CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vesper
Vesper woke at first light. As soon as the cabin interior was slightly brighter than almost pitch black, she could no longer sleep. She glanced over at the bed, where Bellamy was sprawled out and snoring lightly. Vesper tried not to envy Bel’s ability to sleep in. Instead, she relished the time not having to deal with her. Just because yesterday didn’t go how Bellamy wanted did not mean she would stop trying.
Vesper checked her watch and mentally tallied the minutes until they were out of this damn trolley. It was still early. Too early. They had at least another twelve hours of forced confinement.
Their hotel, which Bellamy had arranged, would also serve as the meeting place with their contact, so at least that was nice. They’d get that out of the way as soon as they got in, and then they had the next day to learn their surroundings and scope out the location.
Those little details were what told Vesper this was an important assignment. It was rare to have a day to prepare for the attack, let alone be able to familiarize themselves with the location and make an advanced plan of action. Bellamy better not fuck this up. Vesper would need to keep a close eye on her.
She decided now was the best time to take advantage of Bellamy’s sleep schedule and get some of her routine stretches out of the way. Her body was stiff from yesterday, and it would do no good to let Bellamy goad her into another round of sparring just for her to try the same bullshit again.
It took her an hour—she wanted to be thorough since she had time. Her body would thank her later, when she had to haul other bodies around. Bellamy still hadn’t stirred, so Vesper knew there would be time for some light bodyweight exercises too, now that she’d warmed up.
She grabbed a quick shower when she finished, hoping that Bellamy didn’t wake while she was naked. She didn’t trust Bellamy to respect any boundaries anymore. But when she finished and Bel still hadn’t woken, she didn’t bother being quiet anymore.
Vesper might have also been a little annoyed that Bellamy still had the ability to fucking sleep. Especially with the interior lit up in a fiery blaze of morning sun shining through the windows as it crested the tops of the mountains.
Vesper needed the time to get her head on right before Bel woke up. She was still all sorts of fucked up from yesterday. What had changed? Something had to have spurred Bellamy on like that. It had to be deeper than just that bet. Vesper hadn’t been able to keep Bellamy in check. To keep her limits. That was a first.
She wondered if it was because Bellamy’s debt was deeper than she’d initially thought. Not that she cared. It was the fucking debt that got them into trouble in the first place. The debt that ruined their hopes of a future—well, not entirely the debt. Bellamy did quite a grand job of ripping them apart all on her own. But it had been spurred on by the gambling. Vesper fucking hated it, all of it.
No, she wouldn’t give Bellamy a pass just because she couldn’t stop making those fucking selfish decisions. Couldn’t stop playing cards. Couldn’t stop being shit at them. Vesper remembered Claric’s threat—well, their warning. She’d hoped toput a stop to it, a laughable idea since Vesper had never been able to stop Bellamy gambling before.
Bellamy would be back within a week. She’d wait until Claric cooled down, and then she’d do whatever ass-kissing she needed to get back at a table. Absolutely nothing would change. It would only hurt worse if Vesper gave in now.
The fruit bar wrapper crinkled loudly. Bellamy chucked a pillow at Vesper’s head and told her to “shut the fuck up with that shit.” Bellamy was still sore from yesterday and, much to Vesper’s surprise, barely spoke a word all morning.
Not that she wanted to talk to Bellamy. The silence allowed her to read, which she wasdefinitelyable to focus on. Vesper was not at all hyperaware of Bellamy’s every movement. And she had definitely been able to push the thoughts off Bellamy’s touch out of her head. She couldn’t still feel Bel’s lips on hers.
Nope. She was not at all thinking about that.
Vesper squinted at the words on her page like they were foreign. What had she been reading about?
The trolley abruptly stopped. Vesper jolted out of her seat from the force and looked at Bellamy, who peered out the window. She followed suit, standing a safe distance away from Bellamy, and looked over her shoulder at the empty valley beyond. The snowcapped mountains in the distance glistened in the sunlight, haunting and gorgeous.
“Can you see anything?” Vesper murmured. Bellamy was pressed up against the glass looking toward the front of the tracks, but there wasn’t a good angle. Of course there were no windows at the front either.
“No, should we get out and check?”
Vesper scoffed. “Yeah, you do that. I’ll stay in here so when the trolley starts back up again and leaves you, at least one of us will make it to the assignment.”
Bellamy turned and glared. She stepped forward, bringing them closer. “Please, you’d hate having to travel without me,” she purred and placed a hand on Vesper’s chest.
Vesper glanced down at Bellamy’s hand and raised an eyebrow. She swallowed and forced herself to hold her ground until Bellamy backed off first. Clearly, Bel had learned from the day before. Only a second later, she yanked her hand back. Still, Vesper’s skin was scorched from where her hand had just been, the imprint of it lingering just as it had on her lips.
“I’ll send a message,” Vesper said, smirking when Bellamy glowered at her and turned back to face the window. Bellamy stuck her ass out just a little bit more, but it was easier to ignore her with a distraction.
Vesper tapped the thin, silver communicator bracelet she wore on her left wrist and brought up the shimmery fog of illusion which projected along her forearm. She tapped out her message in as few words as possible, relaying the stop and asking for the reason.
They’d look into it. Sit tight.
Of course. Vesper and Bellamy would be trapped here even longer. She could practically feel the time being added onto their journey. Her irritation started to bubble back up.
Then, Bellamy gasped. Her hands moved to the windowsill, and she quickly straightened. Vesper tensed, eyes darting toward the door, prepared for an attack. It wasn’t unheard of for Embunuh Organization trolleys to be targeted while in transit, but out here? In the middle of fucking nowhere? Not good. Her magic crackled in the confined space, the sparks popping loudly. Then Bellamy clasped a hand over Vesper’s and diminished the energy instantly.
“It’s not that. Look.” Bellamy pointed out the window, positioning herself in front of it again as she pulled Vesper with her, subtly pressing into her while Vesper peered around.
