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“So, you’re going to kill me?” He glowered at Avel. “You won’t get your money if you do that.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I hate writing off a debt.” Avel snarled at him. “Pay me the money, and you won’t need to see me again until next month.”

“I haven’t got it.”

Avel pressed down with his foot. “What have you got?”

The Yeknod hissed out a pain-laced breath. “Nothing you’ll want.”

“Do you own a ship?”

“The hell I do. I get around on shitty transport ships that take an age to get anywhere.”

“Where do you stay?”

“I’ve got a bunk in the service tunnels two units down. There’s nothing there but dirty laundry and a stained mattress. You can try to get money for that.” He laughed before wincing and clutching his side.

Irritation thrummed through Avel, but he always kept control of his anger. If he went too far, he might not be able to stop, and he didn’t want a body on his hands, especially not when that body owed him money.

“You see, I got nothing.” The Yeknod struggled to his knees. “Can I go now?”

Avel lifted his chin. “There’s a healthy market for organs.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Avel smirked. “Maybe you can spare me a kidney?”

“You’re fucking kidding me?” The Yeknod scrambled backward. “You’re not cutting me open.”

“If that’s your only asset, I’ll take what I’m owed.” Avel slid a knife from his belt. “Pay me and you get to keep your organs where they belong. Keep running, and I’ll take my pound of flesh.” He slid the knife down the Yeknod’s jumpsuit, splitting it open.

He scurried back, hitting the wall, his eyes wide as he stared at Avel. “I’ll call for help.”

Avel glanced along the corridor. “No one will help you.” He prodded the tip of the knife into the Yeknod’s kidney. “You’ll most likely survive if I do the operation myself. It will sting like hell though. I’m fresh out of pain meds.”

“You damn hybrid piece of crap.”

Rage churned through Avel’s stomach. “What did you call me?”

“You’re a freaking mess. I wasn’t sure what the hell you were when we first met. Now, I know you’re a bastard. A twisted, fucked up mistake. I bet your mom was so proud when she gave birth to you. Showed you off to all the neighbors, so they could coo over the freak kid.”

Avel growled. His foot made contact with the Yeknod’s stomach several times. He drew back his fist and pounded until the guy was begging for mercy.

All his life, Avel had been rankled because of his parentage, an odd blending of alien and human that no one could figure out.

It had torn him apart when he was a kid on Earth, watching his mom as she’d tortured herself over what had happened to her. She knew the truth as did Avel. She’d been visited by aliens and impregnated. More accurately, she’d been visited by his dad, who’d seduced her, and she’d ended up pregnant with Avel.

His mom had spent time in a mental institution being assessed because of her delusions. Now, she was dead. She’d taken her own life after the ridicule and disbelief from others had been too much.

Avel scowled at his client. This piece of space shit dared to talk about her. He dared to mock his mom. She’d done her best and managed the only way she knew how. She’d never lied about what had happened to her and had tried to ignore the cruel jibes from their neighbors.

She’d even held her head high when interviewed by the local TV station about the night of her alien encounter.

His mom had struggled for years before snapping. She’d stepped into a warm bath, with a bottle of gin and a sharp razor, and had ended it.

“Enough!” the Yeknod whined. “I’ve got your money.”

Avel growled one more time, his fists throbbing. This scumbag deserved pain. He’d dared to disrespect the one person who’d loved Avel, no matter how much of a freaky kid he was.