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“I am Cire.” His voice dropped to a dangerous growl. “We protect what is ours.”

Understanding dawned in the hunter’s eyes. “You’ve claimed her as family.”

“Yes.”

“Then you are already dead. You, the girl, the woman, the boy—all of you.”

Thraxar straightened, his decision made. “Where is the tracker’s signal being monitored?”

“Central command on Lumiri Prime. But there are receiver stations throughout the sector.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The bounty hunter’s expression turned calculating. “Let me go, and I’ll tell them you killed the girl. Buy you some time.”

Thraxar considered him for a moment. “An interesting offer. But you’ve already proven yourself untrustworthy by taking a child.”

“It was just business?—”

“It was a mistake.” He pulled the trigger.

The plasma bolt left nothing but ash where the bounty hunter’s head had been. He holstered his weapon and turned to find Talia watching him, her expression unreadable.

He approached her slowly, crouching to her level. “I am sorry you had to see that.”

She studied him with those large, knowing eyes. “He was a bad person.”

“Yes. But killing is never something to take lightly.”

She nodded, then surprised him by reaching out to touch his face. “You came for me.”

“I will always come for you.” The words emerged from somewhere deep inside him, a promise he hadn’t known he wasready to make until this moment. “You are part of my family now.”

Her ears flushed a deep purple—happiness, he’d learned. Then they shifted to a worried blue. “He said others will come.”

“They will try.” He stood, offering his hand. “But first, we need to remove that tracker.”

Her hand felt small and fragile in his as they made their way back through the abandoned facility. He scanned the area for medical supplies and found a basic emergency kit in what had once been an infirmary.

“This will sting a little,” he warned as he prepared a local anesthetic. “But it is important to get the tracker out.”

She sat perfectly still as he administered the injection at the base of her skull, then used a scanner to locate the tiny device. It was smaller than he’d expected—a sophisticated piece of technology that pulsed with a regular signal.

With steady hands, he made a small incision, extracted the tracker, and sealed the wound with a dermal regenerator. The entire procedure took less than five minutes. He placed the tracker in a containment box—he had plans for it later.

“All done,” he said, helping Talia down from the examination table. “You were very brave.”

She touched the back of her neck gingerly. “Will they still find us?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” He lifted her into his arms. “Let’s go home.”

The journey back to his ship was uneventful. Once aboard, Thraxar set Talia in the co-pilot’s seat and prepared for takeoff.

“Secure yourself,” he instructed, showing her how to fasten the safety harness. “The ride might get bumpy.”

As they lifted off from the moon’s surface, Thraxar spotted another ship entering the atmosphere—sleek, heavily armed,and broadcasting no identification. Another hunter, right on schedule.

He smiled grimly and opened a channel to the approaching vessel.