doctors patched you up. She wouldn’t let anyone else get near you. She only left when Quinn said that her son was on the phone and needed to talk to her. Then she graciously allowed me to sit with you.”
“No one needs to sit with me. You shouldn’t be here anyway. I know you’ve got stuff you need to do.” She had a vague memory of smoke and explosives and men running…“Your team probably needs you. It must be a major disaster scene at Robaku.”
“It is, but we’ve got it under control. I’ve been back and forth to Robaku all night.” He paused. “And I should be here.” His hand covered hers on the bed. “Stop giving me orders. This isn’t your story anymore until you get out of that hospital bed. It’s mine.”
His hand was warm and safe, and she didn’t want to move it. “You said I was fine.” She had a sudden thought. “Dalai. Is she okay?”
“Other than trying to fight everyone in the emergency room to make them release her. They insisted on keeping her overnight to make sure those cuts on her face and throat didn’t contain the same poison that killed Zahra. Her room is down at the end of the hall.” He shook his head as she tried to sit up. “No, you don’t get out of that bed until the doctor says that you can. I’d say she’s proved she can take of herself.”
“That doesn’t matter. I brought her into this. She deserves my support.”
“And I can see that you’re already planning on how to get down that hall as soon as I leave this room. Relax, Jill. It’s not going to happen.”
He wasn’t going to budge. He was being his usual domineering self. She fell back against the pillows. It wasn’t worth fighting him right now. Her throat still felt raw, her side was throbbing, and she had to figure things out anyway. “You’ll have to leave here soon. You’ve programmed everyone not to be able to do without you. You said you had it under control. What does that mean? What did you do?”
“As soon as Varak’s men were subdued, I had photos taken of the scene and Varak’s body removed and flown to Nairobi for complete DNA and lab work. Then I brought U.S. Ambassador Sandow and his staff to Robaku and started the real battle.” His lips twisted. “To keep us all from getting arrested. I had to call in my director to use all his political connections to try to smooth the way until I could get those DNA results. I’m lucky he didn’t cut me loose. He still may decide to do it.”
“Not likely. You’re the golden boy, and he’ll know that if anyone can clean up this mess, it will be you.” She smiled. “And I might be persuaded to write a story or two to sanitize your spotty image.”
“I’ll pass. You’re right, as long as I can manage to make this appear as a triumph for democracy and keep a civil war from erupting, I’ll dodge the flak.” He paused. “That’s going to be the prime danger, Jill. The Kiyani legislature is already in an uproar about their president’s being murdered. We gave them no details, but we’re going to have to do it soon. They’re making threats to everyone in Maldara, and Botzan is the main target. It doesn’t help that Zahra had recently turned herself into a heroine.” He met her eyes. “We’re exploring options to keep them from turning this into a disaster.”
It was clear there was meaning behind that last sentence. Options? What would keep this from becoming—
No! She immediately rejected the thought that had occurred to her. But she knew that it had occurred to Novak, too. She was silent a moment, trying to think of any other possible way to avoid it. But there wasn’t any other option at this moment, dammit. “You know what you have to do,” she said jerkily. “No more deaths. No more war. There can be no confusion or infighting. Zahra has to stay a heroine. She has to be the one who helped take down Varak in revenge for his attack on the U.N.” Her lips twisted bitterly. “Varak killed her, and she died a martyr. You can stage that beautifully, Novak. You’ll have to get a reputable journalist to break the story as soon as possible.” She added fiercely, “But it won’t be me. I won’t lie and make Zahra Kiyani