Her smile ebbed as she stared at him. His expression was slightly mocking, but this hadn’t been easy for him. She had learned enough about him to realize that he wasn’t given to either explanations or confidences—and he had just given her both with amazing generosity. She should try to be equally generous. “It’s enough,” she said haltingly. “It was that I didn’t know what was going on. I felt…helpless. I hate to feel helpless. I…strike back.”

“I’ve noticed.” A warm smile lit his face. “But now you do know what’s going on. Welcome to my world. If there’s anything else you want to know, just ask me.”

“That would be an intrusion. You’d be right to resent it.”

“Then we could trade information. No intrusion involved.”

“You’d be cheated. You already know everything about me,” she said ruefully. “Thanks to Kaskov.”

“I know the bare bones, and that’s not nearly enough. I had to guess the rest. I want to hear it all from you.”

“Why?”

“How the hell do I know?” he asked with sudden harshness. “Curiosity? I want to have a reason to hate your father and Volkov even more than I do now? Maybe I feel like I have an investment in you like Sandrino did in me? For some reason it matters to me.”

She shook her head. “You’re not making sense.”

He nodded. “Okay. I’ll back off. You’re allowing me closer than I expected. But I’m persistent, and someday I bet you’ll let me take that last step.”

“I don’t know why you’re so curious,” she said wearily. “But I’m beginning to believe that whatever is going on with you, you won’t hurt us. So I’ll not make this any harder than it has to be, Tanner. I want this over as much as you do. And if you think that I can trust Kaskov, I might even give you a chance to turn me over to him.”

His brows rose. “Really?”

“Might,” she repeated. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late. I believe that could actually be trust looming on the horizon.”

“Don’t count on it.” She turned and sat back at the keyboard. “Now go away. I want to play. You’ve taken too much of my time.”

“You’re tossing me away? Do you mind if I stay around and listen? You’re proving to be habit forming.”