Then he bent lower to examine the area.

She leaped forward and struck a karate blow to the back of his neck!

He slumped forward and she followed it up with another blow. It wasn’t necessary; the first one had killed him. Most of the time it was impossible to kill with a karate blow. You were lucky if you could knock the other person unconscious. But that would not have saved her. So she had practiced balance and precision for hours until she could do it.

And she felt sick.

Don’t be this weak, she told herself. She hadn’t the slightest doubt that he would have killed her if he’d had the chance. Only he wouldn’t have made it this quick or easy. She turned away. She couldn’t keep standing here and staring at him. It wasn’t done yet. She had to go after Razov.

He should be coming from the west…

* * *

Move swiftly.

No noise.

She wasn’t sure how close Razov was, but she figured she had at least ten to twenty minutes before she’d encounter him.

Move faster.

Keep an eye out for the beam of his flashlight. It was the principal thing she had to worry about. She could defeat him only if she took him by surprise.

Twenty minutes later, she saw Razov heading down the trail toward her. He was moving fast, and she had to duck to one side into the bushes to avoid the beam of his flashlight. He was ahead of her now. How to take him out? Another karate blow? Or a karate chop to stun him and then go for the—

What!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark-clad man came between her and Razov!

Lara stopped, stunned, as the man’s arm encircled Razov’s throat and he gave a jerk that broke his neck. Razov crumpled in a heap on the path.

Dead? How could he be dead? She couldn’t understand it. No, this couldn’t be happening. She was the one who had to do it. It wouldn’t work otherwise. He couldn’t do this to her. She instinctively took a step forward with fists clenched. “What do you think you’re doing? Who are you? There was only supposed to be two of you and I—”

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” He whirled to face her. “Everything will be okay.”

He was speaking in English instead of Russian and she instinctively switched to it, too. “The hell it will. You’ve ruined everything.” She braced herself for the attack to come. “You can tell Volkov that he can’t get away with cheating me like this. Come on. I’m ready for you.” It was a lie. She was trying to desperately think of a strategy that might get her out of this. No surprise, and he had taken Razov down with dazzling efficiency. He was facing her, and if she could just make the strike to the jugular absolutely perfect, it might work. No choice. She could see his muscles begin to tauten and he’d be coming for her! She darted to one side and then spun and leaped toward him.