6.
REDEK
By morning he'd reached his decision.
It had been obvious all along what he should have done the moment he first saw Maddie and realized how easily he was going to fall for her. The moment it stopped being a regular job he should have left.
He hadn't wanted a challenge.
He'd never wanted anything to challenge the life he led. It was simple and uncomplicated.
But now he'd pushed it too far. He was risking throwing everything away if he stayed here. He was suspicious enough of Damien to think he might be risking his life if he was caught in bed with Maddie.
So he had to quit.
He had to request a transfer and leave Maddie behind.
Nausea took over every time he thought about it. Maddie was curled up against his side, completely innocent in all of this. She'd done nothing to deserve to be locked up and kept away from a normal life.
Damien's prophecy had come true after all. Redek had fallen for her, had overstepped his professional boundaries, and now she was going to get hurt.
He hated himself for everything that had happened since he'd arrived at the compound.
When Maddie stirred, stretched, and whispered, "Hello," her hot breath fanning against his neck, everything he'd decided almost went straight out of the window.
"Hi," he replied, hating that his voice was shut off from her again.
She noticed the change immediately, and sat up, looking at him. "What's wrong?" Her face fell. "I mean, I know what's wrong. But it doesn't have to be wrong. You don't have to feel bad."
"I put my career on the line," he said.
He couldn't watch as her face began to crumple, and she took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "I control the cameras, no one ever has to know. It doesn't even have to happen again. Just one night that we forget about and move on. It's fine."
"I'm never going to forget what happened here." It could have been romantic, but his voice was too cold, his face a mask. "And I'm never going to move on if I'm here guarding you. I'm just going to fall deeper."
Her grip on his hand tightened. "You're leaving?"
"I don't think I can stay here. I'm sorry."
"No. No. No, you can't do that. Please, Redek. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for." He took her face in his hands, his expression suddenly fierce. "You have done nothing wrong. This is all me. You deserve so much better than this place, and you deserve someone who can be with you properly, not hide and live in fear of someone finding out. You deserve everything, Maddie, and I'm sorry I can't give it to you."
Tears ran down her face. "But that’s never going to be possible, is it? I’m never going to meet anyone else. All I want is you."
He was being so incredibly selfish. He dropped his hands and stood up. "I can't. I'm going to go and speak to Damien about transferring."
He walked away without turning back, but he heard her muttering, "I hate him. I hate him," with increasing volume as he left the room.
In his own room, he sat on the edge of his bed and buried his head in his hands.
He was a bastard.
He'd spent all evening weighing it up—wondering how far he could get with Maddie before someone realized she was missing; whether he'd be able to hide her for the rest of their lives. Would they even still have this attraction, this respect, weeks down the line? They'd known each other two weeks. It wasn't enough to be making rash career decisions on.
And yet his stomach twisted with guilt and he paused again now, imaging the life they could have together if he wasn't such a coward.
Without any resolve, he began his trek up to the manor house, cracking his fingers as he went. He shouldn't have been leaving Maddie alone, but it would be half an hour, at most. Maddie had his number, and she was bound to be monitoring the cameras. She could let him know if anything went wrong.
He had to speak to Damien now, before he lost his nerve and let things continue as they were without making a decision. He couldn't let himself fall deeper and deeper into the hole of getting closer to her.
It wouldn't be fair to anyone.
Inside the manor he headed straight for Damien's office. He could have asked Maddie to find out where he was before he walked up here, but going back upstairs would have been a horrible decision.
Outside the office door he paused and listened, wanting to make sure he wasn't interrupting anything.
"We need more money," a voice that wasn't Damien's said. "You didn't say anything about them being killed. The boss is pissed. You lost him two good assets."
"I told them to break into my house, what did he expect? My ward has a Suytovian bodyguard, you know how they are. I made it clear she was protected. He's a fool if he thought his men were going to get out alive."
Redek's blood ran cold, and he turned to stone, barely breathing for fear of making a noise. His gaze flicked to the camera that pointed straight at him.
He supposed there were other possible explanations for this conversation—if he'd burst in now and asked what the fuck was going on, he didn't doubt Damien would come up with some kind of excuse.
But Redek knew the truth. He'd known there was something fishy about an immediate attack as soon as he got here. It was too strange. He didn't know why Damien had done it, maybe to lent credence to his story about Maddie actually being in danger. Maybe he hadn't thought Maddie would have told him the last attack had been so long ago—he wasn't supposed to be having conversations with her, after all.
What Redek knew most of all, though, was that he couldn't leave.
This turned everything on its head.
Now he had proof. At least, proof in his own mind. He didn't have anything to take to the authorities.
Still frozen in place, he weighed his options for the thousandth time in the past few hours.
He would be on footage. He could run back to Maddie's and get her to erase it, he could stay with her and make sure Damien never actually hurt her. He could knock on the office door and pretend that he hadn't just heard everything that was said and make up a reason to talk to the man now that he'd decided he couldn't leave.
He ran a hand through his hair, and turned his back on the office door, quickening to a jog when he was far enough away that his footfalls wouldn't be heard.
He sprinted across the grounds to Maddie and burst through the door, breath short. "Maddie," he called. "Where are you?"
She popped her head around the kitchen door. Her eyes were red and her skin blotchy from crying. "What's wrong? What's happened?"
"I need you to do something for me on your computer," he glanced at the camera in the living room none-too-subtly and she nodded.
"Yeah, of course."
She logged on and went straight to the relevant footage without being prompted, deleting it and replacing it with empty corridors and grounds. She paused the cameras inside their house and finally turned on him, eyebrows pinched. "What's going on? What did you hear?"
Redek ran his hands through his hair, looking up at the ceiling. "Damien paid those people to attack you." He wasn't going to keep this secret from her. She had to know. She needed to know that Damien wasn't safe, that she was in danger.
She recoiled. "What?"
"He was in there talking to some guy who wanted more money. He was saying that he wasn't expecting the people to die, and Damien said you had a Suytovian bodyguard and of course they weren't going to get out alive." He was rambling, he knew. He was spiraling, his life going completely off the deep end.
He'd always been in control. He'd always known what was coming next. Everything had been structured and laid out for him since he was a teenager.
He didn't like surprises.
He didn't like having to make decisions on the spot. Emotional decisions.
Maddie was staring at him, wide-eyed. "What?" she whispered, softer this time.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say."
"I can't stay here."
"I don't know what to do."
"Do you think someone saw the footage?"
"I don't know." He balled his hands into fists and released them again. "I don't know."
Maddie rested her hand on his forearm. "Calm down."
"I don't think we can stay here," he said eventually, staring at the camera feeds in the manor house. Damien left his study with the men he'd been talking to, and there was a definite look at the camera as he walked. Redek couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been busted. Whether or not someone had seen the footage, the housekeeper had seen him going into the manor and when that footage wasn't there if she checked later, he'd be caught.
There were too many variables.
And that didn't even touch on the fact Maddie was confined in this place she hated with a man who had her attacked.
Her grip on his forearm tightened. "Are you really suggesting we leave?"
"Damien knows." The paranoia was already clawing at him, an itch he couldn't scratch. He'd be living in even more fear if he continued to stay in the compound. He might be throwing away the only chance he had to get out of there alive.
The fact that Maddie's bright face at the idea of leaving Damien's control made him hot with a fierce determination he hadn't felt since first enrolling at the Suytovian Academy sealed the deal.
"I'm serious. We need to leave, now. Do you have anything incriminating on this guy? Do you have anything we can hold over his head."
"Yes, I—"
"Don't tell me, just make sure you have it. Pack essentials. We have to get out of here."
They split up for a brief moment while Redek stuffed things into his bags and adorned himself with weapons. His adrenaline was so high he could feel a rage coming on, and he stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and centered himself.
He was better than that.
He could make an impulse decision without losing complete control.
Maddie was already waiting in the living room when he returned, a large backpack stuffed to bursting on her back.
"I've been ready for this moment for years," she confessed.
"We need to get to the hangar," Redek said. "It's attached to the manor, which is the biggest problem." He looked at the cameras, which didn't show anything too odd. "How much commotion can you cause? We need a distraction."
Maddie grinned. "I'm on it."
Redek didn't know if he was making the right decision; they might have had an easier time just strolling through the grounds and into the hangar on the premise that she just wanted to look around. She was the ward of the boss, after all; he doubted the staff would say no to her about anything.
Commotion was what he thrived on, though. He could read body language, he was strong, and armed. It put him above the rest. In the commotion he could obliterate anyone.
Maddie did several things at once. She sent Damien a red alert about his company's stock value, and told the press, so he'd be being hounded by people left, right and center. She disabled the security alarms so no one extra could be called, and sent a false message about a breach in the fence on the opposite side of the compound to the hangar.
"We should move fast," she said. "Before people realize it's a distraction."
She had her phone in her hand. "I can keep things going as we run, if it comes down to it."
He nodded, and they started their journey toward the hangar. They jogged through the grounds, and she managed to keep up with his long strides as though it was nothing. He was on high alert, and as they approached the manor and the hangar, he could see a flurry of bodies moving around. They were forced to slow to a walk so as not to raise suspicions. The fact they were armed and carrying their things was questionable enough.
A security guard power-walking in their direction, gun in hand, stopped them. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "There's been a breach."
Maddie gasped believably, and Redek's face was a mask. "What happened?"
"Someone tried to blow a hole in the fence."
"Then we'll be safer in the manor. I'll take her to a panic room and make sure nothing happens. Stay safe," he nodded to the man, who didn't think twice before letting them pass. He must have been so focused on the breach he didn’t notice the things they were carrying.
Redek and Maddie slipped inside. There were just three corridors between them and the hangar. "We need to make sure no one knows we're leaving. Their ships are much more expensive than mine, they’ll catch us before we even leave the solar system."
"Then let's take one of theirs," Maddie said, immediately.
"We don't have keys."
"We don't need them."
He wanted to demand an explanation or tell her they couldn’t risk it, but if she could get them one of Damien’s ships it would solve a lot of their problems. His ship was old and it would easily be out-chased by any one of Damien's high-spec vehicles.
So he trusted her. "Okay."
They walked down the corridor instead of jogged, as if they were just taking a stroll. A girl from the kitchen walked past, head bowed, but barely seemed to notice them. Before the corner to the hangar, Redek heard a voice coming toward them from around the corner.
It was Damien.
Redek pulled Maddie into an alcove, so close together her entire front was pressed against his. His hands rested on her waist, and it was a completely inappropriate moment to revel in the feel of her curves.
"There is nothing wrong with my stock," Damien hissed, and Redek suspected the sound of smashing was his phone against a hard surface. "What do you mean there was no breach?" This must have been directed at someone else. "What is happening? Get people to Maddie. Now. I won't have her hurt."
Maddie pulled her phone out and tapped rapidly on the screen, her forehead resting against Redek's chest as though it was the most natural position in the world.
He could almost imagine they were back in the house and this was just a normal day until she lifted her head and smiled sweetly, saying, "We've got a couple of minutes. We need to make them count."
He had no idea what she'd done, but he couldn't resist pressing a quick kiss to her lips before releasing her and power-walking down the final corridor to the hangar. He wanted desperately to link their fingers together as they went, but resisted. They might still run into people.
It was a huge space, but when he scanned the area, he saw it was abandoned. "Which one?" he asked.
Maddie looked around, too, and pointed toward a small ship. "This one." They jogged toward it, and Maddie pressed her phone against the sensor a key would have normally opened.
She tapped away while Redek kept guard, stiffening when a man entered the room. He was looking around, though he didn't look like security. "Hurry," he said, pressing himself against the ship to avoid being spotted, and tightening the grip on his gun handles.
The airlock released and a door slid open. He holstered his pistols and took the big step up into the ship rather than pressing the button to lower the ramp. He gave Maddie a hand and hoisted her up.
"I can get the engine started, but I can't drive," she warned as the door slipped shut. "I'm hoping you've got that covered."
It was obviously a vessel built for one person—there was a single seat before the controls, and no bed or toilet. It was built for speed, though, and he applauded Maddie's choice.
With any luck, it would have some weapons.
Maddie flicked switches, chewing on her lip, her nose wrinkled with concentration. "Shit," she muttered as she tapped on her phone.
Redek clutched the arms on his seat, holding his tongue to stop himself from demanding what she was doing and whether it was going to work. He didn't want to distract her, but he could see the skin on his arms cracking, could feel his teeth getting bigger, and tongued the slightly sharper points.
Through the window the man who'd entered the hangar finally spotted them and his eyes widened. His hand went straight to his phone.
Redek continued to bite his tongue, but his hands were on his knives. He was ready to attack anyone who came into the hangar to stop them from leaving.
He'd kill every single person in the manor and live as a fugitive for the rest of his life if it came down to it.
The engine kicked in before anyone appeared, though, and Maddie's shoulders slumped. "Thank fuck."
Redek immediately took action. One hand on the wheel, his thumb on the accelerator, he powered out of the hangar, pulling up hard as soon as he was free from the building and barreling forward in a straight line.
In his swerving away from other ships and sharp ascent, Maddie had almost fallen over. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap until they were shooting toward the stars and away from the compound.
"Oh my God," she murmured, fist crumpling Redek's shirt and eyes wide as she watched the blue of the sky rapidly become the black of space.
"I'm free."