Page 31 of Lethal Game

For several minutes, they just ate, and it felt good to not talk or think or speculate. Her body was aching from the knock on the head she'd taken last night to the cuts and bruises she'd sustained today. Besides food, what she really needed was a hot shower. But that would have to wait.

"Do you eat here a lot?" Jason asked.

"Not really. I usually bring a lunch and eat in the lounge or on the rooftop deck. I go home for dinner. I'm ready to get out of here at the end of my shift."

"Do you live alone?"

"I do, but I have nursing friends in the building, so it never feels lonely." She paused. "What about you? Where do you live?"

"Hermosa Beach."

"That's a nice town. Do you have a view of the beach?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. I bought a third-floor condo with an ocean view last year."

"That sounds great. I don't live by the beach. But I love going there. I've always found the ocean to be relaxing."

"I love sleeping with the windows open," he said. "Hearing actual waves crash on a beach is much better than a sound machine. Although, I have to admit I don't spend a lot of time there. I work a lot, and sometimes my job requires me to go undercover and establish a housing situation somewhere else for weeks at a time."

"That sounds interesting and dangerous."

"It's often both."

"You never told me the name of the person you came to the hospital to look for last night. Maybe I would recognize the person."

"His name is Arseni Novikov. Does that ring a bell?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure I've never heard that name before. Is he from Chechnya like Victor Kashin?"

"No. He was born in Leningrad, Russia, which is now St.Petersburg. He's a very dangerous man. He's been on the FBI's most wanted list for three decades."

Her eyes widened. "Really? That long? Why can't anyone catch him?"

"He doesn't come to the States very often. That he's here now is disturbing. The last time he showed up three years ago, a bomb went off in a courthouse, killing six people and injuring dozens more."

"Oh, my God!" she said. "I remember that explosion. I'd just started working in the ER. It was madness that night. We were one of three hospitals getting victims, and no one knew what was going on."

His jaw tightened. "It was a terrible scene."

"Were you there?" she asked, seeing a disturbing darkness in his eyes.

"I got there too late to stop him."

There was raw emotion in his voice, which surprised her, because he wasn't a man who appeared to show much emotion. "I'm sorry. Did you know someone who died? There was a lot of pain in your voice just now."

"I didn't know anyone who was injured at the courthouse, but my partner and my father were trying to get to Novikov before he could set off the bombs, and they were both gunned down. My father died at the scene, and my partner was seriously hurt. It has taken her a long time to recover, and she's still not completely back to normal."

"Oh, my God! Jason, I'm so sorry." She reached across the table to put her hand on his arm. "I had no idea."

He shrugged, his lips tight, his profile hard. He really wasn't a man who liked to show his feelings. She probably should have let it go, but she was curious to know more.

"Why was your father there? Was he also in the FBI?"

"Yes. He was an FBI agent. He spent most of his career trying to stop Novikov and his reign of terror. Now it’s my turn,"Jason said, his voice hardening. "This time, I won’t let him slip through my fingers."

There was no trace of doubt in his voice, just hard-edged determination. "So, this is not just your job; it's personal."

"Yes. It's very personal. But it's also my job. Both things can be true. And you should keep eating."