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Hayden arches an eyebrow. “So, he’s barely breathing.”

“Always so dramatic, the two of you,” Xander laughs.

I let out a quiet sigh. It’s nothing I wasn’t expecting. I knew Xander wasn’t going to stop questioning him when I left, and his methods are extreme at best. Without medical attention, Key probably has a few days left it.

“Has he said anything else?” I ask.

Xander shakes his head. “Just that whoever is behind this will kill his family if he tells me the truth.”

“So, let’s pretend to be him,” I say. “He had a phone on him, right?”

“He did,” Xander says, “But there was nothing on it. I already checked.”

I shake my head. “No, whoever he’s speaking to would have given him a burner. No way they would reach out on a line anyone can tap or steal. We need to find the burner.”

“You want us to reach out to the seller?” Hayden asks.

I nod. “We ask his contact to meet.”

“Not to sound negative about your plan, but anyone would recognise us, especially if it’s someone in The Snake,” Xander points out.

He’s right, and I did think of that. “Wearen’t meeting them. We ask someone else to do it. Someone who isn’t in The Snake or a known associate.”

Xander lifts an eyebrow, but I can tell he already knows where I’m going with this because he can read me like a book, and I have a feeling he’s known all along what I’ve been up to and with who.

“And who might that be, pray tell?” he asks.

I don’t let the menacing look in his eyes deter me; I haven’t shared my plan with Alex yet. A part of me keeps telling me it’s a bad idea, but at least now I know he’s not playing me. Alex is just as desperate as I am.

“Out of curiosity, would this mystery person happen to be Alexander Kimura of Senna’s Organised Crime Unit?” Xander continues.

Hayden’s mouth falls open. “What the hell is he talking about?”

“Oh, our baby brother hasn’t shared the news with you either?” Xander asks. “He’s fucking the cop again.”

“Whoa, wait, is that true?” Hayden asks before I can respond. “What the fuck, Rowan? Do I need to remind you that a girl diedin Summit, and the police are currently sifting through all our books hoping to pin this on us? I saw him that night.”

“He wasn’t there because of us,” I say patiently.

Hayden is shaking his head before I can finish. “And you believe him? The guy who almost ruined your life?”

“I’d say he was pretty successful in that department,” Xander chimes.

“It’s complicated,” I say.

“Yeah fucking a cop is complicated all right,” Xander says.

I close my eyes, the urge to strangle him stronger than ever. I’d rather not know how he knows I’ve been seeing Alex, but all I can manage is, “I’m not sleeping with him.”

Hayden raises his eyebrows. “Even if you aren’t,” he says. “Isn’t it a weird coincidence that shit has started going south now that he’s popped back up?”

“I’m not saying we should trust him, but he’s got a reason to find out who is behind this, too.”

Xander chuckles. “Damn, forbidden love sure is sweet, huh? Makes you pretty fucking dumb. How do you think Chelsea will feel? Or Mum?”

“Xander,” Hayden and I say at the same time.

He lifts his hands in surrender and whilst I know he’s only watching my back; a rush of anger still shoots through me. I bite it down, focusing back on the plan. “Alex isn’t after us,” I tell them. “And like I said, he has a reason to help.”