Page 24 of Lethal Game

"The reason Alisa had to leave the hospital was because her parents' house was on fire. Obviously, we never made it there, so I don't know if it was arson or an accident. Considering everything else, I'm going to assume it was arson."

"Does Alisa live with her parents?"

He thought about that. "She didn't say. She talked about it like it was their house, so I don't think so. But that's a good question." He paused. "Putting all that aside, Kashin is the connector. He was in the car that we saw Novikov get into at LAX. Then he shows up here at the hospital and tries to kidnap Alisa. It has to fit together. We need to know more about her father, her family, anything that might tie them to Novikov."

"Agreed," Savannah said, quick to jump on his train of thought. "I'll stop in at security before I leave and look at the camera footage from the garage last night to see who might have tampered with the car. That will give us someone else to track. I don't believe we'll get anywhere with Kashin. He's not afraid of us. He'd rather go to prison than talk." She paused, taking a sipof her coffee. "Has Alisa told you anything about herself? Her family?"

"We haven't really had time. I know she's a nurse here. She claims her family is super normal and on the boring side. She can't imagine why a Russian terrorist would be after her. And it's difficult to believe she's lying because she has a very open face."

"A very pretty and open face," Savannah said with a small, knowing smile. "And she looks at you like you're her personal action hero."

"Well, I saved her life twice. You know how it goes," he said, trying to avoid her gaze as his mind flashed back to the kiss they'd shared. "At any rate, I'm focused on finding Novikov, and Alisa is an unexpected clue. I also think she's probably still in danger. They tried to take her out twice. There will be another attempt. And the mother is a target, too."

"We can get her mother protection and move Alisa into a safe house."

"I don't think she's going to a safe house while her mother is fighting for her life."

"She won't be able to help her mother if she's not alive," Savannah said pragmatically.

"No, she won't." He took another long sip of his coffee. "I need to go upstairs and find out what's happening with the mother. I'll talk to her more about her parents. What they do for a living, where they're from, all that…"

"Okay. After I check with security, I'll go back to the office and check in with the team. In the absence of any other good tips, Alisa's family seems to be the best lead."

He was happy to hear her say that because he didn't want to make the mistake of getting too caught up in Alisa's situation just because they'd almost died together. And definitely not because he'd kissed her.

"Nick is going to pick me up," Savannah added as she passed him the car keys. "The car is under the direct eye of the valet. No one will tamper with it."

"Thanks."

"On our way back to the office, Nick and I will check out the fast-food restaurant where Novikov first went after leaving LAX. He didn't go inside, but maybe we can get better camera footage from the restaurant or some other buildings in the area. There are a lot of small, local businesses whose cameras we can't access online." She paused. "Andi also called me while you were driving off a cliff to tell me she's doing a deep dive into Tatiana's life, and we have an agent watching her moves. She's been at her dance studio all day, but he'll follow her home and anywhere else she might go."

He didn't know who Andi was, but he was impressed with the way Flynn's team had jumped into the investigation. "Your team is good."

"Your team for now," she reminded him with a smile.

"Right. Well, thank you." He finished his coffee, and then got to his feet. "I'll check in with you later. If anything comes up in the meantime, let me know."

"I will," she promised.

They walked out of the cafeteria and parted ways in the lobby. He headed upstairs, feeling like it had been hours since he'd seen Alisa when it had only been about twenty minutes. But judging by how much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, a lot could have happened in those twenty minutes.

Alisa couldn't believe how much better her mother looked since she'd returned from her MRI. She wasn't a hundred percent back to normal. She was still extremely pale, but she was able to say hello, to confirm her nausea was improved, and to ask for water.

As her mother sipped water through a straw, Alisa didn't know how to feel about the change in her condition. She was happy, of course, but it was also odd how her symptoms cameand went. Maybe everything was going to be all right. She desperately wanted to believe that because the rest of her world was spinning out of control.

"What happened to you?" her mother asked suddenly, her gaze narrowing. "You have dirt in your hair and on your clothes. Your jeans are ripped, and you have bandages on your hand. What's going on, Alisa?"

"I don't want to get into it now. I'm fine. That's all that matters, and I want to concentrate on you."

"And I want to concentrate on you," her mother returned. "I'm still your mother."

The simple statement made her tear up. She was hurting, but she couldn't tell her mother why. She couldn't put any stress on her fragile condition. She had to solve her own problems and stand on her own two feet. "I'm okay."

Before her mother could argue about that, a knock came at the door, and Jason stepped into the room, giving her a questioning look.

"Hello? Who are you?" her mother asked curiously.

"He's my…friend," she said.

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