Page 44 of Lethal Game

"Okay," she said. "But my mom said that Henry asked where my dad had gone, so he may not know any more than we do."

"Only one way to find out."

As Jason drove out of the garage twenty minutes later, he felt a mix of emotions. Getting back to work should have felt like relief, but the truth was…he was getting too close to Alisa. He needed to remember they weren't friends. She was his assignment and maybe the key to finding Novikov. He couldn't let anything else get in the way.

"You're quiet," Alisa commented. "Are you worried someone is following us?"

"No. We're good," he said, taking another look in the rearview mirror just to be sure.

"Can I turn on my phone now?"

"Let's wait until we get to the hospital. They'll expect you to be there, but we don't need them to know where you are when you're not there."

"Okay," she agreed, tapping her fingers nervously on her thighs.

He liked her casual jean look, and that she'd left her thick, wavy hair down. It fell around her shoulders in a very pretty way, making him want to run his hands through her hair, capture her face, and steal a kiss from her also very pretty mouth.

He hit the brakes hard at the next intersection, not so much because he was going too fast with the car, but because he was going too fast in his head.

She shot him a quick, worried look.

"Sorry. I was thinking about something else," he muttered, forcing himself to focus. She was just a job, he told himself. He could compartmentalize, and he would. There was no other option. The stakes were too high.

He kept his attention on the road as he drove them the rest of the way to the medical center. When he headed up the hill, he noticed that Alisa focused her gaze on her hands, which she was twisting in her lap. He couldn't blame her. It would take a while to get over that harrowing crash.

When they reached the medical center, he showed the valet his badge and left the car in front of the stand, keeping his keys with him. Then they walked to a five-story building next to the hospital where labs and medical offices were located. Henry Cavendish's lab was on the top floor, and when they walked into the office suite, he saw a small lobby area with two couches, a couple of chairs, and a receptionist sitting behind a desk. She was speaking to an older gentleman about a clinical trial.

As they waited for that conversation to finish, a woman in a lab coat came through the door. She appeared to be in her early forties, her hair a dark red and pulled back in a bun. She stopped in surprise when she saw them. "Alisa, how are you? How is your mother? Henry told me she'd taken a turn for the worse."

"She's doing much better now," Alisa replied. "Is Henry here? I need to talk to him."

"He's in his office, but he's on a call. I'm sure he'll want to speak to you, though. I'll let him know you're here."

"Thanks, Lauren."

"Should I tell him who you're with?" Lauren asked, sending him a curious look.

"Special Agent Jason Colter," he told her, noting her suddenly wary expression.

"Special agent?" Lauren echoed. "As in FBI?"

"That's right. And you are?"

"Lauren Silenski. I'm a senior lab manager." Lauren turned to Alisa. "Is this about your mother? Henry said he couldn't get in to see her yesterday, that she'd been moved, and visitors were restricted. He said he left you a message, but he hadn't heard back."

Jason thought Lauren was a little too interested in Alisa's mother's condition.

Maybe Alisa thought the same thing because she simply said, "It's been busy. I haven't had a chance to return calls. Will you let him know we're here? We have to get to the hospital shortly."

"Of course."

Lauren disappeared through the door and Alisa turned to him. "She's a very nosy person."

"So, her questions weren't unusual?"

"No. Since Henry's wife died, he and Lauren have developed a relationship outside of work. My parents aren't too thrilled about it."

"Why not?"