Page 52 of Lethal Game

"You can't stop loving him now, Alisa. At least wait until he gets back, until he can talk to you himself."

"If he gets back," she said. "If you and I are in danger, then Dad is, too. Whatever happened in his past—it's come back."

"He promised me everything would be okay. He's doing what he needs to do to protect us."

He might be trying, but he wasn't succeeding. She'd nearly been killed twice, and her mother might not have survived another dose of toxin.

"Did Dad say anything about Russia?" she asked her mother.

Her mom's eyes widened. "No. Why would he?"

"I think he grew up somewhere else, maybe in Russia or Eastern Europe."

"I told you he never talked about his life before he met me. I had questions in the beginning. But I got tired of hearing him say he couldn't answer, and that maybe we should break up. I didn't want to end things. I wanted to marry him. So, I took a risk, and I don't regret it. But I am worried about you. I wish I felt stronger. I wish I could get out of this bed and take you away from here. I really want you to leave town, Alisa. Your father wants the same thing. You need to go—today. Now."

"I can't leave, Mom. And it's not just because I want to stay here, but because I'm in danger. I'm safer here where there are people trying to protect me."

"I am sorry about all this, Alisa. Honestly, over the years, I just forgot about your dad's past. It didn't matter. We had a great life together. He loved his job, his friends—us. Everything was wonderful."

"It was good," she agreed. "Do you think Henry knows about Dad's secret life?"

Her mother hesitated. "I would have said no before the last couple of days, but Henry mentioned something to me the other night about how he knew what I knew, and because of that, he was worried about where Dan had gone. I was so tired, I didn't react. I just said I was exhausted, and I had to sleep. I didn't want to talk to him about anything. But when I think about his words now, it seems like he might know something. Dan and Henry have gotten very close, especially since Jill died. Your father spends almost every Sunday with Henry. He says Henry needs the company, and he doesn't want Henry looking to Lauren to fill the emptiness in his life."

"What about Lauren? I spoke to Henry today, and she seems very close to him, very possessive."

"Neither your father nor I care for her, not that she's ever done anything to us, but it seems like she just worked her way into Henry's life very quickly. And he's so lost without Jill; he's a target."

"A target for what? His money?"

"Or his position. She wants to work her way up at the lab by getting close to Henry."

"She's already pretty high. Getting back to Dad, have you told me everything you know? You can't be more loyal to Dad than you are to me. My life is on the line."

"I would never let you get hurt because of my loyalty to your father.Never.I love you, Alisa. I don't know anything else."

"I love you, too, Mom." She reached for her mother's hand and gave it a tight squeeze, needing to believe that at least her mother was the person she thought she was.

"Don't give up on your dad, Alisa. I know you don't understand why I did what I did, but one day you will. One day, you'll love someone so much that nothing else will matter."

"I'm not sure I want to love someone that much," shemurmured, thinking that her mother's blind love had put her in this hospital bed.

"It's everything," her mom said with no regret in her eyes. "And whatever your father is doing, wherever he is, I know he's trying to get back to us."

She hoped that was true, but he better hurry, because she didn't know how many more near-death experiences either of them could survive.

After leaving Stephanie, Jason went to the office and updated the team on the tip he'd gotten from Stephanie. While a part of him wanted to go directly to the hotel, get a key from the manager, and take Constantine Figueroa—AKA Dominic Ilyin—under arrest, he'd learned a lot in the past three years. Novikov was a master manipulator, and any tip could be a trap that could endanger not only his life but other lives at the hotel.

So, instead, he and Savannah were working with two of their best analysts, Kyle and Jessie, hoping to get visual confirmation of Dominic Ilyin. Working backward in time, they were about thirty minutes into their review when he saw a familiar figure leaving the hotel just before five o'clock the previous evening with another man.

"Got him." He froze the image and put it up on the shared monitor so the others could see it. "Dominic is the one in the suit with the slicked-back brown hair and the beard." Dominic looked more like a successful businessman than a terrorist, carrying a leather briefcase in his hand and showing off a Rolex watch on his wrist. "That's who we're looking for."

"He didn't appear in any of the more recent footage, which would have shown him returning to the hotel," Savannah said. "I don't think he came back. But I checked with the hotel, and Constantine Figueroa is still a registered guest."

"Let's keep reviewing the footage to see if we can determinewhen he first arrived and any other comings and goings between him and anyone else. We also need to identify the man with him."

"That's Pieter Moldev," Kyle said. "He owns a nightclub in Hollywood. His father is Ivan Moldev, a wealthy financier who currently lives in Zurich."

Beck came up as Kyle finished speaking. "I know Moldev. I met him last year when I was working undercover as an arms dealer. My cover is still intact. I can go to the club and check things out tonight. Maybe I'll get lucky, and Ilyin will be there."

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