But she’d taken out the contract. Once accepted, it was hers.

Either kill or be killed.

If Jayne failed to carry it out, two more assassins would be assigned. One to kill him.

One to kill her.

What do I do?

Jayne had just switched her comm so that she could message her sister when a shadow fell over her screen. Ready to battle, she looked up to find her target in front of her.

“Having trouble with the menu?”

She shook her head. “Texting my sister.”

“Ah. I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you have any questions. I’d avoid the seafood. Beef . . . basically any meat. Unless you’re Andarion or Phrixian. Those bastards can eat anything.”

“Vicar! Get your ass over here!”

Jayne ground her teeth. Great. Another asshole who hated Andarions. Figured. It was why she and Eve were always so careful to make sure no one knew they had a drop of Andarion in them.

It never boded well for them whenever people learned of their grandmother’s legacy.

Jayne watched him head toward a human who began yelling at him for dawdling.

Okay . . . a prince who worked at a dingy, backwater hole and allowed peasants to scream and berate him, without punishment.

One using a pseudonym. With a Spill-Kill warrant.

Something wasn’t adding up.

But before she could consider it any further, she saw the guy on her right draw a weapon.

There was no missing the bloodlust in his eyes as he took aim for her target.

What the minsid hell?

It was her target!

Without thinking, she pulled her own blaster. “Drop it!”

The assassin turned toward her, then shifted his scope at her head.

Just as Eve had taught her, she shot first and without hesitation. The recoil reverberated through her as her mark rang true . . . right between his eyes.

One shot. One kill.

No questions.

Pandemonium erupted all around them. People and aliens screamed and ran for the door.

Except the owner and her target.

Her target watched her warily as he moved toward the bar where he’d dropped his backpack. The owner was too busy screaming about the damage, blood, and carnage.

Jayne ignored them as she made her way to the other assassin and knelt by his side. Making sure to keep her weapon angled on him, she checked for a pulse.

He was dead.

But one could never be too careful.

She rifled through his pockets until she found his comm. It was still on the same page she’d been reviewing.

The warrant for her target.

She saw Hadrian’s eyes widen as he realized what she was looking at.

Then his gaze went to the assassin’s blaster that lay between them.

“Don’t,” she warned.

Before he could move, three people rushed into the diner, weapons ready.

At first, she assumed they were local law enforcement.

Wrong.

They looked at the man at her feet, then opened fire. Not just at her target, but at her.