Ironic really. Neither he nor Nykyrian would be half the challenge for Kyr that they currently were had the bastard not trained them to be every bit as ruthless as he was. Phrixian, Andarion, human. Didn’t matter. Cold was cold.

You steal someone’s soul and sooner or later, you will pay for it.

And Kyr was feeling that bite now, in a major way.

Cautiously, Hauk searched all twenty-five bodies, making sure that none were breathing or wired with explosives. Same for their transports.

“Hiller? You there, copy?”

Hauk paused as he heard the deep voice on the short-range radios. Picking up the link closest to him, he answered with a guttural, “Yeah.”

“Did you get him? I don’t hear no more fighting.”

“Yeah,” he repeated.

“Fucking awesome. Don’t forget to bag the head with the DNA sample. We get twice the payout for it. See you in a few.”

Fucking awesome, indeed. Fury darkened his sight as he went into full-on rage mode. But that was fine. With the earwigs these bastards had, he could easily backtrace to the source and get a few needed answers. Whoever had hired them wouldn’t be getting his head.

They would be getting one last visit.

As Hauk double-checked the ignitions to make sure they weren’t biolocked, he heard the faintest of footsteps to his right. He pretended to ignore it while he got a bead on the man’s location. The instant he had it, he jerked his blaster out and aimed.

“Don’t!” His own weapon drawn, the man had him firmly sighted with a green laser dot hovering over Hauk’s heart.

Hauk didn’t flinch or move as he kept his dot between the man’s eyes. “One twitch and I promise you’ll be dead before I will.”

That dot didn’t waver from Hauk’s heart. With his left hand held up, the man moved slowly forward. “Ditto.”

Hauk scowled as he took in the man’s ragged, unkempt condition. It was obvious that, unlike Sumi, he’d been out here on his own for a long time. His hair was ragged and trimmed to his shoulders, as if he cut it with his own knife. He wore it tied back from his face. He also had a scraggly beard. There was something vaguely familiar about him and the way he moved, but Hauk couldn’t place it.

Around Darling’s height, he was well muscled and held the blaster like a trained soldier, not a mercenary or civ. Likewise, he wasn’t sweating or even perturbed by the fact that Hauk could kill him without flinching. This man was used to fighting for his life and had come to terms with his own mortality.

A slow smile of appreciation spread across Hauk’s face. “So are we going to stand here all day, weapons drawn? I’m game if you are.”