was dangerous that she had become so dependent on him. But the situation was different now. She was a professional, and she mustn’t show him any more weakness.
“But that doesn’t mean he’s not on the backup team, does it? It’s odd you haven’t been able to locate any of those men when you’re so good at what you do. It’s as if they dropped off the face of the earth.”
“I’ll find them, Jill.”
“I know you will. But that shouldn’t be a high priority anyway right now.” Then she wearily shook her head. “And there’s probably no connection between this Bogani and Hadfeld’s death, or what happened to me. It wouldn’t make sense. Zahra wouldn’t have anything to do with Varak, a man who nearly destroyed her country. It has to be something as simple as the fact that I got in Zahra’s way at the Robaku school, and I’m suddenly on her watch list.”
“Not necessarily. I don’t believe in simple answers when it comes to Zahra Kiyani.”
Her gaze flew to his face. “You do think she’s involved?”
“I didn’t say that. You’re right, it’s not logical, considering who she is. It would be at odds with both Zahra’s past and everything she stands for. I just don’t discard the possibility because it might be complex.”
“And she is complex.” Jill was thinking quickly. “If you’d heard the bizarre stories Gideon told me about her…But if you think there’s even a possibility, we need to pursue it. It’s not that I’m afraid. It’s not about me. We just have to look at everything, and—”
“It is about you.” Novak’s hands were suddenly hard on her shoulders. His eyes glittered down at her. He muttered a low oath. “I can see you thinking, trying to find a way to go after them. Are you crazy? It’s all about you. They hurt you. Do you want it to happen again?”
“I believe you know the answer to that,” she said unsteadily. “I didn’t behave with a great amount of courage that night, did I? And I wasn’t any better after you flew me to Nairobi. You had to…help me and I—” She broke off. “And now you’re feeling guilty because you think it happened because you wouldn’t give me what I asked you. I could see it coming that night you picked me up on that road. I made the decision. It was a big story, and I went after it. You had nothing to do with it.”
“The hell I didn’t.”
“Okay, you want to feel guilty, go ahead.” She pulled away from his grasp. “Though you don’t have that reputation, and I don’t know why on earth you’re focused on me.”
“Neither do I.” He gave her a push toward the stainless-steel disposal cart. His voice was rough, but his hands were gentle as he lifted her into the cart and closed the lid. “Now shut up until I get you out of here and into the work van.”
The waste container was hot, small, stuffy, and she had to curl pretzel-like inside. She could hear him open the door, and the sunlight pouring on the stainless steel made it even hotter. She knew she should be silent now. But he had been angry with her, and she had to make sure it wouldn’t make a difference. She whispered, “You made me a promise. I won’t let you break it, Novak.”
“Don’t you ever give up?” His voice was no longer angry but weary. “I can’t break it. We’re too close, and you have Eve Duncan, the only wild card in the deck.” He started to maneuver the cart down the steps. “Let’s hope I can keep her alive for you.”
* * *
“It’s about time,” Joe said as he answered Eve’s Skype. “I know you asked me to wait until you called me, but you didn’t say it would be at three in the morning.”
“Sorry.” She leaned back on her stool and took a swallow of coffee. Bless caffeine, she just might make it through the night. “It took me longer than I thought to set up my lab; and then I had to go through the skulls to see if I could find Amari.”
“Amari?”
“Hajif’s grandson. He has to be the first reconstruction.” She started to go into the reasons for the selection, but he cut her off.
“Later,” he said grimly. “All I want to know right now is that you’ve definitely decided to do the reconstructions. You said it wouldn’t be a done deal until you got there and