that could be an even bigger disaster.” She drew a deep breath. “Would you like to tell me why you waited until after dark to start trying to get back out of that jungle when Quinn told you how dangerous it would be?”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad. Quinn had the route pretty well memorized, including land-mine placement. And we had no choice. We didn’t get even a glimpse of Varak until almost twilight. I was afraid we might have to give it up for the day.” His lips twisted. “But then Varak’s true nature came to the rescue. He evidently hadn’t had his quota of blood recently. He had one of his soldiers dragged to that dirt yard before the front porch to be punished for some infraction at the attack on the U.N. headquarters. At least that was the excuse. I think he probably just wanted his men to witness how all-powerful he was.” He paused. “He used a machete. He took a long time. I had no problem getting the videos.”
Jill felt sick. “You said that you’d know him just by the way he moved. Was it really Varak?”
He nodded. “I’d swear to it. But that wouldn’t be enough, of course. Not now that Zahra has convinced everyone that Varak’s skull was destroyed at the U.N. headquarters. Probably the videos won’t be enough either, but we can send them through our photo techno unit at Langley to establish what he could have looked like before surgery. But we’ll have to go back and break into that house in the compound and get a DNA specimen so that I can get the director to let me stage a raid powerful enough to bring Varak down.”
“That means you’re determined to go back there,” Jill said tightly.
“It’s our only option if we want to grab the bastard before he decides to leave the country. We’re lucky to get the chance.”
“I don’t believe there’s any luck connected to Varak unless it’s bad luck. He definitely couldn’t be recognized?”
He shook his head. “His face has been changed, his hair is sandy-blond, not black. The only thing that’s the same is that muscular, powerful body and the way he walks. The arrogant bastard strides around as if he owns the world…”
Muscular and powerful…As arrogant as if he owned the world.
Jill went still. “His hair is dyed blond now? I only remember Dalai telling Gideon that he’d had plastic surgery.”
“Very good plastic surgery. But his hair is kind of dirty blond now.”
Fair hair. Suddenly, her chest was tight, and she was having trouble breathing. It couldn’t be the same man, could it? Varak wouldn’t take the risk of exposing himself just to inflict that act of terror on her. And she hadn’t been able to see what shade her attacker’s hair was in the darkness, only that it was light, fair. But she had felt the straw-like texture beneath her fingers when she’d been fighting him.
But it had done her no good to fight him, she remembered in a panic. She’d felt so weak, and he’d been brutally strong…
As if he’d owned the world.
“Jill?” Novak’s gaze was narrowed on her face.
“You said you took a video.” She moistened her lips as she put her glass of wine carefully on the floor beside her. “I want to see it.”
“No, you don’t,” he said flatly. “You don’t want to ever see that bloodbath.”
“You took it. I want to see it.”
“Why?” he asked roughly. “So that you can add it to your collection of nightmares? There’s no need for you to see it.”
“That’s up to me, isn’t it?” She had to keep her voice steady. “You thought it important enough to risk getting yourself killed. Show it to me.”
“I tell you, it’s the stuff of nightmares. You don’t want to—” He suddenly broke off. “Nightmares…” His gaze was searching her face. “Don’t make me show you this, Jill.”
“I want to see it.”
He muttered a curse. “And it seems I’m going to let you see it.” He got to his feet, went to the phone lying on the bench, and brought it to her. “Do me a favor and don’t watch more than the first five minutes. He does a lot of strutting during that period and doesn’t get into the carnage until you see him take his machete.”
She was bracing herself to press the PLAY button. “He loves that machete.” She swallowed. “That’s how he killed those children.”
“Press the button,” he said roughly. “Just watch it and