Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

I expected her to be surprised or bombard me with questions, but she simply smirks while straightening my hair. “Did he now?”

I try to face her, but she swats my shoulder and keeps me in place. I sigh and stare at her through the mirror. “How do you know Ghost?”

“He brought me in.”

“Why?”

She appears nostalgic for a few seconds, her movements mechanical on my hair. “Because I need this place to feel alive.”

“You need to feel alive by offering yourself to random men?” I almost slap a hand on my mouth. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be judgy.”

She smiles at me through the mirror. She’s holding my hair in a fist but does nothing. “Some of us need to do crazy things to feel alive. Perhaps one day you’ll understand.”

I won’t. But I don’t press. Scarlett has always been odd, but as long as she’s not forced into this, then I have nothing to say in the matter.

So I press on the important issue at hand. “What is it about Omega?”

“You must’ve been snooping around while I was gone.” She narrows her eyes on me in the mirror, but it’s more amusement than anything.

“Does that matter?” I ask. When she remains silent, I give her an encouraging – or what must appear like an impatient – look. “So?”

“You’re too curious for your own good, Ellie. Just drop this. The less you know the better.”

“Why? What’s Omega?”

She combs through my hair. “It’s a drug.”

“Like the ones in the streets?” I’ve never seen someone’s expression turn as stone cold as Mist’s and Julian’s, though. And I’ve seen a lot of druggies and thugs while living on the streets.

Scarlett laughs. “Oh, no. This is nowhere on the street. It’s exclusive and only made for specific people. They become hyper-focused, cold, and barely feel any pain... amongst other things.”

Like Shadow, Mist, and Julian. It makes sense how they showed no sign of pain even when they were bleeding.

“But...” Scarlett trails off, her expression getting lost and her fingers pause in my hair.

“But?” I urge.

“It has multiple side effects depending on the person. Some suffer from retrograde amnesia after the effects wear off, so they remember nothing of what they’ve done while on the drugs. Others go on rampages, and some even die.”

“D-die?” My heartbeat skyrockets and my legs start bouncing. Could it be that Zoe was on this drug? Did they use her as a guinea pig? Perhaps that’s why she disappeared.

A nagging part, something I don’t identify, is also worried about Julian. Will he also die?

“Not the ones who initially survived,” Scar says.

Strange relief relaxes my muscles.

Wait.

“How do you know all this, Scar?” I meet her gaze through the mirror. She’s so knowledgeable about something that’s obviously kept under wraps. While I like that she’s answering my questions, something doesn’t sit right.

“By making the right connections, Ellie.” She smooths my hair and it falls to the small of my back. As usual, she made me beautiful by only a few touches of mascara, eyeliner, and pink lipstick. “If you’re smart enough, you can also make those connections.”

“By becoming an escort?” My skin crawls just thinking about it.

She laughs. “Julian won’t allow it. You’re his, remember?”

“I’m not his.” My cheeks redden. No idea if it’s because of anger or embarrassment. There’s become a fine line between the two.

She pats my shoulder with amusement. “Did you know that four thousand people starved to death in the siege of Leningrad on Christmas during World War Two?”

“No. Thanks for the info.” I really wonder why she’s into such brutal history facts.

“My pleasure!” Scar plops on her bed and blasts Oasis music. Which means that she won’t open up anymore. If I try asking questions, she will gush about the lead vocalist for an hour.

I let her be and head to the bar. After a small inventory, I ask one of the cleaning staff members about the cognac storage. Kyle likes drinking it during the day, no idea why, but this is a perfect opportunity to try with the control room again.

Considering what Scar has told me, Zoe could’ve taken this Omega drug. Maybe she survived and they had to cuff her somewhere like Ghost did to Mist and Julian.

I’m probably reading too much into this, but I need to get the security footage. Liam said the police couldn’t issue an order to search Le Salon or even see the cameras because there was no evidence.

If I can get my hands on the footage from the day Zoe disappeared, I’m sure I’ll find something useful. Daytime is the best for such missions since Kyle usually stays alone in the control room.

After pouring a glass of cognac, I take it upstairs. My thoughts keep flicking back and forth about who made Zoe take the drug — if that’s the case.

Mist is at the top of the list. I never liked that redhead witch. Since the first day, she always appeared to be a cold, conniving bitch. However, I did notice how she took care of the girls and even sends her guards whenever any customer goes beyond the line. But she could be only doing that to protect her business.