Elite mercenary Connor Rattakul can't escape his past.

After choosing the wrong side in a war against the Directorate, he becomes a fugitive, hiding in the ranks of the thousands of mercenaries always desperate for the next job. But a series of mishaps force his team deep into the Talon Sector, where the Directorate holds power. Only his former girlfriend's intervention can save him.

With Directorate assassins on his trail, Connor is forced to take on a job that his team might not survive from a client his boss says can't be trusted.

But that boss seems ready to crack, and the client is hiding deadly secrets from the mercenaries. Will Connor be able to lead his teammates through the dark world he's led  them to, or will they all die in the alien gloom?

Ill Fortune

Connor was speeding aft, scrolling through the damage report coming through on his pocket computer, when he ran into Drew. The two of them went to the deck just past the hatch to the cabin she shared with Aubriella.


The skinny engineer looked up from the deck wide-eyed. “Sorry!”


“You okay?” Connor got to his feet and helped her up.


“Yeah. There’s a hull breach in—”


“—in the infirmary, I know.” He powered the alarm off and jogged past the crew quarters to the airlock hatch that connected the midship section to the infirmary at the back. In the silence, the alarm seemed to remain.


Drew ran with him. “Anyone inside?”


Connor checked the computer. “Lem, but he’s on the lower deck.”


“He’s fine.” Connor placed a hand on the inner airlock door: no heat. “All right—whatever happened wasn’t a fire.”


The engineer tapped her screen. “I’ve got access to a camera. It looks good beyond the airlock.”


Chapter 29