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ladies on Rhylos had only had Onca for two years now.
    Not that any of his clients ever complained. Maybe those others simply didn’t like redheads.
    Or maybe I really am an asshole.
    Not that it mattered. Plenty of women would jump at the chance to mate with a Zetithian for life, whether they liked him or not. The fact that he was rich would just be icing on the cake.
    “I don’t care,” he said aloud. “I’m ready to be alone for a while anyway.”
    “Shall I lock them out when they return?”
    Onca should have known Captain would be listening. Great. He would live here until he was old and gray, bickering with his computer.
    What a life.
    “No, don’t lock them out when they return,” Onca grumbled. “I’m not that big of an asshole.”
    “I was unaware that you were any size of such a thing.”
    “Yeah, well, don’t go spreading it around. Wouldn’t want to ruin my reputation.”
    “I shall keep it to myself.”
    Onca hesitated, frowning. “Wait a minute. When they return? You mean they left ?”
    “They did. They are going to look for that Jatki person.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Onca exclaimed. He stepped out from under the waterfall. “Dry me. Fast .”
    “As you wish.”
    Shaking back his hair, Onca stood with his arms outstretched, allowing the dryer access to as much body surface area as possible. “Did they say where they were going?”
    “No, but they were armed and took the speeder in which Roncas arrived.”
    Shit. Onca had a speeder too. However, having no idea which way they might have headed left him with no alternative but to wait for them. Roncas had her comlink, her speeder, and Onca had seen that little pistol of hers a thousand times. There was no need for him to try to be a hero again—especially since it didn’t work out so well the last time. Kim would probably be pissed at him for following them anyway. “I might as well go to bed.”
    “Considering your current state of exhaustion, that is advisable.”
    “Wake me up when they come back.” If they came back. Somehow, Onca wasn’t sure they would. He could call Roncas later.
    Oh, hell. He could call her now . Roncas had said he was lacking in common sense. Maybe she was right.
    “Hey, Captain. Get Roncas on the house comlink, will you?”
    Onca could’ve sworn he heard the computer snickering. “One moment.”
    He arched a brow at the nearest sensor. “Aren’t you supposed to suggest shit like that whenever I’m acting like I’m too stupid to live?”
    “Perhaps. But it is such a joy to watch you struggle.”
    “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I’m struggling.”
    Moments later, Roncas’s huge eyes filled the viewscreen on the wall in Onca’s bedroom. “Not now, Boss. We’re busy, I’m driving, and you’re naked.”
    “I’m always naked,” Onca retorted. “You’ve probably only seen me dressed eight or nine times in the past ten years.”
    “Yes, but the kid hasn’t seen you undressed, and we must protect her innocence.”
    “My name is Kim .” Onca couldn’t see her, but Kim was obviously in the speeder with Roncas. “And I’m not that innocent.”
    Especially since she’d at least seen a picture of him naked. “You tell her, Kim,” Onca said. “Where are you?”
    “On the way to the rendezvous point Jatki and Kim had arranged,” Roncas replied. “She didn’t come out when Kim gave her the all-clear signal.”
    “And you didn’t bother to tell me this because…?”
    The comlink sensor shifted to reveal Kim sitting in the passenger seat. “You didn’t seem interested.”
    “That’s because I didn’t think you needed me. Do you?”
    “Well…no. Not really.”
    “Fine. Call me back if you think my pathetic self can ever be of some use.”
    “You aren’t pathetic,” Kim said. “Just…unnecessary at the moment.”
    Onca sneered at her image on the viewscreen. “Didn’t you ever hear the one about there being safety in numbers?”
    “Not in so many words.”