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Chapter 110

Author: Sidney Bristol
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56
Volume 3: Dangerous Games

FREAKING KIDS.

Zain Lloyd pressed his back against a cement column to avoid being hit by a walking TARDIS. He liked cosplaying at conventions as much as the next thirty-something nerd, but some get-ups were more hassle than they were worth. He hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and watched the spray-painted TARDIS wander down the aisle, bouncing into people.

People darted from booth to booth, like exotic fish seeking the shelter of an anemone. The energy in the room was high, almost electric, in a way Zain craved. There was nothing dangerous, no gut-wrenching dread about to crest, no fear someone wasn't coming out of here alive. Just...excitement.

He peeled off the column and merged with the flow of traffic, picking his way out from the depths of the booths and toward the outskirts of the vendor hall. An alien and a superhero passed Zain. They traded quick nods, one cosplayer to another. A sign of mutual respect. Man, if Zain's SEAL buddies caught
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  • Aegis Group   Chapter 111

    ANDREA STARED AT THE brown coat stretched over wide shoulders, her head spinning.In what world did a sexy, steampunk Captain Hook come to her rescue?And he liked her game.Game.Oh no.No, no, no, no, no.Her heart pulsed in her throat and her fingers tingled. She crept after her would-be protector, sticking close to the wall. Yeah, he'd said to stay put, but damn it. That was her hotel room.Captain Hook pushed the door open, staying clear of the opening and peered into the room.She held her breath and strained to catch any sounds. Was someone in there? Had housekeeping left the door open? What if she'd left it open?Crystal was going to kill her dead."I told you to stay put."Andrea glanced up at Hook and swallowed, torn between lock-herself-in-a-closet fear and help-me-you're-my-only-hope lust. His face was fractured from life, the scars writing a history on his face she couldn't read. Yet there was a handsomeness about him that was more than just surface l

  • Aegis Group   Chapter 112

    KEVIN KEPT HIS BALL cap pulled low. In a packed room of nearly five hundred, remaining anonymous shouldn't be an issue. He wasn't taking chances, though. Andrea was as dumb as a woman could get, a lot like his mother, but Andrea's shadow was a different story.She'd arrived to the panel on time, composed and with a man. A man Kevin hadn't seen in his six weeks of observing both Andrea and Crystal.It was all wrong.She was supposed to flake out-or better yet-show up and be a wreck. It would make it that much easier for the plants in the audience to rile her up and cause a scene. Her demise would be so much sweeter if everyone saw how pathetic she really was, if they played up how much of a victim she was. No one felt sorry for the ones who screamed.Instead, she'd sat quietly through the panel, answering two or three questions aimed at her, but never once appearing flustered. His plants weren't given the chance to ding her with questions because the moderator had steered their

  • Aegis Group   Chapter 113

    ZAIN LEANED AGAINST THE wall, staying out of the way. The hall was packed for the Hottest Games of the Year panel, and anyone who was anyone in game design was on that stage. Andrea sat sandwiched in the middle of seven men who'd proceeded to play keep-the-mic-away from her over the last hour. It was the most disgusting example of chauvinism he'd seen at the con yet, but from Andrea's account, it wasn't the worst.Panels weren't typically Zain's thing, which was the only reason he could think of for why he hadn't picked up on the petty bullshit earlier. He just didn't understand it. Sure, the GamerGate idiots could explain until they were blue in the face how women were ruining the industry, but it didn't make one iota of sense to Zain. Now, if they were talking women in the forward ranks, pressing into terrorist lands-yeah. He'd probably be against including women, due to the higher risk they faced from enemy combatants-not because of their skill level. But here? This was the stupid

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    "WHO IS HE?" PIPER peered at Andrea's phone."No one." She spoke too fast, incriminating herself even though she knew better."Really?" A grin spread across Piper's face. What Andrea wouldn't give to have blonde, barrel curls like Piper's, especially right now."It's no one, really.""Is this no one coming tonight?" Tamara's tone was honey sweet.Damn it. Of course they'd all be there.Unless she wanted to flake on Zain, she'd need to fess up to the truth."It's...this guy from earlier. He was the one who handled the room situation. I invited him tonight as a thank you.""He's cute, isn't he?" Tamara grinned, transforming her sharp Asian features into something otherworldly beautiful.Andrea didn't have violent tendencies, but the green monster wrapping around her, taking over her carnal urges to scratch the woman's eyes out was overwhelming. She shoved the phone back in her pocket and tugged at the tank top's neckline.Zain wasn't going to pay attention to her afte

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    KEVIN SLID BETWEEN THE people, nodding and pretending he belonged. Every now and then, he'd pause and speak to someone as if they were supposed to know each other. That was the nice thing about nerds. They were socially inept enough no one would outright ask him where they'd met.He had one goal tonight: Plant the fliers and watch Andrea's world burn.First order of business was to snag a drink at the bar. The name of the game tonight was blending in. Letting people forget he was there.Kevin took whatever the special was and surveyed the room.The Dark Matter executives were easy to pick out in their business attire, except the big boss who wore jeans and a threadbare T-shirt, while everyone else wore jeans or some other conference outfit. Costumes seemed to be a thing. He filed that away for later and continued his perusal of the room.A loud peal of laughter drew all eyes toward the cluster of women nearest the windows. Andrea's group stuck out, all tits and ass.Damn it

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    "THERE YOU ARE."Zain turned from the awkward chitchat with a couple of dudes to face Miranda, Andrea's boss. She slid her hand into the crook of Zain's elbow and smiled up at him. She had a hungry-woman vibe to her. He'd watched a dozen different guys trail after her, but each got neatly turned away. He wondered what her deal was, but not enough to puzzle it out. Andrea was at the forefront of his mind."How's our girl?" she asked.He glanced over the heads of three or four people separating him from Andrea. She was engaged in conversation with a few people he didn't recognize. They'd played this game since arriving at the party. She'd talk to one group, he'd join her and she'd move on, slipping away before he could follow. She was actively avoiding him. Why?"She seems to be having a good time." He played the afternoon over again in his head. The only thing he could figure out was that he'd told her to answer her phone. Since that moment, it had all changed."I can't quite

  • Aegis Group   Chapter 117

    ANDREA SNATCHED A FAT stack of fliers off one of the tables outside of the convention hall. She should be angry, but all she was right now was-numb. Part of it was the alcohol. She was one step from drunk, which was better than the flat-out-drunk she'd been earlier.Zain made a circuit of the rest of the lobby in a quarter of the time it took her to pick up the stray fliers.She'd shown him the flier with her nipple hanging out. Someone had even drawn little rays around it. Like some sort of sun. And she'd shown him. Why?God, she could never go to another convention so long as she lived.If it was here-then it was probably already on the Internet. Maybe in color and HD quality. And what went on the web stayed on the web. There'd be no pulling it down. The entire world would have her nips on permanent recall, thanks to search engine optimization.She couldn't ignore the Pendulum of Doom swinging over her neck. What would this do to the rest of her career? Andrea had seen what

  • Aegis Group   Chapter 118

    ZAIN KEPT HIS GOOD hand on Andrea's lower back and jabbed the button for his floor with the other, glad to leave the lower levels behind. At this hour, the convention center had the eerie quality of the Mines of Moria. Shadows clung to the edges of the rooms. Too bad the trolls after Andrea weren't the same kind as those from Lord of the Rings.Andrea propped herself up in the corner of the lift, facing him. Dark crescents made her eyes look larger and sad. He had this completely irrational urge to...hug her. Hold her. Was this why so many of the Aegis guys fell into bed with their clients? She crossed her arms over her chest, blocking him out.Yeah, one of the other guys needed to be her protective detail. Not him."Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me?" Even her words were weary.He lifted his shoulders."That's not an answer. I can't really hire you for a quarter, so what's the deal?""Why does there have to be a deal?""No one does anything for free

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  • Aegis Group   Chapter 486: Wednesday. Unknown, New York City, New York.

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  • Aegis Group   Chapter 484: Wednesday. Unknown, New York City, New York.

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  • Aegis Group   Chapter 483: Wednesday. Unknown, New York City, New York.

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  • Aegis Group   Chapter 482: Wednesday. Unknown, New York City, New York.

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