“I believe there’s a very good chance she’s still alive,” he said. “As I told you, she’s tough, and he wants to keep her alive.” He paused. “And when Vogel showed up here at the hospital this morning, he gave me a report that he and his team had tracked down Masenak. He escaped upriver and then boarded a helicopter at a village on the Moroccan border.” He smiled faintly. “He wasn’t alone, Alisa.”

“You’re sure?” she whispered. “He must have been so angry with her.”

“Not angry enough to cheat himself out of something he wanted just to get revenge. I can’t give you a guarantee, but it was a young girl who accompanied him on that helicopter, ponytail, boots, riding apparel that was dirty and smoke-stained. Know anyone else who fits that description?”

“No.” She closed her eyes for an instant. Alive. Sasha was alive. Then her lids flicked open. “But why can’t you give me a guarantee? Couldn’t Vogel find out where Masenak went in that helicopter? Couldn’t he follow him?”

“Never satisfied. Masenak had been gone for over a day when Vogel tracked him down. He called me yesterday and asked me if he should try to keep on tracking him. I told him to come back here. I think we both have an idea where Masenak is heading.”

“Jubaldar.”

He nodded. “You’ve said he’s been threatening to take her to the mountains since the day of the kidnapping. Now that there are no longer any hostages for him to barter, he has no excuse not to do it.”

“But we can’t be certain she has any real value to him to balance what he believes she’s done,” she said fiercely. “He swore that if anyone tried to go rescue those students, he’d kill them all. Now that they’re free, he’ll feel frustrated and humiliated. He’ll be striking out in all directions, and she’ll be the only one in reach. He could change his mind at any moment. There’s no time to waste. I have to go after her.”

“Not before we’re ready. You’re wrong, there’s still time.” He looked down at her wrists, still pinned to the bed. “And if you promise not to try to take me down again, we can discuss it.”

She’d almost forgotten that he was still holding her down. “It was your fault. You shouldn’t have said you were going to have the doctors put me to sleep again.”

“Obviously,” he said dryly. “May I point out that you weren’t behaving reasonably? I was afraid you might hurt yourself. Do I have that promise?”