Sorry for the delay in posting, I've been out of town. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, please keep them coming! :)

Chapter 10

Looking around the small, mostly empty pizzeria, Jamie was glad for the mid-afternoon hour of their study date. He took a bite from his pizza while sneaking a peek at Eddie who was digging into her own slice. She was more relaxed than the last time he'd seen her, but missing was the lively, fun-loving and wise-cracking attitude he'd grown accustomed to. It had been four days since he'd grabbed the number off her phone and had ran it through the police database. The way he saw it, a crime had been committed and he was doing his job, right?

He discovered that the number belonged to a Jake Singer, a twenty-nine year old commodities broker with a tidy trust fund that helped feed his enormous ego and unrequited feeling of entitlement - a description he'd been given by the detective that worked his case. He was in the system for first-degree rape charges - charges that were dropped because the victims had later refused to testify. Jamie's conversation with the detective left him simmering. That hadn't been the only allegation of assault against him, but the alleged victims declined to file charges in those cases as well.

Jamie knew how badly Singer had hurt Eddie and he didn't want to let this issue drop until he could help her somehow. His father's words from dinner a few days ago echoed in his head. He'd asked how hard he should push to help a friend who didn't seem to want his help at all. In a similar predicament of his own, his father had said that he needed to get over the fear of losing the friendship before he made any further decisions. Jamie knew losing Eddie's friendship was a very real possibility, considering how resistant she had been to his attempts to get her to admit what had happened. But if it meant Singer would be punished for hurting her and would prevent him from hurting someone else, it would be worth it in the end, no matter how much he would miss Eddie.

Jamie put his slice down and scanned the restaurant again. He wasn't so sure a pizza parlor was the best place to do this, but decided to address the elephant in the room before he lost all resolve; he was just grateful it was empty at this time of day. Jamie took a big gulp from his water bottle and sat back. "The guy you went on a date with, he ever call you again?" he asked casually as he screwed the cap back onto the bottle.

Eddie frowned as she wiped her hands with a napkin and swallowed her last bite. She thought they were done talking about this. "That's none of your business," she replied evenly.

Jamie could already see the walls coming up. Dismissive & Guarded Eddie was getting ready to make a reappearance and he steeled himself for what he knew would be coming his way. "It may not be my business, but I'm gonna make it mine," he declared, hoping he was clear that he wasn't going to lay off the matter any longer, no matter what she would say or do.

Eddie's head snapped back abruptly upon hearing his words and her mouth hung open as she stared back, shocked by his audacity. She could feel her cheeks flush as anger grew within her. He had some nerve to make such a declaration.

Jamie forged on and leaned forward so that he could speak to her in a more hushed tone in the quiet restaurant. "If something happened to you, Eddie, you need to report it," he told her and continued when she made no move to respond. "If he hit you or he assaulted you in any way, you need to report it because if you don't, he's gonna do it to someone else," he warned.

Eddie was trembling on the inside. She knew he was right, but she couldn't tell the world what Singer had done to her and think she would still be taken seriously by anyone in a male-dominated profession like law enforcement. Eddie turned away from his intense gaze before she replied in a low, shaky voice. "Do you even know what it's like being a woman in a profession like this? It's bad enough people doubt that I'll even make it through to graduation, what's it gonna be like when I actually don on the uniform? And you want me to walk into a precinct and announce that some guy sexually assaulted me? How long before word got back to the academy, huh? You don't think every guy in that place will secretly be thinking, 'she really shouldn't become a cop. She can't even defend herself'?" she rattled off.

Jamie could see her eyes grow misty even as she shied away from him. He longed to reach out and hold her hand, but only leaned forward, hoping to draw her attention. He remained still until Eddie finally dared to look back at him. "I won't be thinking that," he promised her softly. "A lot of people won't be thinking that."

Eddie shook her head and looked down at the table, reaching up to push her hair behind her right ear. "You know, it's bad enough that I constantly have to prove myself. I know there are guys in there who don't even think I should get this job," she said calmly as she began to throw the few personal items she had on the table into her purse. "And you want me to admit that this guy punched me and hit me and groped me?" She paused everything she was doing to take in a shaky breath and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "It took every bit of me to get away from him," she admitted, as she stared down at the table, her light blue eyes now glassy.

Jamie's stomach had clenched with every mention of what that bastard had done to her; he didn't know what to say to make her feel better.

But Eddie wasn't finished and she looked back up at him. "And do you know what I did," she asked with a look of self-recrimination. "I ran into the bathroom and I locked the door. I hid like a little girl. I stayed in there all night," she admitted as she angrily swiped at her eyes.

Jamie didn't drop her gaze. He wanted her to know he was on her side. "I'm so sorry, Eddie," Jamie whispered.

Eddie shook her head, seeing the pity in his eyes and hating herself for it. "I want to forget about this," she rasped. "Will you please not bring it up again," she ordered and got up from her seat as she pulled her purse from the empty chair next to her.

Jamie knew he had to come clean about what he'd done and the things he found out as a result; she needed to hear it all. So he spoke up before she had a chance to walk away. "He was accused of rape in the past," he revealed just loud enough for her to hear.

Stunned, Eddie came to an abrupt stop to Jamie's left. She froze upon hearing that bit of news, unable to face him. "How would you know?" she wondered out loud.

Guilt washed over Jamie's face as he looked down to where his hands fidgeted on his lap. "I got his number out of your phone and I ran it through the system," he confessed quietly. "The charges were dropped," he added.

Eddie was stuck on what Jamie had done, not Singer's rap sheet; she turned, narrowing her eyes at him. "You did what?" she seethed.

Jamie turned to her. It pained him to be the recipient of such a look from her. "I'm trying to help you, Eddie," he said.

Eddie took a calming breath before responding. "I don't want your help. I don't need it," she replied angrily. "And if you bring this up again, I'm gonna report you for unauthorized use of a police computer," she threatened before storming out of the restaurant.

After the confrontation at the pizzeria and the subsequent confession to having gone behind a friend's back to steal information from their phone, most would have backed off considering the reaction those actions had garnered.

Eddie had been perfectly clear - she didn't want his help, but Jamie was like a dog with his bone - he couldn't let this go. Eddie now knew the truth, that she was one of many assaulted by Springer - one of many that had let him walk away scott free. And his gut was screaming at him now; she might consider taking things into her own hands and give Singer a taste of his own medicine while still keeping the assault a secret from the rest of the world.

He felt like a heel, but his suspicions had been right when he'd followed her the next night to Singer's apartment building which was situated along a quiet, dimly lit residential block on the upper west side. It was late - nearing ten o'clock - and there had been little to no foot traffic during the hour he watched her sitting in her car, waiting for Singer to come home.

Luckily for Singer, Jamie spotted him first as he casually strolled down the next block on his way home. Jamie got out of his car and followed discreetly, tempted to drag the guy into a dark alley and beat on him, but that was the exact thing he was trying to prevent from happening tonight. Jamie could tell when Eddie spotted Singer, as she began to slowly slouch in her seat - out of sight. Jamie had his head low and went unnoticed as Eddie was hyper focused on Singer as he passed. Once Jamie snuck by Eddie's car, he waited on the sidewalk, next to a minivan, to await her next move.

Eddie stepped out of her car, closing the door quietly as she switched the item she held in her left hand to her right and walked low and slow along the street, out of Singer's view. She extended her baton as she watched him casually making his way to his building. But she startled easily when Jamie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path.

"Hey," he said and held up his hands to stop her progress and assure her that he wasn't a threat.

"Whoa!" she yelped as her eyes widened and she breathed heavily at the fright. Her head snapped from Jamie to Singer who was now entering his building. Realizing she'd missed her opportunity, she frowned at Jamie. "What, what are you doing here?" she snapped, still fighting to catch her breath.

Jamie stuffed his hands in his pockets and studied her. "I could ask you the same thing."

A flash of anger went through her when she realized he'd ruined her plans. "This is getting really annoying, Reagan," she shouted.

Jamie ignored her outburst and stepped into her personal space. "Do you really think you can make this better with a little bit of street justice?" he asked.

Eddie's jaw clenched as she shook her head in frustration, fighting back the tears that were long overdue. "Maybe this isn't about making things better," she argued. "Maybe this is about evening the score."

Enough was enough, he thought. He wasn't going to let her ruin her life over this bastard. "Hey! If the academy finds out about this or he makes a complaint, you're done," he snapped, desperate to get through to her.

Eddie looked back at him in disbelief, wondering whose side he was on. "After what he did to me?" she asked incredulously.

The expression on Jamie's face softened and he gently placed his hand on her left arm. "Listen, it won't be about what he did; it'll become about what you did," Jamie explained. "This is not the way to get this guy," he said and reached for the baton in her right hand.

Eddie's face began to crumble and she looked down to where he took hold of her weapon. "I can't be seen as a victim," she whispered.

Jamie took hold of the baton and squeezed her arm. "If you stand up for yourself, you won't be seen as a victim," he replied softly.

Eddie looked at him and shook her head. She didn't think she had the strength to do this. "I can't," she cried.

"Yes, you can," he said with the confidence she lacked.

"It's humiliating," Eddie admitted, with tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"You won't be alone," Jamie promised as he pulled her in for a hug, one arm going around her shoulders as he gently held her head against his chest with the other hand.

Her arms slowly went around his waist while she cried against him, releasing all of the emotions she'd locked away since that awful night.