Page 28 of These Shattered Memories

Chapter Fifteen: Rowan

K ey’s once blue shirt is matted to his body, damp and crusty from all the blood and sweat he’s covered in.

His right eye is still shut, black and purple bruising marring the thin skin around it.

The concrete room is bitterly cold, the kind of chill that seeps into your bones, raising goosebumps on my skin despite my jacket.

A thin mattress lies in the corner, paired with a threadbare blanket that offers little comfort.

Overhead, a single weak bulb flickers, casting sharp shadows against the walls.

The smell of wet cement and piss fills the air, sharp and sour, the source evident in the damp streaks running down the legs of Key’s jeans. As messed up as this is, it’s a necessary evil. I tell myself that as I stand by the door, taking him in.

“Hello, Key,” I say, flashing him my most brilliant smile. It’s a performance, one I’ve perfected over the years.

He whimpers again, his split bottom lip trembling, trying his best to melt into the wall behind him.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I add, walking further, crouching down so he can see me. “I just need the truth from you, and this can all be over. I promise.”

He doesn’t say anything, just shrinks further into himself.

“Your contact,” I begin. “They message you on a burner, don’t they?”

His good eye shifts without his permission and there we go; I’ve spotted his tell.

“Good job,” I say, pleased. “Can you tell me where you keep it? It wasn’t in your bag or your locker here. Is it in your apartment? In a car?”

He keeps his mouth shut, but his eyes widen a little at the mention of his car. The guys did a sweep of it and couldn’t find anything except for dirty clothes, some lighters and old take-out paper bags.

“I know you have a family, Key. I’ve kept them safe so far, but I won’t hesitate to let Xander do what he does best if you don’t cooperate.”

He shakes his head so fast that it might swivel off if he keeps doing it. “No, please,” he says, his voice rough from a lack of use or maybe from the screaming. My eyes scan his body, pausing at his clasped hands. They are still raw and bloody, a few nails missing.

He isn’t going to make it through the night.

I grimace. “I can make sure your family stays safe. Believe me when I say I want to help you.”

He shakes his head again, but I can see his mind whirring, whatever shred of sanity he still possesses, analysing my offer and his chances. It’s my sign to keep pushing.

I look back at the shut door behind me. Hayden is waiting outside, but Xander isn’t here. Maybe I can use that. I turn back to him, looking right into his eyes—well, eye.

“You know, the most terrifying thing about Xander is not that he enjoys doing this. Given your state, I think that’s pretty obvious. What’s scary is that he enjoys taking his time. He’ll be back soon and when he is, he’ll hurt you again and I don’t think you survive it again.”

Tears stream down his dirty face, stopping at the tufts of his growing beard. “Please, no, not again,” he whispers. “I can’t— please .”

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 who he is. 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.

“What?”

“I asked what happened with Alex.”

“He wants to help.”

Hayden’s face falls. “Rowan…” he trails. “Why the fuck would he help us?”

I shrug. Even if Xander spilled my secret at Blue Lily, I still don’t want to talk about him with them.

I don’t want to tell either of them about our kiss or the cherry sour gummies.

I still want to keep him a secret, just like two years ago.

Back then, Alex felt like something good, a respite despite his lie.

I realise now how much I missed that refuge.

How much I missed him, and I don’t want to ruin the fragile balance we have right now.

“I have something he needs,” I say instead.

“Your dick?”

“Funny,” I murmur, but Hayden isn’t smiling.

“So Xander was right, you are fucking him again.” It’s not a question, more a statement.

“Nope, still not fucking him.” Which is true.

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like the old man he is. “Would it help if I threatened to kill him if you don’t stay away from him?”

I lift an eyebrow.

“Guess not,” he mutters.

I slap his jacket clad arm lightly. “Trust me. I’m being careful,” I assure him. If I wasn’t, I’d have bent him over the counter last night and fucked him. “Let me know if you find the phone.”

“Where are you going now?” he asks.

“I need to take care of something,” I say evasively. I promised Alex that I’d make Halle’s problem go away and I plan on following through.

“Hey,” Hayden says, stopping me from leaving. He analyses my face carefully. “Are you okay?”

The look in Key’s eyes plays over and over again in my head. He knew he had to die; that’s how it works, but it’s left me unbalanced. I really don’t enjoy murder.

“Yeah. Peachy.”

He looks me over again, and I can tell he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t. Instead, he nods once and moves aside to let me go.

“I’ll let you know once I find the phone,” he says. “By the way, the police couldn’t find anything in our books or evidence of that girl being at Summit. We’re in the clear.”

I don’t miss the for now in his words.

“You’re sure Alex wasn’t behind it?”

I almost groan, but I know why Hayden is so hung up on this; the police got too close and whilst they might have come up empty for now, we still have a problem.

“Positive.”

“I don’t like this, Ro,” he says quietly.

“I know,” I say. “Me neither.”

“Then try not to fuck it up?”