“Yes, you do.” He undid his seat belt and was heading for the door. “And you will. I do play games, but not that kind.” He motioned to Mallory, who had come out of the cockpit. “Okay?”

Mallory nodded. “They’re opening the door and putting down the steps.” He grabbed a suitcase from the coat closet by the door. “Better take this. Tanner thought you might need it.” He tossed a Sherpa jacket over Lara’s shoulders. “Wear it. It’s colder out there.”

She put it on impatiently as she heard sounds on the other side of the door. Then the door was sliding open and she was flying down the steps!

“Lara!” Maria was running toward her. “I was afraid to hope. It was like a miracle…”

Then Lara was in her arms, holding her tight. “I know. I know. Me, too. But maybe it’s not.” She pushed her back and looked at her. “They treated you well? You weren’t lying about Nash?”

Maria shook her head. “I just didn’t understand. I was afraid Volkov was playing a trick to hurt you.” She tenderly cupped Lara’s face in her two hands. “You really got away from them?”

“We got away from them.” She was trying to keep the tears from falling as she went back into her mother’s arms. “And we’re never going back. You’re not going to have to worry about them ever again. I’ll find a safe place for you.”

“Shh, now isn’t the time to talk about that.” She looked beyond Lara to Tanner standing a few yards away. “You brought Lara to me? You must be the Logan Tanner that Nash was telling me about.” She was studying him. “I believe we all have a lot to talk about. Can you find a place where we can do that?”

“That’s not on a plane,” Lara added quickly. “Not yet.”

“Right. I’m very glad to meet you, Madam Balkon,” Tanner said. “From what I’ve heard about you from your daughter, you must be an extraordinary woman.”

“Maria.” She was still looking at Lara. “Call me Maria.”

“Whatever.” He smiled and waved his hand toward the building across the tarmac. “Maria, I thought we might need a bite to eat and a little neutral ground, so I asked Oliver Radkork, the manager of the airport, to let us use his office facilities and his apartment for the rest of the day. If you’ll take Lara over there and get settled, I’ll see if I can get Oliver to recommend something good from a restaurant in town to deliver.” He smiled. “If that’s all right with you?”

“It’s fine. Thank you.” She looked at Lara. “Thank you for everything.” Then she slipped her arm around Lara’s waist and led her away. “Come on. Let’s get inside out of this chill. You need a shower and I need a hot cup of tea and a lot of information from you. Nash kept telling me I’d have to ask Tanner every question I asked him, which did me no good at all. I hope to hell you had better luck getting something from Tanner.”