“That’s all right as long as they can’t get hold of Maria.” Her gaze flew to his face. “You told me the truth? She’ll be there when we land?”

“I told you the truth. Not everyone lies, Lara.”

“Most people I know do.” She rubbed her temple. “And I’m confused, and I don’t know why Kaskov would do this when I’ve hardly said more than a few sentences to him all the times he visited me. It bothers me. I don’t want to trade a Volkov for a Kaskov.”

“That won’t happen. Kaskov’s in a different league. That doesn’t mean he’s less dangerous, but he operates out of his own playbook. He didn’t confide in me why he wanted you out of Russia except that he didn’t want you killed in that forest.” He met her eyes. “And he knows how I operate, and he realized when I took the job that I’d be in complete control. So it doesn’t matter what he wants from now on. The only one you have to worry about is me. I’ll call all the shots.”

“Complete control,” she repeated. “I don’t think so, Tanner.”

“Then you’ll have to argue with me later,” he said coolly. “But haven’t I removed Kaskov from your current list of those you need to worry about? I can only eliminate so many threats at one time.” He tapped his chest. “Better the devil you know.”

Her searching gaze had not left his own. “Are you a devil, Tanner?”

“It depends on who you ask. I’ve been called worse. I like my own way and I don’t stop until I get it. That doesn’t make me popular.” He smiled crookedly. “Certainly not with you, Lara. The only thing I can promise you is that I’m nothing like the devils you’ve been accustomed to all your life. Completely different breed.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. “That might be enough,” she said slowly. “You can’t be worse. I’ll just have to research you to know how to get what I want from you.”

He chuckled. “You really shouldn’t be so frank about your intentions. Deception is the way to go when you’re dealing with an adversary. You’ll never win the game that way.”

“I told you, I don’t play games. You said I had to deal with the devil I know. But I don’t know you well enough. I can’t win unless I research you and find your faults and strengths.” She nodded. “So that’s what I’ll do.” She added, “But I’ve already found that you don’t like lies or deceptions. Whenever we speak, you keep digging and probing until everything is clear and on the table between us. So that advice you just gave me was exactly how not to get what I want. You’d only fight me.”

“Very true. But wouldn’t it be easier to just let me run the show? It will be much more comfortable for you.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” They’d reached the ground and the plane was bumping down a runway. Maria. In a moment she was going to see Maria and find out if all of this had been truth or only a cruel elaborate trick by Volkov to raise her hopes and then dash them. She unbuckled her seat belt. “But I can’t talk to you anymore right now, Tanner. I have to get off this plane. I have to see her.”