Flawed (Eternal Combat Book 0)

by Kitty Cox

  "It's ok."

  She grabbed his arm. "It's not ok. I'm not going to let them win!"

  He couldn't help it. Chance's eyes dropped to where she was touching him. He couldn't even think of a good answer. Dez was touching him. She'd reached for him just like a normal person, and she was still holding on. She wanted him to look at her, but he couldn't lift his eyes from her fingers.

  "Sugar?"

  "I'm serious," she said, trying to sound like something other than a frail girl in a hospital bed. "I'm not going to let what happened to me kill my dream – "

  "Sugar," he said again, interrupting. "You're touching me." He finally lifted his eyes, meeting hers. "You reached for Braden before you fell."

  She nodded, biting her lips together.

  "Dez, that means they aren't winning. Fuck the game. Fuck what anyone else thinks of us. I can always get a loan. We can start over. We still have Flawed, baby, and we still own all the rights to the engine."

  "But Silk is my game."

  "Yeah. So is Flawed. They're all your games, Sugar." He shifted his hand so he could hold hers. "It's just a little hiccup. Maybe Silk goes tits up, but we'll just hike up our big girl panties and start over, right?"

  "How can we pay for that?"

  "I dunno, crowdfunding or something. We'll figure it out."

  She shrugged, refusing to pull her hand back. "I knew it was too good to be true. I just wanted something to go right."

  He could hear it. Behind the bravado in her voice, he could hear the depression creeping back in. He knew what it felt like. They all understood having their hopes and dreams crushed, but nothing they'd suffered compared to what had happened to Dez. He knew he couldn't fix this, but he wouldn't let her give up again.

  "So what do we do, Dez?" He slowly placed his other hand over their clasped fingers. "Do we just fire you and let the team run the company? Do we call it quits before they can say they kicked us out of the industry? Do we just roll over and take it, Sugar, or do we try to fight back?"

  "I'll say you didn't know." She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her. "I'll say that – "

  "They know." He stroked the side of her hand with his thumb. "I kinda made a scene when the paramedics arrived, and there's enough video out there to prove it. Deviant Games stands behind Destiny Pierce and her decision. That's been the official word, and I'm not about to change it, kid."

  "But I'll kill the company."

  Slowly, giving her time to prepare, he bent to press his lips to her wrist. "I don't fucking care. We're flawed. We're all flawed, Dez, and I'm not going to leave you to face it alone. If Deviant can't recover, then we'll figure something out, but we'll do it together, ok?"

  "Ok." She didn't sound happy about it.

  "And no quitting."

  "But – "

  "No. If you quit, I do."

  Dez flopped back into the bed. This time, she couldn't stop the tears. She didn't sob, she just breathed, but he could hear it. Little shuddering whimpers that proved she was suffocating, but he wouldn't soften this. He wouldn't let her think she'd be alone. If Dez decided she didn't want to play this game they called life, then she needed to know what it would do to him. She needed to understand that she was no longer alone.

  "I love you, Dez," he swore. "More than Silk. More than Deviant. More than myself. I love you like I never dreamed I could, and if you can't take this, then I can't take it without you. I'm so tired of being alone."

  Her eyes were squeezed closed, the tears leaking out, but she nodded. "Me, too."

  "So you gonna keep playing with me?"

  Her giggle slipped into the grief. "I just started."

  "You're pretty good at it, too. I mean life, Dez. Me and you, together forever. You cool with that?"

  It took too long for her to answer, but she finally turned and opened those big brown eyes to him. "Yeah. I kinda love you, Chance."

  He didn't expect that. It felt like frozen flames. From the top of his head, the shock ran down his skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake. His muscles all tensed, wanting to run, but they didn't know where to go. The only place he wanted to be was right here. He never knew what she'd do next. Dez never played by the same rules as everyone else, but that was not at all what he thought she'd say.

  Chance was speechless. He was also smiling. All he could do was bob his head like some idiot, hoping she knew how happy those words made him. Right now, and hopefully forever, they were all that mattered. Knowing Destiny Pierce, the woman of his dreams, loved him made everything else easy to deal with.

  "I love you too, Sugar. Forever and almost always. I swear it."

  ***

  On the other side of town, in a well-lit auditorium, a man in a fancy suit stood in the middle of the stage. He looked into the cameras, most set to stream the news across the internet, not national television, and opened the envelope.

  "And now, I'm proud to announce, by popular opinion, the most anticipated game of the year is..." The bastard dragged that last word out for as long as he could, before looking up with a triumphant smile. "Silk, by Deviant Games!"

  For a moment, the team didn't know how to react. Never before had an independent developer won the award. Oh, they'd all joked about it, they'd even dreamed about it, but none of them had honestly thought about the chances of it really happening. Now, they were short the two people who should have been climbing toward the stage to accept the cheap gold joystick trophy.

  "Fuck," Amy mumbled under her breath. "Here goes nothing."

  She pasted on a smile and marched forward, smiling proudly for all the cameras. The flicker of photos was nearly blinding, but somehow she made it. When the announcer handed her the trophy, she took it, posed so her shirt would be seen clearly, then froze. This was it. On the worst day of her life, these people had picked her up and given her hope, just like they'd done for each other.

  She shouldn't be here. She didn't deserve this honor, but right now Chance and Dez couldn't do it themselves. Right now, she had the chance to pay them back. Stories of Dez's drug abuse were headlining every broadcast. Rumors about the developers were trending on almost every social media outlet. Amy took a deep breath and stepped closer to the microphone. Right now, the Oppression thought it was winning, and she needed to declare which side she was on.

  "Thank you," she said, keeping her eyes on the group she called friends. It was easier than seeing how many faces were watching. "Three years ago, Silk was little more than a dream, but most gamers knew about it. Almost all of us read The Gamer’s Fate. We thought it was the cool thing to do and an easy way to sound like we knew what we were talking about."

  The buzz of suppressed laughs proved that she was on the right track. It was the encouragement she needed. "I barely knew how to log in my own character back then, but even I knew about that blog. I also remember when the post was made. The game was described as everything I'd ever wanted, with some things I hadn't even thought to dream of. It was brilliant, perfect, and completely impossible, but Chance Hunter didn't agree.

  "We all know how that went. He'd just founded Deviant Games, and began the Silk project the next day. What so many people don't realize is that two days later, Destiny Pierce was abducted. The Flawed trailer is true. Every single word. Destiny Pierce was brutally abused because she dared to be a girl who liked games. This was supposed to be a boys club, but she was breaking the rules. They thought they'd put her in her place, but they couldn't. Deviant Games was already making plans. The developers were already neck-deep in code. Destiny Pierce, though, was doing her best to just keep living.

  "Yeah, I know you've all seen the news. Last night, someone tried to drug Dez – did drug her. She collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where I'm pleased to say she's making a full recovery, but..."

  Amy licked her lips. This was it. This was the moment of no return. She could turn this into a happy story, she could try to ignore all the rumors, or she could face it head on. With a slow blink, she knew there
wasn't an option. Dez made the trailer for one reason. She said it was because she wanted others to know it happened. Well, it was time to let them know. Amy lifted her chin, aware she was about to paint a target on herself almost as big as the one on Dez.

  "For three years, Destiny Pierce left the gaming scene. Her abductors told her that if she touched another game, they'd kill her. They raped her. All those tattoos on her body hide the physical scars, but there's only one thing that could heal the ones in her mind. For three years, it was drugs and alcohol. For three years, Destiny Pierce was too afraid to touch another person without flashbacks of the torture! For three years, she suffered because we think it's funny to tell the girl gamers to get back in the kitchen and make a sandwich!"

  She was yelling and didn't care. "Chance Hunter built Deviant Games on a dream. Destiny Pierce paid for it. The least he could do was share the hope. They're a team. We're all a team, and yes, we're all flawed. Silk is our chance to stand defiant against the oppression. Flawed will be our way of taking it back. Supporting Destiny Pierce in the whirlwind of rumors circulating is our responsibility for not stopping it sooner.

  "Deviant Games knows all about Dez and her past. We know where she was. We heard the stories of what happened. The things you've seen are such a small part of it. We also know that the only reason she never gave up was because of a game. A single dream of something that would let people escape reality for a few moments and remember how to smile. A video game – something so many people say is a waste of time – saved her life.

  "This is why Deviant is different. We know that life isn't just about hopes, fears, and earning a bigger paycheck. It's about goals, dreams, and learning how to adapt. Yes, Destiny Pierce is an addict. For the last three weeks, she's been drug-free because she finally could face it all. We will not ignore what happened last night, but we also will not turn our backs on her. We are her friends and family. We're her team, and I'm proud to say that I work for one of the greatest game developers the world will ever see."

  Amy paused, looking at the stunned but smiling faces staring back. There were so many. The glare of the cameras was blinding, but it couldn't hide them all. Lifting the trophy, she couldn't find a scowl among them.

  "This award is for Dez and every woman who's had to suffer through the same thing. It's for the gamers who try to make a difference, regardless of gender. Most of all, this is for the guys out there who don't ignore it when they see or hear it. For the ones who speak up so I don't have to hide who I am. This is for the community because Deviant Games plans to make a place where we all can belong. Yes, we know all about Destiny Pierce. We know she is the reason Silk is going to be the next best game. We also stand by all of her decisions and are so very glad she hasn't given up on the rest of us yet. Thank you, Dez. You're my hero. Get better, Sugar. We stand with you."

  Tipping her head to the crowd, Amy made her way off the stage, ignoring the roar of voices. Dez's name was mixed in the middle. Microphones were shoved into Amy's face. None of it mattered. She'd said what she had to. She'd drawn the line. If those assholes wanted to come after Dez, they needed to know that she was no longer alone. They'd have to come through all of them to get to her, and Amy wasn't about to back down.

  Chapter 30

  For the next six weeks, Deviant Games broke all the rules. They avoided requests for interviews. They kept working on the game and interacting with the alpha testers. They also didn't deny the rumors. They confirmed all of them, admitting that Dez was an addict who'd been targeted by someone with a date rape drug. Every chance they could, they pointed out how easily it had happened, even with two people watching over her.

  In other words, they changed the story. Sure, it was spin. Their PR department might not have the same budget as the big name companies, but they had something better. They had the truth, and the public could smell it a mile away. Each time another searing article broke, the fans struck back. Across Twitter, the lines were drawn, and it became a battlefield.

  Those who supported firing Dez said it would be an example for the youth that drug use doesn't pay. The other side claimed that addiction was best treated with support, not abandonment, and that games were meant to be a refuge from reality. Sitting in his office, Chance read every single one. Every word about Dez, he tracked down, hoping to stay ahead of the story. What he didn't expect was the way this whole thing had played out across gender lines. He'd thought this was going to be about drugs and youth. He'd never dreamed that the gaming community would turn it into some debate about women ruining their games.

  That's when his phone rang. Not the one in the office but the one in his pocket. He quickly dug it out and, seeing Amy's name on the screen, answered with a clipped, "Hey?"

  "I think you need to come to the front." Her voice was a whisper. "Quickly."

  "On my way."

  He shoved back from the desk and was moving before the call even ended. Not that he'd admit it to anyone else, but his hands were clammy, wondering what came next. Things had gone too well for too long, and that's not how life worked. Reality had a way of screwing up the best-laid plans, and Deviant was running on little more than hope and a whole lot of determination.

  Stepping through the archway that separated the developers from the full glass foyer, Chance paused. The woman leaning over Amy's desk had a face he recognized a little too well. Her dark red lips were the exact same color as the night she'd shoved him against the wall to suck his dick, but this time her hair was pulled back. Evidently "Lydia" had seen the news.

  "Claudia Watson," he beamed, walking over. "It's been a while."

  At the sound of her real name, the woman's head jerked up, her eyes wide. "Mr. Hunter?"

  He offered his hand. "Chance Robert Hunter the third. Nice to see you again."

  "Um." She shifted, looking like she'd been thrown off course and wasn't sure how to get back on it. "How do you know my name?"

  Doing his best CFO impression, Chance gestured to the conference room at the side, the one covered with ideas for Flawed. "The entire building is covered with cameras. Catch a still image, and it's pretty easy for Dez to run a facial recognition program. Most social media sites use it now."

  "What?" Her feet skittered, but Chance just pushed open the door. Slowly, Claudia stepped through, turning to look at the notes tacked to every surface. "Thought you weren't supposed to show this to anyone."

  Chance closed the door and slipped past her. Tapping the whiteboard, he pulled her eyes to her flaw. "I'm not. I'd prefer if you signed an NDA, but I won't force you to. I did, however, want to make sure your name got into the credits for the flaw."

  "You're using it?"

  "Yes." He leaned beside the hastily written words and crossed his arms. "Like I said, it's the theme of the game. What do you want, Lydia?"

  The fire he'd seen on their first meeting was sputtering. His little display had rocked her harder than he'd expected. Oh, Chance had a good idea what she'd come to demand, which is why he wanted to make sure she knew she was getting credit. Her debate was flawed, and they both knew it. As soon as it was in the open, though, Chance would be able to take control. He just had to get her to say it.

  Unfortunately, she seemed to be backtracking. "I didn't think you'd really use it."

  "Just means you were right. Why did you come here? I'm assuming it's not for another date."

  "A date?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "You didn't even give me your real name!"

  "You didn't, either." He kept his face bland, knowing that would bother her more than anything else. Time to push. "I also have a whole lot of proof that it was consensual, so don't try that line." He jerked his chin at her. "So what do you want?"

  "Cyber Magazine is offering five grand for dirt on Deviant Games." Her eyes flicked back to the board. "That's where I saw the picture of the owners and realized who you are."

  "Mhm. So you fucked the CFO of Deviant Games. And?"

  Claudia stiffened, standing a little straighter, a
nd met his eyes. "And they'll pay five grand to know about it. Just thought I'd give you the chance to make a counter-offer."

  He nodded, looking her over. She was a nice looking woman and most gamers would be cheering him on. Granted, most of them wouldn't know about his relationship with Dez, or the dozens of other women he'd brought home, but that didn't matter... Did it? Letting his eyes run across her curvaceous body, a plan began to form.

  "You know they'll rake you over the coals, right? Some will call you fat, others ugly, and still others will make over-the-top jokes about how you're probably a man." Chance paused to rub at his jaw. What he was saying was all true. It would also make her reconsider. That might buy him enough time. "Besides, the last time I checked, it's legal to fuck a woman old enough to buy her own drinks."

  "Yeah? And how do you think your company will look?" she demanded.

  Chance pushed himself away from the wall and right into her face. "Bingo. You just hit the nail on the head, girl. How would it look if the world found out that some man likes getting his dick sucked? How would it look if they heard how you picked me up in that bar and all I had to do was fuck you with my eyes? How the hell do you think the geeks who read that magazine would take it? They'd fuckin' cheer me on and call you the whore."

  "They wouldn't."

  He nodded. "Oh, yeah. They would. You see, that's the problem with our happy little society. I fuck you and it's another notch in my belt. You fuck me and you're trash, but sell the story. I dare you. Soon as it breaks, I'll make sure the entire world sees the misogyny in it. Two consenting adults and only one of us will get smeared. It won't be me."

  "I'll say you tricked me. Forced me."

  He chuckled. "Then I'd have to release the tapes. Trust me, hun, they make me look pretty good, especially the part where you shove me against the wall." Then he leaned back and gently rubbed her arm. "Or we could work together?"