Page 56 of Dark King Daddy

The words logistics problem should have made the idea absurd.

They did not.

Daniil’s hand around my elbow.

His palm against my waist.

The way he had looked at me across the dinner table.

Like you want me out of this dress and into his bed. He had not denied it.

I walked to Papa’s desk and touched the back of his chair.

“What happens without it?”

Anton went still.

“Ksenia.”

“What happens if we do nothing except continue the routes?”

After a pause, Anton spoke.

“Shared routes could collapse within days.”

“Because of the drivers?”

“Drivers. Clients. Insurers. Captains using the crisis to improve their positions. If Sokolov trucks stop taking Orlov loads, we lose reliable overland distribution. Independent carriers cost more, move slower, and expose us to new leaks.”

“And the Sokolovs?”

“They lose dependable waterfront access. They can shift some volume to New Jersey, but the Voronins already have influence there.”

“So we separate?”

“Yes.”

“And then?”

Anton met my eyes.

“They destroy us separately. Or try to, at least.”

The office went silent.

Outside, the river kept moving freight past our windows.

Papa had built his organization around points of entry. Ships. Containers. Warehouses. Customs. Goods came through us and moved outward through the Sokolovs.

One family without the other was not powerless.

Only weaker.

Weak enough for Viktor Voronin to buy men, frighten clients, burn routes, and take each piece in order.

“Is there another solution?” I asked.

No one said a word.