Mallory was on the phone when Jordan opened the door of the office for her ten minutes later. He nodded to Lara and then hung up. He turned to Jordan. “You go back to the plane and get some sleep, since you’ll be doing most of the flying tomorrow.” He turned to Maria. “You’ll have to put up with me for a while longer. I have orders to camp out on the couch in here. Do you need anything?”

Maria turned to Lara. “Do I need anything?”

“According to Tanner, a good night’s sleep,” Lara said, shaking her head. “Though he’s not giving us much time for it. We take off at four in the morning.” She nodded at Jordan as he left the room before turning to Mallory. “I don’t need you. I tried to tell Tanner. He wasn’t listening.”

“He’s like that,” Mallory said. “You just have to give him his way. It’s much easier.” He turned to Maria and inclined his head. “It was a pleasure. Have a good night.”

She smiled. “Much better than I’ve had for the past three.” She took hold of Lara’s arm and pushed her toward the bedroom. “Come along. We need to talk.” She barely waited until she’d shut the door before she leaned back against it, staring at Lara. “You agreed to do this?”

“Tanner says I did,” she said wryly. “I think he may be right. Though he was using everything from the urgency of getting us as far from Russia as soon as possible, to making me promises that he probably can’t keep.”

“But you believed those promises?”

“While he said them. But words are cheap. Yes, he made me believe them. He made me want to believe them.” She shook her head. “What else can I do? He’s right, we have to get you somewhere safe right away. You won’t let me do it myself, so I’ll have to use Tanner. It might not be a bad idea. He keeps telling me he’s an expert; now let’s see if he can keep his promises.”

“So we get on that plane tomorrow morning?”

Lara nodded. “If that’s all right with you.”

“I told you it was up to you.”

She shook her head. “It’s your life, too.”

“I always survive.” Maria took a step forward and gently enfolded her in her arms. “And it makes sense to me, Lara. We’ve got to trust someone sometime.” She kissed her on the forehead. “I liked Mallory. I think he might be a good man. And if he works for Tanner, that’s a recommendation, isn’t it?”