She set the cookie on the napkin and lifted her tea instead. “Tell me about the family. I feel so out of touch.”
Ginny settled in for one of those chats she and Pippa’s mother used to have. Actually, they still did—she knew her family made the trip to Montana every year at the fly hatch for a spot of fishing.
“Well, you saw Ross. Bossy as ever.” Shooting Pippa a wink, she raised her voice for her son to overhear in the event he was nearby. “As you might know, he started a security company with his friend Silas Shanie and his cousin Mathias Trace. Then he brought his other cousin Landon and his brothers on board, so all four of my boys are out doing dangerous jobs more often than I like to hear about. Good thing they don’t supply me with details.” She stopped to sip her tea—being a mother of this crew was thirsty work. “Corrine is helping on the ranch, but more and more Ross is giving her small jobs with WEST Protection.”
Like sending the young woman to purchase a wardrobe for Pippa.
“Oh! You might have heard my youngest son Noah found a wonderful young woman to settle down with. Maya Ray is from right here in Stone Pass. They rent a house on the outskirts of town.”
“That’s wonderful. How funny that your youngest is the first to settle.” Her mind wandered to Ross. With his rugged good looks, he must have women flocking to him. He was smart too.
She pushed her glasses up her nose and offered a small smile, the most she could muster.
“We love having Maya Ray around, and when you meet her, I’m sure you’ll get along very well.”
“I’m sure…” Her voice sounded as a rasp. Automatically, she lifted a hand and toyed with her collar.
Ginny followed her movement, and a crease—similar to Ross’s—deepened between her eyes. Pippa braced herself for some questions to follow, but her friend thankfully remained silent.
After her refreshments, Ginny showed her to the bathroom, where she splashed water on her face and tried to put her hair in order. As she removed the elastic band from her ponytail, her gaze lit on her reflection. Blue streaks crossed her neck. She knew much of the bruising she’d caused herself, when she used that maneuver to flip her attacker. His body weight had hung off her neck—little wonder she was bruised.
Running her fingers through her hair to pull out the worst of the tangles from her long, exhausting day, she studied her face in the mirror. Her eyes were too wide, conveying her shock. She ducked her head and splashed more water on them.
The Wyntons must think her crazy to show up here after fifteen years. Yet they’d opened their arms to her.
She only hoped she could explain before Ginny called Pippa’s mother. The last thing she wanted was her family worrying over her safety. Being here was more than nice—it was exactly what she needed. Since she didn’t have to worry about someone jumping out and trying to kill her, she could focus on devising a plan.
After she placed her glasses on, she went to find Ginny. Or Ross.
She found both, seated in the kitchen, speaking quietly. Their gazes landed on her as she entered, but she was looking at Ross when she entered. His eyes traveled over her hair and face, down to the buttoned-up shirt covering her bruising.
“I’ll send Corrine in to find you when she arrives,” Ginny said to him. Then she started out of the kitchen. As she passed Pippa, she squeezed her arm and continued on without saying a word.
Pippa met Ross’s gaze. He twitched his head toward the big table and chairs. After they were seated across from each other, her nerves kicked in. His silence and authority didn’t help matters, and she suddenly felt fifteen again.
“Corrine’s gone into town to find you some clothes and toiletries.”
“I appreciate you sending her. I’ll pay you back.”
He cast off her offer with a wave. “We need to talk frankly. I need to know everything, Pippa. Every single detail you can recall, even if it seems unimportant.”
She gave a slow nod. She started at the top, when she found her mother’s earrings missing.
“Why weren’t you wearing the earrings?”
“Sometimes I take them off before an experiment. There’s so much protective gear to wear in order to keep me safe and the experiments uncontaminated.”
He accepted her response and she continued, moving to the missing photograph. “Give me the name of your friend in the photograph.”
She did, and he typed it into his phone. She watched his face closely, but he didn’t give away anything about what he was looking at.
Setting aside his phone, he met her stare. “Tell me about the first threat.”
Scraping her hair off her face, she whispered the words written on the slip of paper. “I got rid of others like you.” Her stomach twisted, and she focused on the wood grain of the table as a way to center herself from the dizziness overtaking her.
Ross didn’t speak, his face an unreadable mask. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.
He plied her with questions about what happened after she received the note. Did she keep it? Did anyone approach her afterward, or did life go on as normal?
She responded to everything as thoroughly as possible.
“Tell me about where you live.”
“An apartment complex.”
“Security?”
“A doorman.”
He nodded. “Do you know his name?”
She blinked. “Yes, Eric has the day shift and Michael the night. Why would you need that?”
“Because I’m going to talk to them.”
A shiver snaked down her spine at Ross’s tone—soft, a little gritty. Deadly.
“You can’t suspect either man of this.”
“Everyone is a suspect until I say they’re not. But I have other reasons for wanting to talk to them. I want to know about the building’s security, and whether or not anybody’s asked about you.”
Her stomach pitched. She set her elbows on the table and dropped her head into her hands. “This has gone so far.”
“We’ll figure it out, Pippa. I’ve never failed yet.”
She jerked her gaze to his. “I never doubted, Ross. It’s why I called you.”
His stare slipped over her face. A strange twist of awareness in her stomach replaced the sick dread.
“Now.” He paused. “Tell me about your work. Is it sensitive at all?”
“I… Yes, it’s sensitive.”
He waited to hear more, but she didn’t know how to say she’d made such an enormous breakthrough in the world of gene studies that it would help not only a few people but save the lives for a massive number of the population.
“Still shy.” Ross’s statement made her jerk. He sat back in his chair to regard her. “Dare I say humble too? I don’t think all scientists possess that trait—they want credit for their discoveries, and here you sit completely silent when I ask about your work.”
“I don’t want fame. I only want to help people.”
He tapped a finger on the table. “Tell me about that.”
“About four months ago I had a big breakthrough. I told you I’m involved with gene editing…and I’ll spare you all the terminology, but I’ll say what I discovered will change the face of medicine.”