Page 46 of Bratva Knight

“We found these on our cars.” He held out three tracking devices, the flashing green light on each one indicating they were all still active.

Tatiana and I reached for them at the same time, our hands colliding. A shock ran through me. Our eyes locked, the look on her face confirming she’d felt it too. It was like our bodiesknewwe had unfinished business. I genuinely wondered if there would ever be a day where I wasn’t affected by her. By her touch, her taste, her presence. I highly doubted it.

I turned the tracker over, studying it closely. “Standard issue. Can easily be purchased online.”

“I don’t see an anti-tampering device,” Tatiana added.

“Nor do I.”

“What does that mean?” Vincenzo asked.

“It means they wouldn’t have been notified that you found and removed them.”

Tatiana rotated it in the air, getting a good look at it from all sides. “How long do you think the battery life is on these?”

“Most only have roughly six to eight hours. But I have seen them last up to four weeks. We can search the model number online and find out exactly, though.”

Tatiana nodded. “We should find out before we put them back. If they’re close to running out, they’ll be looking to switch them before they die.”

Vincenzo’s head darted between us as we spoke. “Hang on, hang on. Why would we put them back?” he questioned, looking confused.

“They’re using these to track your soldiers and find out where they’re going. More specifically, where you’re setting up your houses.” She gave the device back to Vincenzo. “Now that we know, we can use it against them.”

“You mean set a trap?” Eagerness shone in his green eyes.

“Exactly.”

I stared at the screen of my laptop, rubbing my temples, hoping to alleviate some of the pain throbbing behind my eyes. By the time Tatiana and I got back to the apartment, it was close to 11 p.m. After Vincenzo found the tracking devices, we came up with a plan to set a trap for Franco.

It was unclear whether or not he was there personally during the raids. The opportunity to find out was too promising to miss. Worst case scenario, we’d get one of his high ranking Lieutenants instead.

Tatiana went straight to bed, but there was far too much on my mind to even try and sleep. I decided instead to stay up and see if I could find my father, or at the very least, Dominik. I had no luck. None of my facial recognition programs picked up anything. There were hundreds of “possible matches” that turned out to be nothing. It took me hours to go through them all, but I had to be sure. It was like they’d literally dropped off the face of the Earth.

It shouldn’t be possible. Especially in this day and age. There was a camera on every corner of every street. Sometimes two or three. How was he avoiding them?

It was the second time in my life that I’d felt like a complete and total failure. My jobs in the Bratva were security and tech, both of which I’d failed miserably at over the last few weeks.

Even though I’d never envisioned Mila’s betrayal, I should have prepared for it.

I accepted responsibility for what happened, and I needed to fucking fix it.

With a deep sigh, I leant back in my chair, running a hand down my face. I’d been staring at the screen for so long that my vision was starting to blur. I knew I needed rest, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go to bed. Not yet. This nagging feeling was itching at me, scratching at my brain and taunting me. I was missing something vital. Crucial. And I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I figured it out.

“Nikolai.”

I turned, Tatiana’s soft voice startling me. She stood in her doorway in a tank top and a pair of short pajama shorts, a black silk robe hanging over her shoulders. I knew she’d put the shorts on for my benefit, because she always slept in her underwear.

“It’s 2:30 in the morning.” Concern flashed across her face. She moved, taking a seat at the table across from me. “Have you slept at all?”

“Not yet.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “You should really get some rest. You must be exhausted.”

I shrugged a shoulder, never taking my eyes off her.You’re so fucking beautiful.

I wanted to say the words. They were right there, on the tip of my tongue. But no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn’t get them past my lips. I was afraid to scare her away. In some ways, she reminded me of a skittish animal. Whenever anything from our past came up, she bolted in the opposite direction. That included compliments.

“What are you doing?” she asked softly, her eyes darting to my laptop and back.

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