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18
Back in her room, Onnika banged her forehead into her pillow. “Why do I do the things I do?”
Occupying the bottom bunk, Caryn continued to lecture her. “You have to learn to quit while you’re ahead. One of these days you’re not going to be able to flirt or joke your way out of a situation.”
“Blasphemy!”
“I was always surprised that Tag went as easy on you as he did.”
That was only because he wanted her on a level that even he probably didn’t understand. Onnika would sense it on occasion; his desire for her to look at him and see a potential mate. Every time, she had to keep from yacking up her lunch.
Apparently, no one ever told him the way to a woman’s heart wasn’t with fifty thousand volts of electricity.
As a means of survival, however, Onnika played into Tag’s fantasy whenever was necessary, feeding him hope in small portions to stave off abuse. It was the only way to keep them safe, the only reason he’d never crossed the line with her or Caryn physically, and hadn’t let the others do so, either. He’d wanted her willing. A dream she believed he wouldn’t have abided by much longer.
Leaving him for dead likely stripped his hope for good, and with it, his tenuous protection, should they fall into his grasp again. Now the only way to keep her and Caryn safe was to make sure that never happened. She knew now that he must be after her. She had the sick feeling that Tag may have been stalking them before the chaos of the storm. Unless he’d perished in the tent collapse, he’d be at the next stop, waiting for them.
Onnika shuddered.
If she and Caryn had to go it alone again, they’d be that much more vulnerable…
But with a strong crew at their side…?
Damn. She let out a lengthy sigh. “I hate to say it, but I think the best place for us is on this ship,” she told Caryn. That meant she had to do something very, very uncharacteristic: mend relationships.
Caryn went quiet for a moment. “I think you might be right. But what if we don’t get any more vouchers? Maybe they’d make us stay with them until we do?” Her tone was hopeful, but Onnika suspected that even she knew she was being overly optimistic.
“That won’t work. Either way, Aidan still intends to leave us behind. That was the impression I got, anyway. He’s fed up with me. It seems like the others are swaying, though.”
“Yeah, until you stole Zeek’s knife. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking about protecting us. Tag is still out there.”
“I thought so. But to steal from Zeek? He was one of our biggest supporters, aside from Lear,” Caryn pointed out.
“Zeek is easy. He’ll forgive me. I’m more worried about the big guy. If I can get that silver bruiser on our side, maybe Aidan could be persuaded, too.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
Onnika didn’t hesitate. “With the one thing we have in common: the desire to kick each other’s asses.”
“Six vouchers.” Zeek whistled from the bridge’s navigation console. Their takeoff from Nazzu’s atmosphere had been relatively smooth, and now they were well on their way to the next stop. “You think they can do it?”
“No one gets that many vouchers alone,” Aidan replied.
“Yes, but three each isn’t so bad. If they manage it, would you consider letting them stay?”
Asher swiveled in his seat. “You really want to keep those sticky-fingered mongrels around, even after they stole from you?”
Zeek just shrugged. “They’re not so bad. I got my knife back, didn’t I?”
Asher groused, “They are too meek for this competition. The little one never even entered a challenge. Isn’t that right, Lear?”
“Her name is Caryn,” Lear morosely clarified, then went quiet. He seemed to barely be listening to anything they said as he scanned their surroundings for enemies.
“They are untrustworthy,” Ash concluded, facing his console again.
Neither Zeek or Lear argued that one.
