For The Win (Gamer Girls, #6) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,64

two," Rhaven said. "You're also welcome to call the head office." Then she reached back, grabbed one of the business cards for the people who ran this shit-show, and passed it over.

Her body was working on autopilot. Her mind, however, was spinning out of control. She still hadn't read the article, but who had taken the picture? How had her hometown newspaper gotten it? What the fuck was going on, and why now?

Because this was her own personal nightmare come true, and she had no idea how to deal with it. She wanted to call Psyc, to tell him to come and save her, but she couldn't. She wanted to kick everyone out of the store, but that wouldn't work. What she needed to do was get home, and fast.

Unfortunately, the lady and that asshole weren't the only ones. Some guy ended up calling her a faggot and throwing a cup of hot coffee at her. Yes, she made him pay for that. Someone else spit on her. She could feel the tears burning her eyes, but no one was coming to save her - and then her phone started vibrating in her pocket.

Hoping it was the boss, she pulled it out, only to see her father's name on the screen. That meant he knew. If he did, Tyler would. Frantic, she punted the call to voicemail, but that nauseous feeling was only getting worse. When the millionth person in the last hour tossed the paper on the counter and grumbled about her being disgusting, it was the last straw.

Rhaven barely had time to pull out the garbage can before she was hurling. Somewhere on the other side of the counter, she heard a guy complain about how gross that was. A woman asked if she was ok. Someone else said he wasn't shopping here. Rhaven just clutched the edge and tried to make it all go away.

Braden had been right. He'd said she had to tell her family or someone else would, but she hadn't expected this. Her guts convulsed again, her body retching, but nothing would come up. She didn't know what to do or how to handle this. She should probably call Todd back. She had to do something.

And when she finally lifted her head to apologize, there was only one person left. "Here, sweetie," the old lady said. "That should cover the soda. You should probably go home if you're sick."

"I'm trying," she promised, ringing up the woman.

The lady left, and Rhaven's eyes followed her, only to see a group of people standing in front of the store. They were turning away customers and someone was holding a Bible. Why? For her? No, this couldn't be happening. It all had to be some joke, right? She almost convinced herself of that until a young man yanked open the door and stepped in.

"We don't need your kind in our town," he snapped.

"Ok," she breathed, scrambling for her phone. "I'll tell my boss."

She had no idea why she said that, but it seemed to confuse the guy as much as it did her. The man grunted, clearly not impressed, and stepped back outside to talk to the Bible holder. This was her chance. Confused, terrified, and unsure of what else to do, she rushed to the door and turned the deadbolt, locking the customers on the other side.

And then she called her boss again. "Todd?" she said when he answered. "I think you need to come down here right now."

"What the fuck is going on, Ethan?" he snapped. "My phone's been ringing off the hook with complaints this morning."

"I locked the doors," she breathed. "I locked them so they can't kill me."

"Well, you go unlock them right now or you're fired."

She laughed once, the sound weak. "You want to know something? Right now, that's the least of my problems. Fire me if you want. That's fine, but at least I'll still be alive to give a shit."

And then she hung up the phone, grabbed a newspaper and headed into the office to see what the fuck was going on.

Chapter 22

The article wasn't a long one, but it said enough. A player known only as Rhaven had been making a splash in the professional gaming community. The problem was that no one knew who this person was. The entry forms said only that they were from a small Montana town called Prescord. Hoping to give this person the credit they deserved, a private group called the Kings of Gaming