Page 76 of Lethal Game

She handed her mom the letter and sat back in her chair, giving her mother time and space to absorb her father's words, the last words he might ever say to them.

Jason sat down across the table from Tatiana Guseva, a very thin, frail-looking woman whose brown hair had turned white and whose weary, dark eyes were unreadable. She was in her fifties, but she appeared much older than she had three years ago when he'd interviewed her after the courthouse bombing.

"Hello, Tatiana, we meet again."

"I'm not surprised. You swore you would get revenge for your father's death, even though that had nothing to do with me, just as whatever is happening now has nothing to do with me."

"Except that it does. You told your boyfriend that his former associate, Alexei Bruno, was in LA working under another name."

"I don’t know who you're talking about."

"Sure, you do. You met Arseni Novikov when you were sixteen years old and started dating him seriously in your twenties. You were a ballerina. He was in the KGB. But then he went into the Bratva, and you moved to Paris. Some say you were the only woman he ever loved, if such a man is capable of love. Alexei Bruno was working for Novikov during the years youwere together. You knew him, whether or not you care to admit it."

Tatiana stared back at him without saying a word. She'd spent enough time in Novikov's world to understand how important it was to keep her mouth shut.

"Did you know that the lab where you want to do your clinical trial was broken into last night? That the man who might be able to save your life was beaten up and shot and is in critical condition?"

Her gaze flickered slightly at his words.

"Did you realize that telling Novikov that Alexei Bruno was in LA might backfire on you? That the drug treatment you desperately need might no longer be available if the doctor is dead? If the canisters from the lab that are now missing might be vital to the clinical trial?" He let his words sink in, then said, "You need to help us find Novikov. It's time to decide how badly you want to live, Tatiana."

"I haven't spoken to Arseni in years," she said.

"But you've talked to Dominic Ilyin, and he's in LA, too. Did you tell Dominic you saw Alexei?"

"I asked for my lawyer several hours ago. It doesn't take that long to get here. Where is he?"

He ignored her question. "You're in serious trouble, Tatiana. We couldn't link you to the courthouse bombing, but we can connect you to the lab, to Cavendish, to the missing canister, to Dominic Ilyin. Is Novikov's life worth more than yours? How can you want to protect a man you haven't seen or spoken to a decade? You've built your life here in Los Angeles. You teach little girls how to dance ballet. They could all be dead in a matter of days. How can you live with yourself?"

"I don't know anything," she said, her lips tight, but he could see the crack in her walls, and he pressed harder.

"You know something. Do you really want to let the treatment that could save your life be destroyed by your ex-boyfriend's terrorist attack?"

She swallowed hard. "I don't know what's going to happen."

"What do you know?"

"If I talk to you, I want immunity. And I want to be in that clinical trial. Otherwise, there's no point in me speaking."

"Done," he said.

"I want it in writing."

"Not until I decide if your information is worth making a deal for. If it is, you'll get your immunity and the clinical trial, if it can still go on."

"I didn't tell Arseni about Alexei. I didn't tell anyone."

"We already know that you saw him."

"I saw him when I was in the lab talking to one of the lab technicians about the trial. He was walking down the hall, and he went into Henry's office. I wasn't completely sure it was him. I only met him a few times, many years ago."

"If you didn't tell Novikov about Alexei, who did?"

"Dominic had driven me to the lab. He occasionally visited me when he came to Los Angeles. Dominic and I were childhood friends. He's the one who introduced me to Arseni. I never imagined what the two of them would eventually become. But when I realized their activities were beyond anything I could handle, I left Moscow. I moved to Paris, and I haven't seen Arseni in at least fifteen years."

"But you have seen Dominic. Did he also see Alexei in the lab?"

"He didn't come to the lab with me. He was waiting for me in the downstairs lobby. He was going to give me a ride home. He saw Alexei come into the building, but Alexei didn't see him. When I eventually went down to the lobby, Dominic was agitated and already on the phone. He paused long enough to ask me if I'd seen Alexei upstairs. I lied and said I hadn't. I expressed disbelief that Alexei could be in LA. But Dominic was sure, and he told me he had a friend in the lab. He was going to get her to confirm that Alexei was working there."

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