Valerie felt Dana shift around on the bed; the latex hood obscured her vision, and while the imperfect seal let in a small amount of light, this only served to remind her of how little she could actually see.

Ness slipped out of bed on bare feet, and moved toward the inner bedroom door across wood floors, worn smooth by years and hundreds of different guests’ boots. She had kept one of the towels tied around her as a makeshift dress before bed, hesitant to sleep naked in an unfamiliar place— their clothes were not meant to be returned until some time in the morning. She was grateful for that choice.

The bath was incredible. Ness moaned in simple ecstasy as she lowered herself into the hot water. After days— weeks? She had lost count— of living rough and of so much walking, the feeling was absolutely exquisite. She swore she would never step foot outside a city again.

Valerie stretched her arms out to relieve the ropes’ pull on her wrists. She opened and closed her hands, trying to find even a little slack. The ropes were tight, and not quite painful; and as long as she did not pull on them too hard, there was none of the tingling numbness that would indicate danger.

Phaine stared down at the tankard of ale like she was a gambler and she thought the beer was bluffing.

“Do you want to use your safe word, now?” Valerie blinked at Dana, eyes wide in surprise. As she processed that feeling, some pieces started to fall into place for her. Dana had spoken of fear, and Valerie realized the woman thought that fear was all that kept her.

Valerie finished tidying, and Dana and Lucca still had not returned. She showered, and between the caffeine from her tea and the almost-scalding water, she felt fully awake afterward; if not entirely clear-headed. Her time with Lucca had left her exhausted and something like sated; but another day and night had passed and with nothing left to occupy the time, her mind wandered.

Valerie woke with a start; she had dreamed again of the inside of a car trunk, of darkness and fear and the certainty of her own eventual destruction, if not death.

Dana paced her dimly lit hotel room, debating how much of heaven and earth she was willing to uproot to get back to California a few hours early. She had no way to reach Valerie directly— a situation of her own making, and one she was, at least in that moment, regretting. A simple text message would have done wonders to set her mind at ease.

Valerie stood naked in front of the full length mirror in Dana’s bathroom, staring at herself. Her eyes were fixed on the metal that Lucca had put through her body. She had been staring for several minutes, lost in thought; occasionally she turned, just to watch the light glint off of the new piercings.