Ghosted (Team Zero #3) by Rina Kent

His brows furrow for a fleeting second before he throws a questioning look at Shadow.

“Elle is Zoe’s friend. She came here to find her. I told you I knew her from somewhere.” The rigidness in Shadow’s voice and body is completely different from the trembling mess in mine.

Julian’s eyes shoot my way. The amount of hurt in their dark depths almost shreds my heart open.

Almost.

He remains silent for a few seconds. Expression closed.

“So you used me,” he says with a bitterness that wraps a noose around my heart.

“Yes, I used you!” I cry out, my anger and the breaking of my heart rush into my voice. “I used you to find my friend, but you killed her! You fucking killed... her...” My voice chokes over the last words and the gun nearly falls from my hand.

“What are you going to do about it?” Julian is so eerily calm considering that he has two guns pointed at him.

“I’m going to kill you.” Although I try to get as much bite in my words as possible, they come out weak. Distorted.

“Kill me, then.” He taps his chest. “In the heart as I taught you, Firefly.”

“Don’t call me that!” I’m sobbing now. “Don’t... don’t...” I meet his gaze, and the pain in them almost matches mine.

My finger trembles against the trigger and I know, I just know that I won’t be able to shoot Julian. Even if he killed Zoe. Even if he deceived me this entire time. I can’t simply kill him.

The gun slips and falls to my feet with a clank. Julian’s attention snaps to the weapon with disapproval. Probably because he told me to never throw guns since they can go off. I don’t have the capacity to think about that right now.

“Why?” I ask, voice trembling. “Why did you kill her? What had she done to you?”

“I would like to know the answer to that, too.” Shadow’s hold on the gun doesn’t falter. Because of my stupid feelings for Julian, my heart is doing a tiny jump every time Shadow’s finger hovers on the trigger.

“I didn’t kill her.” Julian faces Shadow, completely erasing me from his view.

“But I analysed the video and saw your face on the footage.” Shadow sounds as hurt as I feel. “How could you do that?”

“I did shoot her, but she had a vest on. And obviously, you didn’t see the entire footage because I only kept the part where I shot her. It was supposed to be used in case you kept pestering about her.”

“What do you mean?” Shadow asks, and I hold my breath. I’ve been unknowingly approaching them until Julian is in arms’ reach.

“She asked to be stage-killed in case you or the police kept looking for her.”

“She faked her fucking death?” Shadow’s tone is deeply hurt. His astonished expression matches mine. “But why?”

“Because she wanted to escape this life. That’s why.” Julian sighs. “She asked me and Mist for a way out and we provided it. New location. New life. Everything. She helped us bring down the old factory, so it was the least we could do. Besides, Hades wanted the traitor who gave the tip to the Met Police killed and Zoe’s fake death paid the bill.”

Zoe is alive.

My heart pounds as if being resurrected. Relief washes over me like a cool wave. Perhaps I shouldn’t believe what Julian says until I see proof, but from the bottom of my heart, I know he’s telling the truth. He didn’t kill Zoe. He helped her escape.

I want to hug him and cry in his arms, but since he’s not paying me the slightest attention, I remain rooted in place.

He thinks I betrayed him. I used him.

Shit job, Elle.

Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut and tell him about it without the whole anger?

Shadow lowers his gun, seeming to believe Julian, too. However, his brows are drawn together and his shoulders are stiff as he glares at his friend. He might not want to kill him, but he’s still furious at him. “That doesn’t explain why you hid it from me. You know how much I’ve been going crazy searching for her.”

Julian pauses for a moment then sighs. “Zoe didn’t only want to escape this life. She also wanted to escape you.”

Shadow staggers backwards as if he was punched in the kidney. Actually, I’ve seen him punched in the kidney and he’s never had such reaction.

If I weren’t feeling so sorry for myself and how much I screwed things up with Julian, I would’ve consoled him.

“Where is she?” I ask, tentatively.

Julian doesn’t face me. Doesn’t even acknowledge me. My eyes sting at how easily he can write me off.

Why can’t I do that? Why is the only urge I have is to run into his arms?

When Julian speaks, he’s still addressing Shadow. “I’m not to disclose her location without her approval. If she wanted to contact any of you, she would have.”

Now, I’m the one who feels like I’ve been punched. Zoe has been alive this entire time but never considered to let me or Liam know. Both of us were going crazy. We even believed that she was dead but kept lying to each other about it.

What the hell happened to Zoe? I understand if she would run from Shadow and the dangerous life he leads, but why hide from me and Liam? We’re her family.

I’m still mulling things over when I feel warmth at my back. Shadow doesn’t seem out of his daze yet, but Julian lunges my way.