“What about Maria?”

“I’ll pick her up myself tonight and take her to New York in the Gulfstream. There’s no way she was going to leave Rennell right now anyway.”

“I don’t want to leave her. Why can’t I wait?”

“Because I want you out of here. And because Kaskov wants you to make a stopover in Atlanta on the way to New York.”

“Why?”

“How do I know? He didn’t say. So you can thank him personally? He just said he wanted to talk to you.” He whirled her around and kissed her. “Stop worrying. Nothing’s going to happen to either of you. I promise. By the time you get into New York, I’ll have this little hiccup managed. Trust me.”

“I do. I just don’t like leaving you here, either.” She was looking around the wreckage on the mountain. “You might say I contributed to this chaos. I shouldn’t leave you to deal with it by yourself.”

“I’ll let you make it up to me when you reach New York.” He was motioning to Mallory. “Right now all I want is you out of here, so I won’t have to worry about you.” He grinned ruefully. “And I guarantee that I’d much rather deal with this chaos than have your job of dealing with Kaskov.”

Epilogue

Atlanta, Georgia
11:40 A.M.

What am I doing here, Nikolai?” Lara wasn’t at all sure she liked what was going on. There might be nothing to worry about. But with Kaskov, one could never be entirely certain. “I was supposed to have a meeting with Kaskov at the airport and you whisked me into this limo and took me into the city. You’re disobeying his orders.”

“I never disobey his orders,” Nikolai said. “Well, almost never. Only when it is better and safer for him not to do something. That is not what’s happening now. You are mistaken, I’m not taking you into the city. See? There is a lake right ahead.” He pulled the limo over beneath some trees and stopped. “I believe you’re supposed to get out here. He’s waiting for you.” He left the limo and ran around the car to open her door. “Here she is, sir,” he said to Kaskov as he strolled into view. “She thought I was being disobedient. I explained that was most unlikely.”

“But not impossible.” He smiled at Lara. “And it’s my fault. Were you afraid I’d kidnapped you?”

“Not afraid.” She made a face. “Maybe a little wary. After all, you did it before.”

He chuckled. “That should have reassured you. I’d hesitate to repeat such a splendid venture. It could never have the same success ratio.”

“Which is why I’m only a little wary,” she said quietly. “It was a success, and I’d be grateful if I felt I could trust you. But that’s difficult for me. Why am I here, Kaskov?”

He smiled. “I made both you and Tanner a promise. I had to fulfill it. I think perhaps Tanner would prefer I stayed out of your life from now on, but I’m accustomed to that response. Actually, I applaud it. But I did make another promise and I won’t break my word. First, I’ve made arrangements at Juilliard so that you can acquire that polish I mentioned might be beneficial. It’s in New York, so Tanner won’t be too displeased that you’ll be at school and ignore him.”