Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

While she takes a shower, I sit in front of the mirror and half-glare half-dread the makeup on the console. I want to learn to do some of this myself. I never thought I’d ever be interested in makeup, but it’s worth the heated look Julian gives me.

There are also Scar’s sleeping pills. She says she takes them when she can’t sleep, but I have a feeling that’s happening more frequently lately. Add the meditating, and I’m worried about her.

The front door bursts open. No knock whatsoever.

I flinch and my fists clench.

Mist saunters inside. She’s in another elegant, dark blue dress and impossibly high stilettos, but her face is worn out. Even with makeup on.

Her gaze zeroes in on me. She folds her arms under her chest and taps them with her fingers. “Look who we have here. Little Miss Trouble.”

No idea what is it about Mist that makes me boil, but she just does. All I want to do is punch the redhead witch to a planet away from Julian.

“What do you want?” I try to ignore her by focusing on Scar’s endless makeup brushes.

“Do you honestly think he’s keeping you?”

The need to ruin her perfect face overwhelms me, but I still have words to attack her.

I face her and grin. “Actually, I do. He’s tiring me out, you know. At night. In the morning, and every chance he gets during the day. I forget the count.”

I expected jealousy from Mist, but there’s nothing.

Her face is unreadable as she stops tapping. “Interesting.” She pauses for a few more beats, measuring me from head to toe as if searching for something before she meets my back-off glare. “One day, he will throw you out. You know why? Your world and his go into parallel lines. They never intersect.”

I jerk up. Although she’s taller, I stand toe-to-toe with her. “Newsflash, Mist. They already have.”

“That’s what you think.” She studies her red-painted nails as if bored with the whole conversation. “Our world isn’t for someone like you.”

My blood nears boiling. Our. As in hers and Julian’s. I knew they go back, but the way she says it makes it seem as if she’s the permanent wife and I’m just one of the countless mistresses in Julian’s life. One day, all this will be over, I’ll be gone, and Mist will remain by his side. Like she always has.

No matter how much I try to bottle the anger down, another stupid emotion surfaces. Hurt.

It hurts that I could be a nobody in this tale.

“I don’t trust you, Emmanuelle.” Mist’s light hazel eyes turn stone cold and her shoulders push back further. It’s so similar to the looks Julian and Shadow have when boxing. “I’m certain you will one day screw him over. When you do, I will butcher you with my own hands.”

A thousand retorts form at the back of my throat, but none of them come out.

“Tell Scar to find me. Immediately.” She turns and leaves. The clicks of her shoes sound down the hall.

A scary thought barges into my head. Did Zoe get involved with Shadow and Mist butchered her with her own hands? Mist and Shadow don’t seem close, but that could be a façade. Maybe the redhead witch is eliminating any threat to her circle.

Despite Mist’s threats, I’m not scared. It’s frustration that grips me by the gut. Or more like, I’m not scared of her or anyone else in this place. The only one who has me trembling in fear is Julian.

Just recalling that day when I went out without saying a word causes a shudder to shoot down my spine. He was so disappointed and angry with me. If he finds out I came here for Zoe, or that I’ve been helping Liam, his reaction could be a lot worse.

Sometimes, when he holds me close at night, I’m tempted to spill my guts, but after what Scar told me and the whole suspecting Shadow thing, I just can’t. He’s his best friend. I don’t want to make Julian choose. Probably because deep down, I know I won’t be picked. I’ll be thrown away, as Mist so eloquently put it.

Tears well in my eyes. I curse them and curse myself.

I wipe my face, and after I fix my makeup, I start down the hall. Who cares if Julian throws me away? I only came here for Zoe. Once I find that footage, I intend to leave, anyway.

My heart aches, but I ignore it and sneak to the control room. A breath leaves me when I make out only one guard inside. It’s Nick. The one who argued with Vladimir after Kyle was shot.

Lucky for me, Vladimir – the rule-abiding guard – is on duty outside Kyle’s room.

Nick doesn’t pay me any attention. But I did catch one of the girls giving him head once. He’s not immune.

I stalk back to the bar, grab a beer and mix it up with two of Scar’s sleeping pills.

Two beers in hand, I go inside the control room with a big smile on my face.

“Hey there, Nick. Working hard, aren’t you?”

He drags his gaze from the monitors, not that there’s anything to watch. The club has been closed for ‘renovation’ – as in fixing damage – for a couple of days.

Instead of being surprised, Nick gives a cheeky grin. “Ye’re not supposed to be ‘ere, sweetheart.”

“I just got bored drinking alone. Drink with me?” I offer him a bottle of beer.

“Julian knows about this?” He arches an eyebrow but accepts the drink anyway.

“Why does he need to know?” I play nonchalance as I sip from my drink.