Page 47 of Jase

“Where were you born, Keith? And if you lie to me…”

Ragged breaths mixed with cries of pain. “Little Rock. You won’t find anything though. I’m no one.”

“Date of birth?”

He got quiet. The moment I moved forward, he started yelling again.

“December fourteenth. Eighty-five.”

I took out my phone, entering in his information. At first glance, I almost thought he was right. The moment I switched his name around and took off the s, I got more than one hit. I took in the old picture, shaking my head.

“Andrew Keith. Not Keith Andrews. Clever. Not clever enough. I’ve played this game before.”

“Man, no. This…this was a misunderstanding.”

“Right.” I scanned through the information, taking in what I could by glance. “You had quite the record until four years ago. Who made that go away for you? Do they know they only hid it? They didn’t delete it. Is that the thing? You work for them, and they make it disappear. You fuck up, you’re either dead or ruined?”

“You don’t know what you’re messing with. This is so much bigger than what you think. You can kill me like you killed David. Whatever. They’ll send someone new. You’re a dead man. I hope you know that.”

“I’ve been dead for years. Give me a name.”

“I got nothing. Really. I get an email, a name, and a location. Money comes only when the job is done.”

“Then give me your email.”

He laughed, his head swaying. “What are you g-going to do with that?”

“I’m going to find your boss.”

“No way. It’s untraceable. I told you, this is beyond you. It’s beyond anyone.”

“I’ll decide that.” I flattened the blade against his forearm, slowly peeling back the skin. I worked my way around, moving to his bicep when I ran out of room. I didn’t see the blood or muscle. I didn’t even barely feel the blade as I plunged it through his arm. His words spun webs of wonder in my mind. Bigger than me. Bigger.Nothing was bigger than me.No one held a candle to what I could do. And Kody’s life depended on that. These people were part of something more than some band of dark torture-porn psychos. Everything in my being could feel that. This was bad. Probably way more than what I could handle on my own. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. I didn’t know how not to.

“Email.”

“M-My w-wallet.”

I glanced over to the one next to mine. A few random receipts were skewed over the top. There was a fake ID, like I suspected, but nothing with an email address on it.

“Did you not get enough? I already looked, there’s nothing there.”

A loud growl left him as he took deep breaths that shook his entire body. He was fighting passing out. He was so pale, he almost looked dead. “The DL number from the fake license. Plug it in to any mailbox. You don’t need a password.”

“Bullshit.” I grabbed the ID, picking up his phone. Opening his mail app, I did as he said, shocked when an inbox loaded. “This is—”

“Beyond you,like I s-said. You’re a dead man. You…are. You’re fucked, buddy. I hope you’re ready.”

I pulled out the knife, refusing to be swayed by his words. This was new. It didn’t mean I couldn’t figure out how they managed it. It also didn’t mean I couldn’t nail their ass to the wall when I did.

“I guess I’ll see. You won’t. It’s time for me to go.”

“Nah. Come on. Hey. Hey!” My fingers embedded in his hair, clenching in a fist as I leveled the edge along his throat. The skin split like butter, peeling back as blood rushed over the metal. I added strength, taking my time as I increased the incision. Sobs transformed into screams, turning to gasps and gurgling like David. Andrew’s legs kicked out and he went wild, trying his best not to add to my pressure. It was too late. Crimson was rushing over my gloves, and I used enough force to end him for good.

“Fucking emails.”

I ground my teeth as I untied his body, pushing him down to the plastic. I went to reach and move the chair, stopping myself. Something felt off, and I couldn’t ignore the sensation. I took off one of my gloves, picking up my phone.

Alert.