she grabbed for Millie’s hand, “it’s not your fault. Jamie is an undercover agent and lies for a living.”
    Millie looked down at their hands and squeezed Stella’s.
    “Anyway, that guy who ‘works with Patrick’? It was my Jamie, who’s now going by the name of Jack Ryder.”
    Millie nodded, unblinking.
    “So, that was Jamie ,” Stella said more forcefully.
    Millie’s eyes grew so large they usurped the other features of her face.
    “Yes, it’s true. I can’t make this shit up.” Stella took a sip of Millie’s drink that was still sitting on the table in between them. “So my entire year of drowning myself in alcohol and depression was for fucking nothing. It was all bullshit so that he could go undercover with the ATF.”
    “OH MY