“Part of it does.” She tossed the comforter aside and stood up. “I guess you handled it as well as it could be handled. I suppose I’d better go to bed and get some sleep if we’re heading for the mountains. We’ll probably be leaving early.”

He nodded. “I believe I suggested that earlier in the evening.” He watched her head for the door. “And what part didn’t you think I handled well?”

She gave him a cool glance over her shoulder. “The part when both Volkov and you were calling me ‘property.’”

* * *

Volkov’s Mountain
10:40 A.M.

They approached Volkov’s property very carefully, even getting out and examining the entire area with binoculars to make sure that there were no sentries surrounding it. The entire mountain seemed deserted. No cars, and the house seemed tightly shuttered.

“It doesn’t look as impressive as I’d think Volkov would like,” Lara said as she got out of the Mercedes and looked up at the mountain. She’d expected something more spectacular. The two-story gray stone house appeared spacious enough, but it looked almost like a farmhouse. Still, it was nestled in a thick stand of evergreens and she could see a waterfall cascading down the mountain to the rocks below. “He made sure that his compound at Avgar attracted plenty of notice. He always has to be the center of attention.”

“This is pretty much wilderness country,” Tanner said as he started up the path toward the house. “There aren’t that many people around to give him that attention.” He stopped and looked thoughtfully down at the waterfall. “One would wonder why he even wants a house out here. The casino makes sense considering his passion for the games. But not this place. And it’s some distance from the casino.” He was starting up the path again. “And this had to be where Walker found the dog tags. I can’t see why Sandrino would have come up here to join Volkov in a friendly drink, can you?”

“You know the answer.” She hurried to catch up with him. He’d been too quiet on the way from the safe house, and she’d been aware of his tension. “Why are we here, Tanner? What do you want me to do?”

“We’re here because I think a monster lives here, and I’m going to find out for sure.” His eyes were glittering fiercely as he turned to face her. “And what I want you to do is to go over to that chair on the porch and sit down and wait for me, while I go inside and search until I find out the answer.” She opened her lips to speak and he put his hand on her mouth. “No, that’s all I want you to do. I can get into the house by myself. I know a lot about locks. I don’t want you helping me break in. I know that some of your Trials involved burglaries. But I don’t want you doing it for me. Never. Do you hear me?”