Bounty Hunter

Chapter 26

Gabriel Sloan was in a bad mood already. When Cat didn't answer his first two calls, he became furious.

"Mr. Sloan," Cat said when she answered his third call.

Half of her face was covered in white gauze, and her hair was singed.

He scrunched his nose. "You look awful."

She pursed her lips. "I lost eight of my people today. My guild is the laughing stock of the wastelands right now. I look like how I feel."

"You should feel awful. You screwed up. I told you to go in at sunset, precisely, not before, not after. And so what did you do? You went in nearly an hour early."

She scowled. "I was forced to launch the attack early. We were seen by a Haft hunter. If we didn't attack when we did, we would've lost the element of surprise. They would've had time to prepare."

"And what? Do something more dramatic than dropping a gas tanker on you?"

"They got lucky," she gritted out.

"No. You got lucky. I wanted you to go in at sunset because I was going to have several of my murcs there to retrieve someone. If you'd attacked five minutes later, they would've been caught inside with the rest of those Haft riffraff. I thought that with you leading the job, you'd ensure it succeeded. But I see that you stay in the office for good reason."

She took time to breathe before speaking again. He could tell she was struggling to hold back rage.

"Perhaps it's time for us to part ways," she said, her jaw set square.

"We're not done until I say we're done."

Her brow—the one he could see—rose. "I may work for you, Mr. Sloan, but you don't own me or my guild."

"In the near future, those who aren't on my side will find they have a very tough go of it. Trust me, you want to be on my side."

Her gaze narrowed. "My apologies, Mr. Sloan. What can I do for you today?"

He sneered. "Get ready to take any remaining Haft hunters."

"But the agency is still operating," she said.

He snorted. "Not after tonight."