Stud by Cheryl Brooks Page A

never seen a man so incensed. Uther’s eyes were wide and bulging and his cheeks were the color of a Norludian plum. Then his gaze landed on Tarq, and all the color drained from his face.
    “You!” he shouted. “You’ve, you’ve…” He stopped in mid-tirade, seemingly unable to find the right words. “My daughter!” he finally blurted out. “Where is she? Did you take her?”
    Tarq’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He shook his head in reply.
    “If he’d taken her, why would he be coming here now?” the Twilanan demanded. “Look at him. He doesn’t have a clue. What you ought to be asking yourself is why she’s gone, not where .”
    The Tryosian server was nodding in agreement. “I’ve got a good idea about that myself. And if I can figure it out, it’s pretty damned obvious.”
    Uther glared at the server. “Are you saying this is my fault?”
    “If the shoe fits…” the Twilanan said.
    “One more word out of you, Jublansk, and I’ll—”
    “You’ll what, Uther? Fire me? I’d like to see you run this place without me.”
    “And if you fire Jublansk, I’m leaving too.” The Tryosian crossed its arms and set its jaw in a firm line, displaying its more masculine side. Tarq had previously thought that this one seemed to be more female than male. Now he wasn’t so sure.
    “No need for that, Neris,” Uther said. Scowling at Tarq, he snapped out, “If you haven’t got my daughter, what the hell are you doing here?”
    “Breakfast?” Tarq began. “The door was open…”
    “Well, then, sit down and Neris will take your order,” Uther snapped. “Otherwise, get your ass out of here.”
    “Nice way to talk to a customer,” Jublansk muttered. She smiled at Tarq. “Don’t mind him, honey. His daughter ran away last night, and if you ask me, it’s about time she did!”
    Tarq was already speechless, but this news nearly stopped his heart.
    “Nobody asked you, Jublansk,” Uther said. Turning away, he ran a hand through his short black hair. “When she gets hungry enough, she’ll be back. She’s barely got a credit to her name. Shouldn’t take long.”
    Tarq knew for a fact that Lucy had at least fifteen hundred credits, which would enable her to go a long way on a planet like Talus. No, she wouldn’t be back anytime soon. Tarq, however unwittingly, had made sure of that.
    Uther stomped back to his grill, grumbling. Neris began picking up the chairs that Uther must’ve knocked over in his rage.
    “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?” Tarq asked Jublansk.
    “If I did, I certainly wouldn’t tell him ,” she replied with a nod toward Uther. Gazing steadily at Tarq, her eyes narrowed. “Not sure I should tell you, either.”
    Tarq frowned. “Why not?”
    “Because something tells me that just because you didn’t take her doesn’t mean you aren’t part of the reason she left.”
    Tarq knew she was right, but how she knew it was a mystery. “Why do you say that?”
    Jublansk rubbed the side of her tusk with a blunt fingertip, a sly expression in her eyes. “Joy, unlike any she has ever known?”
    Tarq felt his face go numb. He didn’t know whether to deny it or tell her everything.
    Jublansk didn’t wait for an answer. “Where are you headed after you leave here?”
    “Yalka,” Tarq replied. “I have some appointments there.”
    Jublansk chuckled. “Is that what you call them? Well, maybe you ought to head that way.”
    “You think that’s where she’ll go?”
    “That’d be my guess, though she might have gone the other direction, towards Madric.”
    Tarq had already been to Madric and had no desire to return. He hadn’t exactly been run out of town, but his reception had been… chilly. “But Yalka is more likely?”
    Jublansk nodded. “She has a friend living there—at least the last I heard she did. Though I could be wrong about that.”
    Tarq didn’t think so. Nodding, he turned to go, but Jublansk stopped him, motioning for him to