Page 51 of Vengeance of the Gods

Some things never changed.

“I need you to wake up.” With his nerves spiked, Bridger’s voice sounded too calm. It was how he was taught to react, to keep cool under pressure. He hadn’t always been the best at it, but he’d gotten better over the years.

All he got was another groan and Vega trying to roll over and face away from him.

She didn’t even know she was doing it—she’d always been hard to wake up.

“Five more minutes.” That was Vega’s sign she was coming to.

“Vega, please, I need you to get the fuck up.” Bridger grabbed her by the arm and turned her back over, snatching the pillow off her head.

“Hey!” Vega cried, jolting up to grab it. She paused mid-move, finally realizing where she was. Her hands fell to the mattress, and she quickly looked around the room. “I fell asleep?” She pushed the covers off. “Did you undress me?”

“Yes, and yes.”

Vega sneered. “Excuse y⁠—”

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. You were crashing. What was I supposed to do? Leave you in your cold and wet underwear? No.” Bridger stood, staring down at her. “But don’t you worry, I was a complete gentleman,” he followed with a wink.

She glared at him sleepily for a few silent seconds before moving on. “How long have I been asleep?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

Bridger pretended to look at a watch on his wrist he wasn’t wearing. “Oh, a few hours… just long enough for the body in the bathroom to disappear.” The casualness of his tone jarred even himself.

“Long enough for what?” Vega popped off the bed, her bare feet pattering against the dingy carpet to the bathroom.

Bridger stood and watched from the side of the bed, crossing his arms and waiting for her to freak out.

In three, two, one…

“What the fuck?”

Right on time.

Vega covered her mouth with one hand and supported herself against the wall with the other. “What the fuck?” she repeated, quieter this time.

“That’s exactly what I said.”

Vega spun around. “How did this happen? How long ago did this happen?”

Bridger raised his shoulders. “I just noticed it.”

She started to pace—a habit she’d begrudgingly picked up from Khort.

Bridger watched her bounce from one end of the room to the other.

“You didn’t go in there and check on him?” she asked as she passed by.

Bridger’s stared at her seriously. “To do what? Ask if he was comfortable or needed a blanket?” He ignored the middle finger Vega raised. “He was dead. I didn’t think I’d need to go back in there and check if he was still dead.”

“Then why did you?”

Bridger’s jaw tightened as she continued to pace. “Will you please stop doing that?”

Vega shook her head. “No, now answer my question.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know. I just… felt like I needed to.”

The sound of Vega’s feet stopped, and when Bridger looked up, she was standing in the middle of the small bathroom. “Bodies and blood don’t just disappear.”