Page 48 of Rafi

I scoff and toss the glasses back at him, watching as he scrambles to catch them and quickly perches them on his nose like a shield. “Then say that, Leo. Don’t play the helpless blind man if you’re not.”

He glares at me, but there’s no real heat behind it. “You don’t know what it’s like,” he repeats, softer this time, as if seeking pity.

“And I don’t care,” I shoot back, my voice low and dangerous. “Just do your job, Leo. Stop salivating over my girl and tell me where I can find Igor Aslanov.”

Tayana stands off to the side, quiet but alert. Her presence is a steady hum in the back of my mind, grounding me even as my frustration with Leo threatens to boil over.

“All your brothers have been pushing me for intel,” Leo grumbles, leaning back in his chair. “And now you? Igor doesn’t just leave breadcrumbs, Rafi. He leaves landmines. You want to find him, you’re going to have to step carefully.”

“I wasn’t asking for advice, Leo.Just. Give. Me. A. Location!”

My jaw tightens as I imagine my brothers scattered across the city, chasing leads and combing through shadows in a bid to find Igor. The image of Maxine burns fresh in my mind, vivid and unrelenting—the fear in her eyes, the silent SOS she seemed to send me. Not anyone else.Me. Like she was deliberately seeking me out.

She looked at me as if she knew me, as if she understood I was tethered to her sister, Mia. That connection feels like a weight and a lifeline all at once, driving me forward even as doubt gnaws at my edges.

Leo sighs and rubs his temples. “If Igor’s still in the city, he’s laying low. My guess is he’s circling back, looking for something. Start with his known contacts. Shake some trees and see what falls out.”

“Hello! Have you met his only known contact?” I ask, snidely, throwing my hand in Tayana’s direction.

“I have…”

Once again, he lets his gaze linger on her a little longer than is acceptable.

“Mother…”

Tayana pulls me back before I can do any real damage to him and guides me to a corner of the room, but not before she looks over her shoulder and tells Leo we’ll be right back. My eyes bore into him as he turns back to the monitors and his fingers start tapping at his keyboard. It’s the only sound in the room as Tayana looks at me, shaking her head.

“Can you cut it out with all the caveman crap, Rafi? Been there, done that. I really don’t want to relive the shit I went through with my father.”

“If he spent more time working than looking at you, maybe we’d get somewhere.”

“Come on, Rafi.” She smiles and moves a hand to my arm, sliding it down my forearm in a soothing motion. “Cut the guy a break. He’s harmless. He’s just being a guy.”

“Fuck, Tayana,” I hiss, rolling my shoulders. I don’t want to be this guy. I don’t want to be the guy who goes around beating the crap out of others anytime they look her way, but I can’t help the protective urge that overcomes me when it comes to her.

“Follow my lead, okay? Let me do the talking. Trust me.”

I narrow my eyes at her in suspicion. What is she up to now?

She smiles before she leaves me standing there, watching her as she rather cutely sashays toward Leo and plants her ass on the desk next to him, taking the man by surprise. I watch from my place in the corner as he stops what he’s doing and he looks at her, his jaw dropping. He turns quickly in his chair to look at me, as if asking for help, as if telling me that she started it, not he.

“Leo,” she purrs, leaning toward him with a flirty smile. I roll my eyes and shake my head. She is so much trouble, and she’s going tobein so much trouble once I put her across my knees. “Dear Leo…do you think you’d be able to help me with a little problem I’m having?”

She holds up two fingers, barely a centimetre apart, to indicate how small her problem is.

“Anything!” he rasps.

The nerve of this guy. I roll my eyes some more and move toward her. The least I can do is be right next to him if I need to slap him upside the head again.

We’ve been holedup in Leo’s den for more than an hour as he taps into layer after layer of data trying to find a lead on Igor Aslanov. The man is a literal ghost, until he’s not.

“I thought you said this guy was the best,” Tayana says to me, loud enough for Leo to hear. He is the best. I know he’s the best. But I think he’s dragging his feet to keep us here longer than we need to be. Plus, Tayana’s floral scent wafts through the small room like an antidote, and I’ve caught him inhaling deeply once or twice.

Ishouldhit him upside the head…again. The guy is damn near drooling.

“Bingo!” he says, banging his palm on the side of his desk.

We both turn to the screen and watch as an image comes to life. It’s too far away, but a green box is flashing on the screen; Leo points to it and sings the praises of facial recognition.

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