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She chewed slowly. “So how are we going to get out of here then?”
“We’re going to have to risk taking the road but once we’re in Bern, it will be a lot easier. We can take the first train out in the morning. You will still get to Geneva in time to speak to your boss.”
She didn’t comment but she didn’t agree. The option he outlined would cut their arrival too close. It was going to be hard as hell to track Damon down once she arrived at the hotel. He was probably in meetings. Graham would be there for sure. Possibly Connie. Damon would want him on hand to deal with the fallout and press about her plane crash. She wished Haywood would be there. He would listen to her, and he would make Damon listen to her. They were good friends. They just didn’t see eye to eye on everything.
She took a bit of her burger and chewed. The place was super cute and in other circumstances…the sound of a phone ringing made her jump. She almost choked on her burger. Coughing she took a sip of soda.
Xavier got up and went over to the counter in the kitchen area. There was a phone in the corner she hadn’t noticed. It was an older one that showed the caller ID on the screen at the top.
“Who is it?” she asked.
He shrugged. “No idea. South African number. Probably spam. But I’m glad someone called. Knowing there’s a phone just made things easier. I don’t have to go out and try and find a store that sells cell phones right away.”
She got up and joined him in the kitchen. The phone had a cord so whoever used it had to stay in the space. She really wanted to make a few calls. “I’d love to call my mom.”
Xavier shook his head “You can’t do that.”
“Why not?” she demanded. “I’m sure she knows about the plane crash by now and I want her to know I’m alive.”
Xavier leaned against the counter. “These guys are professionals. They may have tapped your mom’s phone. If you call, you could tell them exactly where we are.”
She closed her eyes and swore. “It’s just not fair.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry.”
Opening her eyes, she frowned. “Can I call my old mentor? Haywood might have some ideas on who could be behind this. Plus, I might need him to run interference for me with Damon.”
Xavier hesitated. “How close are you two? Do you talk every week?”
She shook her head. When was the last time she spoke to Haywood? “I haven’t spoken with him for at least six months.” She sagged against the counter. He’d done so much for her and she’d always promised she’d keep up with him but it hit home that she wasn’t doing a good job of it. And now she was calling because she was in trouble. Very self-centered. She let out a breath. But it didn’t matter now. She needed his help. She would just have to do better by Haywood in the future.
“I guess you can call him but keep it brief.” He walked back over to the table and ate the last bite of his burger. Swallowing, he said, “I’m going up to grab a shower. I’ll be fast. Keep your eyes peeled in case anyone comes around.”
“You don’t think they’ll find us, do you?” That would be a nightmare.
“No. They can’t go door to door, they’d be kicked out of town. They’re just going to sit here and keep their eyes open and hope they get lucky at least until the road opens. Then they’ll stake that out.”
It was always a good news-bad news thing with him.
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll make a quick call then.” She turned and heard Xavier go up the stairs as she dialed the number she knew by heart. It rang three times and then her former mentor’s voice filled the air.
“Haywood,” she said in a quiet voice.
There was a pause. “Allegra? Is that you? They said you died in a plane crash. Is it really you?”
“It is me.” She could picture her friend standing at his kitchen sink, phone to his ear, his white hair standing up in tuffs. The maroon cardigan he always wore filled with cat hair and holes buttoned up against the cold. “How are you?”
“All the better for hearing your voice. How are you? Where are you? Are you injured?”
“I’m fine.” The warmth in his voice made her smile.
“How did you survive the plane crash? All that snow? It was a bad storm. You must have been freezing.”
Her breath hitched for a moment, and she longed to explain everything to him but she didn’t really have time. “I’ll answer all your questions later but first I need some help. Cytoxine is not the drug we thought it was. The data is wrong. I need you to help me convince Damon. He has to pull the drug before the FDA announces their approval tomorrow.”
“What? What’s wrong with the data? Graham sent me the trials. They looked great.”
She clamped her jaws together. Typical Graham, sending the data to Haywood because he thought buying ApexMed was a good idea. He wanted to gloat to everyone that he’d called it right. Except he hadn’t.She’dbeen right. However, who was right didn’t matter now. “Trust me. The data is wrong. Cytoxine is a dud. NoVoGlobal should pull it before the announcement comes out. I need you to run interference for me with Damon. He’ll listen to you.”
