Page 64 of Lethal Game

"My father? Where is he?"

"The Sparks Motel in Brentwood," Henry said, gasping out the words. "You need to help him."

"Who did you tell?" Jason asked, squatting down beside them.

"I don't know their names, but they work for…Arseni Novikov," he said, struggling to breathe. "He's wanted to get your father back for a long time."

"Why? Why would he want my father?" she asked in confusion.

"Your dad betrayed him…a long time ago…want to finish what…"

"What?" Jason demanded. "Finish what? Who was Dan Hunt before he changed his name?"

"Alexei Bruno," Henry said. "Brilliant chemist…they wanted him to…to…"

"Henry, stay with me," she said, pressing harder on his wound as his eyes closed. "Dammit! Where is the ambulance? We're losing him."

Henry struggled once more to stay conscious. "I'm sorry, Alisa. Tell him…your mom…so sorry…best friend…ever…had."

Henry's eyes closed again.

"No!" she yelled. "You can't die. You can't die." But her instincts told her that was exactly what was happening.

Jason got up as the EMTs arrived, along with the fire department and two cops. The EMTs took over for her, and within seconds, Henry was loaded onto a gurney and whisked away in the ambulance. She hoped they would get him to surgery in time, but she was afraid they might not.

As Jason spoke to the officers, she gazed down at the blood on her hands, trying to process what had happened. Two men had beaten Henry so badly, he'd been forced to give up her dad's location. Which meant her father was in danger. And her mind flashed on the memory of the speeding car they'd passed. Had it belonged to the men who'd done this?

They had to get out of here. They had to go find her father.

Jason came over and handed her a towel.

"We have to go to the motel," she said as she dried her hands. "We need to save my dad."

"'I'm going there now. The police will take you to my office."

"No. I'm going to find my father."

"You can't. Look what happened to Henry. I'm not taking you anywhere else."

"Then I'll go on my own. There is no way I'm spending time with some random cop who could be working for Novikov."

His gaze narrowed. "The cops aren't working for Novikov."

"You don't know that, Jason," she said fiercely, striding past him.

He bit off a curse as she left the house. She heard him say something to the police officer in charge of the scene, but she didn't stop until she got to the locked car.

At her fierce look, he simply flipped the locks open and got behind the wheel.

"I'll take you to the motel," he said. "But this time, you have to stay in the car until I tell you that you can get out. If you can't promise you'll do that, then I'll take you to the safe house, and I'll stay there until someone comes to wait with you."

"I'll stay in the car. Just go. We might not have much time." Her voice broke as she silently prayed that they wouldn't find her father in the same condition as Henry. Or possibly worse…

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Do you think he's dead?" Alisa asked as Jason sped down the dark streets toward West Hollywood, weaving his way in and out of traffic as quickly as he could.

"He was still alive when they put him in the ambulance."