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“Such as?”
“The patient’s general health, the patient’s autoimmune—”
“Bullshit. It was decided by the patient’s pocketbook. How much?”
“I wasn’t privy to that conversation.”
“You mean negotiation.”
Not quite meeting his eye, she said, “I’m told the Hunts committed a sizable amount toward future research, but on the condition—”
“That he got it. You think God gave a thumbs-up on that deal?”
“He must have.” Looking angry, she stood up, went around him, and thumped her water bottle onto the dresser. “Because last night when I took matters into my own hands, look what happened. You crashed. Brady is in ICU. I’ll pay dearly for skipping out on Nate and the Hunts tonight. Character assassination will only be the beginning.”
“They can’t shred you without admitting to wrongdoing themselves.”
She dismissed that argument with a chuff. “They’re capable, believe me. They’ll probably figure out a way to have my medical license revoked. Which I was risking anyway. But the worst of it…” Her voice cracked. She tried again. “The worst of it is that I can’t save Violet.”
“You can save Richard Hunt.”
“After leaving Nate’s office? No. They wouldn’t let me near him. I campaigned hard for Violet. In the end, Nate won out, I conceded. But I guess neither he nor the Hunts were convinced of my commitment.”
“So Goliad and Timmy were sent up to Howardville last night to keep tabs on you, make sure you didn’t abscond with that box.”
“Which is precisely what I had planned to do, and was willing to suffer the consequences.” She raised her hands in a helpless gesture. “You know what happened to that plan. So, on the long drive back to Atlanta, I looked at it from a purely objective standpoint.
“The GX-42 wouldn’t be wasted. A life would be spared, and, as you reminded me last night, I swore under oath to save lives. Any life. I had geared myself up to assist Nate tonight, and to be glad about it.” She paused for breath. “But then you sent me that text.”
“Which you could have ignored. Why didn’t you?”
“Honestly? It provided me a good excuse to abandon Nate, the Hunts, all of it. Turns out that my objectivity wasn’t so strong after all. Knowing Violet was lost, I lost heart.
“Now they’ll know without doubt that I’m a traitor to the cause. Nate will be livid with me for making him look bad with the rich and powerful Hunts. On the other hand, if the drug works as we fully expect it to, he’ll be delighted not to have to share the praise.”
“You’ll miss out on getting the credit.”
“Violet will miss out on much more.” She swiped a tear off her cheek, turned quickly away, and headed for the bathroom. “Excuse me. When I come out, I’ll call for a car.”
“Brynn—”
“I never cry in front of anyone.” She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. The lock clicked.
Rye went to the door and knocked. “Brynn.”
“Give me a few minutes. Please.”
Cursing under his breath, he backed away. He supposed she had earned a crying jag.
He lifted his bomber jacket off the bed and took his cell phone from the pocket. He sat down on the end of the bed where Brynn had been, holding the phone in his palm, bouncing it a couple of times in indecision, then, before he chickened out, tapped in a number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom.”
She gushed a breath around his name. “Oh, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“I called this morning.”
