The thought frightened her. She didn’t know where she was or how much time had passed since Tanner had knocked her out. Did Volkov know about Gregor and Razov yet? What about Maria?

“Considering the parachute exit?” She whirled to see Tanner standing in the aisle behind her. He had two cups of coffee in his hands. “I really wouldn’t, until you hear what I have to say. You’re much better off with me.”

She tensed. “And what do you have to say?” she asked. “What time is it? Do my father and Volkov know what happened with Razov and Gregor?”

“It’s a little before dawn. Since I was told you had all night to dispose of Razov and Gregor, I assume Volkov won’t know yet how efficient you were. But they should very shortly. We didn’t have time to dispose of the bodies.”

“Damn you.” Her hands clenched into fists. “Why couldn’t you have kept out of it?”

“Because I was given an extremely good reason not to do that. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He stepped to the side and nodded at the seat across the aisle. “Now why don’t you sit down and drink your coffee and I’ll explain.”

“I don’t want to sit down. I want you to take me back. You’ve probably ruined everything, but maybe I can convince Volkov I did the kill.” She ran her hand through her hair. “But if he paid you, that won’t work. Maybe I can think of something else. What can I do to get you to lie to him?”

“Stop.” Tanner put the coffee cup in her hand and pushed her down onto the seat. “Now listen to me, and then you can try to bribe me. Volkov didn’t send me into that forest, your friend Sergai Kaskov did. He didn’t like the odds you were facing and thought that you might need help.”

“Kaskov? He’s not my friend.” Or maybe he was, but Lara had never been sure. “He should have stayed out of it. He might get Maria killed. I didn’t ask for help.”

“Kaskov evidently didn’t care whether you wanted help or not. I’ve never found him to give a damn what anyone else thinks in the scheme of things. He just decided that he wanted you away from a bad situation and tapped me to get you out of it.” He took a drink of his coffee. “I have experience in extraction, and my job is to whisk you away from here and out of the country. I’m to settle you somewhere you’ll be safe from both your father and Volkov.”

“Why you?”

“He knew I could do the job, and he offered me something that would give me enough incentive to go to any lengths to do it well. Which I will do.” He smiled crookedly. “So get used to me. I agreed to take this job, and you’re stuck with me until I finish it.”

“You’re supposed to take me out of Russia?” she asked slowly. His words were gradually sinking in and her gaze flew to his face. “Truly? You’re not joking?”