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Chapter 8

A pale light stirred Daisy into consciousness. Stars, she was hot. How long had she been asleep?

A large hand clamped over her mouth. “Don’t say a word.”

Her eyes shot open, and she stared up at Rexx.

“You need to stay quiet. Daisy, do you trust me?” he asked.

She nodded. Of course she trusted him. He was her partner. But that didn’t mean she had a clue what he was up to.

“We have to be quick and quiet. Let’s move.” Rexx undid the straps restraining her to the bed.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

He passed her fresh clothes, and she shimmied into them. “We have to leave.”

“Leave! I don’t get it. What about the implant? What about me being a risk?”

“We have a bigger problem. There’s no time to explain. Angel will get an alert that you’re awake. She’ll come check on you. We have to be gone by the time she gets here.” Rexx caught hold of Daisy’s hand and hurried her out of the medical room and along the corridor. He had a large pack over one shoulder.

“Rexx, what’s going on? You’re freaking me out.” The lack of other people around suggested it was early in the morning.

She slowed as they reached the docking bay. Her stomach flipped. They were leaving the ship?

Rexx tugged her arm, encouraging her to keep moving. “We’ve only got a few minutes. I set an auto loop on the security feed, but ELVIS will figure out what I’ve done. By then, it’ll be too late.”

“We’re leaving the Apocalypse?” She stumbled over her feet as they headed to one of the small shuttles they used for transport onto planets.

Rexx opened the ramp of the ship. “High Command left me with no choice. Get in. I’ll explain on the way.”

Daisy hesitated. “How long will we be gone?”

“It could be weeks. I don’t know how long it’ll take to find someone who can safely remove the implant.”

“Weeks! No. I... I can’t just leave.” She turned away from the ship.

“Why not?”

“Helix, Quark, and Darwin are here. I won’t abandon them.”

Rexx grunted. “I knew you’d say that. They’re on board. So is Asshole. They’re coming with us.”

She pressed a kiss to his cheek. He was an amazing guy. He always knew what she’d need, even before she knew it herself.

They hurried up the ramp together and sealed the locks.

Rexx didn’t speak as he powered up the ship, opened the door to take them out into space, and flew them away from their home.

Her heart pounded as she turned to look at the receding form of the Apocalypse. A flurry of emotions shuttled through her. Would they be back? Would they even have the choice to come back? High Command staff weren’t known for being flexible.

“So, what’s going on?” She turned in her seat and fixed her gaze on Rexx.

His fingers skimmed over the controls for several seconds. “There’s been a change of plans. I was unhappy with those changes.”

“I thought Angel was working on getting this alien tech out of me.”

“She was. Until High Command stuck their nose in. They’re coming to the Apocalypse to collect you.”