Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

Shit job, Elle.

I tried to fish for information with Kyle, but he’s only interested in his cognac or shots whenever he sees me.

Apparently, he likes my cocktails.

I still haven’t been able to pinpoint his position in the firm, but he always spends time in the control room. It’s one of the places I plan to raid, but I need a careful strategy. If Kyle isn’t there personally, then his closest guards take turns. They’re also distant, so I couldn’t even strike a conversation with them.

I sit cross-legged on the bed in my room and open the password-protected app where I jot down notes. These organising methods aren’t my thing, but Liam rubbed off on me. If I keep all my notes in one place, I’ll have a clear track of where I’m going.

Scarlett is having a shower, so it’s the perfect opportunity to regroup.

Bullet points I have so far:

Scarlett is the nicest person here. She’s the number one escort so she can be a mountain of information when she’s not jumping to rock music.

Kyle can be useful if he’s not elusive. He’s not suspicious. He treats the girls well and never takes liberties with them. They’re the ones who throw themselves at him.

Mist is my number one suspect. She’s stern, but the girls like her since she doesn’t allow anyone to harass them. Considering how much Ma’s madam only cared about the money, it should be admirable that Mist is different, but I still don’t like that woman.

The man named Shadow, Mist’s partner, is indeed a shadow. He doesn’t appear much in public, and when he does, he’s usually retreated into a corner. He’s mildly suspicious, but he never pays attention to the girls. I heard some girls gossip about him, and he’s apparently the ‘enforcer’ of the firm. That means a hitman, I think.

There’s still no sign of Ghost no matter how hard I search.

Julian is...

I frown. I didn’t jot down anything about him. He’s the most mysterious of all.

In my expeditions to discover this place, I asked Scarlett to take me on a tour. Apparently, Julian, Shadow, and Kyle live in a two-storey, grey storehouse located on the outskirts of Le Salon. They’re unlike all the other guards who go home and come over for different shifts. It’s like they have no other home but a storehouse.

I continue glaring at the dots. I should’ve written: Julian is Mist’s closest henchman and therefore, he’s as shady as her.

He’s either drinking with her, huddled in her office, or out of sight.

It grates on me. And that makes no freaking sense. Just because some stupid thing happens in my body whenever he looks at me or touches me? There’s no reason why I wouldn’t classify him in the enemy line.

He’s suspicious. That’s all. I type the note with jerky fingers.

“Why are you mad at your phone?”

I startle. Scarlett stands a few feet away, drying her sleek blonde strands with a towel. I was too engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice she’d returned to the room.

Before I can react, she saunters to her console, seeming to forget what she’s just seen. Or didn’t see.

The thing about Scarlett is that she’s... unpredictable. She’s hyperactive and flips between subjects so fast, it’s a headache. That’s why it’s been a chore to get her to talk about anything useful or provide any coherent information.

She clicks on her iPad, and old rock music drifts around us. Oasis. Again. She even has the main singer’s poster as her phone’s background. His name is indeed Liam. I had to learn about him thanks to Scarlett gushing about him the entire time. In her words, ‘he’s the man.’

I’m pretty sure he’s the age of her grandfather now.

Today, Scarlett’s tight pink shirt has ‘Docile Bitch’ written on it. Hair wrapped in a towel, she paints her toes in sparkly green. The colour is a perfect match for the long gown flung over her bed.

“Did you know that Mussolini had the same fate as an old Roman Caesar?” she asks without glancing up. “Both of them were killed horribly in the streets.”

“Well, they deserved it.”

Scarlett’s eyes flash my way, a gleam shining deep within their amber. “You like the idea of people being brutally killed?”

“Only the bad ones.”

“Hmmm.” She straightens and puts a hand on her hip. “Interesting.”

Whatever that means.

I stand and slide into a knee-length empire-styled dress. Even waitresses have to dress in fancy, revealing gowns around here so all the disgusting men get to see the goods. No one’s made a move on me so far – aside from Kyle. Perhaps he was the one who warned the customers off. That’s both a good and a bad thing.

He better not be hoping to get something in return.

“Now, come here.” Scarlett taps the console’s chair.

I sigh and sit for obligatory makeup. Scarlett offered to do it for me because in her words ‘I’m hopeless’. Even after all the practising I did when I prepared to come here.

“Did you also do makeup for your other roomies?” I ask as she applies foundation.

“They weren’t as hopeless as you, Ellie. And I don’t get many roommates. They don’t like my Oasis. Now, shush, don’t move.”

Here we go again. There’s no way to get information out of her when she’s focused on makeup.