He smiled wryly. “Practically no one in my circle does. But I promise I won’t use it against you.” He added deliberately, “And you can bet on it.”

“No bets for me,” she said curtly. “Not ever.”

“Your choice. Perfectly understandable. But there are bets, and then there are bets. It’s all how you play the game.”

“I don’t play it at all.”

“Pity. You might be very good at it.” He smiled. “But we’ll discuss that some other time. Right now, I want to convince you that no matter what Kaskov might have in mind as a long-range goal, he would never have involved me if it had anything to do with your archnemesis, Volkov. Kaskov researched me very thoroughly, and he’d know that I wouldn’t go along with it. He wouldn’t waste his time.”

She frowned doubtfully. “Maybe.” She bit her lower lip. “But Volkov might know about Gregor and Razov by now. And the first thing he’ll do is to check whether Maria is still at home. He’d know I wouldn’t do anything without her. When he finds out she’s not there, he’ll start hunting. I have to get to her before he does.”

“A few hours…”

“If you’re telling the truth. If she’s really going to meet us in Stockholm. Perhaps you’re just telling me that to keep me from causing you trouble.”

“A few hours,” he repeated. “They don’t know yet. I have someone watching and reporting from the forest. I’ll let you know when I hear that they do know.” He bent down and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and looked into her eyes. “I promise. It would be very stupid of me to lie to you at this early point in our relationship because it would cause me boundless problems later when I’ll have to count on you trusting me. I want this job to go smoothly.”

She gazed at him searchingly. “Then you’ll probably be disappointed. Maybe you should have asked for more money from Kaskov. Volkov isn’t going to give me up easily. At first, the Trials were a way of getting revenge and punishing me, but lately they’ve become more intricate and I can feel him building toward something. He’s not going to be satisfied until he finishes whatever his master plan is for me.”

“Revenge?” His eyes were narrowed. “I thought it was just a case of two sadistic lowlifes using a kid in their games. You couldn’t have been more than twelve when this started.”

“Oh, that was my father. It was more than that to Volkov.” She smiled sardonically. “Evidently Kaskov either didn’t know it all or didn’t want to share it with you. Well, neither do I.” She leaned back in her seat. “You said that you had someone watching the forest. Will you let me know what’s happening?”

He nodded. “As soon as I get a report.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said mockingly. “Always glad to oblige.”

“You’re making fun of me.” She gazed at him soberly. “But I realize you could be making this more difficult for me if you chose. I’m grateful that you aren’t doing that.”