Crowed (Team Zero #2) by Rina Kent

The French always make out the accent. Not that they do better in English, anyway.

Except for Nurse Betty. She spoke nearly perfect English.

But that petite thing was fucking weird on way too many levels.

Movement catches in my peripheral vision. I grab my gun and jump up.

Adrenaline rushes through my limbs, camouflaging the pain.

I stalk to the figure moving behind the curtains. If the traitor has come to finish his job, then he’s in for a fucking ride.

I slowly push the thick curtains away, pointing my gun ahead.

Instead of a traitor, I find a white fluffy feline. The cat stares at me with pitiful eyes and meows. He must be hungry.

I loosen my hold on the trigger.

Careful not to strain my shoulder, I rummage in the takeout on the coffee table and retrieve the ham. I hold it in my hand and offer it to the cat. He eats with a satisfied purr. He even lets me pet him.

I barely remember anything about my life before The Pit, but I recall an orange cat. My companion on the streets.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand. The cat jumps from the window after he finishes eating.

Not even a thank you.

Fucking ungrateful cats.

I lie back on the bed and check my phone. A blocked number.

About time.

“Get me the fuck out of this town,” I bark as soon as I answer. “One more day in this boredom and I’ll die before the traitor gets to me.”

A low chuckle filters from the other side. Storm might be one of the few people I’d call a friend, but he’s such an arsehole most of the time. “Are you sure you want to come back after you’ve been shot like a bitch, Crow? The team won’t leave you be.”

I groan. Team Zero will have my arse for getting involved with the police. It’s a fucking disgrace for assassins who make sure to live in the shadows.

“I’ll take the mocking, but I can’t stand one more fucking minute in this filthy humid place.” Movement catches on my right. My head snaps its way as I tighten my hold on the gun. Cockroach. One more addition to the list of endless rubbish. “I’ll die of bloody infection.”

“Okay.” There’s humour in Storm’s voice. The sadistic twat. “I have good news and bad news, mate.”

“Bad news. Shoot.”

“You can’t come back to England yet. Not only did you make quite the ruckus in a peaceful town, but also, due to a recent terror attack in Southern France, the security’s tight. Smuggling will be near impossible for some time.”

Fuck. My fist clenches and unclenches from around the gun’s slide. “How about your contacts? You’re French or some shit.”

“Half French.”

“What-the-fuck-ever. You speak like the natives. So get me out of here.”

“Can’t. Hades’ orders.”

Double fuck.

If Hades orders something, we only have one option: obey.

The alternative is being killed.

Or worse, not getting our dose of the Omega drug whose withdrawal symptoms are much more horrible than death itself.

“The good news?” I ask. Still cradling my gun, I throw a hand over my eyes to stop focusing on the bug-fan.

“You’ll be provided with your Omega doses on a weekly basis. Ghost and I are divided between Paris and Berlin. One of us will be there once your stash runs out. Find a nice place away from the public eye and focus on recovery until further notice.”

“Sure thing, Storm. I’ll take knitting lessons, too.” I sit up in bed. Ache lodges in my torso. I ignore it and clench my fist around the gun. “Fuck that. This mission was supposed to be a clean hit. Kill the target and retreat. Except there was no target at the designated place and I ended up being shot. If I didn’t duck, I would’ve been dead meat. If civilians didn’t somehow go to the beach that late, I would’ve been hunted like a fucking animal. Someone is betraying The Pit and I need to find the bastard.”

“Hades knows. He already assigned me to look into this. Ghost, too.” Storm takes a sharp inhale – of his cigarette, no doubt. “The rest of Team Zero is busy trying to catch those Rhodes cunts. Their guards grew like moss on trees and it’s becoming impossible to go near them.”

The Rhodes, three arseholes of the second generation who somehow managed to escape The Pit. I smile. I can’t help feeling proud. I was their trainer after all. Good to see my creations being little fucking rebels. Though we’ll get them, sooner or later.

“Hades is getting... impatient,” Storm continues. “He wants them taken care of.”

“He needs to set an example.” Otherwise, other assassins will continue to drift. Hades can control Team Zero’s loyalty through Omega, but it was abandoned after us. The second generation, The Rhodes’ generation, was acquired through kidnapping while they were children to assure better loyalty. If they’re raised as spawns of hell under Hades’ rule, they’re bound to become demons who serve Hades for eternity.

The Rhodes revoked that belief.

“Just stay low,” Storm says. “Leave no traces behind. No one suspects you and lives to tell tales about it. Hades’ orders.”

Translation: no fucking negotiations.

But what Hades doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

I’ll find the traitor and take his or her head back to Hades’ gates of hell.