Page 50 of Lethal Game

"What exactly did your CI tell you?"

"That Novikov is in town, that he's planning something huge."

"That's vague." He picked up his coffee and took another sip. "Does your informant know where Novikov is?"

"No. But he told me that Dominic Ilyin has a room at the Viceroy Hotel in West Hollywood under the name of Constantine Figueroa. I don't believe Novikov is staying there, but if they're both in town, they're going to meet at some point. You need to get eyes on Dominic."

His pulse leapt. Dominic was the person who had been in contact with Tatiana. He was also a sniper and a high-level associate of Novikov.

"If Dominic is in town, they could be planning an assassination attempt at the global tech conference. The vice president is scheduled to speak on Monday, and he won't be the only one of importance there. The CEOs of four of the biggest tech companies in the world will also be there. It's a target-rich field."

"There will also be a ton of security."

"Novikov has proven he can get through security," she reminded him. "What about the old girlfriend—Tatiana? Have you talked to her? Are you monitoring her communications?"

He realized that he'd basically confirmed he was looking for Novikov. "I'm monitoring her," he admitted. "But I don't know where Novikov is, and I can't confirm he's in LA."

"I'm going to see what I can find out."

"You can't be involved in this, Stephanie."

"I'm sorry, Jason, but you can't stop me. I won't get in the way, but I'm going to do some digging."

He realized she wasn't asking; she was telling him, and he couldn't blame her. But he also couldn't let her screw anything up. "Have you spoken to anyone else in the office about this? It sounds like you said something to Neil."

"I didn't mention Novikov to him. I just said I hadn't seen you in a while and wondered if he knew what you were working on. He knows we're friends. I'm not stupid, Jason. I'm not going to blow this. I want Novikov to go to jail." She leaned forward, lowering her voice as she said, "Actually, I want him to die."

"Which is why you can't be involved."

"You want the same thing I do," she said, challenging him with her eyes. "You lost your dad. I'm surprised you were allowed to take on this case."

He ignored that, not wanting to get into an argument with her, because the one thing they had always clashed on was what she perceived to be the favoritism he received because of his father and grandfather. "Whatever you learn, bring it to me. You can't talk to anyone else."

"Fine," she said. "What about Mick Hadley? Have you talked to him? He worked closely with your dad when it came to Novikov. He always seems to know what's going on."

"He doesn't know this time. And I can't answer any more questions. Let me do this, Stephanie. I know that won't be easy, but the bottom line is that we both want Novikov off the most wanted list, right?"

"Right. Will you at least give me an update at some point?"

"I'll try." He got up and leaned over to give her another hug. "Thanks for the tip."

"I hope it's a good one."

CHAPTER TWELVE

Her mom finally woke up around noon on Friday. Alisa was relieved to see her eyes open, as she'd been sleeping for the past two hours, ever since she'd gone into her room. While she'd sat at her bedside, she'd come up with a lot of questions she hoped her mother might be able to answer. But first, she had to make sure her mom was still feeling well.

"Hello, sleepyhead," she said, getting to her feet. "How are you feeling?"

"So tired," her mom said with a little sigh as she blinked her eyes a few times. "Is it morning?"

"It's almost noon."

"Oh. I think when I woke up before, it was about nine. The doctor was here. He's a very kind man."

"He is. He said you're doing much better, and it's understandable that you're tired because your body is recovering from the toxins."

The light in her mother's eyes faded at her words. "I hoped that was a dream."

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