Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Bellamy
Bellamy hadn’t gotten out of bed by the time Vesper came storming in. She was hardly even awake. Vesper slammed the door behind her, and Bellamy jumped, her heart racing, her mind whirring through all the reasons for Vesper’s foul mood.
Vesper brandished a paper and crushed it in her fist before throwing it on Bellamy’s chest.
“You told me you killed her,” Vesper hissed, pacing beside the bed. “What the fuck, Bellamy?”
Bellamy stared at the crumpled paper, eyes wide, her breathing shallow.
She pulled the covers up around her. What had that bitch done?
She didn’t want to read the words, scared to face the evidence of her betrayal, her lies.
How much did Cedar tell? Because that was the only thing she could think would have happened.
Did Cedar tell her employers that she’d done it on purpose? Was Bellamy marked for death now?
“Read it,” Vesper ordered, glaring at her. Bellamy’s hands shook as she unraveled the note.
Bellamy exhaled in relief. That wasn’t so bad. “Ves, I didn’t—”
“You lied to me. Who is she?”
Bellamy swallowed, stealing herself for more lies. She refused to look at Vesper, couldn’t stand seeing the hurt she knew was there. “Do you think it was someone we didn’t see?” she asked, trying to deflect.
“It was your job to secure the perimeter. Did you do that?”
“Yes,” Bellamy whispered.
“And?”
Bellamy shook her head. “It was an accident, a mistake. I didn’t see anyone else.” She tried the feeble excuse but her voice wavered. At least it wasn’t entirely a lie. It was a mistake, one she regretted deeply. “But, at least it’s only a demotion, they’re not… I mean, we’re alive.”
Vesper sighed. Bellamy dared a peek at her. She was shaking her head, looking like she was about to say something, but Bellamy didn’t give her the chance. She grabbed Vesper’s hand and pulled her down onto the bed.
“I’m sorry,” Bellamy whispered, hugging Vesper tight. “I promise it won’t happen again. I’ll be more careful.” She kissed Vesper’s shoulder, willing her tears away before Vesper saw them.
“I’m gonna take a walk,” Vesper mumbled, extracting herself carefully.
Bellamy bit the inside of her cheek. Tears burned in her eyes.
She had done this to them, and now she’d have to live with it.
This was going to eat away at Vesper, and Bellamy knew it.
The worst part was that she didn’t know how to fix it—how she could rebuild that little bit of trust she’d ruined.
“We’re okay?” Bellamy asked in a small voice, shrinking in on herself.
Vesper leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I just need to cool off.”
Two hours later and Vesper still hadn’t come back.
Bellamy knew she should’ve taken advantage, searched for Cedar until she had those damn bracelets destroyed, but she couldn’t.
She’d spent the morning in her pity party instead.
Now she was all cried out and worried that Vesper hadn’t come home yet.
Bellamy dragged herself out of bed, washed her face, and put on fresh makeup—she couldn’t even tell she’d been crying.
She bunched her mess of curls into a high bun and then bundled up in Vesper’s warmest hoodie to face the biting cold.
She’d start with the gambling houses—the most likely place to find Cedar—and if that turned up nothing, then she’d go to the gardens. That’s where Vesper would be.
In the stairwell, Bellamy was accosted once again by a young red-head.
“Cedar,” she greeted warily. Bellamy didn’t trust the predatory look in that bitch’s eyes.
“Bellamy.” Cedar handed over the bracelet, watching as Bellamy pocketed it.
“Is that all? You said your partner had one.”
A slow smile crept over Cedar’s face. “My partner has disposed of theirs as they saw fit.” Bellamy’s eyes narrowed and she snatched the front of Cedar’s shirt, twisting the fabric in her fists.
“What the fuck does that mean?” she growled, itching to light the shirt up with magic, to stab this fucking bitch intent on making her miserable.
“I find it interesting that you didn’t even verify the contents of the bracelet,” Cedar replied, entirely unfazed by Bellamy’s threat.
Bellamy faltered. Her grip loosened before she dropped Cedar’s shirt all together, digging in her pocket. She took an unsteady breath and tapped the side of the bracelet to expose the recording. The image was crisp and clear as if she were looking through a window at herself.
Bellamy watched in horror as the recording started playing and the image of her grabbing the witness and shoving her down the alley was in full view. Bellamy’s magic sparked, searing the cold metal until the image distorted and vanished. She snapped it clean in half and threw it on the ground.
“Whoops, wrong one,” Cedar smiled innocently before she dug out another bracelet and placed it in Bellamy’s hand, unperturbed.
Bellamy checked this time, exposing the images she’d been expecting on the other one—her cheating at the cards table.
She destroyed this bracelet in the same way, burning through the magic holding the images together.
“The other copy?” Bellamy demanded once she’d finished.
Cedar shrugged. “I’ll be in contact.”
Bellamy lunged. Her magic, already at the tip of fingers, crackled to life, twisting into a warped dagger, which she held at Cedar’s throat. “Give me the rest of the fucking bracelets, Cedar,” she growled angrily.
Cedar laughed. She fucking laughed.
“You can’t do anything to me unless you want the other ones to fall into the wrong hands. Besides,” Cedar purred sweetly, “if you kill me, they’ll kill everyone you care about. Don’t be reckless, Bellamy.”
Bellamy’s eyes widened. Her magic sparked, flaring until she released it, hands shaking. “What did you do?”
“I’ll be in contact,” Cedar repeated with a wink. Then, she sauntered away, laughing.
“Why are you doing this?” Bellamy yelled after her. It was no use, though. The stairwell was empty. She could have sworn she’d heard Cedar’s smug fucking laughter still bouncing off the walls, mocking. Finding Vesper was suddenly much more urgent. Bellamy flew the rest of the way down the stairs.
In the lobby, Bellamy spied the whore who had warned her about Cedar. Bellamy stormed up and was greeted with a hesitant smile.
“How did you know?” Bellamy demanded. The whore stepped back, wide eyed with her hands up.
“Who is she?” Bellamy spat.
“What…”
“That red-haired bitch. How’d you know she was following me? Who the fuck is she?” Bellamy seethed, taking care to keep her voice low. The whore relaxed only slightly, but the wariness stayed in her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“How’d you know she was following me?”
The whore sighed. “I already told you. Look, some of us watch the lobby when we don’t have clients. We noticed she was following you, and I decided to intervene.”
“Why?” Bellamy spat. She’d never talked to this woman before. There was no reason for her to do anything remotely helpful for her.
“Your girl’s a friend. We look out for our friends. That extends to you.”
“A friend,” Bellamy narrowed her eyes.
The whore took another step back. “We never touched her, she never touched us. You’re it for her, trust that.”
Bellamy opened her mouth to snap back, but was interrupted—a welcome interruption this time—by the very person she was about to look for.
“Hey Mazz,” Vesper’s voice startled Bellamy. She was so close, she had to have heard them talking. Vesper slung her arm around Bellamy’s shoulder, and Bellamy instantly relaxed into the touch, melding herself to Vesper’s side but not taking her eyes off the whore.
“I need to talk to Bel. We’ll see you later.” Her voice was strained. Her grip tightened around Bellamy as she pulled her away, not waiting for a response.
Fuck. Vesper was still upset, she just wasn’t going to show it in front of her friends. Maybe that was a good sign… Vesper dropped her hold as soon as they were in the stairwell.
“How was your walk?” Bellamy asked tentatively, daring a quick side-eyed glance at Vesper.
Vesper’s jaw tightened before she answered. “Enlightening.”
“What does that mean?” Bellamy squeaked out, her voice cracked. What did that bitch do? Did Cedar get to her? What’d she say? What’d she see?
Bellamy wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. “Ves?”
Vesper shook her head, not even bothering to look at her.
Bellamy was so completely fucked. Cedar had to have gotten to Vesper, she was certain of it.
The gambling bit they could get past, but if Cedar told her about the job, it was over for them.
Bellamy knew Vesper would never be able to forgive her.
Especially not since it had set them back, and with how hard Vesper had been working to get them out…
Vesper was going to hate her. But… maybe that was what needed to happen. If Cedar was intent on targeting Bellamy, it would be better for Ves if there was distance between them. If Cedar didn’t think they cared about each other then Vesper would be safe.
When they got to the apartment, Vesper locked the door behind them and pulled out a chair to sit. Bellamy perched at the end of their bed. Tension roiled through Bellamy’s entire body; she didn’t know what to expect, how bad it’d be.
“Is it true?” Vesper asked with a sigh. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees and her head down. She couldn’t even look at Bellamy.
Bellamy forced herself to breathe normally, tried to keep the fear out of her voice when she spoke. “Is what true?”
Vesper shot her a glare. “The fucking assignment, Bel. Did you seriously let that girl go on purpose?”
Bellamy’s heart stuttered, her breathing catching. It was worse than she’d thought. She should stop lying now, admit everything. But she couldn’t—couldn’t bring herself to face the truth.
Where’d you hear that?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Vesper snapped. Bellamy crossed her arms and stuck out her chin. She didn’t have the upper hand here, but she’d be damned if she admitted it all and Vesper hadn’t seen the recording. She’d kill Cedar.
“Some guy,” Vesper said, “slipped me a bracelet and disappeared. Don’t know who it was, just—just tell me the truth. Please.”
Bellamy took a deep breath. She refused to look at Vesper. That confirmed it. Cedar wasn’t working alone. She was watching them. She knew who Bellamy cared about and was threatening to take her away. Vesper would never be safe—not if Cedar was around, not if Bellamy messed up.
She couldn’t bring herself to watch the moment she admitted it, didn’t want to watch herself slowly lose Vesper.
She couldn’t handle a slow breakup, she didn’t want a breakup, but it was inevitable.
If they stayed together, Vesper was in danger.
But if Bellamy made Vesper hate her, if she pushed her away, if Cedar knew there wasn’t love there anymore…
“It’s true.”
“Why?” Vesper’s voice broke, but Bellamy was about to break more than that.
She squeezed her eyes shut, silently apologizing and sending Vesper a pitiful goodbye.
Then, she opened her mouth and destroyed them.
She lied to save Vesper, to save her own ass, just like she always did when she was scared or desperate.
Lied with enough vehemence, enough distrust, that she knew with absolute certainty that there was no going back.
Because Vesper could not learn the truth, couldn’t put her life at risk just because of a stupid fucking mistake Bellamy made. If she had to make Vesper hate her to ensure her safety, then so be it. Even if it made Bellamy hate herself too.