they want to hurt women who play those games. Women like Kate. That's why she got doxxed. The problem is that they've only gotten worse, and I'm getting reports that they are planning something."
"Against us?" Nancy asked.
"Against gamers," he assured her. "I'd just rather be paranoid, and no one's getting into your place without a literal army. Mycah and Janelle should be fine. They don't play those things. Mostly, I'm worried about Kate."
"Be careful," Nancy told him. "And don't let that girl out of your sight, Adam. If we lose the hotel, then so be it. I'm not losing my damned family for something like a video game."
"It's really more about women's rights," he assured her, "and I'm not about to back down on this. I'll bankrupt the entire company if it means I can make sure the ladies I love have just as much power as I do." He lifted a brow, making it clear that included her. "You're in charge while I'm gone, Nancy."
She just flipped a hand at him. "Go on. Not the first time we've had a crisis."
He made it back into the lobby just as Kate grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. "My car or yours?" she asked.
He pointed toward the elevators. "Mine. You drive too slow. Kate, once we're in the car, I need you to call Chance Hunter. You have his number? If not, it's on my phone."
"I've got it," she assured him.
He nodded, slowing his steps just a bit when she had to almost jog to keep up. "Riley said this was coming. She said KoG was going to do something, and I just can't stop thinking about this."
"I also have Cyn's number," Kate pointed out.
"Chance first," he decided, pausing as the elevator arrived. They both stepped onto it, he selected the second floor because that was closest to where he was parked, and then turned to face her. "They doxxed you and outed me as the owner. I'm not backing away from this, Kate. If it's them, we're going all in."
"Good," she said. "Rhaven said they've been hitting Deviant for weeks now. It's almost like they're getting desperate."
"And Cyn will know what's going on," he realized. "He won't tell us because of his real job, but... fuck. Well, if we're hit, then we can recover. Better than Riley or someone else."
"What if it's just someone smoking in bed?" she asked.
"Then I'm a paranoid idiot," he told her. "We'll laugh, have dinner at a nice place, and drive home. Insurance will cover that, and we'll be fine."
"We have a terrorism clause?" Kate asked just as they reached their floor.
He laughed once, but the sound was dry. "Sadly, yes. I'm honestly more worried about Deviant. I'm worried about you, Kate! If they're willing to shoot at Riley and burn down my hotel?" He followed her toward the door to the stairs at the side. "This could be nothing. I'm probably overreacting. It's just that my gut doesn't lie to me. It's how I got where I am, and it says that there's no way this is just happenstance. Not now. Not with everything that's been going on."
"Murphy's law does strike a lot," she reminded him, stepping into the stairwell just to grab the door on the opposite wall which led outside.
Adam followed, gesturing for her to go first as they aimed for his car. "I'm honestly hoping I'm wrong. But of all our hotels, the Clairmont?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "Not really the most likely to burn."
Chance had just turned off his computer and was going to convince Dez that she really did need sleep when his phone rang. He grabbed and swiped without looking, lifting it to his ear.
"Chance Hunter, Deviant Games," he answered.
"Chance, it's Kate Gaskill from Degrass Industries. Adam asked me to call and let you know that we just got an alert that there was a fire at the Clairmont. We aren't sure of the damage, but we're heading there. With the Expo already scheduled, he wanted to keep you in the loop."
"What?" Chance asked.
"The hotel in Columbus," Kate said, sounding like she was going to explain again.
"A fucking fire?" he snapped, wrenching open the door to his office. "Bradley!"
"Does that mean something?" Kate asked.
"Fuck!" Chance snarled as he stormed across the hall. "Hang on, Kate." Then he stepped into the Think Tank. "Bradley, the Clairmont's on fire." He paused. "Still on fire, Kate?"
"Don't know," she said. "Headquarters gets alerts for the alarm system, and I haven't been