“How did you get rid of the guard?” Hudson whispered a little more than three hours later. She gazed at the empty corridor outside the door of her quarters, then at Dom’s tired face. “Won’t Ferris be suspicious?”
“Trust me, he’s not happy about it,” Dom whispered back. “I was on the phone with the bastard for more than twenty minutes, listening to him fume about it. But I told him that no matter what you’ve done, you’re still the daughter of the man who founded the Global Council and therefore you deserve to be treated with respect.” He smiled faintly. “I also reminded him you were in the same training class I was and that if you wanted to escape, one guard at your door wasn’t going to stop you.”
She grinned back. “Damn right it wouldn’t.”
They fell silent as they crept down the fluorescent-lit hallway. The building primarily housed offices and living quarters, so they moved cautiously and soundlessly to avoid the risk of waking anyone. Hudson’s legs trembled with each step she took. She wasn’t sure what Dom’s plan was, how they were going to walk out of the gate unseen, but she hoped that whatever he’d come up with, it wouldn’t result in the two of them dying in a hail of bullets.
It was eerily quiet outside when they emerged from the building’s rear exit. They stuck close to the brick wall, which was bathed in shadows. Hudson glanced up at the roof in surprise. Normally there was a floodlight shining down on the back door.
Dominik raised a brow. “Bulb must be busted,” he murmured. “I should really get maintenance to look into that.”
She choked down a laugh, but all traces of humor died when she gazed at the lit-up area beyond their shadowy nook. The pavement gleamed under the bright lights, the silver links of the massive chain fence winking as if to taunt at her. Hudson peered up at the guard tower a hundred yards away, then studied the security cameras mounted on every fence post. Her uneasiness steadily rose.
How on earth did Dom think they’d make it all the way to the gate without being spotted?
To her shock, he raised his assault rifle and strode forward.
“What are you doing?” she hissed out.
He gestured for her to follow him. “It’s all right. The cameras along this side of the fence have been disabled.” Another grin flashed her way. “Regularly scheduled maintenance, which requires a total reboot, of course. But we’ve only got nine minutes before they’re back online. Stay tight to the wall so the tower guards don’t see us. It’ll be okay.”
She hesitated for only a second before deciding to trust him. This was her twin brother. She had to believe that he wouldn’t betray her. That he wasn’t leading her into a trap.
And if he was… well, then she’d take the screw you that the universe had handed her and accept her fate. Because maybe she was simply destined to be betrayed by everyone she cared about. Her father had arranged for her to marry a monster without telling her. Connor had cast her out without batting an eye. At this point, a betrayal from Dom wouldn’t be any worse than what she’d already had to deal with.
Her brother led her to the edge of the compound, halting when they were twenty feet from the gate – and the guard tower.
“Use this to open the gate.”
Horror swamped her stomach when he tucked a key card into her hand. “No. If I use your card they’ll know you helped me.”
“It’s not my card.” His eyes twinkled. “You left it behind the day you escaped, remember?” His tone went serious. “It’s still active – I checked. The system will log that you used it, but I’ll just claim you had it stashed in your room and nobody thought to search for it.”
“Or…” She dug her teeth into her lower lip. “You can come with me.”
He was quick to shake his head. “I can’t.”
“You can. You don’t have to stay here, Dom. You can start a new life in the free land, a real life, without drugs and rules and all the bullshit the GC feeds us.”
His jaw set in a tight line. “I have unfinished business here.”
Alarm rippled through her. “What are you planning to do?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’m damn well going to do something. Not everyone on this compound is evil. There are good men here, and Ferris is drugging us and messing with our heads so we can go out into the colony and murder innocent people. I can’t let it go on.”
“Then I’ll stay and help you,” she said firmly.
He was just as firm. “You’re not safe here. Things are changing, and not for the better. All these new rules being put into place…” He shook his head again. “You’re safer in outlaw territory, H. I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you if you stay here.”
He reached into his inner pocket, pulled out a small device and pressed it into her palm. It was a phone, she realized. Sleek and lightweight, with fewer buttons than the cell phones she was used to seeing.