“Oh, dear God,” she murmured. She reached out and touched his hand. “You’re sure?”

“I hoped to God I wasn’t. I didn’t want it to be him. I stayed there a long time to be certain. He was mostly skeleton, too, but I could recognize him. His right jaw had been smashed by a racketeer in a poker game when he was a young kid on his way up. He had to have surgery to repair it, and he had two damaged molars that also had to be replaced. He used to joke about it. He told me he might not have picked me up out of that alley if his jaw hadn’t been aching a little that night. It reminded him of what a rough life a kid could have on the streets.” He had to stop for a moment. “Yeah, that was Sandrino.” He looked away from her. “Volkov didn’t get to torture him. Sandrino must have fought. He died of a gunshot wound to the chest.”

She was aching with sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Tanner. What can I do?”

“You’ve already started. You locked up the house again for me.” He leaned wearily back in the seat. “That’s our first step. I’ll concentrate on the rest when I’m in a little better shape. I’m having a problem thinking right now. I’ll be much clearer by the time I get back to the house.”

“I’m sure you will.” Her hand tightened even more on Tanner’s. He’d just lost his best friend in one of the most horrible ways possible. Yet she believed him when he said that he’d be himself and ready to function in only that short time.

So hold his hand and let him know that she felt his pain. It was all she could do right now.

* * *

It was after nine when Lara pulled up before the front entrance that night. She didn’t have a chance to get out of the Mercedes before Tanner had slipped out of the passenger seat and opened the front door. She ran after him as he crossed the foyer and started up the staircase. “Tanner, tell me how I can help.”

“I don’t need help.” He tried to smile, but the effort was forced. “I only need a little time. It’s not as if I didn’t know he was dead. I would have heard from him otherwise. He never let me go very long without touching base. Volkov just found a particularly savage way of killing him that tore me apart. He didn’t deserve that.” He shook his head at her. “Stop looking at me like that. I’ll be fine. There’s nothing you can do at the moment. Unless you want to scrub my back. I’ve got to go up and shower and change. You might have noticed I was a little wet.”

“I noticed. Can I get you anything? You didn’t eat.” She had a sudden thought. “Am I bothering you?”

He shook his head. “No. You’re company, and I’ve felt lonely ever since I saw him. But I don’t like the idea of you in agony like this. I told you that I wanted you to stay okay.”