“No, and I’m not swayed by anything other than her ability.” He thought for a moment. “Or perhaps her courage. Those are the two things that impressed me about her. She reminded me of someone…”

Sentiment? Not likely, Tanner thought. Kaskov’s expression was as hard as ever. “Why don’t you get her out yourself?”

“I told you, it’s not my custom to interfere with the decisions of other families. It’s not good business and sets a bad example.”

“And?”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “I have to get her out right away. She has to totally disappear for a period of time so that I have time to rearrange her circumstances. That disappearance must not be connected with me.”

“You’d rather it be connected with me?”

“If you’re so clumsy that you make that kind of a mistake. I don’t believe you will.”

“I don’t believe I will, either. Because I have no intention of doing this extraction. Find someone else.”

“If you weren’t perfect, I’d take your advice. But there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t do it. You’re bored, and this would be something to fill in the time until you move on to your next project.”

“I’m not bored.”

“You set up one of your poker games for tomorrow night. You usually only do that when you’re—”

“I’m not bored. And the poker game is another good reason why I can’t do it. You said it has to be done right away. The game is tomorrow night.”

“Cancel it.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You have to get her out of there right away,” Kaskov said quietly. “It’s a priority. You can set up another poker game anytime.”

“Priority?” he asked impatiently.

“She might not be alive after this weekend. Volkov’s men are laying bets she won’t be. The odds are against her.”

Tanner went still. “The odds?”

“I told you that Anton Balkon is a son of a bitch.” He shrugged. “Volkov is far worse. He’s a sadistic bastard, and he never forgets an insult. I don’t know the details, but Lara managed to make him furious before she went to that recital in Moscow. It was Volkov who ordered Balkon to bring her back. He had plans for her.”

“Plans?” His hand clenched on his cup. “She was only eleven.”

“Not sexual. At least, not then. He had something more long-range in mind. He came up with a punishment that could amuse both her father and him for years to come.”

“He wouldn’t let her take the scholarship.”

“Oh, that was definitely gone. But he was still going to permit her to play the piano as long as she agreed to go along with the rules of the bet he’d made with her father.”

“Bet?”

Kaskov smiled bitterly. “I told you this extraction was perfect for you. Volkov and Balkon don’t have your talent, but they do have a passion for gambling. Particularly Volkov. So why not set a master gambler to spoil their very dirty games? It seemed Balkon wouldn’t have minded having a son, but he was disgusted with not only having a daughter, but having one who could do nothing but pound a piano. Which also caused him trouble with his boss, Volkov, who seemed to be impatient with everything Lara did. He grabbed at the chance to earn his approval when Volkov told him his idea of letting Volkov choose certain goals twice a year for Lara to reach to make her into the kind of person they both wanted her to become. Then they’d make a wager as to whether or not she could meet each goal.” His lips tightened. “I don’t have to tell you what kind of punishment she’d have to take from her father if she failed him and he lost a bet. I’m sure that Volkov made those goals very difficult for her to reach.”