the message vanished. "I've played this game with Void before. I lost, so I learned my lesson. Just do me one favor? Don't tell Jason why she wanted to make the offer?"
"No deal," Zara said. "I'm telling him, and I'll let him know you want to screw me - uh, over, I meant."
Chance laughed. "Gonna keep me on my toes, aren't ya?"
"Someone has to, right?" She stood and offered her hand. "I'll take the offer, Chance. This place means everything to Jason, and these people are starting to mean a lot to me. I may not know a thing about programming and other game stuff. In truth, I'm a horrible gamer, but I don't have to be good at something to love it."
"No, you don't," Chance agreed. "This also means you're on the inside of this case now. As an employee of Deviant Games, Jason can't get in trouble for talking to you about it."
Zara smiled. "So, I'm the pity hire, hm?"
"No," he promised. "I just don't see any reason why I can't kill all the birds with one stone. Make the songs, Zara. Make them bleed emotions into our game. Most of all, welcome to the family. Win. Win. Win."
Chapter 6
Zara had gone back inside right after Dez left. Jason sat there on the bench. He didn't want to do this. He really didn't want to do this to Dez, but it was the only thing he could think of. On the drive down, he'd read over all of the original reports, but there were too many holes in Dez's story. Not because it was her fault, but simply because the officers who'd interviewed her at the hospital hadn't felt comfortable enough to ask the hard questions.
Most likely, they'd seen an abused and traumatized young girl in a hospital room and had assumed they were doing her a favor. They had enough proof that she'd been assaulted. The number of stitches put into her skin made it clear this wasn't some kink gone wrong. The girl had clearly been attacked, so the cops thought it was a slam-dunk case. In their minds, someone would end up behind bars, and they were sure they'd end up looking like heroes.
But they'd barely scratched the surface.
When the back door opened again, it was loud enough to make Crysis flinch. Jason reached down to pet his dog, but his eyes jumped up to see Dez storming through it. Once she was outside, she paused, pulled in a deep breath, and then slowly turned to him. There was a blanket tossed over her shoulder.
"Can we sit in the grass?"
"If that's what you want," he agreed, gesturing for her to lead the way.
Tattoos peeked out from the edges of her shirt. Dez's hair had grown a bit, but it barely reached her collar. She still wore her jeans too big and her shirts too small, allowing a band of her skin to be seen in the gap between them. Brilliant colors stained every inch, but he only knew the games they represented because she'd told him before. That ink was her armor, and the fact that it was all from the games that had inspired her was a statement too big for him to ignore. It was also the bond that tied them together.
When Dez spread the blanket, Jason moved to help. Then he sat on one side, she claimed the spot across from him, just out of reach, and pulled a tennis ball from her pocket. Crysis immediately perked up his ears, so she threw it as hard as she could, aiming for her own house. A whisper of a smile touched her mouth as the big dog raced away to get the toy.
"This is my happy place," she said. "It's where I ran when I was scared, and where Chance convinced me that it was ok to not always be fine."
"It's also where he was shot," Jason pointed out.
Dez huffed a laugh. "Don't tell him, but that's one of my happy memories too. Someone cared enough to risk his life for me. I mean, I can say that since you saved him."
"And killed someone else," Jason reminded her. "You know that's why I have the dog, right?"
"PTSD from the military," Dez said, nodding to show she knew a bit.
He leaned back, turning to check on his dog. "Dez, I'm a killer. I fucking hate it, but I'm damned good at it."
"I know," she breathed. "I saw you walking over there." She pointed. "Back