Crowed (Team Zero #2) - Rina Kent Page 0,47

upright. A deadly look settles in the icy depth of his eyes as he cages me behind him.

“My bad. That was a mock-up, not the actual bomb.” Xavier smiles, devils swirling in his eyes.

I can’t believe I never saw them before. His French is like the natives’, so I never suspected he was English. Or a killer. Either he was so good at hiding his true nature or I was too numb to notice.

Or both.

“The next one will be for real.” Xavier lifts a hand, palm up, as if in promise.

Crow faces me with a concentrated expression. His fingers and the knife roam all over my torso. Realisation drawns on me. The weight strapped to my chest is a bomb. Wires and blinking red lights stare back at me like those bombs they show in spy films or terrorist attacks.

This time, it’ll blow me up.

I quiver uncontrollably.

Crow will be blown up with me. That’s even more terrifying than death.

I’m about to push him away when Xavier says in a bored voice, “Stop it, Crow, or you will both go Boom.”

Crow freezes, slowly releasing the vest and turning to face Xavier. “What the fuck do you want, Storm?”

“How about another game?” He taps his temple as if in deep thought. “Precision.”

Crow’s body tenses as his arms cage my waist. “You and I can both go at a shooting competition for hours and no one would win.”

“Who said it’d be you and me?” He points the device in his hand at me. “She’ll be your target.”

Huh?

“Go stand at the cliff, Eloise.” Xavier – or Storm or whatever the hell his name is – orders. “We will place something on your head and see if Crow’s precision skills are still any good.”

“She’s not going anywhere!” Crow shouts, his fingers digging into my skin so harshly, it hurts.

“I’m tired of repeating this, but I have the boom option here.” Xavier shakes the device of what I suppose is the remote.

Trembles don’t leave my body. My teeth go back to chattering, but I attempt to peel myself from Crow’s hold. He can’t be near me or the bomb will kill him.

I’ll run to the bastard Xavier and blow him up with me. If he made a terrorist bomb, then I’ll be a kamikaze.

Despite my logical, brave thoughts, sweat breaks all over my skin, forming a thick sheen. Terror of losing my life now that I finally want to live draws at my spine. But I have to do something. I can’t lose Crow.

“Let me go,” I tell him.

“Shh.” Crow’s fingers dig deeper into my side, his attention on Xavier.

“Please.” I’m a sobbing mess now. I don’t want to leave him. I don’t want to commit suicide, but I will if that will keep him safe.

“I love it when you beg, Nurse Betty.” He throws me a warning look. “But not now.”

“Just leave me, damn you!” I hit his chest, pouring all my anger on him. He’s making the whole kamikaze mission a lot harder. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

He brushes his lips against mine. It’s short and tender and tastes like sweet surrender. When he pulls away, his eyes drip with affection. “Because that would mean abandoning myself.”

“If you’re done being disgusting.” Storm strolls to the cliff’s edge. He picks out a branch and draws an X mark. “Stand here, Eloise.”

My teeth clatter no matter how much I tighten my lips.

Crow’s arms wrap around me, and for a second, I feel safe, like nothing will ever happen to me.

God. Why didn’t he come into my life any sooner so I’d get my fill of him?

I heave, burying my face in his chest. If there’s a resurrection, I wish to meet him again for all lives to come.

“You had nothing to do with your mother’s death,” Crow murmurs in my ear. “It was all on Storm. Don’t blame yourself for it.”

I’m baffled by his statement, but a sense of guilt pushes off my chest. I try to look at him, but his arms wrap around me tighter.

“Do you trust me?” he whispers in my ear.

I nod in his chest, sniffling. But he won’t have to test my trust with his precision skills. I’ll take Xavier down with me before the game even starts.

“When I push you, stay down.” It’s then I realise that he wasn’t only digging his fingers in my side, he was fiddling something with the vest. It’s so discreet, even I haven’t noticed it.

I open my mouth to ask, but he shakes