“It’s not important to you. I’ve told you about Varak. He’s the only one you have to worry about.” She started to back toward the stable.
“Wait. I could try to take you out of here now.”
“No, you couldn’t. Not while Varak is still alive. You might not be able to do it if you did.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “And then she would know. It would be worse for me.”
“I’ll make sure that we’re very careful when we go after him, so that won’t happen. But I can’t just leave you here.” He reached in his pocket and scrawled numbers on a card. “This is my friend Jill’s phone number.” He came toward her and put the card in her hand. “If you don’t hear from me, if something happens, call her, and she’ll take care of you.”
“No,” she said fiercely. “Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re strong. No one can hurt you. Do you think I’d send you to him if I thought—” She broke off and whirled away from him. “I will call you if I hear of something that might hurt you.”
Then she was gone.
Gideon gazed helplessly after her for a moment before he turned toward the maze that led to the street. After this night of fire and death, he hadn’t dreamed that Dalai would furnish them with the weapon that might bring Varak down. He should be happy and full of hope. But that vulnerable young girl who had been a victim all her life was still here, and he had no real grasp of what she was facing.
Stop thinking about her. He could only help Dalai by eliminating the threat that was terrifying her the most. So they’d have to go over what she had said about the compound and start planning.
He reached for his phone to call Novak.
* * *
Robaku
“Varak,” Jill murmured. “It seems too good to be true. I thought everything was going down the tubes when Zahra came out with that save earlier tonight.” She was gazing at the night sky over Jokan, which was still glowing malevolently. “I was afraid to hope.”
“And it might be too good to be true,” Novak said. “We won’t know until we check out that compound where Dalai said we could find Varak.” He looked at Gideon. “I told you it could be a trap. You said the girl seemed almost as terrified of Zahra Kiyani as she was of Varak. Zahra has been brainwashing her since childhood.”
“It wasn’t the same,” Gideon said. “She’s scared of Zahra. But she thinks she’ll only be safe from Varak if he’s dead. There’s a distinction.”
“One of which I approve,” Joe Quinn said, turning to Eve, Jill, Novak, and Gideon, who were standing in front of the museum. “It’s the first break we’ve had. Let’s go for it. You can check out the terrain and make sure it’s as safe as it can be for us, Novak.”
“I appreciate your faith in me,” Novak said dryly. “I definitely want to check out everything connected with the girl. Gideon is being a little too trusting.”
“Only because he’s feeling guilty about not having helped Dalai when he had the chance,” Eve said. “He was trying to persuade us to adopt her.”
“Maybe,” Gideon said. “But now we might owe her.” He turned back to Novak. “How do we verify the information?”
“I’ll send a team to the property to take a good look as soon as it gets light. In the meantime, I’ll order a couple infrared drones to scan the area.” He cocked a brow as he glanced at Joe. “Providing that meets with your approval?”
“It does.” He added, “As long as I’m heading the team that goes in at daybreak.”
“No!” Gideon was adamantly shaking his head. “You head the team, Novak. Keep Quinn out of it.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Joe said curtly. “What the hell is wrong with you, Gideon?”
“I’ve seen how you operate,” Gideon said. “It’s half instinct and half intellect and all exactly how you want it to go. It might be effective, but I don’t want to rely on your decisions when I promised Dalai that we’d be careful not to tip our hand and get her in trouble with Zahra. I wouldn’t want Zahra to cut her throat if she thinks she’s been betrayed.”
“You shouldn’t have made her promises,” Novak said slowly.
“Well, I did.” He met Novak’s eyes. “I knew there was a possibility you’d want to move fast. But we’ve known each other a long time, and I didn’t believe that you’d let her get killed if there was any way to keep it from happening. I don’t care if you send me or someone else to pull her out of that palace if you make a decision to go for it. I just don’t want any action taken without warning.” He paused. “And I trust you not to do it.”
Novak stared at him for a moment. Then he shrugged and turned away. “I’ll do whatever is possible. No promises.” He glanced at Joe. “It appears that I’ll be heading that team. No offense. I’d trust you implicitly. You’re just a little too volatile for Gideon at present.” His gaze shifted to Eve. “I wonder why?”
“Joe wouldn’t let anything happen to Dalai,” Eve said quietly.
“Unless he thought there was reason to think your safety was on the line,” Novak said. “Then no one else would have a chance. But hopefully that won’t happen today.” He looked back at Joe. “Right, Quinn?”
“Hopefully.” Joe added impatiently, “It doesn’t matter. I’d rather be checking the area for land mines anyway. The girl mentioned explosives.”
“Whew.” Gideon smiled. “That was close. Defusing land mines seems an ideal job for you. Sorry, Quinn.”
“You might be very sorry if you pull that shit again.” He turned to Novak. “What time do we leave?”
“Six.”
“Then we’d better get some sleep.” Joe took Eve’s arm. “If you don’t mind sharing a bed with a callous bastard like me.”
“Ouch,” Gideon murmured as he watched them leave. “I knew that was a mistake. But I wasn’t able to do anything else for that poor kid.”
“I knew it was a mistake, too,” Novak said. “You’re lucky you didn’t piss him off.” He turned and headed down the path. “And now I’ll go back to the village and do a check to see if Dalai is telling us the truth about the location of Varak’s compound and find out everything I can about it. I’ll encode and send out two of the X-4 drones. Gideon, I want you to go to the airport and see that there’s no slip-up. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Make sure they’re functioning properly with the codes I enter. I want accurate information before we start out. In the past, Varak’s hideouts have always been almost impregnable. I have to know what to expect, or I’ll have to make adjustments.” He added, “And try to get a couple hours sleep.”
“All those goals might not coincide,” Gideon said dryly as he disappeared down the path.
Jill stood hesitantly, gazing after him. She felt totally useless, when she should have had a hand in helping to make this plan work.
“What are you waiting for?” Novak was looking over his shoulder. “An invitation?”
She went still. Then she was running after him. “I’m glad you remembered your manners,” she said lightly as she fell into step with him. “I was wondering if I was going to have to barge in on you.”
“I knew that would be your next step. You wouldn’t have been able to go back to Hajif’s hut and try to go back to sleep. That would have been far too sensible and normal.”
Yes, Novak had developed an almost paranormal ability to read her, Jill thought. It should have made her uneasy, but she was finding it oddly comforting to have him there, understanding who and what she was. Not always approving, often frustrated, volatile, and disturbing, but an undeniable part of the fabric of her life.
“I wouldn’t have been able to sleep,” she said. “I’m excited. Can I do something to help you get those drones programmed?”
“Perhaps.” He saw her frown and grinned. “Okay, I’ll put you to work. Why not?”
“Right.” She nodded. “You can never tell when I’ll run across a time when I’ll need information like that. Drones seem to be an essential part of my lif
e these days.” She ducked through the opening of the hut. “How long will it take?”
“Not that long if all goes well. We have Gideon on the other end double-checking.” He lit the lantern. “He’ll be very careful about not making any mistakes. He knows I’m not pleased with him.”
“He was doing what he thought was right,” she said quietly. “And you must have thought he was right, too, or you wouldn’t have let him talk you into doing what he wanted.”
“I hadn’t decided one way or the other when Quinn stepped in. It would have been more diplomatic to let him take the reins.” He shrugged. “But Gideon didn’t allow me the choice. I don’t like to be put in that position.”
“Joe Quinn is almost a stranger to Gideon, he had to go with the man he trusted. It was important to him.” She stared him in the eyes. “I’d be the same. I trust you. If it was important, I’d go to you, Novak.”
He went still. “Don’t trust me too much, Jill. That’s what I told Gideon. I only do what I can.” His lips twisted. “And since I’m such a selfish bastard, what I can do sometimes alters from minute to minute.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“No?” He gazed at her for a long moment. Heat. It came lightning fast out of nowhere. Taking her breath away. She couldn’t look away from him. “Well, I did warn you,” he said as he took out his computer. “Let’s get to work. I’ll show you how to look up the address and directions and coordinate it into the drone’s memory.”
She was relieved that electric moment had passed. Or was she? She was feeling a strange sense of loss. Of course she was. “It sounds complicated.” She came closer to look down at the screen. Then she was beginning to get excited again at the challenge before her. “You’re sure it won’t take more than an hour or so?”
* * *
It took an hour and five minutes to program the two drones.
It was not nearly as complicated as she had thought to learn the codes and keep them straight. She had followed Novak’s lead, and it was like learning a new game that was as absorbing as it was exciting. She found she was disappointed when she had put in the last equation. “Is that all?”
Novak was grinning. “Unless you want to teach it something else. We’re supposed to be gathering information, but I suppose we could rig up a bomb or two to drop on that compound.”
“No, that would be breaking your word to Gideon.” She was still looking at the computer screen. “It’s very sophisticated, isn’t it?”
“State of the art.” He held up his hand. “But I can see you already creating a story about it. Don’t do it. Drones are constantly being upgraded, but this one is very special.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “But it was great fun. Thank you for letting me play with it.”
“My pleasure. It was fun watching you. Your cheeks are still flushed, and your eyes are shining like those of a kid opening a Christmas present.” He chuckled. “Next time I’ll show you how to set the bomb capability.”
“It was fascinating.” Her smile suddenly faded. “And dangerous. Bombs and all those technical spy devices…I shouldn’t be this excited. I just got caught up in the moment. It’s not a game.”
“It’s whatever you make it.” He signed out of the program. “And for you it was a game and a story unfolding and excitement.”
“But not for you.”
“No. Much darker,” he said. “But it was good stepping into your world for a little while.” He turned to look at her. “Maybe I’ll remember it when it gets a little too dark in mine.” He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Now go to Hajif’s and get to sleep. You should still have a few hours.”
Heat, again. Out of nowhere. Tingling through her body, causing her breasts to swell. She quickly pulled her hand away. “Hardly seems worth it.”
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into not getting up when we take off? There’s no reason why you should.”
Other than the fact that she should be going with him. The darkness of which he’d spoken was suddenly overwhelming her. This was her fight as well as his, and now he was going to face the monster while she was supposed to stay here and snooze. “There’s a reason,” she said tightly. “You know there’s a reason.” She turned on her heel. “I’ll see you at six.”
A few minutes later, she had reached Hajif’s hut. She stood outside the door, breathing hard. She couldn’t go in right now, she was too upset. She sank down on the ground and leaned back against the wall. Her hands clenched into fists.
She hated it. She felt helpless, and it shouldn’t be like this. She was the one who had gone to Novak in the beginning and asked him to help her go after Varak. Now he was going to leave her behind when she was responsible for everything that had happened since that night? Reason told her that she would not be an asset if she insisted on going with Novak. She had no military experience and might even be a danger to the team. He had a right to expect her to stay out of it.
But she wanted to go. She needed to go with him. Varak was a devil from the depths of hell. He had reached out and killed thousands of people. Who knew what kind of force he still had at his command? It might be intended to be an exploratory foray into that jungle, but that didn’t mean it would stay that way. The panic was rising as the thought stabbed through her. How many stories had she written about good plans gone wrong?
They could all die.
Novak could die.
No!
She jumped to her feet. She tore across the short distance that separated her from Novak’s hut in seconds. The next instant she was inside. “This is all wrong!” she said fiercely. “I can’t have it like this.”
He whirled to face her. “What’s wrong?” He was instantly on the attack. “What happened?”
“I won’t be cheated.” She hurled herself at him. She was in his arms. She was kissing him. “I won’t have you cheated. Varak has already taken too much. Take off your clothes.”
“What?” He pushed her away from him to look down at her. “What the hell are you doing, Jill?”
“Nothing that’s in the least thought-out, or probably even sane. And you have a perfect right to say you’ve changed your mind and don’t want me. But I think it’s still there, or I wouldn’t be feeling—”
“Shut up,” he said hoarsely. “You’re damn right it’s not sane. And every word is making me rock-hard. Get out of here.”
She shook her head. “You want it. You want me. You’ve told me you do.” She broke free of him and pulled her tee shirt over her head and threw it aside. “And I wish you’d take your clothes off so that I won’t feel as if I’m some kind of sex maniac. I’m not very good at this seduction bullshit. I’ve always thought that kind of thing was phony.” She was trying to undo her bra. “But if that’s what you want, then I’ll try to—”
“Stop it.” He grabbed her wrists and held her still. “You’re killing me.” He drew a deep breath. “Talk to me. Tell me what brought this on before I throw you out.”
“That’s just like you. You tell me what you want, then all of a sudden you’re worrying and pushing me away because you think that I’m so damn vulnerable.” She glared up at him. “I’m not weak. Sometimes bad things happen to me, but I can handle them. I’ll always be able to handle them without you taking care of me. So back off, Novak.”
“You’re not answering me.”
“Because when you come into the room I tense up because I know your just being here will change everything. It shouldn’t be that way. I write my own story, dammit. But not when you’re around. Why do you think I’ve been fighting you? But now Gideon pulls this thing with Varak out of his hat, and suddenly it doesn’t matter.” She repeated through set teeth, “It doesn’t matter. So take off your clothes, Novak.”
“Not quite yet.” His gaze was narrowed on her face. “Why did it make a difference?”
“Don’t be stupid. I can’t go with you, dammit. I’d be a liability. What if something happens to you? Wh
at if you die? Then Varak would win because we’d both be cheated by him. We wouldn’t be able to have this.” She was trying to steady her voice. “I won’t have that, Novak. I want you to have everything you want. And I want to have everything I want. And we both know what we’ve wanted since the day we met.” She swallowed. “So will you please let go of my wrists and take me down on those blankets over there and do something about it?”
“So I’m to thank that bastard, Varak, for you?” His hands tightened on her wrists. “I don’t think so, Jill. I don’t find that prospect appealing.” His lips twisted. “What am I saying? I’m going crazy at the thought of dragging you down on those blankets. I just can’t stomach the idea that he’d have anything to do with it.” He suddenly smiled recklessly. “So I’ll have to make sure that it’s only between you and me. Because I’m not going to be fool enough to walk away from you no matter what brought you here.” He dropped her wrists and started to unbutton his shirt. “Though I admit I had a crazy idea that I should be noble and all that crap. But I’m way past that. I’ve been wanting you too long.”
“I never asked you to be noble. You’re the one who called me walking wounded.” She watched him drop his shirt on the floor. His body was so lean and sleek and muscular, like a panther’s. She couldn’t take her eyes off the corded muscles of his stomach. “And I just didn’t want you to think I wasn’t strong. I’ve never shown anyone as much weakness as I’ve shown you.”
“That’s supposed to be weakness?” Two movements, and he pulled her into his arms. He was rocking her gently back and forth. “Just be quiet, will you? You’re making me crazy. I don’t want to feel like this about you right now. All I want to think about is how much I need you.” Then she realized her bra was gone and he was rubbing her breasts back and forth against his chest. She gasped as she felt the warmth of his flesh against her, the faint abrasiveness of his chest hair against her nipples, which was causing her to tighten and swell. “That’s right,” he murmured. “This is what I want…But it’s not enough. I want my mouth on you.”
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