Chapter 20 – Kaz
Violet is curled into my side, warm and soft, her hand resting over my heart like she’s keeping it tethered.
On screen, some rom-com she picked is playing, though I’ve barely registered a single line of dialogue.
I’ve just been watching her—her sleepy smile, the way she laughs at the dumbest lines, how she sighs and relaxes every time I touch her.
It’s past midnight now. I glance at the time, then down at her again. She’s still awake, though her lids are heavy.
“I have to go,” I murmur, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “Niko’s still here, and we’ve got work to do.”
Violet blinks slowly and sits up, her hair messy, her eyes half-lidded but alert. “Work?”
I nod, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Just a few things I need to go over with him. Nothing that’ll take me far.”
She frowns a little. “You’re not leaving the safe house, right?”
“No,” I promise, dipping to kiss the corner of her mouth. “I’ll be in the office. Anytime you need me—anything at all—you just come find me.”
She studies me, then gives a small smile. “Okay. I might watch one more movie until I pass out.”
“Of course.” I press my forehead to hers. “As long as I get to be the one you fall asleep beside after.”
She chuckles softly, and I take her lips in mine—slow, deep, lingering. I don’t want to leave her. But I have to figure this out. For her. For us. For the baby we’re not ready to talk about, but already love.
When I finally pull away, she looks like she’s already missing me. It does something sharp to my chest.
“I’ll be close,” I whisper again. “Always.”
And then I leave the room, locking the memory of her warmth into my bones as I head to meet Niko in the office.
When I get to my office, Niko’s already inside, leaning against my desk like he owns the place. Typical.
“You’re late,” he mutters with a smirk.
“I was with Violet.”
“That’s the only excuse I’ll accept,” he says, straightening up as I close and lock the door behind us.
I dig out the burner phone from my pocket—the one Arina gave Violet—and hold it out to Niko. “Can you do a thorough check on this? It’s Violet’s.”
“I didn’t bring any kit….” He looks around. “Can I use your laptop?”
I nod and open it for him. “Password’s the same.”
He smirks. “You never change.”
He plugs the burner into a USB port, installing a few programs. His fingers fly across the keyboard as he drags open folders and runs traces. The screen reflects sharp blue light against his focused eyes.
“Give me a second.”
The interface lights up. Logs begin to scroll down the screen. A red line of code flashes at the bottom. Niko’s brow furrows.
“Bingo,” he says.
I lean over him.
“What am I looking at?”
“Hidden uplink. This phone’s not just a burner. It was set to send out a location ping every twelve hours—straight to a number cloaked behind serious encryption.”
I go completely still. “You’re saying it was tracking Violet?”
“Yeah.” He clicks into the logs. “Since the moment it was powered on, it’s been updating someone with its coordinates. Whoever’s on the other end has real cover. Layers of VPNs. Military-grade redirections. But it’s consistent.”
My blood turns cold. My heart? Pure fire.
“She’s had this phone on her since day one.”
Niko nods grimly. “And someone’s been watching her every goddamn step.”
Silence crushes the room for a long second. And then I snap.
I slam my fist into the desk, rattling the laptop. I knock over the lamp and send the chair flying with a kick so hard it cracks against the bookshelf.
“She was in my bed, in my arms, under my roof—and they knew. They fucking knew.”
I’m shaking, jaw locked, chest heaving. “They could’ve taken her at any moment. They could’ve killed her.”
“Kaz—” Niko starts.
“She’s pregnant, Niko. She’s carrying my baby.” I’m on the edge. One more second and I’m throwing my fucking self at the wall.
But Niko grabs my arm, hard and grounding. “Hey. Look at me.”
I do. His gaze is clear and cutting, like he’s trying to punch the rage out of me with just his eyes. “You need to get your shit together. For Violet. For your baby.”
My chest is heaving. My fists are clenched. But his words hit me where they’re supposed to.
I close my eyes. Breathe.
He lets go of my arm but doesn’t step back. “Tell me everything. The phone we found in that tote earlier is exactly like this one. What’s up with that?”
I drag a hand over my jaw. “It was Arina who gave the phone to Violet.”
His brow lifts slightly.
I press on. “And the tote bag the phone was in—bright fucking colors. Neon blue, hot pink, animated patterns stitched into the side. That’s Arina’s vibe to the bone. Nobody else in the Bratva dresses like that.”
Niko doesn’t say anything. He’s listening.
“They gave the phone. They own the bag. And they didn’t even blink when I was beating the hell out of Milos. Not a flinch. Like they knew he wasn’t guilty. Like they were watching a show they planned the script for.”
The weight of it all presses down on me again, and my voice lowers into something dangerous. “I want to cut their head off.”
“No,” Niko says sharply. “Not yet.”
I spin toward him. “Why the fuck not?”
“Because you already fucked up with Milos,” he snaps. “You let your fury blind you, Kaz. I don’t need you making another mistake.”
“I’m not wrong this time.”
“Maybe not. But we need proof. Undeniable. Inarguable. You want vengeance? Fine. But make it bulletproof. Because if you go after Arina and you’re wrong again—”
“I’m not,” I say. “My gut tells me I’m not.”
I press both hands to the desk, grounding myself in the wood, in the cold weight of the phone between us. I want to scream. I want to kill.
“I’m confronting them tonight, and you’re coming with me.”
Niko rolls his eyes. “This is not the vacation I planned for.”
“Can you fix the phone?” I ask.
Niko groans and leans back, arms crossed. He repeats, “This is not the vacation I planned for.”
“Can you fix the phone?” I ask, motioning to the burner. “Strip it. Rebuild it. I want to give it back to Violet.”
He picks it up and turns it over with nimble fingers, expression shifting from amusement to complete focus. “Gimme a minute.”
Niko plugs the phone into my laptop again. His brows furrow as he types rapidly, muttering under his breath. I pace behind him, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
After a few tense minutes, he finally leans back in his chair. “Alright, lover boy. I’ve unplugged the location beacon. Whoever was tracking Violet through this thing won’t be able to anymore.”
I stop pacing. “And the rest?”
“I converted it into a two-way communicator,” he says, tossing it to me. “You can call, receive, send—everything. All back to normal.”
I catch it mid-air. “You’re a fucking magician.”
“I know,” Niko says, smug. “So what next?”
“Hold on.” I pull out my main phone and dial Maxim. He picks up on the second ring, his voice steady.
“Boss.”
“Where are you?” I ask.
“We’re back at the estate.”
His voice doesn’t waver, but I hear movement in the background—footsteps, maybe doors shutting.
“Is Arina there too?”
“Yeah,” Maxim says. “They’re here.”
I nod slowly, even though he can’t see me. My hand clenches around the phone. “I’m on my way.”
I hang up and turn to Niko, steel in my voice. “Let’s go.”
But Niko leans back in his chair, unhurried. “No thanks. I’ve had my share of watching you dramatically beat up someone for one night.”
I scowl. “This isn’t about drama. I need answers.”
“Exactly,” he says, standing now and stretching his arms above his head. “Which is why I’m going to do something more useful.” He strolls to the door, then turns back. “Where’s the tote bag?”
“Still in the car.”
He nods, grin tugging at his mouth.
“Perfect. I’ll take the burner we found and trace it properly. If I can match it to any registration pattern or catch residual metadata, we’ll know who the real owner is. That’s better than listening to you bark and throw punches again.”
“You’re not wrong,” I mutter.
He gives me a casual salute and heads for the exit. “I’ll call you the second I find anything,” he says, already walking away. “Try not to kill anyone before I get back.”
I’m already reaching for my coat. No promises. I hurry back to the bedroom and push the door open slowly.
Violet’s curled up under the sheets, one hand tucked beneath her cheek, the soft rise and fall of her breath the only sound in the room. The glow from the hallway spills in just enough to kiss her face, and my heart squeezes at the sight.
She’s fast asleep.
Good.
I step inside, quiet as a ghost, and move to her side of the bed. Her lashes flutter slightly but don’t open. I hate that I have to leave her again, even if just for a little while. She’ll be upset when she wakes and doesn’t see me here.
I crouch by the nightstand and place the burner phone down gently beside her lamp. My fingers linger on the edge of it. She can call her friends or call anyone she wants to. I don’t mind. But I know I have to go and return before she wakes up. Or she may never forgive me for breaking my promise.
I kiss her temple softly. Then I whisper against her hair,
“Sleep, baby. I’ll be back before you even know I’m gone.”
I take one last look at her. And then I leave. I drive like a madman.
The engine growls beneath me, the tires screeching against the asphalt as I tear down the dark road.
Every second that passes winds my rage tighter, coiling it in my gut like a loaded spring.
If I’m right about Arina—if they’ve been the traitor all along—I don’t know how I’ll keep myself from burning everything down.
I reach the estate and slam the brakes just outside the gates. Maxim’s already there, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
He steps forward as I kill the engine.
“Where’s Arina?” I ask, climbing out.
Maxim raises a brow. “Inside. Why? Is something wrong?”
I shut the car door a little harder than necessary. “I’ll see.”
His gaze narrows. He opens his mouth to ask more, but I’m already walking past him.