But no matter where Luna spent her day, or with whom, I always found her curled up on my bed every evening, waiting for me. Tonight, she would have a long wait.

Torran also seemed to be settling in for a long wait. He’d made himself at home at the comm terminal over the last few days.

“You don’t have to stay up,” I said.

He glanced at me. “Neither do you.”

I tipped my head at him, conceding the point.

The autopilot would take us most of the way, so I checked the settings, then settled back and put my feet up. I stared at the main screen and let my mind wander. I was mentally working through my third set of backup plans for what I would do if things went bad on Valovia when Torran stirred.

“I figured you would try to stay on Bastion longer.”

“You are paying for my time, and the sooner we get to Valovia, the sooner we can start hunting,” I said. It also meant that we could leave Valovia sooner—and hopefully richer.

Torran hummed in agreement.

“Plus, Bastion is expensive. They have a corner on the market and they know it.” I stared at the web of stars on-screen. “Will I be able to buy supplies in Valovian space?”

“Yes, but only if I barter for you.” At my skeptical look, he elaborated, “You’re human, and worse, you’re infamous. Merchants will not sell to you. They might sell to one of your crew, but it would still be expensive.”

I made a note to stock up with three months of emergency staples. We might not enjoy eating rice and generic protein for that long, but it would keep us alive if we had to leave Valovia in a hurry and needed to take a roundabout route home.

I turned my head sideways on the headrest so I could see him. “Why are you willing to work with me?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“You’re well known in other circles, too. The people who have worked with you say you’re honorable and stick to your agreements. And that you are good at finding lost things.”

Unfortunately, that fame hadn’t been enough to keep us in credits. I was picky about the jobs I took, and the ones that paid the most were often the shadiest.

Case in point: we were heading to a place where people wanted me dead.

“Were you looking for me specifically?”

His lips compressed into a flat line. “You were the first marginally qualified crew I found. I didn’t have time to search further.”

I snorted. “You can be kind of an asshole sometimes—you know that, right?”

He leveled an unreadable glance at me. “You would not be the first to call me that.”

“I’m sure I won’t be the last, either,” I muttered under my breath.