The man swallowed, his lips quivering and his body trembling in distress as he shut his eyes tight in an attempt to gather and spit out more words.
“No one has been able to locate Evans and its why we are looking for the Bookkeeper who, based on his own admission, is worth more than Raymond himself.”
Khane appeared to be letting the information soak in as much as I was. His stress-inducing glare found me once more. “I don’t believe your father is dead. He is connected to the syndicate now. We’d know if he was. I think this man and his crew are taking advantage of him being away to find this Bookkeeper that apparently holds a great degree of value. If he feared for his life, would he have revealed to your cousin his whereabouts?”
A deep shrug lifted my shoulders. “Mecca and I share everything. If she knew where my father was, I would know too.” The thick coat of stress I concealed had downgraded to a jacket at Khane’s words about my father being linked to the syndicate. Why would he spill a secret as well-kept as his Bookkeeper? Had my father gone into hiding?
When someone like my father disappeared, all sorts of scavengers lurked, attempting to find an angle to take over what he’d built, or to take possession of whatever assets he was leaving behind. They were in for the fight of their lives if they misjudged my cousin with ideas of steamrolling over her. The idea of her having extra protection from the Vallins eased a little of my tension.
Khane never dropped his gaze from mine. “So, this one has outlived his usefulness? You have any more questions for him?”
Was he asking me if he could proceed in killing the man? I didn’t answer, only glared down at the man whose whimpers grew louder at Khane’s statement.
When the saw sliced through the corners of the man’s mouth, splitting it open, tears of horror stung my eyes. It didn’t matter that I’d clasped my eyes shut because it was an image I was never going to get rid of, a new nightmare that would visit me often.
Even so, I knew, all too well, what had to be done.
Finding the Bookkeeper would render my father useless and put Mecca and the Black Saints in more danger. Khane had to finish killing the man, no matter how I felt about the situation. I spun so fast that I wobbled before jetting away from the scene on shaky legs.
I didn’t even want to know what Khane would do with the body. There was only one thing that put a soothing touch on my mind, if anyone else came looking for the Bookkeeper, they were going to die badly at Khane’s hands.
Where the hell was my father? Was he missing or hiding? Were there others out there looking for the Bookkeeper?