High Stakes Read online

  The next moment Mallory was standing in the doorway. “Am I in trouble?” He came into the library and dropped down in the chair that Kaskov had occupied. “He didn’t stay that long. I hoped that was a good sign.” His gaze was on Tanner’s expression, and he gave a low whistle. “But I gather it wasn’t.”

  “He stayed long enough,” Tanner said dryly. “Too long. Kaskov doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”

  “Not many people would dare to tell him no.” He sat forward. “Look, if there was a problem with anything to do with my—”

  “It had nothing to do with you,” he said curtly. “I told you I’d taken care of that. He’s crossed it off his books. This was something else.”

  Mallory leaned back again with a sigh of relief. “Good. So what’s on his mind? Another extraction? Did you tell him you’d moved on and weren’t interested?”

  “Of course I did. He wasn’t listening,” Tanner said through set teeth. “He didn’t care. It’s personal. He wants this. He said Nikolai would be downstairs in the lobby waiting if I changed my mind.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  “That’s not going to happen. He can find someone else to get her out.” He pushed the photos on top of the manila envelope aside. “I don’t take his orders. I have a life. He thinks he can just dangle the damn name in front of me and I’ll jump and do his bidding? He didn’t even care about the game tomorrow.”

  “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 humiliate
d 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.”

  “I wouldn’t think so.” Volkov lifted his glass in a toast. “You’ve had all these years to train her. Or should I say we’ve had all these years? You have to admit that I’ve done my part. Not that I haven’t enjoyed every minute of it. There have been times when it’s been quite satisfying.” He smiled. “I suppose we should consider this weekend as graduation?”

  Balkon’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you can’t actually believe she’ll come out of this alive. Our little experiment had to end sometime.” He shrugged. “I would have preferred to finish her myself, but this will do as well. I find that I like the idea of thinking about her facedown in the forest with a broken neck. I’ve been getting sick and tired of your Lara lately. Those last two times that she managed to win our little challenge, it was a bit humiliating for me.” Now to flick the whip and make him feel it. “My men didn’t dare to laugh in my face, but I heard their bets and I saw how they looked at me after she won. That’s not going to happen again. I believe this is where our paths part. I enjoyed our little games, Balkon, but we’ll have no further business once she’s gone.”

  Balkon’s jaw went slack. Then he recovered. “You can’t be sure you’ll win.”

  “Sure enough. I chose my best men, and she’s only a woman.”

  “What if you’re wrong?” He moistened his lips. “And even if you’re not, I’ve been valuable to you in other ways over the years. No one has been more loyal.” When Volkov didn’t speak, he added quickly, “And you might be bored with the game, but you’ve said a few times that you might have a use for her later. What if we continue with our usual business arrangements, and I just give her to you as a gift for any embarrassment she might have caused you?”

  Yes. But Volkov kept his expression impassive. “You’ve always refused to do that before. You said that because she was your daughter, it would look bad to the other families.”

  “I’ll find a way around it.”

  Volkov pretended to think about it. “If she wins, you’ll still deliver her to me?”

  Balkon nodded. “But you’ll have to pay me what you owe me. That’s only fair.”

  “Then I can hardly lose, can I?” Volkov took another sip of vodka. “Have I ever told you how I admire the way you’ve kept your Maria in her place all these years? A perfect combination of sex slave and meek servant. Lara might keep me amused indefinitely in that role.” He smiled at him. “How clever you are, my friend. You might have come up with a way to salvage our relationship…”

  * * *

  Avgar Forest

  Third Night

  Volkov’s men were still together, Lara realized in frustration. Gregor and Razov were hunting as a pair, and there was no way she could take them down as long as she had to face that double threat. She’d hoped they’d split up to go after her tonight.

  Yet she would find a way, she told herself instantly. But not if she allowed herself to lose confidence or let herself be intimidated by the odds. Forget being tired. There was always a way to succeed if she kept her mind clear and fear at a minimum.

  “Where are you, bitch?” Razov had stopped on the trail to shout out into the darkness. “We’ll get you tonight. Volkov doesn’t understand why it didn’t happen last night. I told him that you were so scared of us, you were probably burrowing in a cave somewhere. But he liked it when I described all the things we’re going to do to you when we catch you. Do you remember what I told you last night?”

  How could she forget? Ignore him. He only wanted her to speak so that he could zero in on where she was. Don’t let it get to you. It’s almost over.

  When Volkov had given her this Trial six months ago, she’d realized that she’d be lucky to survive it no matter how many martial arts lessons her father had put her through. It would be two against one, and she wouldn’t have their strength or experience. But she did have the advantage of being fit, lithe, and very, very fast. So she’d concentrated on learning this forest like the back of her hand. Her father had told her that Volkov would almost certainly choose Gregor and Razov, and she’d spent several nights spying at Volkov’s compound watching them so that she’d know their strengths, the way they moved, how they reacted to each other. She’d been as ready as she could be when her father had dropped her off at the forest two nights ago. Her only plan was to keep out of their way and keep them moving. Let them catch glimpses of her and then vanish and make them hunt her. She’d wanted them tired and frustrated enough to make mistakes so that she might get her chance. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d evaded them for the last two nights. Though she hadn’t counted on how tired she would become herself or that the curses and foul descriptions about what they were going to do to her before they killed her would make her this afraid. She’d thought she could block the ugliness out, but the more exhausted she grew, the more difficult it became.

  She’d done more difficult things.

  Though she’d never taken a life.

  Yet if she didn’t take their lives, Maria would not survive. Her father had made that clear. He had no more use for her now, and he had only one use for Lara.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Gregor was suddenly cursing as he strode ahead of Razov. “She’s only a woman. I thought we’d track her down the first night when I saw her down by the creek. I told you we should split up then and each take a different direction. I’m not going to spend another night wasting my time. I’m heading east toward the creek. You go west and circle back to meet me. I want this over.”

  Yes. It was the break Lara had been waiting for. She moved down the trail toward the east, taking a shortcut so that she would arrive at the creek before Gregor in order to position herself.

  There he is.

  She froze on the other side of the trail, watching as he moved toward the creek and then bent to check the bank for footprints. He would find them: She’d deliberately left prints leading deeper into the woods to the west before she’d swung up into a low tree and moved through the branches until she was close enough to the creek to jump into the water and wade toward a stone bank.

  Gregor had straightened and was following the trail to the west.

  She drew a deep breath. Then she was silently moving forward. No noise. Don’t breathe. Gather your muscles for the blow. Precision was all-important, but when she struck, it had to be with all her strength to have the needed force. He was in the trees now. She could see the beam of his flashlight on the ground as he looked for footprints.

  Then he bent lower to examine the area.

  She leaped forward and struck a karate blow to the back of his neck!

  He slumped forward and she followed it up with another blow. It wasn’t necessary; the first one had killed him. Most of the time it was impossible to kill with a karate blow. You were lucky if you could knock the other person unconscious. But that would not have saved her. So she had practiced balance and precision for hours until she could do it.

  And she felt sick.

  Don’t be this weak, she told herself. She hadn’t the slightest doubt that he would have killed her if he’d had the chance. Only he wouldn’t have made it this quick or easy. She turned away. She couldn’t keep standing here and staring at him. It wasn’t done yet. She had to go after Razov.

  He should be coming from the west…

  * * *

  Move swiftly.

  No noise.

  She wasn’t sure how close Razov was, but she figured she had at least ten to twenty minutes before she’d encounter him.

  Move faster.

  Keep an eye out for the beam of his flashlight. It was the principal thing she had to w
orry about. She could defeat him only if she took him by surprise.

  Twenty minutes later, she saw Razov heading down the trail toward her. He was moving fast, and she had to duck to one side into the bushes to avoid the beam of his flashlight. He was ahead of her now. How to take him out? Another karate blow? Or a karate chop to stun him and then go for the—

  What!

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark-clad man came between her and Razov!

  Lara stopped, stunned, as the man’s arm encircled Razov’s throat and he gave a jerk that broke his neck. Razov crumpled in a heap on the path.

  Dead? How could he be dead? She couldn’t understand it. No, this couldn’t be happening. She was the one who had to do it. It wouldn’t work otherwise. He couldn’t do this to her. She instinctively took a step forward with fists clenched. “What do you think you’re doing? Who are you? There was only supposed to be two of you and I—”

  “It’s okay, you’re safe.” He whirled to face her. “Everything will be okay.”

  He was speaking in English instead of Russian and she instinctively switched to it, too. “The hell it will. You’ve ruined everything.” She braced herself for the attack to come. “You can tell Volkov that he can’t get away with cheating me like this. Come on. I’m ready for you.” It was a lie. She was trying to desperately think of a strategy that might get her out of this. No surprise, and he had taken Razov down with dazzling efficiency. He was facing her, and if she could just make the strike to the jugular absolutely perfect, it might work. No choice. She could see his muscles begin to tauten and he’d be coming for her! She darted to one side and then spun and leaped toward him.

  But he’d already anticipated the move and was whirling toward her, moving swiftly. Dammit, he was so fast…No time for the jugular. She spun again as her leg lifted in a kick to his abdomen. She heard him grunt with pain but then he grabbed her ankle and flipped her to face him. She had only a glimpse of a lean, taut face and glittering light blue eyes before his hand was pressing her carotid artery.