And that reminder brought Bellamy back to exactly why she was so worked up in the first place. The girl hadn’t seen Bellamy, at least she hadn’t said anything. Good. Bellamy didn’t want friends. Especially not friends who beat her at her own fucking game, and she sure as shit didn’t want anything else from her.
Bellamy slipped inside her building without another thought to the girl who’d ruined her night. She tried to rush past the Downstairs, like she always did, but one of the whores flagged her down. Bellamy couldn’t place her name but recognized her as one of the girls who was constantly all over Vesper.
She gritted her teeth and pretended not to see her, increasing her pace just a bit. A few more steps and she could slam the stairwell door in the whore’s face. Then, a delicate hand clasped around her wrist with surprising strength, and she was pulled into a hug. Bellamy froze. The whores had never touched her before.
“Relax,” the girl whispered in her ear, irritation plain in her voice. “You’re being followed. Little red-head, fiddling with a locked office door behind us.”
“How do you know?” Bellamy hissed back.
“I know the owner of that office, and it’s not her. She was also very obvious. She looked around the lobby until she spotted you and only veered off when I called for you.” The whore let her go and sauntered away without another word.
Bellamy continued on her way, looking as if nothing happened while her mind reeled. Why the fuck was the whore even paying attention enough to know she was being followed, let alone to warn her? Bellamy never hid her distaste for the girls, and they never hid their annoyance with her presence. Like she was the one obstacle between them and another fucking client.
She was halfway up the staircase when the door closed beneath her. Unfortunately, she did believe the whore. Bellamy ducked behind a column, listening as hurried footsteps rushed closer, the sound echoing off the cement walls.
“Who are you?” Bellamy snapped. The woman startled when she rounded the bend, clearly looking for Bellamy. Bellamy leaned casually against the column, toying with her crackling energy, holding it in a twisted knife-like form. It wasn’t a threat, exactly. Not yet, at least. More like a subtle show of skill. A warning.
The woman held up her hands in mock surrender. She lookedonly a couple years younger than Bellamy herself. Her green eyes were bright and held no fear. She was pretty, innocent looking. Bellamy hated her immediately.
“Name’s Cedar. I don’t want any trouble.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Bellamy
6 Years Ago
She stared at the image glowing in the air in front of her. “What the fuck is this?” she growled, unable to tear her eyes away.
Cedar had produced a little metal communications bracelet. When she tapped it, a misty projection of an image appeared before them. The dark magenta glow of magic around it did nothing to hinder the quality. It was Bellamy, sitting at the cards table just hours before.
She tried to snatch the bracelet off the woman, but Cedar was quick, pulling her arm just out of reach.
“Ah, ah. Watch it. This isn’t my only one,” Cedar warned. She had a low voice, raspy like Bellamy had actually wrung her neck and not just imagined it. Cedar tapped the side of the bracelet, and the image started moving.
Bellamy was shuffling the deck, but even from the recorder’s distance, she could see the moment she’d slipped her cards in. Effortless, a practiced skill she’d used thousands of times over. The penalty for getting caught cheating was more than she could afford at the moment, especially with how much she alreadyowed. She’d lose everything. She’d have to dip into their already meager savings and admit to Ves what she’d been doing.
Staring, dumbfounded, Bellamy couldn’t rip her gaze away until the recording looped. Cedar curled her hand over the bracelet, snuffing out the magic.
This didn’t make any sense. Bellamy had been cheating for years. Everyone cheated. Why now? Why her? It had been a setup, that much was obvious. She hadn’t pissed anyone off that bad… right?
“You set me up.”
“Yes,” Cedar said simply.
Bellamy deflated. There wasn’t anything she could do, and she definitely did not want Vesper finding out about this. Cedar showed no fear, acting as if Bellamy wasn’t a split second away from ending her life and hiding the body.
“My partner has a matching bracelet with the same recording. If I don’t return, they’ll turn it in, and you’ll be dealing with the house. I hear they can be very unforgiving.” Cedar smiled, apparently reading Bellamy’s murderous mind.
“What do you want?”
“Just a little favor. Do it, and I’ll destroy this,” Cedar smiled and the bracelet jiggled on her wrist.
“You said your partner has one too.”
Cedar’s smile didn’t waver. “I’ll destroy all copies.”
Bellamy eyed her suspiciously. She tried to think of a way out. She could destroy this one and kill Cedar, anyway, but she had no idea what the partner looked like, or how long she had before Cedar reported back. She couldn’t risk anyone getting hold of those images. Maybe it would be some inconsequential favor… Something silly, like assassinating someone for free or stealing something. That wouldn’t be bad.
