“It would have had to be an immediate extraction?” Mallory was picking up the photo of Lara Balkon and gazing at it. “That’s bad news.”
“No, it isn’t. I’m not doing it.”
“Yes, you said that. What name was he dangling in front of you?”
Tanner didn’t answer for a moment. “Sandrino.”
“Shit.” Mallory inhaled sharply. “He knows something?”
“No, he only said he could find out. And I’m supposed to trust the bastard? Kaskov’s one of the biggest crime bosses in the world. If I haven’t been able to turn up anything during the last eighteen months, why would he be able to?”
“You tell me. You went to him in the first place. He’s powerful as hell.” His gaze returned to the photo of Lara Balkon. “Personal? Is she his mistress?”
“No, it’s something else. He’s hard as nails, but somehow she managed to…reach him.”
“That could be even worse.” Mallory reached over and picked up the manila envelope. “This is the extraction info? Do you mind if I go through it?”
“Be my guest. But it’s a waste of time. We aren’t going to use it.”
“It’s my time to waste.” Mallory glanced up from going through the documents. “Look, you wouldn’t have even been involved with Kaskov in the first place except for me. I put you through a hell of a lot of trouble, and there was a chance I could have gotten you killed. I still feel guilty about it. And now he’s pulled Sandrino into it, and that’s going to rub you raw and might be even more dangerous for you.” He grimaced. “I’d far rather this extraction you’ve refused was Kaskov’s sex object. In my experience, people get more emotional about the ‘personal.’ I just want to be prepared for anything that comes along.” He’d pulled out a DVD. “What’s this?”
“I assume it’s the DVD that Kaskov ordered me to watch,” he said caustically.
“And you’re fighting doing it.” He tossed the DVD on the desk in front of Tanner. “Because you’re pissed off with Kaskov, and you don’t want him to pull your strings. Well, it’s me pulling your strings now. Watch the damn thing.” He got to his feet. “I’m going to settle in the living room and go through this file. I’ll come back after I’ve finished, and we’ll talk about it.” He suddenly grinned mischievously. “Am I fired yet?”
“Very close,” Tanner growled. He took the disk and slid it into his computer. “It’s still a waste of time.”
“And you’re a stubborn asshole,” Mallory said as he headed for the door. “I don’t know why I’m trying so hard to keep you from getting killed.”
“Because you don’t know if you’re in my will yet.” Tanner waved him out of the room. “Go away. I’ll watch it.”
He settled back in his chair and glared at the computer. It didn’t help that Mallory was right. Too many of the chords Kaskov had struck had made an impact, and he hated being manipulated. He had an idea that Kaskov wouldn’t have included this disk if it wasn’t designed to do the same thing.
“Play it!” Mallory called from the other room.
Tanner muttered a curse and punched the button.
Lara Balkon appeared on the screen, dressed in jeans and sweatshirt, her long hair in a ponytail. She looked much younger than she had in the passport photo. She was sitting at a piano. Then she started to play Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2.
Tanner froze. “Holy shit.”
He tried to be objective, to criticize her technique, to stop Kaskov’s words repeating in his mind.
So you can understand what they’re trying to kill.
Then that was all gone.
Everything was gone but the music.
* * *
“You’ve played it four times.” Mallory was leaning against the doorjamb. “Not that I blame you. I’m not even a fan of classical music but I can tell she’s something special. How good is she?”
“Phenomenal. No, magical. Kaskov was right, damn him.” Tanner reached out and turned off the DVD. “I can see why she might have had that effect on him. But why the hell didn’t the bastard yank her out of that situation when she was a kid? Why wait until now and leave it up to me?”
“Maybe he didn’t have a choice,” Mallory said quietly. “Or maybe he thought there would be an opening for him to do it down the line somewhere.” He held up the manila envelope. “I could see they kept her pretty busy from the time her father brought her back from that recital in Moscow. Some of it is pretty rough. Are you ready to read it?”
“No.” He got to his feet. “I don’t have time now. Take it with you.” He moved across the room and past him into the foyer. “You don’t have time, either. Call Jordan in London and tell him to get the crew together and be ready to head out for Rome within the next two hours.” He was striding toward the elevator. “I have to go down to the lobby and tell Nikolai what I’m going to need from him.”
Mallory followed him. “I take it that we’re going to Russia?” He smiled with sly malice. “Oh, my, I guess I’ll have to cancel that poker game tomorrow night.”
“Don’t push it,” Tanner said sourly. “I’m pissed off enough that I have to do this, and try to make it happen in the space of a few days.” He got into the elevator. “And if Kaskov thinks he’s going to get off scot-free and not tell me everything I need to know about Sandrino after this is over, he’s very much mistaken.”
Chapter
2
Volkov’s Compound
Second Night
Volkov’s smile was more of a smirk when Balkon strode into his study late that evening. He’d known it was only a matter of time before he’d be scampering here to see him. “You look a bit edgy. I told you the odds were against her. You shouldn’t have taken the bet if you were this scared.”
“I’m not scared. She’s made it through the last twenty-four hours, hasn’t she? And you made sure that I’d take the bet. You doubled the stakes.” Balkon took the glass Volkov handed him. “You knew I couldn’t resist the chance to take it away from you like I did the last time.” He took a swallow of his vodka and dropped down in the easy chair by the fireplace. His gaze shifted away from him to the burning logs. “Have you heard from either Razov or Gregor today?”
And that’s why Balkon was really here, Volkov thought cynically. In spite of what he said, he was terrified that he was in over his head and the bitch would end up dead. He had a right to be panicky. When he won the bet, he’d squeeze the little prick dry. Volkov had known Balkon couldn’t afford the bet, but he’d been so frustrated that he’d wanted to hurt and humiliate him as Lara had humiliated him. “No, I told you that they checked in last night. They’ll call me when they’ve put her down.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.” Balkon forced a smile. “They might be stronger, but as soon as the bet was set, I started working with Lara. She’s better than you’d think. And I guarantee she wouldn’t want to make me angry.”