Page 93 of Mine

“Lies!” she yelled, sounding far away from the phone. “Get dressed, we are going out to lunch and you will tell me what is going on.”

“I have to work tonight,” I said, but it was a shit excuse.

“You don’t have to go in till five which means we have plenty of time.” The sound of movement came through the speaker like she was moving. “I am gonna show up in thirty minutes and youbetter be outside of your apartment or I'll send my driver in for you.”

I rolled my eyes because her driver was scary as hell, but since she and Easton survived a vicious attack, their husband, Vincent, was taking no chances. The driver was ex-military and I’m pretty sure he had some notches on his belt.

“Don’t send Sam, I’ll be waiting outside.” I hung up, looking down at myself.

I had two days off and I was still in the same pajamas as yesterday because I had no will to go out at all. I needed a shower, and I desperately needed to wash my hair. Cursing Noemi as I got up, I took a hot shower, enjoying the heat, it was like a balm on my fractured heart.

After I had gotten dressed, I was a little grateful that she was forcing me to come out. I needed to move on; what I really needed to do was tell them that this wasn’t working for me anymore. We needed to part ways and I would try my best to avoid them, instead of seeking them out every chance I got.

I grabbed my phone and opened our text thread, seeing the last text was from two days ago. The guys had been on the road for the last two games and they were probably exhausted. My fingers hovered over the keys debating if I should just send a text to meet up.

Me: Hey, good luck today!

I chickened out thinking it might be weird asking to meet up right before a game. They didn’t need that stress. Putting my phone in my pocket, I grabbed my purse, and grabbed my laptop and a camera, in case I didn’t get to make it home before the game. Nerves bubbled in my stomach as I headed out to meet Noemi.

The March air was getting warmer and it almost smelled like spring. I walked down the stairs, seeing a group of people by the entrance of the apartments. My phone chimed in my purse and I got a weird feeling as I walked out into the open. Something told me to walk back to my apartment, but I saw a black sedan pull up and I figured it was Noemi.

Keeping the car in my line of sight, I dug through my purse as a few more chimes came through. It was a stupid idea because when I was halfway to the car, I didn’t see the swarm of people rushing to me. Cameras were in my face, flashes of light threw me off and everyone talking at the same time made me lose my bearings, until one of them said the worst thing imaginable.

“Are you the porn star, Ruby Dix?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped, praying my face didn’t give me away.

“We have reports saying you are the porn star who is working for the Yetis,” a woman said, pushing a camera in my face.

“That’s ridiculous,” I snarled, trying to push my way through them.

No one was moving. They were closing in on me even further as they threw out their questions. This couldn’t be happening, there was no way anyone would have known it was me. I was careful.

“Come on, baby, give us a little show,” a man said behind me, grabbing my ass.

I ignored him, trying to push through, not seeing the black sedan anymore. Shit, that wasn’t Noemi. I wanted to cry.

“Your body looks delectable in those videos,” he said, palming me again.

“Watch it, asshole,” I said, turning around, hitting my cheek against a camera. “Touch me again and see what happens.”

“You wish I would touch that trash of a body you have,” he sneered.

He looked like he hadn’t showered in days. His hair was greasy, his breath smelled awful, and the idiot didn’t even have his camera on. The moment our eyes met I had a feeling I had met this man before.

“I’m sure whoever you are talking about wouldn’t touch your trash body, get a fucking life, dirtbag.” I turned away carefully, with all the cameras around when he pushed me forward, knocking me into a few people and my face knocked into another camera, dropping my phone.

“Fucking slut, can’t make money the hard way like normal people do. Gotta have sex and bag two hockey players for the life she wants,” he laughed, tugging at my hair. “She probably has daddy issues and no one?—”

I snapped. They knew who I was sleeping with and for some reason, that pissed me off even more. I launched myself at the guy, taking a swing and connecting with his jaw. Pain radiated up my arm, but it was short lived when he cried out, hitting me in the chest with a hit that I didn’t know could be called a hit.

“Get the fuck away from me,” I growled, swinging my arm back, hitting him again and savoring the cry he made.

He grabbed my upper arm trying to keep me away from him, as I swung at him again. I hit something, but I didn’t know what it was and I was satisfied when I heard him cry out again. He managed to push me back, making me collide with someone and we fell. A pain in my ribs shocked me, knocking the breath out of me. Grimacing at the pain, I stood up. I was ready to launch myself at him again when a strong arm wrapped around my waist pulling me back.

“Geez, Valencia, are you ok?” Noemi’s voice pulled me out of my fog of anger.

“Oh god,” I cried, seeing the damage I had done.

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