Page 212 of Toxic Temptation
“Nothing. Told her I’d handle it and to stay out of it.”
Osip sets down his beer and turns to face me fully. “And she bought that?”
“For now.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, where a headache is building like a thunderstorm. “But she’s going to figure it out eventually. Vesper’s too smart, too curious. She’ll keep digging until she finds the truth.”
“Maybe she doesn’t have to find anything.”
I look at him sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m saying maybe the truth stays buried. You’re shutting down the organ trade, right? Moving the organization in a different direction. What Vesper doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”
“But what if it’s too late?” I muse out loud. “What if I didn’t shut it down fast enough? Do you have any idea how many people we hurt while I was busy butting heads with Ihor?”
“Kovan—”
“How many patients are walking around right now with missing organs they don’t even know about? How many people died on operating tables while their kidneys were being harvested for the black market?” I surge to my feet, pacing to the window that overlooks the garden.
“You can’t blame yourself for your father’s decisions,” Osip protests. “Or for Vitalii’s.”
“I can blame myself for not stopping it the second I took over.” I tap my knuckles against the window frame. “Every day I waited, every compromise I made with Ihor—people suffered because of it.”
“So what’s the plan?”
I turn back to face him. “We move fast. Cut off the snake at the head and tear down the entire network before Ihor can rebuild it.”
“That’s going to be messy, Ko. Are you sure we want to start a war right before the custody hearing?”
He’s right, of course. Any hint of violence, any suggestion that Luka might be in danger, and the judge will place him right back with Yana faster than I can blink.
“So then I’m trapped.” Even saying that out loud disgusts me. “If I move against Ihor now, I risk losing Luka. If I wait, the organ trade continues under my nose and more innocent people die.”
“There’s always a third option.”
“Is there? Because from where I’m standing, every choice leads to disaster.”
Osip stands, moving to the mini-bar in the corner of the office. He pours two glasses of whiskey, neat, and hands one to me. “What if we could take down the operation without it leading back to you?”
“Impossible. Ihor knows I’m behind any move against him.”
“Not if someone else makes the move.”
I take a sip of the whiskey, letting it burn away some of the frustration. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I know some people who owe me favors. People with no connection to the Bratva, no reason for Ihor to suspect you’re involved.”
It’s not a terrible idea. Osip has contacts throughout the city—former military, freelance operators, men who work for cash and ask no questions.
“It would have to be perfect. One mistake and?—”
“And Luka goes back to Yana. I know.” Osip nods, solemn and understanding. “But this might be our only shot at having everything. Getting custody of Lukaandstopping the organ trade.”
“What about Vesper?”
“What about her?”
I set down my glass and meet his eyes. “She can’t know. About any of it. The organ trade, our plans to stop it, the fact that I ever allowed it to continue.”
“You think she’d judge you?”
