The coldness in her eyes was new to him. “I’m talking about avenging my master. They murdered him, Zeerid. I will not let it stand. Do you think I don’t know exactly what I am doing? What it will cost?”

“No, I don’t think you know.”

“You’re wrong. I want help from you, Zeerid, not a lecture. Now, I need to get to Coruscant. Will you help?”

He’d been working alone since he’d mustered out. Preferred it that way. But working with Aryn had always felt … right. If he was going to fly with anyone, it would be her.

His comm buzzed. He checked it, saw an encrypted message from Oren, decrypted it.

Goods are aboard Fatman. Leave immediately. Cargo is hot.

He looked across the table at Aryn. “Your timing is good.”

Her eyes formed a question.

“I’m flying to Coruscant, too. Right now.”

“What?” She looked dumbfounded.

He pushed back his chair and stood. “Coming?”

She stayed in her chair. “You’re flying to Coruscant? Now?”

“Right now.”

She stood. “Then yes, I’m coming.”

“Whatever you flew here, you need to leave it. We’re taking only my ship.”

Aryn tapped on her comlink and spoke over the sound of the casino.

“Tee-six, put the Raven in lockdown. I am going offplanet. Monitor our usual subspace channel, and I will contact you when I can.”

The droid’s answering beeps were lost to the cacophony.

They started picking their way through the crowd.

Aryn took him by the bicep and pulled his ear to her mouth. “It can’t be coincidence, you know. Consider the timing. The Force brought us here at this moment so that we can help each other. You see that, don’t you?”

At a table near them, bells rang and a Zabrak raised his arms high, shouting with joy.

“Jackpot!” the Zabrak said. “Jackpot!”

Zeerid decided that he had to tell her. He shouted over the noise. “If the Force brought us together, then the Force has an odd sense of humor.”

Her eyes narrowed in a question. “What are you talking about?”

He dived in. “Listen, what I’m doing makes what you’re doing look like charity work.”

Her expression fell and her body leaned backward slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I’m going to give you another chance to ask that question before I answer it. Before you do, realize that I would make this run whether you came or not, Aryn. I am not proud of it, but I have to do it. Now, do you want to know?”

“Yes,” she said, and blinked. “But later. Right now—and do not look around—there are people watching us.”

An effort of will kept his eyes on her. Oren had told him the cargo was hot, but he didn’t realize it was that hot. He feigned a smile. “Where? How many?”