“Find the time. We need everyone for this.” Ghost throws a look over his shoulder. “You, too, Flame. We need you to cover our tracks.”
There’s a grunt before Flame sits up and rubs his face with the heels of his palm. “So noisy.”
I stare between the three of them. “Cover our tracks about what?”
“I’ve gotten a tip to the Met Police,” Ghost says. “The drug factory is going down.”
Too many thoughts and questions ran rampant in my head like starved predators.
One, how did Ghost get a tip out and why didn’t he tell me about it?
Two, this will drive Hades bloody bonkers. This is a huge investment. If it’s busted down by the police, he’ll drain us to replace the lost funds. Even if we make him think that we had nothing to do with it.
Three, and most importantly, Hades won’t let go of Team Zero’s hostages — including Ink.
I can’t even rejoice about that. All my rampant thoughts pour back into the same vein.
Where the fuck has Zoe gone to?
This obsession of mine is growing stronger than I can process. I don’t give a fuck. The moment I find Zoe, I’ll chain her to my bed and we’ll have a long talk about those panic attacks. After I fuck her senseless. Or before. Depends on whether or not she drives me mad.
“I have some unfinished business.” I turn to leave.
“She’s gone,” Ghost says in a levelled, calm tone.
My head snaps back towards him. “What do you mean by she’s gone?”
“Gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Poof.” Flame saunters to sit next to Mist. “Need another synonym?”
“Shut the fuck up, Flame.” I preferred him better when he was sleeping.
“She’s not gone.” I stare at the three of them, and I don’t know whether I’m convincing myself or them.
There’s a weird silence in my chest. There used to be some digging in there. A humming. A hope of something, what I don’t know.
Now, all that noise died. There isn’t even a stir.
I should be glad. Nothing will bother me anymore and I can indulge in my comfort zone like I used to.
Only, I’m not glad. Red smears my vision. All that plays in my mind is the need to commit violence.
Kill.
Maim.
Fucking destroy.
“Your eyes, you freak.” Mist motions at me with her drink. “Have you been detoxing like the rest of us?”
“Mate.” Ghost is approaching me with steady steps as if he’s afraid I’ll go berserk on all of them.
I step back and repeat in a more certain tone. “She’s not gone.”
I storm out of the office and into the surveillance room. Two guards stand in respect upon seeing me. One of them offers me a seat, but I refuse it. I don’t want to sit down. I want — no, I need — to find her.
After some rewinding, I check the surveillance camera from the afternoon.
Zoe stumbles through Le Salon’s front door. Her steps are robotic. Her face and clothes are smudged with that cockroach's blood.
She keeps rubbing at her arms as if she’s cold or scared.
I hit pause and close my eyes for a brief second. I really shouldn’t have killed him in front of her. She was in shock. Maybe she already has a trauma and I worsened it.
When I find her, I’ll make it up to her.
I open my eyes and hit play. I follow her through the camera, but as soon as she goes into the lift, the screen turns black.
I force the play, rewind, and go back again. Still nothing.
“It’s been under reparations,” Lachlan says. I didn’t even notice him coming into the surveillance room.
“What?”
He points at the screen. “Nothing has been recorded since the afternoon until opening hours.”
“Fuck!” I throw the keyboard and run to the only other person who could have seen her. I don’t find Scar in the club and she’s not picking up her bloody phone.
She sends a text.
Busy. Don’t disturb.
I climb up her window. My shoulder wound opens and red soaks my T-shirt. I don’t pay it attention, not stopping until I step into Zoe and Scar’s room.
The psycho doll is sitting cross-legged in a meditating position while surrounded by a circle of candles that smell like vanilla. Some old rock music plays in the background. Her T-shirt has ‘Killing You in My Mind’ written in glitter.
I ignore her and search all over the room. My heart picks up pace when I turn the knob to the bathroom. I know Zoe probably won’t be here, but hope is a fucked