High Stakes Read online

  “No, it wouldn’t.” They’d reached the ground and the plane was bumping down a runway. Maria. In a moment she was going to see Maria and find out if all of this had been truth or only a cruel elaborate trick by Volkov to raise her hopes and then dash them. She unbuckled her seat belt. “But I can’t talk to you anymore right now, Tanner. I have to get off this plane. I have to see her.”

  “Yes, you do.” He undid his seat belt and was heading for the door. “And you will. I do play games, but not that kind.” He motioned to Mallory, who had come out of the cockpit. “Okay?”

  Mallory nodded. “They’re opening the door and putting down the steps.” He grabbed a suitcase from the coat closet by the door. “Better take this. Tanner thought you might need it.” He tossed a Sherpa jacket over Lara’s shoulders. “Wear it. It’s colder out there.”

  She put it on impatiently as she heard sounds on the other side of the door. Then the door was sliding open and she was flying down the steps!

  “Lara!” Maria was running toward her. “I was afraid to hope. It was like a miracle…”

  Then Lara was in her arms, holding her tight. “I know. I know. Me, too. But maybe it’s not.” She pushed her back and looked at her. “They treated you well? You weren’t lying about Nash?”

  Maria shook her head. “I just didn’t understand. I was afraid Volkov was playing a trick to hurt you.” She tenderly cupped Lara’s face in her two hands. “You really got away from them?”

  “We got away from them.” She was trying to keep the tears from falling as she went back into her mother’s arms. “And we’re never going back. You’re not going to have to worry about them ever again. I’ll find a safe place for you.”

  “Shh, now isn’t the time to talk about that.” She looked beyond Lara to Tanner standing a few yards away. “You brought Lara to me? You must be the Logan Tanner that Nash was telling me about.” She was studying him. “I believe we all have a lot to talk about. Can you find a place where we can do that?”

  “That’s not on a plane,” Lara added quickly. “Not yet.”

  “Right. I’m very glad to meet you, Madam Balkon,” Tanner said. “From what I’ve heard about you from your daughter, you must be an extraordinary woman.”

  “Maria.” She was still looking at Lara. “Call me Maria.”

  “Whatever.” He smiled and waved his hand toward the building across the tarmac. “Maria, I thought we might need a bite to eat and a little neutral ground, so I asked Oliver Radkork, the manager of the airport, to let us use his office facilities and his apartment for the rest of the day. If you’ll take Lara over there and get settled, I’ll see if I can get Oliver to recommend something good from a restaurant in town to deliver.” He smiled. “If that’s all right with you?”

  “It’s fine. Thank you.” She looked at Lara. “Thank you for everything.” Then she slipped her arm around Lara’s waist and led her away. “Come on. Let’s get inside out of this chill. You need a shower and I need a hot cup of tea and a lot of information from you. Nash kept telling me I’d have to ask Tanner every question I asked him, which did me no good at all. I hope to hell you had better luck getting something from Tanner.”

  “He wasn’t hesitant about talking to me if that’s what you mean. Whether it’s true or not…” She glanced back at Tanner, who was still talking to Mallory. “He brought you to me, that was the truth. That’s all that’s important now. We’ll decide the rest later.”

  Chapter

  4

  I’m very impressed by Mama Bear,” Mallory murmured to Tanner. “She’s not what I expected. Lara was so protective of her that I thought she’d be more…helpless. And that photo Kaskov gave you didn’t do her justice. She’s very attractive, almost as stunning as her daughter.” He looked critically at Maria’s dark hair swept back in a plain chignon and her features that were almost classic though without even a hint of makeup. “When Kaskov visited Lara and had her play for him, maybe he was really after the mother. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re way off base about Kaskov. But I agree that Maria is unexpected. She’s very strong. So it’s a puzzle why she could let her daughter take the punishment she has.” He was watching as the two women disappeared into the airport office. “Exceptional affection and protectiveness on both sides. Understandable. Very natural that the closeness would be that extreme considering what they’ve shared through the years.”

  “You’re taking her apart, piece by piece.” Mallory smiled. “I assume you have a reason other than my idle query?”

  “Your queries are seldom idle,” Tanner said. “They almost always have an objective. And I’m taking her apart because I just realized that I have to understand her as well as I do Lara. As you say, she’s strong. She’ll fight me if she believes I’m doing something that isn’t in the best interest of the team.”

  “Team?”

  “That’s how I’ll have to think of them until I get Maria on my side.” He grimaced. “I’m going to have to call Kaskov and ask him a few questions.”

  “About Maria?”

  “And several other subjects.”

  “Sandrino?”

  “Definitely Sandrino.” He turned away. “Why don’t you see about setting up a decent dinner. A mellow atmosphere will ease my way this evening. I don’t know how long this call will take.”

  To his surprise he was able to get past a secretary to Nikolai in under thirty minutes and then was instantly put through to Kaskov. “All is going well, I assume?” Kaskov asked. “Lara Balkon is out of Russia and not injured?”

  “We’re outside Stockholm and I’ve brought Lara together with her mother. They’re both safe, and I’m getting ready to make final transfer plans. What about Sandrino?”

  “I’m making progress,” Kaskov said. “I’m sure I won’t disappoint you.”

  “Progress isn’t good enough. I want facts. How far have you gotten?”

  “I know Sandrino was in Moscow about the time you told me you’d tracked him down to Kazan.”

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s more than you’ve found out from anyone else. Patience, Tanner.”

  “Are you playing me, Kaskov?” Tanner asked softly.

  “A good question. But you’re much better at that than I am. And you’re too valuable for me to break faith with you when I might need your services in the future. I should be able to give you what you need by the time you finish my job.” He paused. “But I understand Volkov and Balkon are already in a fury trying to find her. Balkon is asking a lot of questions, and he’ll eventually get answers if he pays enough. That final transfer had better be made quickly, and be far away from Stockholm. It’s definitely too close for me. Where are you taking her?”

  “Perhaps I’ll tell you…when the job is finished.”

  Kaskov chuckled. “Tit for tat? Just so you don’t make the mistake of using her against me. That’s not permitted. I haven’t made my final arrangements for her yet.”

  “I imagine she might have a few objections to you doing that,” he said dryly. “It’s clear you don’t know her that well.”

  “And it’s clear you think you do. No, I admit I wasn’t really interested in anything about Lara but her music.” He paused. “Did you play the DVD I sent with you?”

  Tanner was tempted to lie, but that would be an admission that the answer mattered to him. “Yes.”

  “How many times?”

  The son of a bitch. “She’s very good.” He changed the subject. “But she’s also exceptionally difficult. I might have trouble with her. And Maria Balkon was a surprise to me. They’re close and might present a united front that will make it necessary to separate them to avoid problems.”

  “Separate them…” Kaskov repeated. “From what I’ve observed in my time with them, that might be a challenge. Actually, the idea is amusing. I’m glad that you’re the one that’s going to do it. Do tell me how it works out.”

  “I’ll be sure to do that.” He kept
his temper. “But I’d like to avoid a radical step like that if I can. So I want you to tell me everything you know about Maria Balkon and I’ll see if I can use persuasion. I hope you paid more attention to Maria than you did Lara.”

  “Only her attitude toward Lara, but naturally she was part of the picture when I made the decision. You’re right, Maria Balkon is an interesting problem…”

  * * *

  “You’ve told me everything, Lara?” Maria asked. “All Tanner wants is to take us away somewhere safe until Kaskov finishes making his arrangements? What arrangements?”

  “I have no idea.” Lara held up her hand as Maria opened her lips. “And Tanner didn’t ask. He made it clear this is just a job and as soon as it’s finished, he’s gone. But not until then. He has some kind of code where his work is concerned.” She frowned. “He’s probably going to get in my way.”

  “A code isn’t bad.” Maria’s lips twisted bitterly. “Though very rare. I can’t remember either one of us running across anyone else who has one in all these years.”

  “Maxim,” Lara said quietly. “He had one about the music and he taught it to me.”

  Maria nodded. “I’d forgotten. Of course he had a code.” She quickly changed the subject. “So how is Tanner going to get in your way?”

  “We don’t know anything about him, so there’s no way we can really trust him. I have to find a secure place for you that only you and I know about. That’s the only way I can be certain you’ll be safe.”

  “And then you’ll go and lead Volkov and Anton away from me?” Maria was shaking her head. “No, Lara. That’s not the way it’s going to be.”

  “That’s the way it has to be. If I have you safe, then I’ll be able to go wherever I need to so that I’ll be free, too.”

  “While you’re looking over your shoulder and waiting for him to find you? He will find you eventually, Lara. The only value Anton ever had for Volkov was that he could use him to get to you. First with the Trials, and then with the fact that Anton’s family has contacts with cartels all over the world that he can tap for information. That’s how he found us before.”

  “But we never managed to get out of Russia that time, only to the Ukraine border. It will be different now. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “You’ll try,” Maria said softly. “And if you don’t succeed, it will only be you that suffers. That’s been your philosophy all these years, but it’s going to stop. You’re right, we do have more of a chance now. But we’re not going to waste it with you trying to persuade me to hide away while you go on the run and enjoy that nonexistent freedom you’re telling me about. So we’ll come up with a way that makes sense to me. One that won’t involve either of us hiding away and still being a victim.” Her lips were trembling as she tried to smile. “We’ve had enough of that, haven’t we?”

  Lara flew across the room and into her arms. “Yes,” she whispered. “But none of it was your fault. You should let me do this.”

  “Let you lose all the joy and the music?” She held her closer and then let her go. “Because that’s what it might mean, and I couldn’t bear it, Lara. So you’ll let me have my way in this. Say it.”

  She was silent. “I’ll let you have your way if I can. But only if I can see another path that will keep you safe.”

  “Then we’d better start exploring,” Maria said. “And one of the paths might be Tanner. We might not have to trust him as long as we can come to terms with him. I got Nash to talk about him a little on the way here. He respects him. And it wasn’t like the fear of Volkov’s men. What do you know about him?”

  “Not much. He’s intelligent. He’s really good at karate. He took down Razov better than I could have. He’s not afraid of Kaskov even though he knows him better than Volkov does. Mallory says he’s always watching and trying to see beyond what you’re seeing, which usually puts him a step ahead. I believe that’s true. And when he promised me that he’d tell me something, he kept his word. He likes control.” She frowned. “I think that’s all.”

  “Really?” Maria raised her brows. “I’d say that’s quite a bit for one plane ride. I believe it would be worthwhile to probe a little deeper and see if he can be of use.”

  Lara shook her head. “He likes control.”

  “Then we’ll give it to him. But that doesn’t mean we can’t shape the way we want him to use it.” She put her cup down on the coffee table.

  “I want to talk to him. I’m certain that you’re right about everything you’ve said about him, but I need to make my own judgments. So why don’t you go and take that shower and wash your hair while I give Tanner a cup of tea and we size each other up. I’m sure he’s curious about me, too.”

  “You’re trying to get rid of me.”

  “Absolutely.” She smiled. “Don’t be so wary. He’s only another man, and you know I’ll have no problem.”

  “Yes.” She slowly got to her feet. “If that’s what you want. But be careful, he’s…different.” She picked up the suitcase and started back toward the bedroom. “He might surprise you.”

  “I doubt that. It’s more likely that I’ll surprise him,” Maria said. “But either way, we’ll both know where we stand.” She paused. “And he’ll understand that you’re not alone in this. And so will you, Lara.”

  “I’ve never thought I was alone. You were always there for me.”

  “Was I? It didn’t seem that way to me.” She grimaced. “But this is a new day. We both have another chance.” She made a shooing gesture. “Now jump in that shower. I don’t want you to get in my way.”

  * * *

  Tanner smiled at Maria when he came into the office fifteen minutes later. “Dinner is on the way.” His gaze wandered around the room. “Lara?”

  “She decided she couldn’t do without that shower you mentioned. She should be out soon.” Maria went to the bar. “But I’ve made another pot of tea and I thought we could have a cup and get to know each other. I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of Lara.”

  “She was my responsibility.” He took the cup she handed him. “I couldn’t do anything else.” He took a sip. “Very good. But of course you’re a tea drinker. You’re English, aren’t you?”

  “Kaskov told you?”

  “He merely mentioned it in passing. He was centered on Lara.” He went to a leather easy chair and sat down. “I didn’t know anything about you until I called him back after I left you today and asked him for more details.”

  She stiffened. “Kaskov and I hardly knew each other. He rarely said more than a few words to me when he came to the house to listen to Lara. She plays the piano, you know.”

  “Yes, I know very well. Kaskov made sure I did.” He tilted his head. “But Kaskov is a great fan of research. He knew much more about you than you would have thought.” His glance went to the bedroom. “Lara will feel much better after she has that shower. Did I give the two of you enough time to catch up?”

  “It didn’t take long. We’re so close we almost speak shorthand.” She followed him and sat down in the chair across from him. “She means everything to me.”

  “I could see she does. Which is why I thought I’d better see if it was going to cause me any trouble.” He smiled. “I detest trouble. Are you going to be a problem?”

  “I might be.” She looked down into her tea. “I hope not. I don’t want to be. It depends on what you decide to do. What did Kaskov tell you?”

  “It was very cut-and-dried. Only a brief description of what must have been a terrible time for you,” he said quietly. “I have no intention of using it to hurt you in any way. I wasn’t looking for anything like this. I just wanted to find a way to handle you. I don’t think I could hurt you if I wanted to. I can see you’ve put it behind you, and it’s only made you stronger.”

  “Yes, it has.” She smiled bitterly. “No one can use that nightmare against me ever again. Even though I’m still living through the aftereffects from Volkov.” She lifted her cup to her lips.
“Cut-and-dried,” she repeated. “It wasn’t cut-and-dried to me. And you might not want to use this to hurt me, but you’re still trying to manipulate me or you wouldn’t have brought it up. You’d have politely ignored that you knew about my deep, dark past.”

  “Very true. Though your past isn’t dark, it’s very deep, and it’s created a woman who could still throw my plans into a hellish mess. I have to know you. And the reason I wasn’t discreetly polite is that I thought you could take anything I threw at you. But I still have to find a way to know exactly how you think, and I thought this would break the ice.”

  She looked at him and started to laugh. “That’s one way of putting it. You’re…unusual, Tanner. I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone like you.” She took a sip of her tea and then leaned back in her chair. She said bluntly, “I need to know you, too. You might be important to Lara. So let’s put all the cards on the table. I’ll go first, and it won’t be cut-and-dried. I was born in London. My parents were poor and hardworking and did their best to give me a good life, send me to church on Sunday, and teach me all the things decent parents teach their kids. But by the time I was eighteen, I thought I knew everything and only wanted to have a good time. Well, one night I was out at a club and the boy I was with slipped me a mickey. The next morning I woke up chained in a cellar with a dozen other girls and found out that boy was a supplier for sex traffickers. I was raped every night while I was there, but then they decided I was special and sent me to one of their cribs in Istanbul for special training. They turned me over to Madam Alya. She told me I had great potential and if I applied myself, I would not be hurt. Since they kept me drugged most of the time, I was a very willing student. I learned to perform so well I can’t tell you how much in demand I was. Everyone wanted Maria.” She took another drink of tea. “Are you bored yet?”

  “Not in the least,” he said quietly.

  “Neither was I. As long as they kept me drugged, I did fine. But unfortunately one of the house’s clients was Anton Balkon, who visited the house whenever he was in Istanbul. They gave me to him whenever he was in town. I didn’t care—he was just another client, and I did what I was told to do. But I did it too well. He went a little crazy about me. Of course, he was on drugs, too. He decided he wanted his own private whore back at his compound in Russia, so he bought me from Madam Alya for a very pretty penny.” She shrugged. “The idiot even married me. He told me that the mafia family respected marriage and that it would keep other men away from me. He told the madam to get me off the drugs and he’d be back to get me in a couple of weeks.” She shook her head. “Big mistake. If he’d left me on the drugs, I would have done anything he wanted. He’d have been much happier. But by the time he got back I was starting to get off them, and when I got to Avgar I was almost clean…and beginning to think. That was fatal for me. I began fighting every time he touched me, and he started beating me. I tried to run away, and the beatings got worse. It was a very bad time. And I didn’t think it could, but it got worse. I found out I was pregnant. That made Anton even angrier. All he’d wanted was a sex toy; he had no use for children. Madam Alya had even told him they’d operated on me when I’d arrived in Istanbul before they’d started my training and he wouldn’t have to worry that I’d breed. He was furious that they’d lied to him. He started to grumble about having the child aborted and then having me fixed himself. I didn’t care, I was almost numb by that time and heaven knows I didn’t want to have his child. I thought it would have to be a monster. But he went away on a smuggling job, and while he was gone the numbness went away.” Her hand touched her stomach. “And I felt the baby move.”