Apex Five: Mech Elite novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: Binding Until Release
I woke him by dropping the paper on his chest.
He opened his eyes.
He looked at the gray sleeve, and then at me, sitting naked on the edge of the cot with the blanket around my shoulders.
He did not say a word.
"Explain," I said.
"Wynne."
"You told me you built it and left. You didn't tell me you signed over your life first."
"It isn't what it looks like."
"Then tell me what it looks like."
He sat up slowly.
He pulled the contract open to the last page and ran a finger down to a paragraph near the bottom.
"Read that."
I read it.
It said the signer was bound to Pryce Dynamics until released in writing by the chairman.
It said the chairman could refuse release for any reason.
It said there was one exception.
"Pilot declared medically unfit for linked flight," I read aloud. "Release automatic."
"Yes."
"That's your burned cradle."
"Yes."
I looked at him.
The blanket slid off one shoulder and I did not pull it back up.
"You said it burned on the third test."
"It did."
"You said the Anchor did it."
"I did it." His voice was flat. "On the third test the safeties were on. I pulled them myself, at four in the morning, and ran the full draw. I knew what would happen."
The room went very quiet.
"You burned out your own head," I said.
"It was the only door he'd leave open."
"You could have quit."
"He'd have sued me into the ground. He'd have kept the design and put another man in my cockpit, and that man would have been wired into it like Dane was." He swallowed. "I thought if the pilot who built it couldn't survive it, someone might ask why."
Keep reading free with an account. Start Apex Five: Mech Elite from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 16 · All chapters · Chapter 18 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend