Page 37 of Lethal Game

As he told her about the safeguards in place, which included a tunnel that led to a park a half mile away and could be accessed through the flooring in the panic room, she felt her tension increase as she became very aware again of the fact that someone wanted to kill her.

"I—I have to get out of here," she said, running out of the panic room and the study and into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. Then she took a long drink.

Jason came into the room and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I thought the safety measures would make you feel protected."

"They just reminded me that someone wants me dead."

"Well, it's not going to happen here."

"I wish you would have said it's not going to happen at all."

"Sorry," he said with a shrug.

She looked around the well-stocked and beautifully designed kitchen. "This is a nice home for a safe house, isn't it? I thought we'd be in a motel room or a small apartment."

"My boss, Flynn MacKenzie, owns this unit. His second-in-command, Beck Murray, has the one next door. They both lived here when they first started the special task force that I'm now on. They were single then. Now they're both married and live elsewhere, but they kept these units to be used as needed for safe houses."

"So you're on a special task force?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

"Normally, I work for the LA field office, but we needed the circle on this case to be tight, so I'm temporarily assigned to this smaller, more agile unit."

She slid onto a stool at the island. After a moment, Jason sat down across from her.

"We could go into the living room where it's more comfortable," he suggested.

"I'm okay here."

"Are you hungry?" he asked, then frowned. "Damn. I left the cookies at my office."

"It's fine. I don't want anything. This water is fine."

"Are you sure you don't want something stronger? There's wine and a full bar in the dining room. Whiskey, bourbon, tequila…"

"I need to keep a clear head." She took another sip of her water. "Why did the circle have to be small on this case?"

His lips tightened. "Before the courthouse explosion, we were close to catching Novikov. But someone in the FBI tipped him off. That's how my father and partner ended up walking into an ambush. I got to the scene about five minutes too late."

"Did you find your father?" she asked in horror.

"Yes."

"I can't imagine."

"It was the worst day of my life," he said darkly. "I knew my dad was gone the second I saw him. Luckily, Stephanie survived. I was waiting for an ambulance with her when the courthouse blew up. We were so close to stopping Novikov…" He shook his head, pain etched in every line of his face.

"I'm so sorry, Jason."

"That's why I'm working with a different team now. I can't change what happened, but I can stop Novikov from putting more people through hell."

She could understand why he was so motivated to capture the man. He carried a heavy personal loss. "I wish I could help you make the connection between my family and this Novikov person. I don't see one, but there's obviously something I'm missing. Do you have any idea what he's planning to do? Is it going to be another bomb, like the one at the courthouse?"

"Possibly. There are, unfortunately, too many possibilities. Several large events are taking place next week that could betargeted. We're focused on three of them, but we need to narrow it down, or better yet, catch Novikov before then."

"Next week is like three days away."

"Exactly. And whatever he is planning will be big and deadly. That much, I know."

Her stomach churned. "What on earth could this man want with me?" she asked in bemusement.