Page 26 of Once a Killer

“Yeah, you’re pretty close-mouthed.” He studied her for a moment. “I can probably trust you.”

“You can definitely trust me. I promise you that I will not tell anyone anything you share with me.”

He took a deep breath. Exhaled. “There was a video game that was really popular about ten years ago.The Vale. That was my program. I wrote it, patented it, copyrighted it and sold the rights to a big game company. It, ah, sold a lot of copies. I’m still getting royalties from it.”

She stared at him, shocked. “You wroteThe Vale?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, my God.” She slumped in her chair, still staring at him. “I played that game. Alot. It’s a brilliant game. And I bet it’s still popular. People don’t want their kids playing shooter games, andThe Valeis a great alternative.”

“Can I ask where you played it? Just curious,” he added.

“I played it when I was in the military. Remember what I said about lots of down time? Video games were very popular. Some guys loved the shooter games. But most of the people in my unit wanted something different. Something that wasn’t violent. We saw enough violence IRL.” She smiled. “In real life. We used to haveValetournaments.” She’d won a good share of those tournaments, but he didn’t need to know that.

He watched her for a long moment, a smile playing on his mouth. “So you’re a big fan, huh?”

“I was. Don’t have time for video games now. I’m usually out on a job.”

“No down time on your jobs?” he asked.

“When we’re eating, maybe. Even then, I have to be aware of everything else going on. Listening to the sounds outside the house. Paying attention for anything out of the ordinary. Deciding whether or not it’s a threat.”

Their pizza had cooled enough to eat without burning their mouths, so they didn’t talk while they devoured their dinners. When they’d finished, Jameson stood up and grabbed the plates and the pizza pans. Stashed them in the dishwasher, then turned and studied her. “Wanna play a game?” he asked.

“OfThe Vale?” She raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah. I haven’t played it in ages.”

She tilted her head. Studied him a moment. “Sure. Although I’m probably nuts. Playing against the guy who wrote the game? Pretty big handicap.”

“I haven’t played it in years.” He shrugged. “You think authors read their books after they’re published? I doubt it. It’s the same with video game creators. Once it’s done, it’s out of your head.”

“Okay. One game. Because I really need to concentrate on my job. But it’s still early. If someone’s planning an attack, it’d probably be later.”

They moved to the living room, and Jameson turned on the computer sitting on a shelf beneath the flat-screen television. He handed her a controller, took the other one, and they leaned forward to enter the world of the Vale, with its fairies, trolls, ogres, unicorns, elves, shifters and vampires.

An hour later, Jameson flopped back onto the couch and set his controller aside. “Nice game,” he said to Bree.

She rolled her eyes. “You crushed me,” she retorted. “Just like I figured you would.”

“Not really.” He turned off his computer and the television went black. “You held your own the whole time. I got a lucky break at the end. I’m impressed.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “A little out of practice with games,” she said. “But that was fun.” She glanced over at him. “Thanks for indulging me.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said. He held her gaze for a heartbeat, and Bree wanted to press a fist to her chest to ease the ache. Instead, she jumped up from the couch. Took both controllers to the bookshelf and set them on top of the console.

“Thanks again,” she said without looking at him. “I’m going to take a look out the back, then check out the front.”

“You think you’ll see that black SUV hanging around?”

She shrugged. “Not if he’s smart. If he’s smart, he’ll wait until the lights are off in here. Then he’ll skulk around. But I’m pretty sure he’s already scoped out this building. He knows when you get home, when you leave in the morning. When you go to bed and when you get up. And he’s had a good look at the locks on the back door. You probably got some dings on that pressure pad. Right?”

“Yeah, I did,” he said, frowning. “A couple of weeks ago. I thought it was probably kids again.”

“You have a camera aimed at that door?”

He shook his head. “Hadn’t had any alerts from it besides the one two weeks ago.”

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