Shadowed (Team Zero #4) by Rina Kent

The idea of killing for someone else is a first for me, but Zoe already snatched away a lot of firsts.

I remove my hand from her shoulder slowly to not alert her. As soon as I let her go, the door swings open. Heels clack behind me before Mist’s fuming face comes into view. She stares between me and Zoe. Tears stream down her cheeks as she slouches on the floor, shaking. She’s not even attempting to stand.

When I crouch to help her up, Mist slaps my hand away and hauls Zoe to her feet. Apparently out of her daze, the latter wipes her cheeks.

“Are you all right?” Mist inspects her like a mother measures her kid after an accident.

Zoe nods, head bowed. Then, she runs out of the storage room without sparing me a glance.

The moment the door shuts behind her, Mist slams her fist in my face. Now, that’s a punch that fucking hurts.

“What is wrong with you?” She shoves me. My shoulders hit a shelf and the iron bar digs in my skin. “Since when do you bully the girls?”

I never did. Actually, I never touched any of the ones who work here. But with Zoe? Fucking hell. She stirred the real monster inside me and now it can’t be tamed or put back in its cage.

The reason I’m not ruining Mist’s face for punching me is because I’m deep in thought. Zoe’s panic mode when I forced her on her knees nags at me and leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

What the bloody hell happened to her?

Mist clutches me by the collar so I’m staring at her hardened hazel eyes. I always thought they were muddy greens like those in abandoned forests.

“Listen here, Shadow. No one forces any of the girls under my watch. I don’t care that you’re special to Ghost. If you do something to Zoe, I’ll fucking castrate you.”

I yank her hand away with distaste. “She doesn’t need your protection, old hag. She can fend for herself just fine.” I motion at the burning wound in my neck. “Do you know if she has been through some shit?”

She folds her arms under her chest and spares me a condescending glare. “Even if I do, why would I tell you?”

Of course, she’d say that. She lives to antagonise me. “Once an old hag, always an old fucking hag.”

She points a finger at my chest. “Leave my girls out of your selfish existence. If you want to crash and burn, do it alone.”

With another pointed glare, she leaves.

I’ll find out what happened to Zoe on my own.

Now that I have her in my sights, I won’t leave her alone. She should’ve never given me a taste, now I’m craving more.

She calls me a monster.

Well, monsters are never fucking satiated.





Chapter Eleven





I stirred a monster and he’ll stop at nothing to destroy me.

My hand trembles even though my arm is interlaced with Scar’s as I descend the stairs to Le Salon’s club area. I’m wearing a simple unflattering black dress while Scar is in a fuchsia pink gown that barely reaches the middle of her thighs.

Since that encounter with Shadow a week ago, Scar hasn’t left my side. She hasn’t allowed me to be alone with Natalie either because, in Scar’s words, she’s a weakling.

No idea if Mist put Scar to the task of being my bodyguard or if Scar can even protect me, but I keep hanging onto her arm anyway. She seems like my only shield, and I need a damn shield.

Who would’ve thought someone like me would need protection. I was arrogant to believe I used to be Elle’s protector. I could be Liam’s shield, too.

But now…

My gaze meets Shadow’s mischievous one. He’s sitting in the dim corner of the bar, but because I’m hyper aware of him, I can still make him out. His posture is neutral and both his biceps rest on the bar showcasing the snarling tigers. Once he has my attention, his lips pull in a slow grin. I’m frozen by the amount of darkness a smile can show. His is so fucked up and chilling to the bones.

Sometimes, I wonder if I’m the only one who sees the monster behind his eyes.

He taps his neck where I bit him. Unlike me, he doesn’t bother to bandage it as if he’s wearing it as a badge.

I scowl at him, but my hold tightens around Scar’s arm. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I should be avoiding him. He proved to be sick and unhinged in the storeroom, but what’s the point if he’s already gotten under my skin?

For the past nights, all I could dream about was wrestling with him and kissing him until I taste blood. Every morning, I wake up wet.

Apparently, I’m sick, too.

I knew it from my days with Nick. His gentleness just wasn’t doing it. I had orgasms, but they weren’t enough. Never enough. When I begged him to go harder on me, Nick looked at me with so much disgust that still fills me with shame.

All I keep thinking about since Shadow trapped me in the storeroom is how far we would have gone if he didn’t force me on my knees. A twisted part of me craves the depravity he offers. Maybe it’s also because of that part that I stare at the marks he engraved on my neck in the mirror. The depraved longing I see in the mirror shames me.

The reason why I need a shield isn’t to keep Shadow away, it’s to protect myself from these endless temptations crowding my head.

“Ignore him,” Scar whispers as she throws a passing customer her sweetest smile. “The more you stare at him, the more he won’t leave you alone.”