busy because of the graduation exam at the police academy. I didn’t bug her when she said she needed to stay at a closed camp for revisions. Turns out that she was doing an undercover job in a notorious firm that’s related to all types of mafia activity. She didn’t even finish the academy. She quit to do this, and only our foster brother, Liam, knew.
Bitter betrayal fills my mouth. Yes, we’re close to Liam, and he’s a lieutenant in the Metropolitan Police, but I thought Zoe and I were a team. How could she do this without saying a word about it?
I will punch the answer out of her once I find her.
After I let her hug me.
“She didn’t listen to me either, dammit.” Liam continues the maniacal tapping on his steering wheel. His deep green eyes, like the colour of a forest after a deadly storm, plunge into mine. His posture stiffens. “Don’t do this, Rage Ball.”
My heart warms at the nickname from the neighbourhood. Back then, I used to punch anything and everything that got in my way. I kind of still do. Only Liam and Zoe call me that anymore.
“I have to.” I smooth my voice and bite my lip so it won’t tremble. “If I wasn’t so caught up in my own shit and that rubbish championship, maybe I would’ve noticed something. Maybe, when she called me at night and whispered, I shouldn’t have believed it was because of a no-phone policy. Maybe then, I would’ve been able to get her out of that place before it was too late.”
“Bollocks!” Liam continues tapping on the steering wheel. “She chose that. The Met Police didn’t approve of her mission. She went on her own – despite my objections; that’s why she’s suspended. Don’t repeat her mistake, Rage Ball. You might disappear like her.”
“I won’t.” I smile to relieve the tension. “We’re in this together, right?”
“Sure, sure. You will get me fired by these secret missions.” He throws his hands in the air. “Now, as for the plan. First and most important of all: don’t ever put yourself in fucking danger. Any threat and you’re out. Got it?”
I nod, and my fingers clutch my bracelet. What Liam doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I’m not leaving that place unless Zoe is attached to my arm.
“Two,” he continues. “Tell me what you know about the Firm.”
“Seriously?” I roll my eyes. “We’ve been over this a thousand times.”
“We need a million times because you’re physical and act before thinking. That needs to go if you’re going to be a spy.”
“Hey! That’s not true.”
He arches his brow. “Do you want me to recite the times you punched first and asked questions later?”
I shrug. “People respect those with strength.”
Strength is everything in the street. Any sign of weakness and I’ll be eaten alive. Just like my ma.
Liam raises an eyebrow, watching me intently.
“Fine,” I sigh. “The Firm is a legal front that deals in electronics led by Owen Green. Under the surface, they’re gangsters who deal in drugs. They do lots of money laundering, too and funnel all that into their most prestigious club, Le Salon.”
“But?” Liam urges.
“But the Met Police and the Financial Department cracked down on Owen’s illegal tax payment and threw him in prison. However, The Firm didn’t stop. In fact, drug dealing is becoming more nefarious than ever since someone else stepped in to lead Le Salon.”
“Ghost.” Liam’s jaw clenches. “That’s all the information we have about him. Just a fucking street name. Some Intel says he’s a Russian spy. Some say he isn’t even a real person. There’s no trace whatsoever.”
My fingers tighten around the bracelet. Rage bubbles under the surface.
Ghost is the last name Zoe mentioned to Liam the day she disappeared more than six weeks ago.
I will kill him with my bare hands once I find him. No one causes my only family to vanish and lives.
“And what do we have as an opening?” Liam asks as if querying a small child.
“Come on, L.” I fold my arms. “I spent countless hours in that cave of yours with all those boards and names in red.”
“You mean you spent countless hours punching the bag dangling from the ceiling of that cave.”
“I... did both.”
“So, who are you going to focus on?”
“Mist!” I do remember she’s the only way to Ghost because she’s the madam of Le Salon. But Liam kind of had a five-page report that I didn’t read. Or I read it and forgot. Mainly because