Or it might be the music. He was having trouble looking at her without remembering the sound of that Rachmaninoff concerto she’d been playing on the disk that night Kaskov had pulled him into this. That was weird in itself. It was all strange and complicated, and the only thing he was sure about was that he didn’t like this responsibility that Kaskov had wished on him.

So give in to the curiosity. Read the notes. The fascination would disappear once there was no longer mystery.

He went forward and reached for Mallory’s bag, then sat down in the copilot’s seat as he took out the file.

Chapter
3

Hello, I’m Mallory. I’m supposed to provide you with coffee and reassurance.”

Lara looked up to see a tall, good-looking, sandy-haired man coming down the aisle toward her. He was carrying a tray with a pot of coffee and cups, and his smile lit his face with warmth. She warily braced herself. “I’ll take the coffee. I don’t need your reassurance. Why should I trust anything you say? I don’t know either you or Tanner.”

He shrugged. “Because it’s easier and anyone can see what a magnificent human being I am?” He was pouring coffee in a cup. “But I don’t imagine that would go very far with you, considering your background. Particularly since your first encounter was with Tanner. He has many phenomenal qualities, but sometimes he doesn’t play well with others. He’s often too quiet, and he’s always watching and trying to see beyond what you want him to see. You have to accept that, along with the knowledge that he’s brilliant and will usually be several steps ahead of you, which can be very frustrating.” He handed her the cup. “But it’s balanced by the fact that once he accepts you, he’ll never desert you and you couldn’t be safer.”

“Did he tell you to say that?” she asked cynically.

“No, that’s personal experience.” He grinned as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “I thought I’d throw it in for good measure. Since your meeting was fraught with violence, I knew you’d need a more neutral view of him.”

“You’re hardly neutral. It’s clear you’re good friends.”

“Yes, but I pride myself on never letting that cloud my judgment. You have to do that with friends.” He sat down beside her. “I suppose you’ve found that, too?”

“No, I’ve never had that many friends. Just my mother and Maxim.” She took a sip of coffee. “And I’d think that it would be terrible to have to judge your friends.”

“That’s not what I said. The whole point is not to judge them, but to keep them from dominating your life.” He looked down at his coffee. “Maxim?”

“Maxim Petrov. He lived in the village near the compound. He taught me to play the piano.” She frowned. “Though I guess you couldn’t call him a friend. He yelled at me a lot in the beginning, and once he slapped me. But that didn’t matter. He was right, I wasn’t playing it the way it should be played. It was important that I didn’t make mistakes. I had to serve the music.”