“Yeah, sure. But haven’t we lost enough people already?”
The sound of a returning ship overhead interrupted their conversation, the craft landing in something of a hurry, the hatch opening as soon as it touched down.
“Medic!” someone yelled, calling for help as wounded were unloaded.
Gromm came storming out of his ship, his anger palpable.
“Why the hell did you return so early? You had a mission!”
“We found wounded. Survivors from yesterday’s skirmish. We got them back as quick as we could, but there are still?—”
“Your job was to survey the area, eliminate any Dohrags that might remain, and bring me that thing’s body.”
“That’s the thing. There was no body. And we looked everywhere. Dohrags and our men, but no trace of the beast.”
Gromm’s square jaw flexed with barely restrained rage. He slammed his fist into a metal dining table, buckling it under the impact.
“Fuck it,” he growled. “Recall the ships.”
“All of them?”
“Did I stutter?Allof them.”
“At once, sir. But, can I ask why? I thought you wanted?—”
“Because I’m sick and fucking tired of this shithole world and this shithole forest. And I intend to kill this fucking creature once and for all. Get them back here. Now!”
Gromm stormed away, leaving his men wondering what the hell he wanted with the ships if his goal was tracking and killing the creature. But Gromm wasn’t one to tolerate questions. Not when he’d given an order.
“You heard the man,” a voice in the tent called out. “Recall the men. All of them.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Gromm’s remaining few scout ships came roaring back to the landing area, all of them moving with the haste that made their employer’s wishes quite clear to anyone watching.Get back here, now!It was obvious what he had ordered without needing to have actually heard his command.
Margot wisely moved out of sight, staying well out of the way of the men now hurrying around the camp. As for the commanders of each team, they all headed straight for the mothership where a visibly agitated Gromm stood at the entry waiting for them.
Rylinn hurried ahead of them, rushing right up to the burly brute of a man.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he blurted, his face reddening with agitation.
“Careful, Rylinn.”
“Careful? You’re blowing this whole operation. I can track it. You know I can. It’ll just take a little more time, is all.”
“We’re done talking, Rylinn.”
“No, we’re not. There’s a lot of money on the table, Gromm. And I?—”
Gromm grabbed him by the neck, his hand enormous even on the quite large man’s throat. “You’d best think very carefully about whatever comes out of your mouth next,tracker. Remember who hired you. Whatever money ison the table, as you say, is mine, and I’ll do with it as I please.”
He released him with a little shove. All eyes watched in silence, wondering if this might explode into something more, but Rylinn bit his tongue, lowering his head in the slightest of bows.
“Of course. My apologies, Gromm. I got carried away in the heat of the hunt.”
Even from a distance, Margot could see the veins in his neck distended with barely contained fury. But he knew his place. That, and he had clearly done the math. He couldn’t win in a one-on-one fight, and there was no way for him to change Gromm’s mind. The die was cast, whatever the plan was. All that remained now was to wait and see.
It wasn’t long before the team commanders exited, each of them hustling off in a hurry to get their crews geared up and their ships ready for flight. Margot noted they were now pulling large crates from a storage tent and hauling them to the ships as well as their usual gear. They also had what looked almost like hazmat suits in bins being dragged aboard as well.
