Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

Oh. Shit.



The redhead witch is going to kill me. That’s what she said the other time. If I screw Julian over, she’ll butcher me.



Well, not so easily.



I jump on her and right hook her cheek. She brakes so hard, not only do I let her go, but I also tumble forward until I almost hit the windshield. Mist grips me by the collar of my dress and pulls me back before I crack my head.



“Stop punching!” She hisses as she continues driving.



“Do you expect I’ll let you kill me easily?” My shoulder aches, but I draw my fists in front of my face. “Bring it.”



She slides her glasses down her nose so I can see her rolling her eyes. “Not in a thousand years will you defeat me.”



“Try. Me.”



“Enough. I have no time for this.” She releases an exasperated breath. “I’m already pissed off doing this five hours’ drive. So, don’t get on my nerves.”



I throw her a wary glance and say slowly. “You’re not going to kill me?”



“No.”



I cross my arms. “Then why are you kidnapping me? Take me back or Julian will kill you for this.”



She maintains eye contact for a second too long, and then, like a miracle, the hazel colour softens.



The redhead witch softening? What the hell? Am I dreaming?



“Do you think I would’ve taken you from his room without his permission?”



Her words slash a knife right through my chest. Julian handed me to Mist? No. “You’re lying!”



There’s no way I’d believe Julian abandoned me. Mist always hated me. She must’ve schemed this so she can keep Julian for herself.



And yet... I have a horrible feeling about this situation.



Mist motions to a tiny pocket in my dress and slides her glasses up her nose. “See for yourself.”



I dive into my pocket, and indeed, there’s a piece of paper peeking from there.



Julian’s handwriting.



You’re right. You don’t belong in my world, Elle. Live well.



Ghost.



“No, no, no...” I choke on my words. My eyes fill with tears, and my body tightens. No breaths come into my lungs. It’s like being punched over and over.



Only it’s much, much worse. The damage isn’t done to my body, it’s breaking my heart to bloody pieces.



He abandoned me. He threw me away after all.



“Hey... um...” Mist sounds the most awkward I’ve heard her. “Don’t cry. That’s just the way it is. You could die if you stay by his side.”



“I don’t care!” I sob, “I just want to be with him. Is that so much to ask for?”



“Sometimes, it is.” Mist considers me with deep nostalgia, pain, and loneliness. I never thought I would have this emotion towards Mist, but I feel bad for her. And I don’t know why that makes me cry harder. Maybe I imagine myself as her a few years from now. Broken, in pain, and so utterly alone.



“Hey... come on. Stop crying.” She’s back to the awkwardness. Obviously Mist doesn’t like seeing the girls cry, but she’s rubbish at showing comfort. With her background, I don’t blame her. “I’m taking you to a good place.”



No place is good for me anymore. Still, I ask between sniffles. “Where?”



“To Zoe.”





Chapter Thirty





I stand in front of the door of my room. Our room. It’s been two weeks since she left, and I still can’t go inside.

Memories are a lot worse in here. Her scent. Her stuff. Her everything. Even her ghost is lurking behind the door, waiting to taunt and curse me for letting her go.

I can’t look at the bed and not remember holding her close and inhaling her scent before falling asleep.

Then she was gone. Or I made her go.

But she said it that day, right after the whole Kyle chaos, that she doesn’t belong in my world, and she has all the right to be scared. I want and need her, and I would go to fucking hell and back for her. I would even take Omega again if that means protecting her, but if she wants out, I can’t be selfish and force her to stay.

She’s like Zoe. They both made a mistake by coming into this world, and the only way to protect them is to push them away. I don’t think Shadow understands that just yet. I’m barely accepting it myself.

There’s a black hole inside me since Elle left, and I don’t think anything could ever fill it. That woman turned my world upside down and took my sanity with her.

So every day, I stand in front of the closed door like a fucking statue. I’m too cowardly to go inside and be assaulted by her memories. No amount of punching managed to purge this ache from my system.

I doubt it ever will.

With a sigh, I turn around and head to the front lobby of Le Salon.

Kyle is saying his goodbyes to Shadow, Scar, and Flame. His dominant hand is bandaged, and he might well never use it again. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to leave. He has friends in the Russian mafia in New York, and he intends to hang around them for a while.