“Vogel isn’t only on standby to bring Margaret and her pooch here when she says the word. He’s monitoring the team hacking Reardon’s business and personal devices. Masenak might have been able to close us out at Jubaldar, but that doesn’t mean Reardon can. He’s smart and hired the best to maintain his cyber privacy, but he doesn’t have a mountain to run interference with signals. It took us over two years to break through his firewalls, but we finally did it. We’ve had a tap on Reardon’s phones for months, and if there are any calls between him and Masenak, we’ll know about it. If Reardon goes to see him, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to locate Jubaldar through him. Since Masenak is in trouble now, I’ll bet one of those leads will come through. Does that make you feel better?”

It did make her feel a little more relieved. Of course Korgan would have taken this step to tighten the noose around Reardon. It would have been his first move after he’d begun to suspect collusion between him and Masenak.

“I can see that being more promising than those Berber villagers.” Her gaze was still on the night sky beyond the window. She felt strangely safe here next to him in this cocoon on the mountain. His scent that seemed more comforting than sexual in this moment. The light sound of his breathing…She knew he was watching her intently but felt no threat. It wasn’t unusual for him to watch her. She had noticed he was always curious about people around him, and because of the circumstances she supposed he found her more interesting than most. He was just familiar and there, and for the first time since she’d opened her eyes this morning, the panic and fear began to subside. “I’d swear the sky is getting lighter in the east. Do you suppose that’s true?”

“No, I think you just want it to be true. It won’t be light for another few hours. Close your eyes and try to sleep.”

“You could be wrong.”

“I wouldn’t dare to disagree after I swore I’d let you have your way in everything. But it’s only a little after two and it’s not likely.”

“What time is dawn here?”

“Around six A.M.”

“Then I suppose you’re right.”

“It happens sometimes.” He went still. “You’re suddenly stiff. Okay?”

“No. Yes. I was just wondering what was happening to Sasha right now.” She added unsteadily, “What’s been happening for the last few days.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”