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“She’s a person,” I tell him. “You can’t just own someone because you say so. And we’re taking her somewhere safe.”
The bodyguard steps forward, his hand on his blaster, but before he can pull it out, Jamef has his pointed at the male’s plated brow. “Not so fast,” my mate practically purrs. “We’re not aiming to harm anyone, but we’re also not letting you keep a human against her will.”
The bodyguard immediately hands over his weapons, and Lord Nerit sputters again, his face turning a dark blue with outrage. “You…you thieves! You said this wasn’t a robbery!”
“I said it wasn’t a robbery then,” I correct, pulling out a pair of plas-cuffs from my belt. “It is now.” And I turn to Jamef, grinning. “Might as well go all in. Where do you think he’s hiding his credits?”
“Wall safe,” Jamef says immediately, tucking the bodyguard’s weapons away.
Lord Nerit’s dismayed little moan tells me that my mate is right. I toss the cuffs to the human female. “Here, honey. You get to do the honors. Lock them up tight. We want them to squirm for a good while.”
One Hundred Seventeen
JAMEF
Thank kef Dora is safe when we return. At least one good thing has come out of that mess of a bounty. “You’re safe?” Bethiah asks as she races up the ramp, handfuls of her silver dress held high. “Rhonda didn’t try anything?”
“No. I kept away from the holding cell and didn’t give her a chance,” Dora says. She gives both me and Bethiah surprised looks when we return with the new human, Simone, in tow. “Is everything all right?”
Bethiah just nudges Simone inside, not saying anything. I don’t speak, either. I’m just amazed at how quickly things get keffed when Bethiah is involved.
“Is everything all right?” Dora asks again as we board and retract the ramp on the ship. She casts a curious look at Simone but seems far more concerned with myself and Bethiah. “Did it go according to plan?”
“We completed the bounty,” Bethiah announces, scratching at her dress again. “Another job well done.”
“Well done?” I retort. “You held Lord Nerit hostage and stole his new human from him. We’re going to have bounties out on our heads now. We’re never going to be able to go back to that particular satellite and we’ll have to watch our backs until the bounty on our heads expires! How is that well done?”
Bethiah shoves a finger in my face. “You don’t get to talk, Lord ‘Oh-my-leg-is-JUST-fine-unless-I-need-to-do-something-crazy-like-use-it.’”
I glare at her, pushing her finger away. She doesn’t need to know that even now, it’s sending pulses of pain past my knee and up my thigh. “My leg doesn’t put you and Dora in danger. My leg —”
“The kef it doesn’t!” Bethiah explodes, leaning towards me with a snarl on her face. “You’re not flying solo anymore, you bucket of bolts, and you need to realize that what affects you affects us, too!”
“Guys! Guys!” Dora steps between us, putting a hand on both of our chests. “Stop it, all right? Remember that we all love each other and if we argue, Rhonda wins.” She shakes her head. “Now, someone’s going to need to update me on what happened with the bounty, but first we need to leave this place. If you’re right and there’s going to be a bounty on your heads”—she nods at me and continues—“then we need to get as much distance between us and this place as possible. We need to get Rhonda off the ship and get going pronto.”
“Rhonda’s not leaving,” I point out. “Apparently we’re collecting humans now.” My tone sounds bitter and Dora gives me a hurt look. I shake my head. “Sorry, sweetheart. That came out wrong. We can’t leave Rhonda there. I’ll explain more later. You’re right that we need to leave quickly. I’ll get the engines started.”
“Oh, don’t be so pissy, Jamef,” Bethiah says, following me as I head to the bridge. “It’s just a couple of bounties. What’s a bounty here and there between friends? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together will see our names attached to it and won’t pursue. And we can just hide out for a bit. It’s not a big deal.”
Hide out. Right. Hiding out usually means finding an abandoned asteroid and parking the ship for a few months until no one’s looking for our flight paths any longer. We could find a vacation planet and use fake names, but that costs credits and we’ll probably need what we just earned to bribe anyone that does bother to come after us.
It also means no leg repairs for me. Not only can we not go to Three Nebulas, but the credits will be needed. I’ll just have to manage somehow. See if I can fix the wiring on my own. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll find us a place.”
