Page 17 of Rafi

11

RAFI

The weight of the city presses down on me as I lean against the hood of my car, scanning the dimly lit street in front of me. The roar of passing traffic feels distant, a background hum to the storm brewing in my head. I’ve been chasing shadows for days now, pulling threads that lead nowhere, but the image of Maxine seated next to Igor Aslanov at the fight club still burns in my mind. That look in her eyes—haunted, distant—it’s enough to drive me forward. So is my sister in law Mia’s plight to find her sister. So is my need to prove myself worthy of this life to my brothers.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, already knowing who it’s from. Leo, my tech guy. He’s been working overtime to help me piece this puzzle together, but I don’t know how much I can trust him when he keeps insisting on wearing those ridiculously oversized tinted glasses.

“What have you got for me?” I ask, getting straight to the point as I answer.

I’ve been back to the club three nights in a row, hoping to run into Tayana, but she’s vanished—like a ghost haunting the edges of my life. Her friend Cassie is just as elusive, making iteven harder to find a way in. The lack of contact is getting under my skin, so I had Leo dig deeper, running a more thorough background check to get me her contact details. Turns out, that’s easier said than done.

Leo’s voice crackles over the line. “I’ve run down every lead I could get my hands on. That’s a very private family you’re tracking. Most of the information led to dead ends, and I couldn’t get a bead on Igor Aslanov.”

I’m no stranger to the Bratva’s operations. The Gatti family has run parallel to their world for years, often crossing paths when business or blood demanded it. But my focus has always been elsewhere—until now. Now, every resource at my disposal is zeroed in on the Russian syndicate, and I’m determined to find out where Maxine fits into their tangled web.

“Youcouldn’t find anything?”I ask him, my voice incredulous. “The fucking feds come toyouwhen they want information; how could you not find anything?”

“That family is airtight,” he tells me. And all I know is that I’m screwed; if Leo can’t get me the information I need, no-one can. “Your best bet is Tayana Kamarov.”

“You’ve already said that. Give me a location, Leo. Where can I find her?”I don’t feel it’s prudent to tell him that I fucked her up against a vanity in a public restroom before she became a ghost.

Leo snorts and sighs before I hear the tapping of his fingers against his keyboard through the phone line. I roll my eyes. Sometimes I wonder if he’s worth the trouble. The tapping means there’s got to besomething.Turns out, there is. And it’s music to my ears.

“You didn’t get this from me,” he says, after a short silence. “I mean it, Rafi. If this comes back to me, I lose a valuable source.”

The asshole had information and was sitting on it the whole time. I’ll definitely be ripping into him the next time I see him.

“It didn’t come from you,” I guarantee him. “I don’t even know you.”Just to show him how committed I am to keeping his secret.

“By all accounts, she’s estranged from her father and keeps her distance from the family business. But she does have some interests in her own underground organization.”

My eyebrows rise of their own accord. “Her own criminal enterprise?”

“Depends who you ask. Apparently, she runs an underground shelter for trafficking victims. Word is, she’s been working against organized crime in secret for years.”

The irony isn’t lost on me. The daughter of one of the most powerful crime lords in the world, fighting to dismantle the same machine that made her. It’s bold. Dangerous. And if the rumors are true, it makes her the perfect link to Maxine.

“Where do I find her?”I ask. “Other than at Obsidian.”

“She’s careful,” Leo replies. “Doesn’t stay in one place too long. But I tracked her to an office in the east end. And only because they recently moved. That’s your best shot. Otherwise, I have nothing else.”

I’m already moving, tossing my phone onto the passenger seat as I slide behind the wheel. The engine roars to life, and I’m on the road before Leo can say anything else. The east end is a place where desperation clings to the air like smog, a world away from the glitz and decadence of Obsidian. If Tayana’s operating an underground network, she’s not just hiding. She’s taking a stand. A dangerous one.

By the timeI pull up to the address Leo provides, the sun is dipping below the horizon, casting the neighborhoodin shadows. The building is unassuming, old, rundown brick and mortar with barred windows and a faded sign that reads ‘Thimbles & Things’. It’s the kind of place people pass by without a second thought, and there’s no apparent activity in or around the premise. For a moment, I wonder if Leo is wrong about the information he's given me.

I don’t go in right away. Instead, I watch from across the street, waiting for movement. But no-one goes in or out of the structure, and the vicinity of the property seems wholly deserted. Tayana’s name has painted a target on her back, and I’d bet anything that she’s aware of this. It explains the amount of security surrounding her when I saw her at Obsidian. It explains why she tries her hardest to keep a low profile.

When I finally step inside, the air changes. It’s warmer, filled with the hum of quiet conversation through the walls. I step into a small foyer whose walls are made of brick that’s been painted yellow. The contrast to the streets outside is stark, a small oasis carved out of the city’s chaos. There’s a huge sliding glass door made of thick glass, and two guards stand quietly by the door, ready to deflect any attack or unwanted visitor.

My eyes flick between the two guards; I think I can take them both, but I haven’t come here today to create problems for anyone, so I try for the polite way.

“I’m here to meet with Tayana Kamarov.”

The guards are unmoving, their behemoth frames obstructing my view behind the sliding glass door.

“You have an appointment?” one asks.

I consider lying. I do. But then, I don’t. I don’t know why.

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