“Nash is very competent. He set down the helicopter in the middle of the woods, miles from Anton’s house, and they hiked to the house. After they secured Maria, they took her back to the helicopter, making sure they weren’t seen.” He added quietly, “He was careful. There shouldn’t have been any slip-ups, Lara.”

“You’re right.” She felt sick. She closed her eyes for a moment as she fought the chill. She could almost see the way it had happened. “There shouldn’t have been, but there were.” Her lids flipped open. “Because the one and only time Maria and I escaped Volkov and my father, he swore it wouldn’t happen again. Even if Nash checked the security in and around the house, they wouldn’t have caught all the cameras scattered around the woods. It might have taken my father a little while to access the right one where he could get the helicopter information and facial IDs, but he’d be able to do it.”

“Son of a bitch.” Tanner was swearing softly and vehemently. “I told Nash to check for security around the trees bordering the woods, but I didn’t tell him to send a search team deep into the woods. Dammit, why didn’t Kaskov tell me? He knew I only had a couple of days to do the recon.”

“He probably didn’t know. Even Maria didn’t know,” she said shakily. “It was just between my father and me. He took me deep into the woods and beat me with a whip after he showed me the cameras. Then he said if I tried to run again, he’d tie Maria to one of those trees and leave her there for a week and beat her every day. He said he could hardly wait to see the photos. He loved those cameras.” Her lips twisted. “He liked to film her in pain. It was the only way he could make me do what he wanted.”

“My God.” He involuntarily reached out and took her by the shoulders.

She quickly stepped back away from him. “So it wasn’t your fault or Kaskov’s fault. It was my fault. You told me she was safe, and I just accepted it. I should have remembered the cameras. I was just so glad to know she was safe I forgot everything else. It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that. Now tell me what harm I’ve caused.”

“Maybe none. I won’t know until I find out what happened to Nash.” He added roughly, “And regardless, it wouldn’t have been your fault. I was in charge. It was my responsibility.”