took his hand, helping her up like a gentleman. "Chance took over the booth. Riley and I handled the demo. It was fine, and Chance said he'd wait until Braden was done." Then he looked at Rhaven. "How are you holding up?"
"They ruined everything," she told him. "The furniture. My clothes. Literally everything, Void. How am I supposed to be doing?"
"Scared, sad, or pissed?" Void asked instead.
Rhaven just pointed to her face. "This is my revenge look. I can't say pissed, but definitely a little mad." Then she pointed at the computers. "Who moved mine?"
"Knock," Void told her. "He put you in the middle, right between Psyc and Murder. Riley joked that it's the PD advantage."
"Thanks," she said. "All of you. I need this. I have to get a contract, because I have nothing left."
"I'll rep you," Void assured her. "Just tell anyone who asks to talk to me."
She jiggled her head to show she'd heard him. "Thank you."
Void just rubbed her arm lightly, then pointed to her chair. "We've got ten more minutes. Make sure nothing got messed up." Then he turned to Psyc and crossed his arms. "Do I want to know what's going on with you and her?"
Psyc just sighed. "Soon as I know, I'll tell you. How's that? Right now, I'm playing the shield, but..."
"It's going further than you intended?" Void asked.
"Uh..." Psyc cleared his throat. "It's all on the up and up, man. Braden and I had a talk. Let's just say that he can't be here, I'd rather KoG bullied me than her, and the idea came from you and Murder."
"And when she decides that she wants you more than him?" Void asked.
Psyc shuffled in place. "Man, it's not going to happen. If it does? I'm down for it, but Braden's a friend. Not gonna fuck him over."
"That's all I needed," Void promised. "Good luck. You're going to need that. I'm winning this match."
"Dream on!" Psyc laughed as the pair turned for their own seats.
Rhaven heard it all, but she pretended she was checking her network settings and mouse configuration. With her eyes on the screen, it made it easier to keep from smiling like an idiot. But when Murder dropped into the chair beside her and leaned in, she knew she wasn't doing as good as she'd hoped.
"You and Psyc, huh?" he asked.
"Fuck off," she teased.
"You and Braden, huh?" he tried instead.
She turned to give him a tired look. "It's a convention. It's supposed to be fun. That's all it is."
"And Ice said that your room was trashed." Murder just lifted a brow. "So, for once in your life, Rhaven, let us take some heat so you don't have to?"
"But you don't do the same for QQ," she countered.
"Q's mean as shit," he told her. "You? Rhaven, you play tough, but you're not completely calloused inside. Riley's learned to care again. You're trying hard not to. I get it, though. Swear I do, but when we step up, don't punish us for it. And I mean all of us sitting at this table, babe. That's where Q fucked up. She tried to go it alone, but I figure we're like brothers in arms, all fighting the same battles. My shield is that I'm a guy. Let me use it."
"Ok," she breathed. "Thank you, Murder."
"You can pay me back by asking to see pictures of little Ryan. He's so fat!" Murder grinned and leaned back in his chair. "And Kitty's going to bust my balls, but I'm actually ok with this. Independent women may not be the easiest to love, but so far as I'm concerned, they're the most rewarding." He lifted a brow and ran his eyes over her to make it clear he wasn't just talking about Kitty.
Thankfully, the emcee stood up, giving Rhaven an excuse to look away. She liked being counted as one of the strong women, but she didn't know how to take it. Mostly, she had no idea what she was supposed to say. Was "thank you" enough? It certainly didn't feel like it.
But the emcee was already talking into the camera. One by one, he named the players seated at the high table. When Rhaven's name was called, she smiled and nodded while looking at the camera, and then her attention was back on her screen. The chat lobby was moving, but she didn't want to read that. The word "man" kept coming up, and she had a funny feeling it was about her. She just wanted