Flawed (Eternal Combat Book 0)
Page 40
"Then we'll make one," Jason assured her.
After that, the talk shifted to plans. He explained his restrictions. They told him all about the big ideas they had for Eternal Combat. Lines were probably crossed, and if Dez had to guess, she had a feeling quite a few rules were being broken, but none of that mattered. She wasn't going to just let these people get away with something because the world had no idea how to treat crimes committed online. Jason explained how the legalities were murky. He ranted about his frustrations, and the team discussed ways to make things easier.
While the rest of the company partied, the people who'd started this all were doing the one thing they loved. They were solving the problem. They were finding a way to use their games to make lives a little bit easier. They were making not only an escape, but a haven for those who might need it, and Special Agent Jason Raige was going to be the guard dog.
***
It was almost dawn when the party finally died down. The Flawed team had broken up hours before. While Chance made sure the last of their employees heading home were either sober or calling a cab, Dez leaned over her computer. Her fingers were typing frantically. She had an idea, but that meant she needed to make a few changes, and she wanted to do it while no one was paying attention.
She was just finishing up when a soft nose pressed into her leg. Without thinking, she reached down to rub Master Chief's head. "Your person usually isn't too far behind you."
A chuckle proved her right. "I think you like him."
"I do." Pulling herself up, she stretched, well aware that she should have been in bed hours ago. "You crashing here for the night?"
He just pulled out a pack of smokes, tapping it to extract one. "Chance offered me one of the rooms. You cool with that?"
"Yep." She tilted her head to the loading bay. "Can I bum one of those from you?"
He offered her the one in his hand. "Always. You still go out here?"
To prove her point, she walked out first. "It's just a building, Jason." Then she tipped her head to the pale stain on the cement. "And hydrogen peroxide made sure that there's not any of that asshole left."
He just nodded, a sly twist to his lips. "And yet you moved the bench."
The wood bench she'd always used was long gone. In its place was a metal ashtray and trash can, the type that hovered around most store entrances. A few yards on the other side of the door was a better one. Made of smooth wood and built to be comfortable, one word had been burned into the slats along the back. Flawed. Chance had it made to remind them all of why all of this mattered.
She claimed the right side, tilting her head to the space left over. "I figure you count as a bodyguard, considering you've already saved my life once."
A little huff slipped out, but he actually sat beside her. His dog quietly found a spot beside his feet. "You have any idea how many lives you're going to save?"
"Me?"
"Flawed." Flicking the lighter, Jason offered the flame to her first, then lit his own smoke. "It's not easy to be alone all the time, but it's harder to be around people. What you've done is give us a place where we can try to live."
"Yeah." She took a deep breath and leaned over her knees. "I'm not going to ask you what happened, Jason. It's none of my business, but if you ever need an ear, you have mine."
He nodded, saying nothing for a long moment. "Dez?" Jason didn't bother looking at her. "You're my hero. You know that?"
"Me?"
"Yeah." His voice was soft, keeping it between them. "You make me hope that a fuck up like me can actually be something."
She sucked back a long drag. "Not a fuck up," she said around the smoke, letting it drift out into the world. "Just flawed. We're all flawed in some way, and that makes it perfectly ok."
"I'm also jealous. Wish I could do something like this."
A smile touched her lips and she slowly looked over. "I got you developer access."
"Huh?"
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a shiny black business card. The Deviant Games logo covered most of the front. Across the back were lines hand-written in purple ink. "Username, password, and how to change it. You're one step down from Chance and me."
"But..." His brow wrinkled in confusion.
Dez just shrugged. "Might make it easier to find the bad guys, right? Full access to anything Deviant makes. Besides, you're part of the Flawed team, even if you don't have the tattoo."
"I'll get it one day."
"Or not. Not everyone has one." She sucked on her cigarette again, then blew it out. "Least not on the outside."
"Thanks, babe. This our secret?" He lifted the card. "I mean Flawed's?"
"Yep."
"And Chance is ok with this?"
She nodded. "Told him I won't fuck anyone that isn't a redhead."
Jason actually laughed. "Then I'm never dying my hair red. Just make sure I get an invitation to the wedding, ok?"
"Not getting married." She looked back out to the grass. "Don't need some stupid ceremony with lots of people around to prove that I love him. He's cool with it."
"Nice." He ran his fingers over the card. "Probably not going to be back this way for a while. Might cause problems if too many people see my face."
"Don't need to come by to say hi. You know where to find me."
"And I'll make sure you always know where to find me." Then he leaned back, stretching his arm across the top of the bench. "And we're going to make sure these fucks can't do this to anyone else."
"Oh yeah," she breathed. "They have no idea what we can do."
"Exactly."
Without thinking, Dez leaned back, feeling his forearm just brush her shoulder, but she didn't care. She finally felt safe enough to not care that they were touching, and it was so nice. In the wee hours before dawn broke the sky, only the sound of the paper crackling on the end of their smokes and their breath as they blew it all away could be heard. It was enough. Across from them, the moon turned the grass silver. Above them, the stars twinkled in a myriad of colors. This place should be filled with nightmares, but it wasn't. For Dez, this was where she'd learned how to be ok.
And for the first time in her life, she knew that she really was.
***
Advance Reader Copy
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