I frowned to find her feet hardly covered in thin canvas tennis shoes that provided no protection.
I grabbed a pair of thick socks.
“Yay! Chile socks,” she said, snatching them from me.
I held her material by the sleeve and dragged her back to the dock, gathering the outerwear I’d set down earlier. I shut and locked the door to the gift shop behind us.
“Loaded and ready,” I said to Azi as we gathered into The Can.
Bee gazed pitifully at the building we’d just left behind, but I couldn’t move fast enough.
“Okay. Let’s go,” he said. After a beat, the familiar whirring of the engine kicked to life. “Hang on tight.”
I shot one last look at the storm before the tram engaged. She sucked in a breath when we lurched into motion. As soon as we left the half-housed safety of the dock, a massive gust rocked us to the side. My palms were damp in the thick gloves as my stomach roiled and attempted to spin out and up my throat. I clamped onto the pole, breathing through clenched teeth.
The mission was almost over. Bee and I would be down this mountain in twenty long minutes. Benny would pay me, and I would ring in the new year in peace, just like I wanted. I just had to get through twenty minutes. One thousand two hundred seconds. Easy.
Bee went to one of the bench seats, threw her bag on the floor, and slumped into the chair. The smooth texture of the chair combined with the suit’s fabric meant she kept slipping down and then had to push herself back up every so often.
Her antics distracted me for a while, but the motion sickness returned. Or maybe the fear of plummeting to our death.
This was the longest tram ride of my life. Every minute passed like an hour. I tried desperately not to look out the windows because there was only darkness and wind and unimaginable horrors.
I held on to the rail in the middle, not letting my anxiety show. The last thing I wanted was for Bee to get scared and have to worry about soothing her too. She kept glancing at me to check for safety, the way the passengers of a plane looked at the flight attendants when turbulence got bad.
I put on my most placid, stoic face, pretending not to notice her glances.
For once, my strength and size might provide comfort.
Chapter 7
Bee
Owen lookedone more gust away from hurling.
Poor dude was not doing well.
Maybe I should go over and give him a little pat on the head so he didn’t pass out. Some people just weren’t cut out for heights. Every time I looked in his direction, his pallor grew a tinge more green. He was bundled up in all the layers he brought, but the exposed skin of his forehead was pale and speckled with sweat. He gripped the pole like it was the only thing keeping us from crashing into the side of the mountain.
I wasn’t thrilled about this turn of events myself. This wasn’t a part of the NYNB plan, and the second I could get myself back to the top of the mountain, I would. Benny Jr. didn’t scare me. Being constantly overlooked meant that people gossipedaplentyin the cat café, never noticing as I filled up their cups or straightened the menus to their left.
I wasn’t saying I would blackmail Benny, but I wouldn’t let him bully me either. I hadn’t broken a single law.
Except for probably trespassing.
Semantics.
Actually, I wasn’t clear on the laws, but I would bet money that Benny Jr. wasn’t either, and what he was up to was probably worse. I wasn’t stopping until I got back up that mountain, come hell or high water. I appreciated that Owen had a job to do, but so did I.
A massive wind blew the tram, whistling through the cracks as we rocked with gusto.
Owen made a soft, pained sound, but his face was emotionless when I looked at him again.
He was awfully pitiful. I couldn’t feel bad for him when I was on a life-changing mission. I didn’t even have any hand puppets to distract him with.
“That was a doozy,” I said.
He blinked at me, swallowing audibly.
