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For old time’s sake? The jealous ache in Avel’s gut intensified.

Holly shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

Lieutenant Busby shrugged. “Whatever you say. There are seats at the back. You can store the boxes in the racks over there.” He inclined his head toward a metal rack.

Avel nodded and heaved the boxes into place before securing them with straps. He headed to the seats and was frustrated to find only single ones available.

Holly glanced at him and nodded at a single seat. “I’ll be fine here. We can catch up later.”

He scowled and was tempted to ask the guy in the seat next to Holly to move, but he had an enormous bandage wrapped around his head, and his eyes were closed. It didn’t look like it would be safe to shift him.

Avel found a seat as close to Holly as possible in the row behind and squeezed in. He nodded to the guy sitting next to him, a bruised looking Koob, but his attention was on Holly.

She’d been shaken by meeting Lieutenant Busby. And from the way he’d greeted her, they were more than just friends.

It shouldn’t matter. Avel had no claim over Holly, but after spending time with her on the ship, something had shifted inside him. He felt protective of her. He wasn’t looking for an easy lay anymore. Not with Holly.

Lieutenant Busby settled in the row of seats with his other comrades. They were decked out in combat fatigues, with lasers strapped to their side. They all had the overly confident air of guys who thought they were better than everyone else. Give a man a laser and he’s immortal.

Avel snorted and looked away. They knew nothing about how to fight. They were a clean-up crew, mopping up the wounded and taking them home. There wasn’t anything special about them because they wore uniforms.

He shifted his attention to Lieutenant Busby. He was speaking to the guy next to him, a lean, dark-haired human with a mean look in his eyes. The guy looked over at Holly and smirked.

Avel suppressed a growl. They were talking about her, and he could tell by the way her lips were pressed together that she knew it too.

Maybe Lieutenant Busby was a former lover of Holly’s. He hated the idea that she’d been attracted to an idiot like that. Avel lowered his gaze but continued to study Lieutenant Busby discreetly. He was easy on the eye if you liked the jumped up arrogant type, but behind those blue eyes that roved over Holly was something cold. There was something unpleasant and predatory about this jerk.

Avel shook his head and glanced out the window to see his ship a tiny dot below them as they left the planet.

“You had a close call,” the Koob said beside him. “Did you get caught up in the star storm too?”

Avel nodded. “I thought we could beat it.”

“It caught us all by surprise,” the Koob said. “One minute, I was making a delivery to a space station, and the next, my engines cut, and I plummeted five hundred feet. Luckily for me, the station’s tractor beam caught me and dragged me back in, or I’d have been a goner.”

“We got lucky by hitting Sabernicus,” he said.

The Koob blew out a breath. “That must be some piloting skills you’ve got. To steer your ship in the middle of a star storm and land it like that.”

Avel shrugged. He knew he was a great pilot. There was no need to brag about it. “Anyone could have made that landing.”

The Koob snorted a laugh. “If you say so.”

Avel looked around at the rest of the passengers. Most of them seemed a little shell-shocked, but their injuries looked to be cuts and bruises with a few bandaged limbs.

He scowled as he realized he was the only hybrid on board. More hybrids were coming, thanks to that matchmaking place on Prodigy. But official pairings between humans and aliens had only been going a couple of years. He was one of the few mature hybrid aliens around. Avel had never felt fully accepted by humans or Dackins. He didn’t appreciate standing out in a crowd.

He glanced at Lieutenant Busby, who was telling some crude joke to his eager-faced comrades.

Of course, Holly would go for somebody like Lieutenant Busby, not him. This guy fit in. He was part of a team. Everyone accepted him without question.

That had never happened with Avel. Since meeting Holly, he’d begun to wonder if Prodigy could be home, and he’d found someone to share it with. Someone who’d accept that difference was a good thing, and he wasn’t weird or out of place.

He wasn’t so sure anymore. Holly had barely glanced his way since they boarded. Her attention was fixed on the alpha douchebag who roared with laughter as he finished his joke.

Avel squeezed the arms of his seat as he watched Lieutenant Busby stand and approach Holly. He kneeled in front of her and caught hold of her hand.

Holly tensed and shook her head.