Redek Read online

  Redek's smile was sad, and she wanted to be annoyed that he pitied her, but couldn’t muster the energy. "It's possible."

  She sighed and closed the article. There was no point in thinking about it now. She'd been Maddie her entire life, and that wasn't going to change if these were her last few hours.

  "Do you think he'll kill me?" she asked. She hadn't even thought of it before; she'd just assumed they were being hunted down to be murdered and forgotten about, but the whole reason Maddie had been taken in the first place was to help Damien become a financial success. "He has to know that even if he took me back to the compound I'd never do what he wanted."

  "I don't know."

  "I'd rather die than go back there."

  "It's not going to come to that."

  She laughed, and it was a little hysterical. "Yes, it is. And you know it."

  "Now that you know the truth he wouldn't be able to let you near a computer even if you agreed to keep hacking for him. You'd be able to send a message out to someone to come and rescue you. If he finds you, he'll kill you."

  "It really shouldn't have been such a relief to hear that."

  Redek shifted down the bed so he could fit beneath the top bunk and ran his fingers through her hair, tilting her head up to kiss her. It was a good distraction from the depressed mood she was slowly falling into. All her hope had been eradicated in an instant when she opened that article and confirmed her identity crisis.

  "One thing I know is that I can't die without having had you," Redek murmured against her lips.

  A shiver ran down her spine, and all thoughts of Damien were gone from her mind. Redek invaded her senses, his rough hands slipping below her shirt to caress her lower back, avoiding her stitches.

  Maddie had expected to be terrified when she kissed someone for the first time—she'd expected to be shy and embarrassed and to make a fool of herself. With Redek, though, it was like she'd been doing it all her life. He kissed her softly at first, easing her into it and letting her find her footing. His hands wreaked havoc with her mind. How could she concentrate on being embarrassed when his thumbs were edging closer to her nipples and sending her into a frenzy?

  It was so much better than anything she'd been able to conjure in her mind. Even a kiss from Redek had her heart pounding more than touching herself did.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him harder, taking his bottom lip between her teeth and biting softly. Enough to make him growl at the back of his throat and lift her onto his lap by the hips. She rolled her hips against his hard shaft.

  This time, finally, she was going to get to touch him. She'd been so exhausted the first time, in her room, that she hadn't been able to run her fingers over his muscles and take him inside her.

  Now it was her turn to have her way with him.

  She pushed his shirt up from the bottom, fingers dancing over solid abs. She could have spent a lifetime just touching him, feeling his rough skin beneath her fingers.

  Redek wasn't hesitating, either. He held her like he was a man starved, pulling her as far into his lap as she'd go and cupping her ass with rough fingers.

  Then, suddenly, he stopped. He broke their kiss and pressed a finger to her lips when she went to ask him what was wrong.

  Footsteps.

  There were footsteps coming down the corridor.

  "Shit," she muttered, straining her ears. They were definitely coming toward their room, and there were lots of them. "What do we do?"

  Redek was in action. For such a big man, she had no idea how he could be so stealthy. He lifted her from his lap and deposited her on the bed before standing up. He pulled off his jacket and retrieved his knife belts from his backpack, strapping them around his chest. He holstered two pistols at his waist. All of it was done in under a minute and without a sound.

  There was nothing more they could do.

  Redek stood in front of where Maddie cowered on the bottom bunk, knowing she should get her pistol but being unable to move.

  She couldn't even have this one thing with him before it all went to shit?

  12.

  REDEK

  Redek stood poised and ready for whoever walked through the door—if anyone did walk through the door. There had been multiple doors on the corridor. Perhaps they would be left alone.

  He channeled all the intensity he'd been about to put into fucking Maddie into defending her.

  If someone walked through the door and tried to make a move against them, he was ready to go down fighting.

  "Rest up," a voice said from outside the door. "Tomorrow we strike, and you're going to need all your energy."

  There was a chorus of "Yes, sir," from the corridor, and then the door was opened.

  The first man through stopped in surprise when he saw Redek, armed to the teeth and on the brink of falling into a rage. "Boss?" he said, unsurely. "There are people in here."

  "What do you mean people?" he demanded, shoving through. He looked Redek and Maddie up and down. "Oh." He didn't go for his weapon, though. "You're with me," he told them, offering no room for argument. "Get some sleep," he reiterated to his men.

  Redek hesitated, but there was a whole battalion down there and fighting them wasn't an option, especially not when no threat of violence had been made against them. He picked up their backpacks and then nodding to Maddie, who stood up and followed close behind him.

  "I'm Tisya," the man said, not looking over his shoulder as they walked down the corridor. "You are?"

  "Redek and Maddie," he replied. "We were hiding from the IU troops."

  "Because you're the two they're after. We've all seen the photos."

  Redek stiffened. "Yes."

  "What did you do?"

  "Escaped from a powerful madman."

  Tisya tutted. "The IU are disgusting."

  Redek had no idea where to place him. He'd expected condemnation for having brought the forces to Tisya's planet in the first place. "We didn't know he had IU contacts," he explained anyway. "We thought we were just running from private security firms."

  "The IU is full of corruption. Always expect them to have their hands in the nastiest pies."

  Redek was naturally skeptical of powerful people, but the IU’s reputation wasn’t a bad one. "Where are you taking us?"

  "To my boss. He'll want to speak to you."

  Redek laced his fingers through Maddie's and squeezed, hoping to comfort her, but realizing it was for him just as much. He was out of his depth. Fighting he could do, but diplomacy? Negotiating their freedom?

  That was a skill in neither of their playbooks.

  "And what will he want to say to us?" Redek pushed.

  Tisya didn't respond.

  It didn't take them long to stop outside a door. Tisya knocked then opened it without waiting for a response. "Boss," he nodded. "I found the people the troops are after."

  Tisya's boss sat cross-legged on the metal floor of a mostly empty room, a tablet in front of him, scrolling the same forums he'd seen Maddie looking at earlier.

  He looked up at Tisya's entry, and then assessed Redek and Maddie. His gaze lingered on Redek's many weapons. "I see." He beckoned for them to come in. "Leave us, Tisya. I want to speak to them."

  Tisya nodded and shut the door behind himself. Redek and Maddie stood close together. She was squinting to see if she could read what was on his tablet, and Redek was assessing the room. The door behind them was the only exit, though. They were still underground.

  "I'm Fitan. You are?"

  "Redek," he gestured to himself. "And Maddie."

  “How did you get into the tunnels?" Fitan asked. "And sit down. I'm not your enemy."

  There were no seats in the room, but Redek did as he was told, walking a few paces away from Fitan then gracefully lowering himself to the floor, mirroring Fitan’s position. Maddie sat with her knees to her chest, and left him to do the speaking. "I threatened the office worker in the hangar into telling us where we could hide."
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  "I see. And that was your plan? To wait and see what happened?"

  "I'm one man. I can't fight an army."

  "You can join one, though."

  Redek quirked a brow. This wasn't where he'd expected the meeting to be going. He'd thought they were going to be offered up as sacrifice to get the IU forces to leave. "What's your plan? I heard they hadn't used force yet."

  "I would never hand over a prisoner to the IU," Fitan said with a curled lip and clenched fists. "No one deserves such a fate. They are terrorists, and I won’t negotiate with them."

  Redek nodded his thanks. "They plan to kill us if they find us," he confirmed.

  "It would be a kind fate compared to what I've seen them do to people. Our plan is to kill as many as we can."

  He didn't know whether that was a good plan or not. Waiting until the IU forces got bored of searching, or giving up someone he had no allegiance to for the sake of his citizens, seemed like a safer plan. Fighting the IU was more likely to get them targeted by harsher campaigns in the future even if they won today.

  He certainly wasn't about to say that, though.

  It sounded like Fitan had bad blood with the IU, and if he was going to make a bad decision because of that, Redek wasn't going to stop him. Not if it meant he had a chance of keeping Maddie safe.

  "I would be honored to join you in your attack," Redek said.

  Maddie made a small noise of protest beside him, fixing him with a concerned gaze. He ignored her, for now.

  Fitan nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Our attack will take place tomorrow at sun-up. We work in coordination with the leaders of other boroughs to take out as many ships and people as possible. We are outnumbered, but we out-skill them and our passion is fierce. Their forces will be gone by the end of the day. Report to Tisya. He will assign you. Can the girl fight?" He nodded at Maddie without looking at her.

  Redek fought the urge to push her behind him and completely block her from view. His, "No," was emphatic. "She's never even held a weapon before. A condition of me fighting with you is that you keep her as safe as you can."

  "You are in no place to be issuing demands." Fitan's voice changed from personal to harsh in a second. "But this is one that I would have followed anyway. She will be kept safe."

  Scolded, Redek bowed his head. "Thank you."

  Fitan made a shooing motion. "Turn right and enter the second door on your left. Tisya will explain more."

  Redek stood effortlessly and offered Maddie a hand up. The moment they were out of the door, she pressed a hand to his chest to stop them from following Fitan's instructions. "You can't fight," she said. "You heard him. We're outnumbered. You might get hurt."

  "If I don't fight, we'll both be dead."

  "But what if you die and I'm left here with no one?" she whispered. "You can't do that to me."

  "I would happily lay down my life to protect you." It wouldn't even require a second thought.

  Her eyebrows pinched. "What if I wouldn't want you to?"

  "That's not a choice you can make."

  "I wouldn't be able to just keep going if you died. It wouldn't work like that."

  "Of course it would. Eventually." He was a hypocrite. If their roles were reversed, he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with her death.

  "But I love you." It was a whisper, said with glassy eyes.

  "I love you, too." He rested his forehead against hers. "Which is why you'll never be able to talk me out of sacrificing my life for you if it came down to it. I have to fight with these people. I have no choice. But I'll come back to you."

  Maddie was stopped from responding by a door opening down the corridor and Tisya sticking his head out. "Fitan said you were coming here." He was making sure they hadn't tried to flee.

  Redek gave a final look to Maddie, warning her to keep her protests to herself, and hopefully conveying even an inch of the emotion he felt toward her. "Come on," he said.

  13.

  MADDIE

  Maddie really tried to listen when Tisya was explaining the plan to them. She caught the basics of it. There were three main elements: the on-the-ground combat, the air battle, and small teams that were going to be using teleporters the gang leaders owned to infiltrate the ships of the IU leaders and take them out.

  It was a good plan, she decided, despite having no military or strategy knowledge at all. It sounded good, at least. She knew the problem came in the form of their raw numbers. They were heavily outdone in manpower by the IU.

  She kept that thought to herself, though.

  Her mind was busy with other things.

  She spent the entire meeting with her fingers laced through Redek's, memorizing every inch of his hand. She might not get a chance to touch all of him, but at least she would have this.

  "What are your strengths?" Tisya asked Redek.

  "Close combat," Redek responded. "I'm Suytovian. I—"

  Tisya held up a hand. "That's all I needed to know." His race's reputation apparently preceded him. "You're a trained bodyguard?"

  "Yes."

  "Then you'll be in one of the assassination teams."

  Redek flexed the hand Maddie wasn't holding on to. "Can I pick who I get to kill?" he asked. The glint in his eyes were terrifying, and it sent a shiver down her spine. He was dangerous. He was so different when it came to combat than how he was with her. It was like two completely different people.

  How could someone who seemingly felt no remorse when he ran a knife across someone's throat be so worried about her that his hands shook?

  "If we find out what ship the man chasing you is on, you can have him," Tisya confirmed.

  "Thank you."

  Tisya waved a hand. "You should both get some rest. There aren't many hours until sun-up now. I'll find you somewhere to sleep." He pressed his earpiece and asked, "I need a bed. Where is free?" After a few moments he said, "I'll show you."

  They were led down a series of corridors until they reached a door. Tisya gave them directions as to where they should go in the morning when the siren sounded.

  Maddie and Redek were left alone, and she still didn't let go of his hand. Inside the room were two twin single beds rather than the bunks of their first hideout. At least they had some privacy.

  Redek eased the door shut and offloaded his weapons. His face was drawn with exhaustion and stress. "We should rest," he said. "It's going to be a big fight."

  "I wish there was something I could do to help."

  "I don't want you involved in any of it."

  "I'm not going to fight. I'd be more of a hindrance than a help, anyway. I'm sure there's something I could do with the technology to help in some way."

  Redek, now unburdened from his weapons, hooked his arm behind her knees and pulled her to his chest bridal style, then lay her down on the bed. "I'm not wasting this bit of time I have with you trying to figure out how you might be able to help. I want you to help me," he said, pushing her hair out of her face and hovering over her.

  Her uselessness evaporated, and she grinned up at Redek.

  This was what she'd wanted from the moment he'd stepped foot in her little house on the compound. She'd never in a million years thought it would actually happen—never mind on a foreign planet solar systems away from where she'd been locked up her entire life.

  Nothing was going to stop this from being perfect.

  She kissed Redek, tangling their legs together and not wasting any time in taking his shirt off this time. She was going to get to feel those back muscles under her fingertips if it was the last thing she did.

  And it very well could be.

  She ran her palms over the web of muscles, nails digging in as the feeling went straight to her core. How was it possible for someone to be this gorgeous? To make her feel so many things at once?

  She squirmed when Redek ran a finger up her thigh, and flinched when her stitches rubbed on the bedding. "Let me be on top," she said, gripping his bicep and pushing him down into the bed.
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br />   Logic told her to take it slowly, to savor every moment she had with him before the ensuing fight, but fear had dictated every single thing she'd done since leaving the compound, and Maddie’s biggest fear was that she'd never get to be with Redek completely.

  So she kissed him hard, rolling her hips against his hard cock and pulling her own shirt over her head. Her body was taut with desire as Redek reached around her back and unclipped her bra in one fluid movement. She wondered whether he'd learned to do that from experience, or if he was just as naturally talented as it as everything else physical he seemed to do.

  She pushed the thought from her mind.

  She didn't care what he'd done before he'd met her. Since he'd met her, he'd been completely devoted. She couldn't have wanted anything more.

  He went straight to her nipples, pinching softly between thumb and forefinger. She mewled, losing her rhythm where she ground on his cock as a shot of pleasure raced through her.

  He sat up and kissed her again, fingers working at the buttons on her pants. "You're gorgeous," he said, lips brushing against hers and gaze piercing.

  Heat still rose to her cheeks. It was a compliment that made her blush, rather than the fact his hand had just invaded her panties and was rubbing her clit. She squirmed, trying to find the concentration to get his buttons undone so she could get to his shaft.

  He was supposed to be the one at her mercy this time, not the other way around.

  When her back arched and she felt the rush of her climax, she pushed his hand away. "Not yet," she whispered through harsh breaths. "It's my turn." He let her push him back down onto the bed and run her fingers down his chest. Then she followed the movement with her lips.

  She wanted to be rough and gentle with him all at once. She nipped at his skin with her teeth and followed it immediately with open-mouthed kisses. Redek laced his hands through her hair, but she pulled them away. "It's my turn," she repeated. He was forced to fist his hands in the bed sheets instead.