He sat down beside her. “I have no idea. I’ve been trying to decide. I think it has something to do with the way you looked when you walked away from me earlier tonight. After I got over the idea that you might just be playing me for an idiot, it sank in that you actually thought you were telling the truth.” He smiled. “And crazy or not, treating a mentally ill person as savagely as I did was unkind.”

“So you brought me a banana?”

“A very good banana,” he said solemnly. “I’m sure Koko the gorilla would approve.”

She found herself smiling at him. “You were unkind.” She took the banana. “And wrong. So this is some kind of peace offering?”

“It might be, though you should be properly grateful that I’m being so generous after what you’ve put me through.” His eyes were suddenly twinkling. “Or it might be that I was craving amusement and I just wanted to see you eating that banana. I don’t believe there’s anyone on earth who doesn’t look a little ridiculous with one sticking out of their mouth. Think about it.”

She was thinking about it. She threw back her head and laughed. “That’s wicked. It better be a peace offering.” She started to peel the banana. “Because I was telling you the truth. You didn’t have to be that sarcastic.”

“I thought it might help me hold on to my sanity, since it appeared I was the only one around here who possessed any. I was having a good deal of trouble believing anything you said after you’d lied to me about that damn camp.” He linked his arms around his legs and gazed out into the darkness. “And about the time I cooled down and decided that you might not be completely nuts, I also remembered that you have very high stakes in what’s going on at that camp. You wouldn’t have tried to string me along by using that kid, Sasha, to make it plausible.”

She felt warmth surge through her. “That’s very generous of you. I could have been lying about her.”

He said lightly, “But I didn’t think you were, and we’ve already discussed that my instincts are almost always right.” He made a face. “Or that at least that I tend to think they are. You never told Zabron about Sasha, did you? He had no idea why you were so determined to go after Masenak just because of those kidnappings. Why not?”