Page 59 of Lethal Game

"I'm afraid Mick might use you to lure Novikov out of hiding, to tempt him to take out another FBI agent named Colter."

"That won't happen. I'm too smart and I'm too careful. I learned a lot the last time we went after Novikov."

"You can be as careful as you want. Mick has connections everywhere. And he's sneaky."

Patrick's words reminded him that Mick had been the one to send him the video from the plane. He could have gone to anyone, but he'd given him the information. "I know who Mick is," he said. "I don't trust him, but I will use him if I have to."

"He'll use you, too."

"I thought you, Mick, and my father were all friends," he said.

"We had to work together at times, but we were always working for competing agencies. There was always a line we didn't cross. I'm afraid that Mick's obsession will now take him over that line. And I don't want you to pay the price."

The blare of a car horn snapped his attention to the fountain, where a man pulled out a gun. Jason shoved Patrick behind the bushes just as the first shots rang out, a bullet whizzing past his ear.

Jason drew his weapon as screams echoed through the park and as people scattered. Peering over the bush, he glimpsed the shooter jumping into a van before it sped away.

"He's gone," he said to Patrick, whose eyes were filled with fury.

"Who the fuck was that?" Patrick said. "Did you see him?"

"The back of him. Male, probably in his twenties or thirties, wearing jeans, a blue windbreaker, and a navy-blue cap on his head," he said as they both stood up. Sirens blared as police cars pulled up in the lot and began running through the park. He tucked his weapon under his jacket and pulled out his badge.

As one officer neared them, he showed him his badge and told him what he'd seen.

Many more questions followed as he and Patrick spoke to the police.

He kept an eye on the car, where Alisa was sitting behind the wheel with a concerned expression on her face. He'd told her to drive away at the first sign of trouble, which, of course, she hadn't done. Instead, she'd hit the car horn and quite possibly saved his life.

That puzzled him. The gunman hadn't tried to shoot the car with Alisa in it. They'd been after him—or Patrick. But Patrick was retired and an unlikely target.

As if reading his mind, Patrick leaned in and murmured, "They were aiming for you, Jason. No one cares about me anymore. I'm retired." Patrick paused. "Who's the woman in the car? The one you keep staring at. She with you?"

"Yes, she's with me. You ever hear of a man named Daniel Hunt?"

There was a blank look on Patrick's face. "No. Who is he?"

"I'm not sure. But he's important to Novikov, and I have to figure out why."

"I could do some digging. I have contacts."

"No. You need to stay out of this. I told Stephanie the same thing. I don't know who set us up before, but it could be someone we all knew and trusted. We need to leave our former contacts out of this, or the same thing could happen."

"I just want to help."

"You can help by standing down. Like you said, you're retired. Go play some golf or something."

Annoyance ran through Patrick's eyes. "I can do more than play golf."

"You can, but you've earned the time off. You've served your country well." He paused. "I appreciate your concern, but now I'm worried you're going to be a target because you're talking to me. I can't let that happen. I need you and Stephanie to stay safe. Please, just let me handle this."

"All right. I'll let you handle it because I know you can. You're your father's son."

He didn't like the comparison, but getting Patrick to back off was the main goal, so he just nodded and said thank you. Then he sighed as another police officer motioned him over. He had more questions that he would have to answer before he could get back to doing what he needed to do—catch Novikov.

Jason was taking forever, Alisa thought as she sat in the car, her hands tightly clasped together. But he was all right. He was alive, and that was what mattered.

She still couldn't believe someone had taken a shot at him in broad daylight in a busy, crowded park. When she'd seen the man step behind the fountain and pull out a gun, she'd wanted to jump out of the car and scream Jason's name. But the horn had been faster and louder. It had given Jason a split second to see what was happening. She'd still screamed when the shots rang out and Jason and Patrick had disappeared behind a bush, holding her breath until she saw the gunman run to a car and speed out of the parking lot. She'd made a mental note of the license plate, hoping that would provide Jason with a much-needed clue.

---