Page 47 of Lethal Game

"Henry—"

"Just do it, Lauren. I have other things to take care of right now."

As Jason heard Lauren moving toward the door, he hurried down the hallway, and Alisa quickly followed.

They didn't speak until they left the building. Once outside, Alisa paused, giving him a questioning look. "What was that all about? What was in the text you read, and why did you want to eavesdrop on Henry and Lauren?"

"The text was from my ex-partner, Stephanie Genaro. She wants to meet, which is a problem for me."

"Why?"

"When Novikov shot her three years ago, her injuries prevented her from working as a field agent ever again. She hasbeen very depressed about that, and while she has returned to work as an analyst, it's still difficult for her to be tied to a desk. I want to be there for her, to support her, but I have to keep this investigation tight. If she knows Novikov is in LA, she'll want in, and I can't let her in."

"Why not? It sounds like Novikov cost her a lot."

"He did, and I wouldn't blame her for wanting to take him down, but I can't let someone's personal desire for revenge complicate things. I have to keep this clean."

"But, Jason, you have a personal desire for revenge. He killed your father. Why should you be involved and not her?"

"Because I'm still a field agent. And most importantly, I am not looking for revenge. I want justice."

She gave him a speculative look. "Can you really separate the two? Wanting revenge wouldn't make you a bad person."

"It would make me a bad agent. It would cloud my judgement." He looked around, not wanting to forget that Alisa was a target, there was no one nearby, no one watching them. Still, he wanted to be alert. "We should go inside."

"In a minute. What about my second question? You seemed very interested in what Lauren and Henry were talking about. Why?"

"Because I heard the name Tatiana. Novikov was involved with a woman named Tatiana Guseva. She runs a dance studio in LA."

"Really? Novikov has a girlfriend in LA?"

"Ex-girlfriend. When we interviewed her after the courthouse bombing, she claimed she hadn't seen him in a decade, and we couldn't find any evidence she was lying. But recently, she had communication with a man who is close to Novikov and who has been friends with both of them. She mentioned to him she had cancer and that hearing from an old friend was the best medicine."

"What does that mean?"

"Maybe nothing. But when I heard Henry use her name, itmade a connection I wasn't expecting. Henry is tied to your father. If he's also tied to Tatiana, he could be more important than I thought."

"If this Tatiana has cancer, it makes sense she would want to talk to Henry. He runs clinical trials, and she wants to get in one. That might have nothing to do with my father. There could also be more than one Tatiana in LA."

"Everything you say is true, Alisa. But my gut tells me it's a possible lead, and I'm going to follow it up."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alisa was still thinking about Jason's words as he ushered her into the hospital and up to the sixth floor. But seeing Dr. Grayson come out of her mother's room pushed all thoughts of Henry and Tatiana out of her mind.

"Good morning," the doctor said with a cheerful smile. "I just examined your mother. She's doing well. Her lab numbers are still slightly elevated but improving."

A rush of relief ran through her. "That's great news."

"It is. But she's still fragile. Her immune system is weak, and any infection could spiral out of control, so I would like to keep her here for another day, possibly two." He turned to Jason. "I assume you can provide the same security resources for that time period?"

"Yes. We'll take care of that."

"I'll check in on her again this evening and tomorrow morning. If all is well, she should be able to leave on Sunday. But you'll need to make sure she's going into another controlled environment."

"I will," she promised, not at all sure how she could accomplish that, but she had a few days to figure it out.

"Your mother is concerned about her level of fatigue. Ireassured her that her body needs the rest to repair itself. Sleep is good. Keeping stress down would also be helpful. Pamela tells me your father is out of town. I hope you'll relay that message to him as well."

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