Shadowed (Team Zero #4) by Rina Kent

“I’ll pass.”

I glide my fingers towards hers, and she visibly pushes back. Hmmm. Interesting. “Is it a secret?”

She feigns a gasp again. “How did you know? It’s top secret.”

“I love secrets.” I grin. “Especially if they will come out of your mouth.”

A light shade of red colours her cheeks. She lowers her head before gulping down more martini.

Fucking hell.

Is she blushing? And here I thought nothing can faze little miss trouble.

An unhinged part of me springs to life. A part I’ve been trying to control and the reason why I don’t take women anymore.

The need to hurt.

To mark her skin red.

To see blood oozing against her pale flesh.

But that’s not me. That’s Omega’s drug that’s been in mine and my mates’ systems for two decades. That shit about losing control won’t be happening anymore.

Certainly not for a woman.

Lachlan strides towards me. He’s a big man, not bigger than me, but he’s fast and agile. He’s one of the youngest men we found in this organisation when we took over. Barely twenty-three. I don’t need an aid, but he kind of glued himself to me.

Maybe it has to do with how I saved his family from debts. His father has been struggling with cancer and treatment fees, and Lachlan became distracted at work. However, when he found out a source of embezzlement, he reported it back instead of indulging in stealing. I searched the reason behind his distress, found out what was wrong, and fixed it.

Loyalty is important to us.

Lachlan stops beside me, shoulders squared and hands crossed in front of him. His brown eyes – that almost turn black – are as stoic as they can get. One thing I keep telling the lad is to chill. He never fucking listens.

He says in a thick Scottish accent, “We ‘ave tae leave.” His gaze falls on miss trouble and he stiffens.

I lean back on my stool, keeping one elbow on the counter, so I can watch the show live. I’m just missing some popcorn.

She meets his gaze and becomes rigid as well, then she laughs, but the sound forced. “Oh, hey there. You okay after last night?”

“I’ll be okay after I break yer neck.” Lachlan’s shoulders square.

“Come on. No need to be all butt hurt about it. I was only defending myself.” Miss trouble laughs again, and this time, I detect the nervousness behind it.

Interesting.

So she’s using that smart mouth of hers as a defence mechanism to not show weakness.

Lachlan grabs her by the arm. “We’re settling this outside.”

She twists her hand, but when Lachlan doesn’t let go, it’s as if someone hit a switch. Her face reddens. Those soft features contort into pure panic. Her pupils dilate and her chest rises and falls quickly with ragged breaths.

Lachlan doesn’t notice the change since he’s bent on dragging her out. Her attempts to get herself free become frantic and unfocused, and something tells me she’ll soon turn violent.

A panic attack? Why?

I stand and tap Lachlan’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

He’s about to argue but clamps his mouth shut. For once, I’m glad the lad doesn’t argue.

He’s giving miss trouble a fright, and for an unknown reason, I don’t fucking like it.

If anyone will give her a fright, it should be me.

Lachlan drops her hand. She falls on the stool and shrinks in it while inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. It’s as if she’s trying to control her reaction.

We start to walk towards the exit when Natalie walks to us with slumped shoulders. She bows her head upon seeing me and keeps her eyes downcast.

There. They’re afraid of me. Meaning they respect me and keep their distance.

Perfect.

“Natalie,” I say. “Do you need something?”

“I have to give her a tour.” She motions at miss trouble. “She’s a new waitress.”

Well. Well. Well.

She’ll be working for the organisation. Every day. All day. My mind goes rampant with endless possibilities.

I grin. “What’s her name?”

Miss trouble snaps her head and starts to stop Natalie, but the latter already says, “Zoe.”

I still prefer miss trouble, but I had to get the name out of the way.

I tap in front of her once. “Looks like I found out your secret, Zoe.”

A defiant glare meets me, and her lips press in a line like she’s seething inside.

I wink at her and leave with Lachlan.

Looks like my days have become a lot more fucking interesting.





Lachlan and I pass rows of production. Workers go about filling boxes like bees. It’s fitting that they’re all wearing plastic overalls and caps.

It’s a factory after all.

No. Not a normal one. Well, on the outside, it’s a legal beauty products’ factory, but on the inside, a good portion is dedicated to coke.

Where do I fit in all this? I run the fucking thing.

Or I run it for someone or what-the-bloody-hell-ever.

Worst part? I have no say in the matter.

I belong to the assassination organisation The Pit. Petty fucking name, if you ask me, but Hades, the founder, is hideous with street names. See mine for reference.

The Pit handles killing contracts and Hades takes a large share. The tale doesn’t end there. You think we all signed up willingly for this? We like being ordered around like dogs?