Page 24 of Now Streaming

Someone had trashed her room.

Hotel bedding was ripped and tossed every which way. Holes were sliced into the one armchair in the room. Her laptop was on the desk, smashed, the screen showing several large cracks, some of the keys popped off and thrown on the floor. Her toiletries were spilled everywhere, and from the smell of it, her shampoo and conditioner had been poured onto her clothes, which were cut up and tossed every which way. Min’s gaze took in everything, landing on the bathroom. The door was open, and even from here she could see herself in the mirror… and the word someone had written there in what looked to be black Sharpie.

Whore.

She stepped farther in, finally registering that she could hear the TV on, that there were noises coming from the speakers that were blasting at full volume. When she could finally see the screen, her stomach dropped.

The TV was showing a video.Thevideo. The recording Alex had made of them having sex, that he had then made screenshots of and posted on the internet. He had been pissed when they broke up, feeling like it was a blow to his pride and ego that she would dump him, and though he denied it, Min knew this was him getting his revenge. Even in the video, his face had been blurred out, keeping his identity secret while hers was clear to anyone who watched.

Moans from the TV filled the room, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen. She burned with rage and grief and betrayal. She had never said yes to making a tape, even though he had constantly asked her to make one with him “just for them.” While Min wasn’t opposed to sexy videos or pictures kept between partners, she also wasn’t dumb. She knew how easily those recordings made their way onto the internet, and even back then, she suspected enough about Alex to not want him to have access to something like that, instinctively knowing it would probably end badly.

And here it was, her very own scandal, a naked FlameThrower on her knees sucking what Min knew to be Alex’s mediocre dick. The violation of it sent a wave of nausea through her, and she found herself sitting on the bed, no longer able to stand up as the panic hit.

Someone had found her at the convention, at this hotel, when she was supposed to be safe. Someone had broken in, destroyed everything, and then taunted her with this fucking recording and the words written in the bathroom. She had never known the capacity to hate anyone this much, yet someone clearly hated her. And she knew from the many, many messages she had received since the pictures leaked that they weren’t alone. Everyone blamed her for the photos, for having sex, for liking it. Min hated this feeling of losing control, hated that she didn’t feel safe. That she probably wouldn’t feel safe anytime in the near future.

There was nothing to do, so Min took a few deep breaths and then grabbed her phone. The hotel phone had been torn out of the wall and tossed somewhere, so she called the front desk through the mainline and calmly asked them to send up security, doing her best to fight back the tears.

Just because she was alone didn’t mean she couldn’t handle herself. If whoever did this thought it would scare her away from the tournament, then they had sorely underestimated her. She’d take tonight to take care of everything and have whatever breakdown was on the horizon.

But tomorrow, she was going to win the next round of the tournament.

CHAPTER9

HAYDEN

Hayden stepped into the hotel elevator. It had been an extremely long day, and he was tired, more tired than he had felt in a long time. First the morning with Min, then the panel, followed by the intense first round of the tournament. Then he had rushed to meet with his brother to go over their upcoming business contracts and to evaluate their budget for the thousandth time. He had left with a feeling of anticipation and cautious excitement. They were so close to their goal. Winning the tournament would give them a huge leg up, allowing them to finish development ahead of schedule and launch early.

Then he could leave the streaming life behind him for good.

It was everything he wanted. Hayden had been working with his brother on their own game, funded by Hayden’s streaming money. If he won the tournament, the game could be finished that much quicker, and he couldn’t wait. Hayden was tired of living behind a mask and was ready to start a new chapter in his life. One where he was the one creating the games streamers loved to play. Where he was out of the spotlight and didn’t have to worry so much about someone recognizing his voice.

He would, however, miss playing FlameThrower.

The thought occurred to him just as the elevator arrived on his floor. He shook it off, striding to his room, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Sitting in the middle of the hall with her back to her door was Min. Back in her plain T-shirt and old jeans, all makeup cleaned from her face. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her head was laying in her arms on top of them. Her backpack was next to her. Worry, and a sense of foreboding hit Hayden hard.

“Lock yourself out?”

She looked up at his voice, and he froze, his heart forgetting to beat. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes red, and the look on her face was complete misery.

“Min, what the fuck? What happened?”

She shook her head, her eyes filling, and she put her head back down in her arms. He crouched next to her, his hand going to brush her hair away from her face.

“Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt? Are you drunk? Is this about the tournament?”

She takes a big sniff, not able to look him in the eyes even as his hand settles on her cheek, his thumb tilting her chin up toward him.

“The door’s propped open,” she told him in a shaky voice. “You can see for yourself.”

He shot her a questioning look, then stood. The door to her room was ajar, held open by the security lock she had left there, so he entered, bracing himself. Hayden was immediately assaulted by the graffiti. He was speechless as he moved farther in, freezing in front of the TV where a video was playing. A moan filled the room, a low and sultry noise that he felt straight to his cock, and then felt it die when he saw the video.

Hayden was going to kill him.

Whoever had done this. Whoever had made the recording. Min didn’t deserve this, and Hayden had to fight the red that had filled his vision, knowing Min wouldn’t appreciate him losing his cool right now.

He took a deep breath to pull himself back together, then headed back out to the hallway.

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