Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

“I’m sure he’ll survive,” I continue.

“He better.” His eyebrows furrow. “When he insisted to come here with me, I should’ve stopped him. This place isn’t for him.”

“But it’s for you?” My chest tightens as Scar’s words slam back into me. I take a swig of my vodka. “Do you like being in this world?”

His eyes open, and he appears offended. “Of course not.”

Tingles erupt down my spine. I knew he wasn’t as cold-blooded as Scar painted him to be. “Then why are you still doing this?”

“I told you. I don’t have a choice.”

“Why not?”

“So many questions, Firefly.”

“Please tell me, Julian.” I plant my hand on his heart, and the steady beat soothes me. “I really want to get to know you more.”

“It’s better if you don’t.” He pauses for a beat. “For your own safety.”

“I don’t care. I’m already in your world, aren’t I? If I go out that door, Johnny will be on me.”

“No one touches you under my watch,” he growls. “Got it, Firefly?”

My heart does that somersault thing and is now totally under Julian’s spell. I nod. “I know that I’m staying indefinitely. Yours, remember?”

His eyes spark with a sheen of possessiveness as his arm slips tightly around my waist. “Fuck right I do.”

I knew that would work. Problem is, I’m starting to believe it myself. “Tell me, then.”

He sighs, and his fingers dig into my side. It’s slightly painful, but I don’t move. Even as demons seem to possess his eyes, I don’t flinch or run. Probably the alcohol again, but I’m not the least bit scared of Julian.

He takes the bottle of vodka from my hand and downs what remains in one shot. I stare mesmerised. I didn’t offer, but he accepted a drink from me. This means... he trusts me.

I gulp to not ruin the moment.

Julian places the empty bottle on the ground and it rolls across the floor. Once it stops at the foot of the bed, his voice drifts calmly like he’s talking about himself while out of his own body. “We were kidnapped when we were early teens or children by an assassination organisation named The Pit. We were given daily doses of Omega; a drug that shaped our abilities but also destroyed our humanity. Out of fifty subjects, only twelve of us survived. Recently, we lost another one of ours. We found out that we could die any second because the drug is destroying us from within. We decided to detox.”

Pain explodes in my heart, but I remain completely still, not wanting to alert him. So he’s cuffing himself in order to detox.

A shadow darkens his eyes as he says, “The Pit’s head has our lives in his hands because he provides us with our doses of Omega. So when he says ‘run this place’, we have no choice but to accept.”

“But you’re detoxing, right?” I ask. “Once you’re off Omega, you have no reason to follow what he says.”

A sheen of sadness covers his features. “It’s not that simple. Hades isn’t an idiot. He only dispatched five of us and kept the others with him, to torture to his heart’s content. If we don’t come up with results, he will kill them all.”

Oh. The five out here are Mist, Shadow, Ghost, Julian, and Kyle. The rest are taken as hostages. My head spins. What type of human forces others to become killers, and uses their bond to make them do even more atrocious things?

“They’re the only family I’ve ever known.” Julian’s voice drifts into a whisper. “I can’t abandon them.”

Respect and adoration courses through me at how loyal he is. I know exactly how that feels. It’s my loyalty to Zoe that got me in this place, and that quality is priceless for me.

Even if his family is the most unconventional ones, even if they have to kill to survive, they’re still his family. It appears that Julian would do anything to protect those he cares about.

This time, I can’t help it. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him long and deep. My fingers thread in his thick, dark hair and my body glues to his.

There’s no better place to be.

When I pull back, Julian’s darkened eyes are shining with pure satisfaction. Both his hands tighten possessively on my hips. “You do realise that you screwed yourself further with me, right? Now that you know everything, you’re not going any-fucking-where.”

Somehow, that doesn’t fill me with dread like it’s supposed to. Instead, a satisfaction so similar to his infects me. “Yes, Julian.”

His eyes fire up. “Say that again.”

“Yes?”

“No. My name.”

“Julian.” I breathe and trail tender kisses along his cheek and jawline. “Julian, Julian...”

My eyes flutter closed, and I sleep curled in his arms and murmuring his name.





Chapter Twenty





Three days had passed since Kyle had been shot, and he still hasn’t regained consciousness.

Two nights ago, he was transported here and taken to a secure room on the third floor. Five or so men stand in front of the door at all times. No one is allowed inside. Ghost’s orders. Even though that bastard hasn’t shown his face. What type of a leader is he?