“It is a … .” Marina struggled to find the right word in a language she’d not heard or spoken for twenty-odd years, “ … secret.”

Would he let them go?

It wasn’t as if the man’s frail muscles could stop them if they wanted to leave. But … there was something else about him. He might, indeed, be a worthy adversary.

The man nodded. “I trust you have your reasons.” He gestured with his wrinkled hand, the blue lines tracing skin as delicate as an elderly woman’s. “Go, and live, then, with your deceit.”

Just as she turned toward the door, it opened.

Marina froze and Gabe bumped into her from behind.

She looked up into her father’s face.

-32-

He looked down at her, shock flooding his face.

Marina didn’t move. Her breath filled her lungs and held there, then expelled in a long, low, soft huff.

He looked healthier than she remembered; his face filled in, his skin creamy and smooth like he’d just moisturized it. He’d shaved his head, and it gave him a whole different look. His brows were trimmed and he was dressed neatly in clothing similar to that which she and Gabe wore. When was the last time she’d seen him so well groomed, his eyes so white instead of bloodshot?

Yet … he looked different. He had a different air about him.

It felt like minutes, but the mutual paralysis lasted only a few seconds; then Dad closed the door behind him and stepped into the room, standing in front of it as if to block any chance of escape.

Marina felt Gabe tense behind her, but she gave a bare shift backward with her elbow as a signal not to make any rash moves. She had no reason to fear her father. And the elderly man obviously had no problem with them being there.

That Dad didn’t react to seeing her unexpectedly didn’t strike her until he looked over at the old man. “What are they doing in here?” He spoke in Skaladeska.

The old man’s attention flickered toward Marina, but he replied, “You might ask them yourself.”

Dad didn’t appear to embrace that idea. He stood, as if unsure what to do. His jaw moved. She noticed the way it shifted from side to side in a broken rhythm.

Since he did not acknowledge her as his daughter, she assumed he didn’t want the old man to know. Perhaps it had something to do with the email warning he’d sent.

Whatever the reason, she wanted out of there. The tension was too thick, and she felt surrounded by an urgency she didn’t understand. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly out of her element. Frightened.

Let the CIA take it from here.

“We were just leaving,” she said in Skaladeska, and started to push past her father. “I’ll be in touch.”

His face registered surprise, and he looked as though he wanted to stop her … .but he didn’t. She brushed right past him, and he moved aside to let her reach the door. Gabe was behind her and no sooner than they were in the hall than he grabbed her hand and started running.

Marina’s instinct was to run too, but she wasn’t sure why. No one had tried to stop them. Her dad was there.

She pulled her hand out of Gabe’s and slowed to a quick walk. “No need to call attention to ourselves,” she said.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of pounding feet. Many of them.

They looked at each other, and Gabe lunged for her arm, yanking her after him as he ducked into a room.

It was unlit, and once the door closed behind them, she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. She felt Gabe, bumping up against her, and she put her hands out in front to keep their foreheads from cracking into each other.

His voice hissed into her ear. “You lied to me.” His breath was warm, but his words held ice. And the fingers around her upper arms weren’t gentle.

“What?” Then she realized what he meant. Annoyance zipped through her. “I didn’t realize I could speak—”

The door blasted open and a swarm of people poured into the room. Marina sprang away from Gabe and turned as a flood of light beamed into the darkness.

It blinded her, and she had no chance to move before strong arms grabbed at her, pulling her away from Gabe.

Soft, solid thuds and groans told her that he wasn’t going wherever they were taking them happily; but despite the fact that Marina struggled like a fly wrapped in a web, no one punched her or kicked her. They just held on very tightly. One man at each arm, and one behind.

By now, the flood of light had diminished from a sudden blinding to something less invasive, and Marina noticed that they were in what appeared to be an office. But she had no further chance to examine the room. By the time she got her bearings, she was being dragged toward the door, past a bloody, inert Gabe and his attackers.

Marina jerked her arm hard and fast, and managed to yank it from the grip of the man next to her and wallop him across the side of the head before she was subdued once again. She hoped his ear rang for an hour afterward.

“My father will not be happy,” she gritted between her teeth as her two captors forced her arms, none-too-gently, behind her back. Something wrapped around them, from upper arm to down past her elbow, and she was trussed securely.

By that time, she’d stopped struggling. It was a waste of energy; she needed to save it for later, and spend her time paying attention: to where they were, where they were going, and anything that was being said. She figured it was an ace in the hole that she somehow remembered her Skaladeska … .and she presumed her captors didn’t realize that. Because of her distress, Marina had spoken English during her threat moments ago.

Once the two men realized she was going to cooperate, they gentled their treatment of her. She was allowed to walk down the hall at her own pace, following their lead. Pretending to be subdued, she bowed her head slightly, but kept her eyes raised so that she could take in details of the hallways and their route.

Despite her submission, Marina’s captors remained silent, giving her no information other than what she could see from the walk down the halls. They passed no one; and each passageway appeared the same as the one before.

Finally, they reached a door similar to the one with the old man. She watched with interest as they stepped up to the wall that appeared to have a door with no way to open or close it. One of the men went to the wall next to it, and suddenly a little panel opened. As she watched, he took a small flat object, placed it on his tongue; then removed it and fed it into a small slot.

The wall in front of them split, folding into itself on either side like a theatre curtain, and they stepped through.

Marina stared.

They stepped into a large, open space, glittering with light that shone through a faceted dome ceiling, another huge atrium. It was like being inside one of her clear crystals; except that there were stairs and landings … .hallways, and trees. Trees growing all around; small buildings, and small vehicles that reminded her of golf carts … but shaped like little pods.

Unbelievable.

Like a little city under glass.

That was all she could think as they prodded her along. She walked agreeably, trying to keep her pace as slow as possible so she could absorb it all.

The realization stunned her. Not only were the Skaladeskas not extinct, but they were as far from being an archaic, primitive tribe locked away in the mountains of Siberia as the U.S. was.

* * *

Once he recovered from his enormous shock at recognizing Marina Aleksandrov in Lev’s private study, Roman seized the opportunity to take control.

Excusing himself from Lev’s presence, he stepped into the hall and ordered his men to apprehend her and her companion. When he returned to his father’s study, Lev appeared to be deep in the study of the parchment paper before him.

Did he know?

He couldn’t know.

Lev’s eyesight was poor and he had no idea that Marina existed, let alone that she would find her way here.

Roman recognized her from photos and other surveillance footage he’d seen throughout the years. It had been in his best interest to keep her on his radar screen, so to speak, but that she had penetrated their city without his knowledge was an acute blow.

And then there was the issue of the man with her; but Roman would deal with him shortly.

“That was my granddaughter.”

Lev’s cold voice drove all other thoughts from Roman’s mind. What did he know? Dare he continue the charade?

“Viktor has arrived, and after him his daughter, Father. I am just as shocked as you appear to be.” Truths. Speak only the truth, and you will not be found out.

“Did you think I would not recognize my own flesh and blood?” Lev had lifted his eyes from the table and now stared at Roman, glinting like grey glass. “She has the same eyes of my Irina. You did not withhold this information from me. You were not aware of her presence, Roman.” It was not a question. It was a demand for truth.

“Father … I cannot lie to you. I did not expect her to come here; I know very little about her. She did not come with Viktor. I am sure she knows nothing of us.”

“But you knew she was my granddaughter. You knew she was the last of the Aleksandrovs.”

“While I have no proof that she is of our line, I suspected that.”

“You have no proof? One look at her face will tell you so!”

“She is an Out-Worlder, Father. She will not understand. Her presence here puts us in danger.”

“You will not harm her, Roman. You will not disappoint me again.” Lev’s voice was cold and forbidding.

He had crossed the line.

“No, Father.”

“Leave me now.”

Thus dismissed, Roman hurried from the study and rushed along the corridors to his private suite.

Stegnora was there, waiting for him.

As he came into the room, she rose, took two steps toward him, then stopped herself. They had been together for nearly thirty years, and she still moved instinctively to touch him whenever he entered the room. This time, however, despite her hesitation, Roman needed her.

When he started toward her, she dropped her self-control and wrapped her arms around him. Aside from being beautiful, and the one woman to whom Roman always returned, Nora was a brilliant engineer. She was his partner; his support; his world.