Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

“I won’t.” I smile to relieve the tension. “We’re in this together, right?”

“Sure, sure. You will get me fired by these secret missions.” He throws his hands in the air. “Now, as for the plan. First and most important of all: don’t ever put yourself in fucking danger. Any threat and you’re out. Got it?”

I nod, and my fingers clutch my bracelet. What Liam doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I’m not leaving that place unless Zoe is attached to my arm.

“Two,” he continues. “Tell me what you know about the Firm.”

“Seriously?” I roll my eyes. “We’ve been over this a thousand times.”

“We need a million times because you’re physical and act before thinking. That needs to go if you’re going to be a spy.”

“Hey! That’s not true.”

He arches his brow. “Do you want me to recite the times you punched first and asked questions later?”

I shrug. “People respect those with strength.”

Strength is everything in the street. Any sign of weakness and I’ll be eaten alive. Just like my ma.

Liam raises an eyebrow, watching me intently.

“Fine,” I sigh. “The Firm is a legal front that deals in electronics led by Owen Green. Under the surface, they’re gangsters who deal in drugs. They do lots of money laundering, too and funnel all that into their most prestigious club, Le Salon.”

“But?” Liam urges.

“But the Met Police and the Financial Department cracked down on Owen’s illegal tax payment and threw him in prison. However, The Firm didn’t stop. In fact, drug dealing is becoming more nefarious than ever since someone else stepped in to lead Le Salon.”

“Ghost.” Liam’s jaw clenches. “That’s all the information we have about him. Just a fucking street name. Some Intel says he’s a Russian spy. Some say he isn’t even a real person. There’s no trace whatsoever.”

My fingers tighten around the bracelet. Rage bubbles under the surface.

Ghost is the last name Zoe mentioned to Liam the day she disappeared more than six weeks ago.

I will kill him with my bare hands once I find him. No one causes my only family to vanish and lives.

“And what do we have as an opening?” Liam asks as if querying a small child.

“Come on, L.” I fold my arms. “I spent countless hours in that cave of yours with all those boards and names in red.”

“You mean you spent countless hours punching the bag dangling from the ceiling of that cave.”

“I... did both.”

“So, who are you going to focus on?”

“Mist!” I do remember she’s the only way to Ghost because she’s the madam of Le Salon. But Liam kind of had a five-page report that I didn’t read. Or I read it and forgot. Mainly because it’s only speculations about her, like the speculations about Ghost being a Russian spy. Nothing concrete.

I prefer facts.

And I’ll get them myself.

“Remember, your priority is to find any security footage about the day Zoe disappeared in.” He’s tapping manically again. “Try to call me often, but don’t put yourself at risk.”

“Got it.”

We spent many sleepless nights preparing for this. He even had his female colleague train me to walk in heels and take me to clubs. That’s how I approached one of Le Salon’s girls, Lily, and snatched an appointment with Mist. Liam and I dedicated a lot of time and energy to this – even if Liam tried to coax me out. But now, I can feel doubt looming around us. I’ve always had Liam and Zoe.

Now, I will be all alone. Like that day I found Ma unmoving beside the trash can in the darkness.

I clasp my fingers together to prevent their shaking.

Liam’s green eyes measure me up and down. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll have to be.”

Because it’s the only way to get my family back.





After Liam leaves, I stand in Khaled’s old restaurant’s toilet, holding the impossibly high heels. These will kill my feet. It doesn’t matter how much I practise, they’re damn torture.

I don’t know how women walk in these things all day long. I’m already mourning my comfy sports shoes that I won’t be able to wear any time soon.

But I have to look the part to convince Mist to accept me in her club.

Agitated murmurs drift from the public toilet’s window. I wouldn’t have paid them attention, but a girl is saying no in a hushed tone, and her voice is awfully familiar.

I’m supposed to be dressed by now and on my way to Le Salon, but I can’t just ignore this. Zoe would tell me that I’m always running into trouble head first and stops me whenever possible.

But Zoe isn’t here.

I shove the dress and shoes in the suitcase and hide it under the counter. Then, I head outside where the commotion is coming from. As soon as I arrive at the back alley, the smell of piss and vomit nauseates me. Near the restaurant’s dumpster, a slim man is cornering a shorter girl against the wall. Although his height is covering my view of her, I can make out her trembling form and her hand clutching the hem of her flannel skirt.

Is that a school uniform?

“Don’t be scared,” the man says in a disgusting gruff voice with a hint of a cockney accent. “I’ll go easy on you, babe.”