Mallory shook his head. “I’ll stick around. You’ve got a great view of the city from this suite. I’ll go have a drink on the terrace until you’re finished.” He moved toward a giant of a man dressed in a very expensive-looking navy-blue suit. “Hello, Nikolai, I thought I saw you in the lobby. Anything I can do for you?”

Nikolai shook his head. “No, Mr. Kaskov says you’re no longer of interest to me.”

“Thank God,” Mallory murmured. “Then may I ask why you’re here?”

“Mr. Kaskov is going to have a discussion with Mr. Tanner and wanted me to check out the premises.” He turned to Tanner. “Everything seems to be in order. I’ve notified Mr. Kaskov and he’s on his way up. I was just in the kitchen preparing coffee. May I get you a cup?”

“By all means. Thank you. Make yourself at home.” Tanner glanced at Mallory. “I believe it’s time you went out on the terrace and had that drink.”

“You’re certain?”

“Nikolai says you’re not needed. But evidently I am.” He turned back to Nikolai. “And I’m sure you’ve chosen the place where Kaskov would want to have this discussion?”

“The library seems to be comfortable and secure. But Mr. Kaskov said that he’d be happy to accommodate you if you prefer another location.”

“He did? Interesting.” Tanner headed for the library. “The library is fine. I’ll wait there for him. You can show him in when he arrives.”

Nikolai glanced at the elevator. “I’m sure it will be any moment.”

Tanner was certain it would be, too. Kaskov’s schedule usually ran smoothly with absolutely no glitches. Since he was head of one of the most powerful mafia groups in Russia and had any number of enemies among the lesser mob hierarchies of the Russian underworld, he wouldn’t have lived this long and gained his present dominance if it didn’t. Tanner hadn’t had any dealings with him since he’d worked out the payment for Mallory’s indiscretion, but he was sure that hadn’t changed. He’d never met a more intelligent or dangerous man nor one he’d more prefer to keep at a considerable distance.

But none of Nikolai’s signals had indicated threat, and Kaskov had ordered those signals. So assume dominance until he knew what the hell the bastard wanted. First, sit down behind the desk in the library and make Kaskov come to him.

He didn’t have to wait long. Sergai Kaskov swept into the library only a few minutes later. He was dressed in a faultless tuxedo and tossed his coat on a chair beside the door. “Hello, Tanner. Thank you for seeing me. I meant to be here earlier, but I just flew in from Rome. I had tickets for a concert at the opera and there was an artist I didn’t want to miss. Superb. You’ll understand, you go there frequently when you’re in Italy, don’t you?” He dropped down into a chair beside the desk and smiled. “Life can be so tiresome; one must take advantage of every minute of beauty.” He looked almost exactly the same as he had when Tanner had last seen him several years ago. He sat there perfectly at ease, powerful, magnetic, totally dominant, gray-streaked dark hair, somewhere in his late fifties. He chuckled as he continued, “But then you know that about me. You investigated everything you could find regarding who I was and how you could get what you wanted from me. I expected it.” He leaned back in the chair. “I even admired it.”