a video of Arturo asking Rhaven if she's a man, and when he's shut down by Psyc? The look on his face is pure rage. He knew he was on camera and had just been made to look like a fool. Within days, Deviant was attacked again."
"It's him," Jason told her. "And he's already been arrested. Dez, you'll have to testify in the trial, but I'll have all the evidence to support you."
"They'll destroy me in court," she insisted. "I'm not a good witness."
"No," he assured her, "they won't. We'll paint you to be an eccentric game developer. A savant. We can tie your drug history to the abuse and mental illness problems. All of those were caused by the initial attacks. This time, I'll be there to explain the internet to them. I'll show the bright young girl and how Arturo broke you. We'll tell them to get a jury of women. This time, Dez, it'll be different."
She nodded. "And he's already in jail? Not being looked for, but you have him?"
"Detention," Jason clarified, "but we have him. He's locked away, Dez, and I'll make sure he can't get back to you."
Her eyes were starting to burn. Her vision was getting a little blurry. She felt like her fingers had gone numb and her ears were ringing. This was happening? Soul_Reaper was Arturo Ganza? It had been right there the whole time, and they'd fought so hard to put this together. It had taken too long, but only because Jason's hands had been tied. The moment he'd been allowed to use the other gamers, having them scour the internet, it had happened. This had happened. They'd caught him!
The internet had saved her again.
Dez had to go. She had to move. She couldn't be here, and she couldn't even say why. Shoving to her feet, she pushed past Jason and headed for the loading dock door. The metal bar clanked loudly when she hit it, but she kept going. She wasn't running, but it wasn't far off. Walk, jog, and then walk again. All she knew was that she needed to catch the air that was escaping her. It was there, out there, not here.
And behind her, she heard Chance. "Dez!"
But her feet didn't stop until she was in the middle of that grass, the one place she'd always been safe. The sky stretched overhead, filled with clouds like it wanted to cry with her, but wasn't ready to let go yet. The diffused light sucked the color out of everything around her, but that didn't matter. It didn't have to look real. She didn't need sunshine to give her permission to believe this. Right now, she could see everything around her, and that was all that mattered. She wasn't trapped.
No, she was finally free, and yet she didn't know that that meant.
Dez's knees gave way and she crumpled to the ground, but Chance was right there. He skidded to his knees before her and bent in an attempt to see her face. The tears were streaming from her eyes now, knowing exactly which way to go, but she didn't know why. This wasn't a bad thing. It was all she'd ever wanted. Soul_Reaper was gone. She was safe.
She was finally fucking safe.
"Sugar?" Chance begged. "Talk to me, Dez."
"They got him," she managed to get out before lunging into his arms. "He can't hurt me anymore."
Chance hugged her back as hard as he could. There, with both of them on their knees, his arms laced behind her back, his chest blocked her front and his head pressed down against the top of hers. She was smothered in the man she loved, and it didn't hurt. It wasn't terrifying. It didn't feel bad at all. It felt safe. It felt...perfect.
"It's over, Dez," Chance swore. "All that's left is the clean-up, and you know Jason wouldn't tell you this if he couldn't make it stick. It's finally fucking over."
The last walls around her heart cracked, and Dez didn't even try to hold them together. There, under the grey sky, she shoved the skin of her face against the side of Chance's neck and just let herself cry. It didn't matter that she was touching him. It didn't need to hurt anymore. She didn't have to fight to keep people away. She was broken, shattered, and a complete wreck, but the monster who'd ruined her had finally been stopped.
"Let me take you home?" Chance begged.
"No," she mumbled against him. "I need to be