Misted (Team Zero #5) by Rina Kent

“Of course I do!” I throw my shaking hands around. The withdrawal effects are starting. I need my follow up dose soon. To get my Omega reward, I need to finish killing one more target.

Those who don’t meet their quota are forced under extreme withdrawal. I only suffered it once, but since I had that seizure, Hawk makes sure I meet my quota. If I don’t, he kills for me.

We’re out on our fourth outdoor mission, but guards lurk in the shadows, watching our every move. They still don’t trust us even though we killed traitor guards Nero ordered us to execute.

Because of Omega, I remember nothing about the actual execution. All I recall is blood all over my face and hands as Ghost pulled me from between their bodies.

I would say I feel sorry, but I don’t. Those guards might have betrayed Hades, but they also caused the death of one of ours. He died beaten up. His slim, bruised body was thrown in the corner for all of us to see. His ribs were broken and protruded from his bluish skin.

Weaklings have no place in The Pit, was their lesson for us that day.

Hawk strides wordless by my side — as usual. We need to go back to The Pit in less than thirty minutes. Since we no longer stay in the waiting room, this is the only alone time I’ve gotten with him in a long time.

I hop in front of him with my arms flung wide on either side of me. He has to stop or barge into me.

“Hug?” I ask like I always do when I need his warmth. Usually, he wraps his arms around me, but not today.

I scowl. “Do you hate talking to me?”

His voice softens. “I talk to no one but you, Hellion.”

I huff and fold my arms. “And Scar.”

“Both of you are the strongest people I know and have more balls than men. They died, you two stayed.”

I scrunch my nose, not able to feel the compliment. All I think about is that Scar steals away Hawk’s time that’s supposed to be all mine. It’s just training, he said.

My arse!

I’m contemplating killing her and blaming it on Omega. If only there weren’t cameras around.

“If both of us were drowning, who would you save?” I bite my lower lip. I’ve been thinking about this scenario the entire time, but now that I voiced it, I feel so foolish and insecure.

He shrugs. “I doubt any of you needs my help.”

“I do.” I step forward until I’m staring into the bottomless, sparkling ocean in his eyes. “I can’t swim. I’ve never been to a beach.”

“I’ll teach you.”

“That’s not the point. Can’t you see how much I need you?”

He appears taken back for a second. “You do?”

I lean my forehead against his hard chest and breathe in his clean, ocean scent. He’ll always be my ocean. My space of freedom.

“Even though I have an attitude and temper, you always saw me for me, Hawk. Just me.” I stare up at him through my lashes. “Thank you for being my anchor and not letting me drift away.”

“Hug,” he murmurs as his strong hand threads through my hair and his other arm wraps around my midsection, crushing me against him in a furious hug. “I choose you. Even if I’m fucking dying, I’ll choose you over myself, Hellion.”



Present,

Tears rim my eyes as they crack open.

I thought I was done dreaming about those memories. Why did they come back to haunt me? But again, maybe I deserve being tortured.

The scent of jasmine floats all around my dizzy head. If I were in Le Salon, it’d smell of strong perfumes, smoke, and alcohol. The prison cell only has a mouldy smell.

I’m still in my dress from the police station while a bandage covers my arm. My tongue feels too big for my mouth as if I’m about to drool. The ridges of my mouth taste raw and sticky. Was I drugged?

My head doesn’t hurt as much as it did the last time I remember, but I’m not sure if it’s due to Omega or something else.

Dim light comes from between thick curtains. Cradling my head, I sit up on a large bed in front of an antique fireplace. The wooden flooring is covered by a traditional Midetarrenean carpet. The sound of crashing waves filters from the other side of the closed door.

I spring to my feet, tension crowding in my shoulders. Where the hell am I?

That crazy lieutenant better not have done something to make me talk. He’s stubborn and obviously holds a grudge, but he wouldn’t ruin his career by kidnapping me, would he?

Male voices drift from the ajar door. My heart lodges in my throat as I make out that low, familiar rumble. Hawk.

Is this a cruel dream?

I tiptoe to the door, trying and failing, to subdue my thumping heart. We’re in the second storey of a small, cosy house with beautiful flowery wallpapers. The tight hallway lodges two more rooms with a wooden staircase that leads to an attic. I freeze in front of a large window that overlooks… the sea.

It is the sea. Bright, sparkling blue with azure hues like those eyes that keep barging in my dreams. Seems that the house is built near the top of a hill that overlooks the rocky part of the sea. A small village with red rooftops sits in the distance.

This is… the Mediterranean sea, right?

Not that I’ve been looking at pictures of it or anything.

It’s so much more breathtaking in reality.

“Welcome to fucking France, redhead!”

I whirl around and nearly trip over my own feet. Crow stands at the top of the stairs, his size crowds the small entrance. He’s just as I remember him. Large, in a black leather jacket, and grinning. He’s the more tolerable version of Shadow.