Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Her mom finally woke up around noon on Friday. Alisa was relieved to see her eyes open, as she'd been sleeping for the past two hours, ever since she'd gone into her room. While she'd sat at her bedside, she'd come up with a lot of questions she hoped her mother might be able to answer. But first, she had to make sure her mom was still feeling well.

"Hello, sleepyhead," she said, getting to her feet. "How are you feeling?"

"So tired," her mom said with a little sigh as she blinked her eyes a few times. "Is it morning?"

"It's almost noon."

"Oh. I think when I woke up before, it was about nine. The doctor was here. He's a very kind man."

"He is. He said you're doing much better, and it's understandable that you're tired because your body is recovering from the toxins."

The light in her mother's eyes faded at her words. "I hoped that was a dream."

"I wish it was, Mom. Jason confirmed that a timed-release capsule was planted in the vase of flowers that was delivered to your room on Wednesday evening. It released a toxin into the air, which is why your symptoms recurred during the night. That's why we moved you here yesterday and why we're restricting visitors and keeping everything very sterile. Remember?"

"It's all coming back to me now," she said wearily. "How are you doing? Where did you stay last night?"

"At an FBI safe house. Jason is looking out for me."

"I hope he's doing a good job."

"He is, but he has a lot of questions, Mom. Do you remember me telling you about the fire at your house?"

"That was real, too?" her mother said with despair.

"Yes, and there's a video from the house across the street showing Dad taking things out of the house a few hours before the fire. The FBI thinks he might have set the fire or knew it was going to happen."

"That's impossible."

"Is it?" she challenged.

"Of course it is, Alisa. You're acting like your father is a criminal. He's just out of town."

Her mother's stubborn refusal to question anything her father did grated on her nerves. "He's not just out of town. He sent me a text last night." She pulled out her phone and let her mom read it for herself.

"Well, there you go," her mother said a moment later. "Your dad is doing what he can to protect us and keep us safe."

"By staying away while people try to kill us?"

"I'm sure he's not just staying away; he's trying to figure out what's going on. He loves us. We have to just focus on that."

"I can't just focus on that," she said, anger bubbling up inside of her. "Every day I learn something new about him, and none of it is good."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, here's one thing. The FBI thinks Dad stole the identity of someone named Dan Hunt: his educational background, his birthday, and his social security number. It would have happened the year before he met you. Do you know anything about that?"

Her mother drew in a sharp breath and licked her lips. "Could I have some water? My mouth is dry."

Her mom was stalling, but she filled her glass with water and helped her take a drink. "Better?" she asked as she set the cup down on the table.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, you need to stop pretending that everything is fine, because it's not. What do you know, Mom? Tell me."

Her mother gave her a long and pained look. "Okay. Here's what I know. Your father told me before we got married that he'd had some trouble in his past and that he'd had to start over with a new identity, a new name. He couldn't tell me more because it would be dangerous."

She sucked in a breath as her mother finally came clean. "Are you saying he was in witness protection?"

"He didn't call it that. And he said little else, only that he couldn't marry me without telling me his past was a secret and could never be spoken about. He knew it was a lot to ask of any woman, but he hoped I could see the man he was and that the past didn't matter. He promised me he'd had to reinvent himself because he was a good person who didn't want to do bad."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes, because I loved him."

She was truly shocked. "How could you marry someone who told you he was living under an assumed name? Why wouldn't you ask a million questions? Why wouldn't you run away?"

"I just told you why. I was crazy about him, Alisa. And every instinct I had told me he was as good as he was saying and that I'd be a fool to let him go. And I wasn't wrong. You know what kind of man your father is. You've seen him for twenty-eight years. He's been there for you and for me every day of his life. He's followed the rules. He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do drugs, doesn't cheat. He's a family man. He's smart and funny and kind."

Her mother's words were so passionately delivered, it made her feel guilty for doubting her father because he was all the things her mother had just said.

But he was also something else, and she had a feeling that the bad he had wanted no part of had caught up to him.

"You can't stop loving him now, Alisa. At least wait until he gets back, until he can talk to you himself."

"If he gets back," she said. "If you and I are in danger, then Dad is, too. Whatever happened in his past—it's come back."

"He promised me everything would be okay. He's doing what he needs to do to protect us."

He might be trying, but he wasn't succeeding. She'd nearly been killed twice, and her mother might not have survived another dose of toxin.

"Did Dad say anything about Russia?" she asked her mother.

Her mom's eyes widened. "No. Why would he?"

"I think he grew up somewhere else, maybe in Russia or Eastern Europe."

"I told you he never talked about his life before he met me. I had questions in the beginning. But I got tired of hearing him say he couldn't answer, and that maybe we should break up. I didn't want to end things. I wanted to marry him. So, I took a risk, and I don't regret it. But I am worried about you. I wish I felt stronger. I wish I could get out of this bed and take you away from here. I really want you to leave town, Alisa. Your father wants the same thing. You need to go—today. Now."

"I can't leave, Mom. And it's not just because I want to stay here, but because I'm in danger. I'm safer here where there are people trying to protect me."

"I am sorry about all this, Alisa. Honestly, over the years, I just forgot about your dad's past. It didn't matter. We had a great life together. He loved his job, his friends—us. Everything was wonderful. "

"It was good," she agreed. "Do you think Henry knows about Dad's secret life?"

Her mother hesitated. "I would have said no before the last couple of days, but Henry mentioned something to me the other night about how he knew what I knew, and because of that, he was worried about where Dan had gone. I was so tired, I didn't react. I just said I was exhausted, and I had to sleep. I didn't want to talk to him about anything. But when I think about his words now, it seems like he might know something. Dan and Henry have gotten very close, especially since Jill died. Your father spends almost every Sunday with Henry. He says Henry needs the company, and he doesn't want Henry looking to Lauren to fill the emptiness in his life."

"What about Lauren? I spoke to Henry today, and she seems very close to him, very possessive."

"Neither your father nor I care for her, not that she's ever done anything to us, but it seems like she just worked her way into Henry's life very quickly. And he's so lost without Jill; he's a target."

"A target for what? His money?"

"Or his position. She wants to work her way up at the lab by getting close to Henry."

"She's already pretty high. Getting back to Dad, have you told me everything you know? You can't be more loyal to Dad than you are to me. My life is on the line."

"I would never let you get hurt because of my loyalty to your father. Never. I love you, Alisa. I don't know anything else."

"I love you, too, Mom." She reached for her mother's hand and gave it a tight squeeze, needing to believe that at least her mother was the person she thought she was.

"Don't give up on your dad, Alisa. I know you don't understand why I did what I did, but one day you will. One day, you'll love someone so much that nothing else will matter."

"I'm not sure I want to love someone that much," she murmured, thinking that her mother's blind love had put her in this hospital bed.

"It's everything," her mom said with no regret in her eyes. "And whatever your father is doing, wherever he is, I know he's trying to get back to us."

She hoped that was true, but he better hurry, because she didn't know how many more near-death experiences either of them could survive.

After leaving Stephanie, Jason went to the office and updated the team on the tip he'd gotten from Stephanie. While a part of him wanted to go directly to the hotel, get a key from the manager, and take Constantine Figueroa—AKA Dominic Ilyin—under arrest, he'd learned a lot in the past three years. Novikov was a master manipulator, and any tip could be a trap that could endanger not only his life but other lives at the hotel.

So, instead, he and Savannah were working with two of their best analysts, Kyle and Jessie, hoping to get visual confirmation of Dominic Ilyin. Working backward in time, they were about thirty minutes into their review when he saw a familiar figure leaving the hotel just before five o'clock the previous evening with another man.

"Got him." He froze the image and put it up on the shared monitor so the others could see it. "Dominic is the one in the suit with the slicked-back brown hair and the beard." Dominic looked more like a successful businessman than a terrorist, carrying a leather briefcase in his hand and showing off a Rolex watch on his wrist. "That's who we're looking for."

"He didn't appear in any of the more recent footage, which would have shown him returning to the hotel," Savannah said. "I don't think he came back. But I checked with the hotel, and Constantine Figueroa is still a registered guest."

"Let's keep reviewing the footage to see if we can determine when he first arrived and any other comings and goings between him and anyone else. We also need to identify the man with him."

"That's Pieter Moldev," Kyle said. "He owns a nightclub in Hollywood. His father is Ivan Moldev, a wealthy financier who currently lives in Zurich."

Beck came up as Kyle finished speaking. "I know Moldev. I met him last year when I was working undercover as an arms dealer. My cover is still intact. I can go to the club and check things out tonight. Maybe I'll get lucky, and Ilyin will be there."

"I'll go with you," Savannah said.

As much as he wanted to go to the club himself, he was too well-known to Novikov and his associates.

"This is a good lead," Savannah said as Beck walked away. "We'll dig into Moldev this afternoon and see if we can trace any money exchange between him and Ilyin or others in Novikov's network. You need to focus on Alisa's connection to Novikov."

"I agree. I'll head back to the hospital and see if Alisa has gotten any more information from her mother."

"What about your former partner? Are you looping her in now?"

"No. But I don't think I can stop her from digging into things on her own. Stephanie's hate for Novikov knows no bounds."

"Well, she came up with a good lead, so she might be valuable. Or her CI might be if you can get her to give him up."

"That won't happen. But I'll give her an update and make her feel included, so hopefully, she'll come to me with any other leads versus chasing something down on her own. I'll check in with you later, Savannah." He got up from the computer, happy to take a break from looking at security footage.

When he got into his car, he gave Stephanie a call.

"Did you find Ilyin?" she asked immediately.

"No. But we spotted him coming out of the hotel last night with Pieter Moldev. "

"Do you know where they went?"

"Not yet. But we'll find him. This was a good lead, Steph, but you have to stay out of this now."

"You need me, Jason."

"Actually, who I need is your CI."

"I can't give you that name."

"Stephanie, this person might be the only one who can get us to Novikov. The only one who can stop a mass catastrophe."

"My CI doesn't know where Novikov is, but if more information comes in, I will tell you. I won't sit on anything I learn. I'd like to be more involved, but you were right when you said the most important thing is getting Novikov."

"Exactly, and last time around, we moved too fast. We got ahead of ourselves. We can't take any tip at face value. We can't allow ourselves to be manipulated."

"You just said my tip was good. My CI wasn't setting up me or you. He knows what I went through three years ago. That's why he gave me the lead."

"Okay, let me know if you hear anything else."

"As long as you keep me in the loop."

"I will," he said, not sure if that was a promise he could keep, but he'd have to see how things went. Right now, he needed to get back to Alisa.