“You bitch.” His face was flushed with anger. His hands were grasping her shoulders and he was shaking her. “Do you know how much trouble you caused me with Volkov? I told you what to do and you didn’t do it, or Tanner would never have been able to get hold of you. Do you realize how Volkov’s been treating me? Wait until I get hold of Maria. You’ll be sorry that—”

“No, you’ll be sorry,” Tanner said coldly as he plucked Anton’s hands off Lara and shoved him against the wall. “Evidently you haven’t had the new orders from Volkov. Unless you want me to seriously damage you, there will be no putting your hands on her again. Do you understand me?”

Anton opened his lips to speak and then closed them again. His voice was surly as he said, “I understand. Volkov said that you were coming, Tanner. Some big game…That’s why I’m here, he said he wanted everything running smooth.” He added viciously, “But that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind about Lara the minute he sees her. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to choke her when we found out she was gone.” He gestured to the door leading to the casino. “Go on inside. He’s waiting for you.” He glanced at Lara and his lips curled savagely. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes, you will,” she said. “By all means, run and see if Volkov wants you to run any errands for him.” She heard him swear as she passed him and went toward the door.

Tanner caught up with her. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, and you shouldn’t have bothered with him. Anton is nothing. I’ve told you that before. Most of the time I could just avoid him.”

“It was hard for me to remember that when he was shaking you,” he said dryly. “It made me want to make him truly ‘nothing.’”

She suddenly smiled. “That would not have been unpleasant. But that’s not why we’re here. Anton was a surprise. But he said Volkov wanted him here. Anton usually deals with the men for Volkov. I suppose we should be wondering why he would want Anton here tonight.”

“No, we should only keep an eye on him. Your father impresses me as a man who will reveal anything we need to know if we just give him the opportunity.” He opened the casino doors. “Let’s let him do that.”

* * *

“This is incredible.” Lara glanced around the casino floor. The carpeting, lighting, and décor wouldn’t have been out of place in any of the world’s most extravagant gaming establishments in Monaco, Macau, or Las Vegas. Red-uniformed servers stood by with drink carts, and the similarly attired dealers manned the dozen or so tables. “This place looked like a condemned old shack from the road.”

“Tanner!” Volkov was moving toward them from across the room. “Welcome to my playground.”

“Is that what you call it?”

“Why not?” Volkov smiled at Lara. “Good evening, my dear. You honor my establishment with your presence. I can’t wait for you to become more accustomed to it. If Tanner hadn’t been so hasty about taking you away from me, I might have brought you here myself.”