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I should give him some words of comfort, but he knew what he was doing when he decided to sell Haze. The Snake works as a machine and the moment a cog falters; it’s discarded. They all know that when they join.

“Your choice,” I tell him, standing up to leave.

“No, wait!” he calls. I stop, waiting for him to continue. “Look, he contacted me about a month ago. He asked me if I wanted to make more money, and I’ve had a problem for a while, okay? I lost some money paying for … women, and I needed to make it back quickly, so I said yes.” He looks up at me through tears. “He sent me a phone and bag full of Haze. I’m telling the truth when I say I never met him, so I don’t know who it is, but he told me that if I told anyone, especially any of you, he’d kill my family. Please don’t let him kill my family.”

“Where is the burner?” I ask him.

Key swallows. “My car,” he breathes out. “Under the seat, there’s a pouch stapled to the top of the cushion. I keep the phone there.”

It’ll be difficult to convince whoever his contact is to meet up, especially since he has been missing for a few days and as careful as we have been about keeping him hidden, there are some people who know he’s down here. If they are working for whoever this person is too, then we’re fucked, but it’s the best option we have.

There’s no other way to find out who is behind this without raising alarm bells through The Snake and sending the clan into a frenzy.

“When we first met, you told me ‘they are everywhere’ but now you’re saying you don’t know whoheis. Which is it, Key?”

He struggles to swallow. “I don’t know, okay? Just from the way they talk. All—” he wheezes, “All I know is that they are powerful. They have power—people working for them. They know how The Snake works.”

I frown. “So, who do you think it is?”

His eyes dart around, like he’s looking for some sort of hidden camera, but there’s nothing like that in here. “I don’t know. I promise I don’t know.” He slumps back against the wall, his chest heaving.

My jaw clenches as I stand. His eyes tell me he’s not lying, and I hate that it has to end this way for him.

“I really do appreciate your help.” I try to sound sincere. “I’ll make sure no harm comes to your family.”

He nods, eyes swimming with tears. “W-what about me?”

He’s shivering violently and the bruises on his body have turned an ugly purplish yellow. An infection is spreading, and he won’t get any medical attention here. He’s better off dead.

I pull out my gun and aim for the space between his eyes. It will kill him quickly.

He barely flinches, his eyes only widening for a moment before a lazy smile forms on his lips. “Thank you,” he whispers. “Please make sure my family is taken care of.”

“I will,” I say, meaning it. None of this was their fault, and The Snake takes care of its own.

I pull the trigger. The shot rips through the air, and the bullet punches through his skull with a sickening thud. His body jolts and slumps against the wall, blood oozing down his face and down his neck him in thin crimson streams.

I slip the gun back into the band of my jeans and turn to leave the cold room. Hayden is waiting for me outside, his arms crossed, his expression the picture of pure disinterest.

“I’m guessing that was not the sound of a chair falling?”

My chest tightens at the memory of Key’s resigned smile. Killing has never been my thing. I do my best to avoid it and as desensitised as I am to it, I feel pity for him and his family. He did what he thought he had to do to try and get out of a bad situation.

The irony of that hits me. I’ve been a hypocrite too.

“Where’s Xander?” I ask, focusing back on Hayden.

Down here, the warehouse almost feels like an abandoned building. It’s eerily silent, the hallway that leads to the stairs completely empty. If I was Key, I’d have lost my mind within a few days of total solitude and torture.

“He had to take care of something,” Hayden says. “Did Key tell you anything useful?”

I nod. “There’s a pouch under the passenger seat. That’s where he kept the burner. Get someone to search it again.”

Hayden nods. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s starting to feel like there are too many layers to this. I think we’re missing something very obvious and right now, we’re only chasing our tails.”

He’s right. We are missing something, and the answer lies with someone close by.

“Rowan?” Hayden says, pulling my attention again.