“Partly. But nothing with me is ever that uncomplicated.” He added, “Once I’ve finished completing my business with Tanner, though, I can assure you that you’ll be happy with my arrangements. I do want you to keep playing. That’s surprisingly important to me. I’ve even arranged to send you to an excellent music school to get a little extra polish. But once you’re settled, you’ll no longer have to deal with me. I’d be an albatross, and I want you and Maria to have decent lives.”

“Free from Anton and Volkov?”

He smiled again. “Definitely free from them. Satisfied?”

“I’m not sure. It seems very generous. It’s too good to be true.” Her gaze was searching his face. “And you don’t have the reputation of being particularly noble.”

“Yet every word I’ve said is true. I’ve just not elaborated.”

She was going over everything he’d said. “You said after you’d finished your business with Tanner, I’d be happy with the arrangements. Isn’t he finished now? What does he have to do with it?”

“Yes, that’s a good question,” Tanner said softly. “What do I have to do with it, Kaskov?”

“Well, as I said, I was working on another transaction when I became fascinated with the idea of getting Lara and Maria away from Russia.” Kaskov took a sip of his coffee. “So I decided to combine the two. I’d already done extensive research on my ‘project,’ and I only had to do a little more to make it all come together.”

“What kind of research?” Tanner asked. “From what we discussed, you were only involved in one area of research. Mine.”

Kaskov smiled. “It seems one thing led to another. Only I might not have been totally honest about the order in which they came. You see, I’ve been having a good deal of trouble with other mafia families who were a bit jealous of my power and influence and thought they could handle my affairs better than I could.” His glance shifted to Lara. “One of them is Volkov.”

She stiffened. “What?”

“He’s been getting closer and closer. That’s why I’ve been making trips to the south so frequently lately. I had to see if Anton was going to throw in his lot with Volkov if he made a move.” He shook his head. “Volkov doesn’t want to share the territory with anyone when he takes over. He regards Anton as disposable.”

“I could have told you that,” Lara said bitterly.

“No one needs to tell me anything about Volkov,” Kaskov said. “There’s no one who one knows him better than I do these days.”

“Why?” Tanner asked harshly. “Why are we talking about Volkov?”

“I think you know.” Kaskov’s gaze was narrowed on his face. “You’re putting it all together.”

“Why?” Tanner repeated.