Page 17 of Storm

“What does that mean?” Richard asks no one in particular.

A loud, booming laugh erupts from me when I read her last text. I’m laughing so hard that I have to wipe away tears just to read the line again.

“Translate, Ez,” Tatum says, furious and slightly panicked that Miri just took off, clearly hurt and upset.

Nodding my head toward them, I translate while still chuckling. “She basically said we can all go fuck ourselves,thensaid we’re a bunch of old men with small dicks.”

“She left?” Richard asks, not understanding what the fuck has happened. “When the hell did she leave?”

The memory of the cold breeze an hour ago flits through my memory, and I realize that was my little petal sneaking out of the house.She’s getting better at it.

This also means that she must have overheard our conversation in the office. Pointing my fingers at all of them,I narrow my eyes. “Obviously, she overheard the little chat we had.” Turning to Kevin, I ask, “Did you not tell her how this normally goes?”

For the first time, I actually see him humbled. Shaking his head slowly, he admits, “I didn’t. Definitely not the money part.”

“She did this for free?” Richard asks, clearly shocked.

Whipping my head toward him, I fight the urge to pound my fist into his jaw. “Yeah, you fucking prick. She sucked your dick for free. How does that make you feel?” Of course, he doesn’t answer me, still shocked by the turn of events.

Breathing deeply, I grin maniacally at the other three in the room. The only one not pissing me off at the moment is Tatum. Even then, he doesn’t get it. I don’t know why she didn’t stick around to lay into us, or why she didn’t wait for one of us to drive her back into town, but I don’t care.

Miri ran…

I leave them to bicker amongst themselves and slip into Richard’s office. It only takes a moment to find the contract she signed. Pulling out my phone, I snap a photo of her address.

Finally, I get to chase her. I hope she can weather the storm when I catch her.

CHAPTER 8

MIRIAM

“He’ll survive. Someone just fucking pay her, please. I need to pack and head out.”

I blink, stopping my body from entering the kitchen when I hear Richard.Pay me?What the hell are they paying me for?

It doesn’t take much longer to hear Kevin’s annoyed sigh and his response. “I’ve got the $25,000 we were giving to Victoria. I’ll take Miriam to her dad’s and give it to her in the car. That work?”

My head jerks back in surprise, and an ache curls deep within my stomach, followed quickly by shame. Normally, I’m one to confront an asshole head on, but right now, I’m feeling vulnerable as hell and I just want to run. Taking a step back from the entrance to the kitchen, I turn and run upstairs as quietly as possible.

Gathering the few items I have, I take a quick look around the room, then slip downstairs once more. I can still hear the guys’ rumbling voices in the kitchen, so I tiptoe to the front door, wincing when the soft squeak of the door sounds as I open it. I listen for a moment, but no one seems to have heard it, so I slide through the small opening, then pull it shut with a soft snick.

As I stare out at the long driveway, I blow out a breath, noticing the cloud of steam created in the frigid air. Rolling my shoulders back, I force myself to not care about everyone I’ve left behind and start my trek down the long driveway toward the highway.

The moment I lose sight of the house, I pull up my phone and request an Uber to pick me up. Blessedly, there’s one only fifteen minutes away, so I don’t have long to wait before I’m crawling into the backseat.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” I tell the driver who only nods once. Giving her my address, I sit back and watch the scenery fly by as we speed further and further away from the cabin that literally changed my life.

The longer I sit in the back of this car, the more pissed I get over what I heard before I left.Howdarethey treat me like a whore?At no time did anyone mention that I’d be paid for spreading my legs for these men. If I had been asked, I’d have given them the middle finger and walked away. It was just supposed to be a way to take control of my life for a bit of time.

Furious, I pull my phone out and send them all a text as a group.

Me: I’m not a whore. Fuck you all for thinking I was here just to suck your dicks for money. Thank you SO much for turning this experience for me into something disgusting and for making me feel worthless. Oh wait, but I guess I’m not worthless. $25,000 right?

Me: Váyanse a la mierda! Bola de viejos con pitos pequeños!

Smirking at what I’ve written, I work my way through my contacts, blocking every single one of them. They can all gofuck themselves because I’ll be damned if I ever spread my legs for any of them going forward. Notoneof those assholes said anything kind about me. Apparently, I was just a hole to them.

Ignoring the way that makes me feel, I shove my phone into my bag and zone out as trees and buildings fly by. The longer we travel, the more I dread showing up at my family’s home.

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