I sighed.
So we weren’t even going to get to the part where my dick was a problem. He’d heard twenty-one and had come to the same conclusion so many others did.
That I was just a kid.
If there was anything I hated more than being defined by my looks or sexuality, it was my damn age. The asshole had no clue what I’d done in those twenty-one years.
Well, good. His ignorance was going to save us both a world of humiliation and hurt.
“You’re unbelievable,” I said as I shoved him away from me and pushed past him.
“Don’t blame Dallas for this,” Maddox called.
I shook my head and laughed. “No, of course not,” I sniped. “You guys get to lie and manipulate but I’m just a thief and a whore, so what does it matter, right?” I bit out. I searched out my cell phone, then went to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste followed by the condoms and lube and stuffed them into the small paper bag I’d used to bring them into the room. Fuck if I was going to waste a penny to replace them just to save myself a little more embarrassment.
I mean, was that even possible anymore? Not only had Maddox tricked me with my car and seen me on my knees for a complete stranger, but he’d just played me like a finely tuned instrument.
And I’d let him do it.
I saw a couple of crumpled bills on the bedspread–they were what the john had left behind. It made me sick to reach for the thirty bucks, but cash was cash.
“I’ll take care of the door,” Maddox said as I went to walk past him. I forced my eyes up and pinned him with what I hoped was a stony glare.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked.
Did he actually believe I’d even consider paying for the damage he’d caused?
He had the decency to look sheepish, but he didn’t say anything. But when I tried to move past him, he thrust his hand out.
But not to grab me.
I stared in disbelief at the wad of bills in his hand and I felt something inside of me die.
Because I knew what the money was for. Maybe if it’d just been charity, I could have smiled politely and declined, but knowing it was charity that was meant to replace the money he’d both forced me to go in search of in the first place and cost me by interfering in my business was just too much. I held there a moment as I stared at the money and watched a droplet of moisture hit the green dye of the top bill.
God, he’d really done it.
He’d made me fucking cry.
I let out a harsh laugh. All the shit I’d been through in the past year, all the fear, all the doubt, and this was what was finally going to break me?
Him?
I didn’t say anything as I moved past him, ignoring the money. I was reaching for the chair to remove it from where it was propped against the door when he softly said, “Isaac.”
I didn’t dare turn to look at him. Even if that was what I should have done.
“Don’t leave, Isaac. No matter what you think of me, you’re safe here. Dallas can help you… he will help you.”
My body felt cold and hollow as I got the door open and walked through it. The drive back to the sanctuary took minutes, but it felt like hours. I was shaking like a leaf by the time I pulled into the main driveway, and the emptiness had once again given way to fury. Tears of rage kept slipping down my cheeks and I angrily wiped them away as I made my way up the narrow driveway. I was forced to pull over to the side of the road when a car came from the opposite direction. Once it passed, I continued on my way. I had to do the move all over again a moment later for another car. When I finally managed to reach the parking area, I was surprised to find it packed full of cars. People were milling around the door leading into the sanctuary’s office and I saw others heading down the path toward the different enclosures.
What the hell was happening?
I had to park the truck behind another car. I wiped at my face as I reminded myself I had just two goals I needed to accomplish.
Make Dallas fix my car and get Newt and get out.
My nerves felt brittle as I pushed past the people waiting outside the office. A few grumbled at me, but I ignored them. The office itself was jam-packed, but it wasn’t hard to find Nolan. He was searching through a tall filing cabinet. My anger was like a living thing beneath my skin, but he seemed too frazzled to notice.