But he and Zeph were easy targets, and the EPED would continue to use them as such until they had the Board of Trustees of Fert Tech in their grasp.
His partner was ready to blow.
Netto noticed the Croc had become short-tempered and had taken to tobacco and alcohol like the universe itself was going to end tomorrow. Netto kept his eye on him and did his job, he had to make sure the EPED didn’t have another Gunner on their hands.
Now that the worst of the damage had been mitigated, all the fires had been put out, the air was clear of toxins and that he had driven the serpents away from the shore, they were finally heading back to their ship.
Netto's fingers twitched as the Montihan settlement came into view. Rylie and her family had left several days before to alert homestead about what happened. They had planned for a day out at sea and it ended up being more than a week. The watership was in dire need of repair, and Sheryl Montihan needed to be pacified.
He remembered Rylie's exhausted face, looking more frightened than he had ever seen before, after her conversation with her mom. He remembered those looks when he was a newly created being and his cybernetic mothers reprimanded him. It was a look he knew well, as no being could elicit more fear in a child's eyes than that of a pissed-off parent.
Netto needed to see her again; the separation had nearly killed him, but he was afraid that this next meeting would be a goodbye. The type of goodbye that lasted forever.
His fist clenched at his side as Zeph dropped the flyer down to land next to his ship. They had been silent for the entire ride. It wasn't unusual for them but after the last two weeks, it was no longer comfortable.
Not only would he have to say goodbye to Rylie, if it came down to that, but he would have to decide whether or not he wanted to rejoin the EPED.
Stryker's old ship still needed a monster hunter to captain it, regardless of the destroyed lab. Mia and her bosses wanted him and now that he could reconnect to Zeph's ship, half a dozen messages had been queued for him. Each waiting for his signature. Each a contract that he wasn't sure if he wanted to sign.
Being a monster hunter—a retriever—was a lonely profession, and now that he knew what having a family was like and close-knit camaraderie, Netto didn't want to be alone anymore. He had no more time to dwell in his head. The ship landed.
He and Zeph stepped out without a word.
Netto inhaled as Rylie ran from her family's house and barreled into his arms. He picked her up and kissed her, starved for the feel and taste of her lips.
“I missed you!” she said between kisses. The reception momentarily took him back.
“I missed you too.”
He kissed her again, relishing every moment he had with her. Netto didn't want to let her go. With Rylie in his arms, he knew he didn't want to be alone again. The thought of his previous life made him sad.
“I don't want you to go,” she glanced at Zeph’s ship. “Please don't go.” Netto wasn't sure if he heard her correctly. She had given voice to his thoughts.
Zeph stomped away and disappeared into the homestead.
“Where would I go?” he asked, confused and hopeful, goading for more. Rylie's eyes were wide and the light of Kepler's sun made their irises glitter. The corner of her lips jerked up into a smile and he leaned down and kissed it.
“Back to space.”
“You want me to stay here?”
“Yes, with me. I hated these last few days, hated them. You made me fall in love with you and I'm not above begging and guilt tripping you to keep you in my life.”
If Netto could burn the EPED contracts in their digital space, he would have at that moment. He would've loved to see them curl in the flames and turn ash.
“You don't have to beg and I don't think you could guilt trip me. I love you too.” He cupped her face and pressed his forehead against hers. “If you’ll have me, I’ll never leave your side again.”
“I'll have you. I'll have you any way I can get you.”
Netto couldn't believe his ears as he processed the information over and over. Rylie wanted him. She wanted him to stay with her and for the first time in his life. He pulled her against him and held her close—breathed in the shampooed scent of her hair—and was relieved that she still smelled of sunscreen and ocean.
He wasn't a human man and he didn't follow the traditions of the human race, but he had the urge to ask Quinten Montihan for his permission to court his daughter. It was absurd, an old tradition. Ancient even, but it felt right, here on Kepler, and he wanted the planet to be his home. Kepler was a product of the future but still firmly rooted in traditions of the past. It was where he belonged, and as he overlooked the endless miles of the ocean, he felt complete. He wasn’t created for space. He was created for this.
“What now?”
“We go to dinner.” She smiled up at him.
“Your mom's cooking? Has she forgiven you?”
