shirt showed off real curves. The best part, though, was that she looked relaxed and comfortable instead of defiant and braced for the worst.
"Cyn," Rhaven said next, turning to give him a hug.
"You need shorter heels," he teased.
She just laughed. "It's why I go for taller men." Then she turned to Bradley. "Agent Matthews."
"Bradley's fine," he promised. "And it seems your press conference caused quite the stir."
Rhaven smiled, but it was the devious kind. "Good," she said. "I want to show you something." With a wave, she led them over to a desk in the middle of the room, then leaned over a computer and began typing. "This?" She stood up and pointed to a picture on her screen. "Leila came out to her parents because I wasn't ashamed of being a trans woman. She didn't try to kill herself. She hasn't been bullied yet. Right now, she's happy, and these people online are trying to convince her - and others like her - that trans and LGBTQ people should die. It's time someone took this seriously."
"We are," Bradley promised.
Rhaven just lifted a brow. "Define 'we'?"
Bradley pointed at Jason. "He and I."
"And that's the problem," Rhaven said. "The rebellion is made of one gaming company and a few dozen gamers at most. We women are tired of being forced into the role of damsels in distress. We want to be the heroes, so if you won't step up, we will, and we're not alone."
Jason clasped her shoulder. "He knows," he promised. "But, if we want to do something about this, I need the post from Soul Reaper."
"Dez!" Rhaven yelled.
That made a few heads turn, and it felt like the chorus of voices dimmed a little. A second later, they all fell silent. Then Crysis took off, the clinking of his dog tags making it easy to follow his movement as he wove between the desks. A moment later, a sharp laugh broke the stillness.
"Hey, baby!" Dez cooed at the dog. "How's my big boy? Oh, you're so cute, but I think you're kinda fat. Does that mean your daddy's spending too much time in bed?"
"Not enough," Zara called out. "Hi, Dez. Thanks for the invite."
Dez stood a moment later, revealing the top of her head over the monitors. "Loading dock," she called, pointing toward a door at the back with the screwdriver in her hand. "I need a smoke."
Bradley lifted both hands. "I'll get what I need from Chance. Go with him, Zara." Then he turned and headed back toward the front of the building, where Chance was still standing.
Jason grabbed his fianc茅e's hand and towed her toward the back that he knew a little too well. Dez arrived just as he opened the door. "I got smokes," he promised.
But Dez paused at her desk. "I got drinks. What's your poison, Zara?"
"I'm just along for the ride," Zara promised.
"No, you aren't," Dez assured her, holding up a bottle. "Whiskey ok?"
"Sure," Zara agreed.
The three of them reached the loading dock. Dez took her chair, and then Jason gestured for Zara to sit beside her. While the ladies got comfortable, he lit two cigarettes, passed one to Dez, then sat down on the concrete before them. Dez just smiled, took a pull straight from the bottle, and passed it over to Zara. Jason watched as his fianc茅e was careful not to touch Dez's skin.
"So what's going on?" he asked. "The real reason you wanted us here, Dez. Not the bullshit the government is falling for."
Dez smiled, and the look was cruel. "I know how to hack KoG. Soul Reaper showed his hand. He just didn't realize that I could do something with it. I can see everything on their secret little forums, and I want you to take them down."
Chapter 4
Jason immediately sat up. "What did you do, Dez?" he demanded. "If they realize we're in their forums, they'll close up shop and move!"
Zara looked almost as interested. "Can you figure out who he is?"
"No," Dez replied, answering Zara first. "I tried to back-hack him from his login, but he's got a VPN and knows what he's doing. Instead, I figured out who's hosting the Kings of Gaming forums." She turned back to Jason. "And don't worry, I'm not actually in their forums. I just..." She made a little gesture with her hand, almost like a circle. "I kinda went around the problem and hacked the data storage."
"You illegally broke through an unrelated company's security?" Jason asked, the frustration audible. "Damn it,