Lured (Team Zero #1) by Rina Kent

Why the hell do I want it so much? I’m barely stopping myself from snuggling in his lap and begging him for that picture he painted in my head.

When I remain speechless, Dominic sighs long and deep. “I guess I can try to be patient.”

“Merci!” I squeal, lean over and kiss him long and rough. I couldn’t care less about onlookers. The fact that Dominic is waiting for my answer causes happiness to bubble through me.

When I break away, he’s watching with a playful, but affectionate gleam. I dive back into my pasta with renewed gluttony.

“If someone sees you, they might think you’re eating for two.”

I roll my eyes. “Dom!”

“What? I’m currently praying you’re pregnant so I won’t have to be patient for long.”

“You’re the praying type now?”

“Hey, if it keeps you here, I will go to every church, mosque and temple and get down on my knees.”

“Wow. That’s some a commitment for the devil.”

“Devil? What devil?” He looks around with feigned innocence. “You said I’m the angel with the brightest halo, remember?”

My head tips back with a laugh. I love the easy banter between us. I don’t think I can get over it.

My mind is already filled with images of doing this every day. Dominic won’t be the easiest person to live with. He’s challenging. His mind is wired differently. He will always try to sneak his way around. But I love that and more about him.

Papa said my love for sharp edges can lead to my doom, but I’m ready to take the risk with Dominic. I never liked normal, and this man is as far away from normal as possible.

I’m about to counter with something smart when darkness shrouds my vision. I blink, but the black won’t go. My ears break in a long buzz. My body shakes and Dominic turns blurry.

“Cam!”

Strong arms surround me, but I’m falling. I can’t feel my legs or arms, but I’m falling.

Down.

Down.

Down...

“Dom… I don’t feel so… g-good…” Even my words are slurred as if I have speech-impairment.

The waiter from earlier is watching me with a slight smirk. I recognise him. The taxi driver that gave me the creeps the first time I went to Dominic’s flat

I try to clutch Dominic’s bicep harder, tell him to run, but I don’t get a chance.

The world goes black.





Chapter Twenty-Three





By now, you might be wondering, who the hell is Hades? What happened to that beautiful French girl who’s making Dominic Johnson get out of his mind?

All that in good time.

Now, grab a seat and listen well, because this will be important.

There’s an old saying: every story needs a good old-fashioned villain. You might have thought Dominic Johnson is the villain for this story. After all, he’s mean, manipulative and a liar.

He was supposed to remain that way, but he screwed it up somewhere.

Specifically, since that girl now lying unconscious on the chair came into his life. I can’t have his mind off the game.

I’m starting a lucrative business that will give me and my investors a shit load of money. Like any businessman, I recruited the best to be founding members of my company, The Pit.

Johnson is one of the best. In fact, he’s a genius. Stress, anxiety, and doubts don’t faze him.

Just in the span of a few years, he went through three versions of a drug that I need in my business’s startup formula. I invested in his research that was initially a way to counter immunity deficiencies for abandoned children.

Something he can relate to. I agreed with his reasoning at first. As long as he thinks I’m a benefactor, it works for both of us.

Type Alpha, the first version of the drug – that Johnson likes to call a medicine – killed all the mice. Type Beta had severe side effects, and therefore, Johnson refused to test it on humans. Now, there’s Type Omega that Johnson needs to test on prospect subjects I selected for this project.

Fifty children. Their ages vary between 7 to 12 years old. Homeless. Abandoned. Unwanted. Thrown away. Street Urchins. People call it kidnapping, but I saved them from their miserable lives. I gave them a home. A warm meal and a bed. They will be the founding members of my assassination company.

Loyalty is everything in the underground world. I don’t want mere hit men, mercenaries, or ex-military. I want children raised and toughened how I like. Type Omega will strengthen their abilities and keep them loyal to me.

That’s why we’re here.

I have to ensure the fucking doctor keeps his part of the deal.

I stroll to where Johnson is checking his French woman’s pulse and shouting to call an ambulance.

Only there’s no one.

I made sure the restaurant is emptied before I came in.

Johnson lifts his head and freezes upon seeing me. He slowly straightens and shields the girl from my view as if that will save her.

If I want her dead, nothing will keep her alive.

He had so much potential to be like me, but he allowed himself a weakness.

Killing her won’t bring results. Using his feelings for her will.

I’ve been watching since I sensed his interest in her and knew she’d become handy.

And I always make lucrative investments.

Weakness is our doom. I left my family and changed my name so no one recognises me. The man from the past was a weakling.