Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Bellamy
Unsurprisingly, they hadn’t been paid for the failed assignment.
Bellamy hadn’t really known what to expect when checking the box.
She had a feeling Vesper didn’t think there would be anything and just wanted to break the news about their upcoming disappearance to her precious Mazz without Bellamy there to interrupt.
Well, she wasn’t going to give them any extra time to be alone if she could help it. She’d been tempted to ignore Vesper’s instructions and follow her inside instead but their relationship was so fragile right now, she had to trust Ves. She didn’t have a choice.
What she hadn’t been expecting was for a note to actually be in the box.
Another assignment for them. It had to be a set up.
There were a few yin attached to the paper but nowhere near enough to be considered a payment for the last job.
She’d show Vesper regardless, they’d figure out their next moves together.
The girls lingering in the foyer openly stared at her when she threw the doors open to the Downstairs.
They all knew she should be banned, they all knew why.
Bellamy herself didn’t know how she wasn’t.
Not that she’d bothered to step foot inside that place since trying to kill Mazz, not until now.
And now, the girls looked at her with fear, discomfort, no one said anything to her.
That was fine. She had an idea of where she needed to go. She peered into each room as she passed. Not that she didn’t trust Vesper, just to make sure she was behaving. She didn’t even bother to knock when she found the back office. Just threw the doors open.
“I told you ten minutes or I’d—” Bellamy froze as she stared into the face of the very last person she’d ever expected to see here. Or really to ever see again. Confusion welled up inside her, warring with the anger building at seeing her fucking sister all over Vesper.
“And that’ll be V’s girl. Get up, Wisp. Now,” Mazz ordered, her voice full of urgency. Bellamy couldn’t be bothered to tear her gaze away.
“Ari?” Bellamy finally broke the uncomfortable silence. Her sister had ignored Mazz entirely. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Bellamy’s words were enough to break through the shared shock as her bitch sister smirked and slid onto Vesper’s lap.
“V’s girl, huh?” she asked, not taking her eyes off Bellamy.
Vesper’s hands shot up, a useless attempt at innocence.
Bellamy had definitely been right to never introduce them to each other.
Ari was fucking wrapped around Vesper like she owned her.
The tension in the room grew. Even Mazz had stopped counting and was staring wide-eyed at Ari.
“Wisp…” Mazz warned tentatively. Bellamy was practically crackling with Energy, barely withholding her anger.
“Wisp.” Bellamy laughed cruelly. “Ro told me you got a new job, but he didn’t mention you’d picked a shitty new name too. What? Did you do such a poor job working for Dad that you had to change your whole identity?”
“Dad?” Vesper interrupted, finally. It managed to temper a bit of Bellamy’s anger, despite not having shoved Ari off her lap yet. “You have a sister?”
Bellamy gritted her teeth when Ari laughed, a mocking laugh, smug and dark.
“Barely,” Bellamy snapped. “Get off her.”
Ari grinned. “If you can’t even tell her about your family then it’s no wonder she comes to us instead.”
“Nope.” Vesper snapped, finally—fucking finally—and pushed Ari off her.
She grimaced when Ari hit the floor and looked at Mazz, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like she was willing to get in the middle of this.
Ari wasn’t hurt, anyway, she was just a bitch.
Mazz sighed heavily and finally returned to counting when Vesper came behind Bellamy and wrapped her in a protective hold.
Bellamy knew her sister could read her face—the relief, the happiness as she melted into Vesper.
She didn’t care. She didn’t even care if the only reason Vesper was holding her like this was to keep her from attacking.
It didn’t matter. Vesper was hers, and Ari was never fucking touching her again. None of the whores were.
“How many times have you fucked her?” Bellamy hissed, twisting to look at Vesper, trying to keep her voice low.
“None,” Vesper answered, matching her volume. Bellamy raised an eyebrow. She knew Vesper had been with every single one of them. Was she seriously lying about this now? “I’m serious, Bel. She’s new, I just met her.”
Bellamy bit her lip, relaxing a bit. She wanted to say more, but that could wait until they didn’t have an audience.
“That’s enough, Wisp,” Mazz’s stern voice came from the desk. Bellamy whipped back around just in time to see her sister snap her mouth shut, looking put out that she couldn’t goad Bellamy more. For the first time ever, Bellamy actually appreciated Mazz.
“Back together then?” Mazz asked, looking at Vesper still protectively holding Bellamy.
Vesper shrugged, and Bellamy dug her nails into her arms. “Yes,” she snapped, directing all her ire at her sister before she shot Mazz a glare for good measure. “So, tell your girls hands off.”
Mazz snorted and rolled her eyes before she went back to counting. A few seconds later, she looked warily at Bellamy and tossed her the new notes.
“All good here, V.”
“Thanks, Mazz. I owe you.” The relief in Vesper’s voice told Bellamy that Vesper was fucking smiling at Mazz.
Mazz shook her head dismissively and waved at the door. “Just come back in one piece. I’ll tell her you’re leaving.”
Bellamy had to bite her tongue. Who the fuck needed to know Vesper was leaving? How close exactly was Vesper with these whores? Those questions had to wait though. They had more pressing matters. Like the “new assignment” burning a hole in Bellamy’s pocket.