Page 39

38

ALLISON

A week later, Allison is a nervous wreck. She has tried to carry on with her life after being released. She’d gotten up the next morning and began looking for a new story, even though she really wanted to find out who the masked-man could be and bring his organization to the ground.

However, his warning kept playing over and over in her mind, so she’d forced herself to focus on other things. With a concerted effort to avoid anything related to the missing children, she’d begun to investigate other avenues that might still give her information about what’s going on and those that are helping to cover it up.

Allison had done as she’d promised, but the masked-man or more specifically, his lackey, Bruno, hasn’t kept his part of the deal. At first Allison had thought the feeling of being watched was only in her head. It would be understandable after what she’d been through, but now a week later, she’s convinced she’s being stalked. It’s the only explanation.

The first time she’d seen Bruno, the day after she’d been released, she’d nearly thrown up. She’d done a double take, but when she’d looked the second time, he wasn’t there. She’d actively looked for him despite her fear, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. After thirty minutes of searching, she managed to convince herself she’d imagined seeing him.

The next day, she’d woken to the feeling of someone being in her apartment. She’d leaped from her bed, reaching into the nightstand for Alice, only to remember at the last moment, she no longer had her trusty handgun. Masked-man or Bruno had removed it from her suitcase at some point, because she couldn’t find her holster or gun when she’d opened her suitcase to get clothes.

She’d, then grabbed the chair she kept in her bedroom and jammed it up under the knob on her bedroom door. She’d sat on her bed, shaking in fear while she listened to someone walking around in the next room. She’d called 911, but when the officers had arrived, no one was there and the complex manager said the security system had gone offline during the night so there wasn’t any confirmation that a stranger had been in the building. The officers who had arrived to investigate treated her like she was a child that was afraid of the dark. She’d been raging pissed at the time, but now? Maybe they’d been right. Maybe her fear and the trauma of being abducted had caused her to imagine the whole thing.

Allison is beginning to believe she’s losing her mind. More than once in the last few days, she’s found things moved from where she’d put them. Not only that, but every time she goes out, she has the feeling she’s being watched. She can’t take it anymore. She can’t stay here in San Diego any longer. She needs to get away, to home, to her family and safety before she loses what’s left of her sanity. She doesn’t know what to do.

Allison’s relationship with Emma has been strained during this time, too. Emma knows Allison is lying about why she’d been MIA for three days. So, Emma has pressed her for the truth, but Allison has maintained her story which has frustrated Emma. They’ve argued every day, but they haven’t stopped talking to one another. For that Allison is grateful, but she can’t call Emma and tell her what’s happening without confessing the lies she’s told. Even if Emma would understand her reasons for lying, telling her anything will only put Emma and herself in danger. Yet, she needs someone. She needs help. She can’t take this anymore. The stress is weighing her down.

Allison pulls up her contacts and presses the call button. Her phone rings only once before she hears a familiar voice. “Sugar, are you okay? How have you been?” Allison immediately breaks down at the sound of Russell’s voice and begins to cry.

“Allison, please calm down and talk to me.” His statement only makes her cry that much harder. She had been convinced he wouldn’t answer when she called, but he had. Additionally, he doesn’t seem to be angry with her despite the rude things the fake her had sent or the fact she hasn’t called him since the night she’d gotten free. Emma has scolded her more than once for not calling or texting Russell since that first night back. “Please sugar, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She can hear others in the background demanding to know who Russell is talking to. Where is he? “Quiet!” Russell yells, though it’s muffled as if he has pulled the phone away from his mouth. The sounds in the background die down immediately. In the meantime, Allison has gotten herself somewhat under control when he comes back to the phone. “Sugar?”

“I-I’m okay,” she stutters out, “I’m at ho-home.” More tears pour down her face as her phone makes the distinctive sound of an incoming Facetime call. She quickly answers to see Russell’s handsome face.

“Oh sugar, please don’t cry,” Russell implores the moment he sees her. “Where are you, right now?”

“My apartment,” she says, her voice growing stronger as she gets better control of herself. Seeing him has calmed her torrent of emotions. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for, sugar?” Another sob escapes her.

“I-I,” she blows out a breath, “I lied to Emma. I wasn’t working on a story when you all couldn’t reach me.”

“Where were you?”

“I can’t tell you,” she whispers. “They said they would hurt me and my family if I tell what happened.”

“They who?” Russell demands. She can tell he is trying to contain his anger and concern for her, but she can still hear it in his tone. “Who held you captive?”

“I…I don’t know,” Allison admits, “The Uber driver was a fake. He is the only one whose face I saw. His boss always wore a mask. The masked-man doesn’t want me working on a story that I’ve been investigating.”

“What’s the story?” Russell asks, softly seeming to want to keep her talking and calm.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Allison evades his question. “I…I can’t talk about it. I wanted to ask a favor?”

“Of course, sugar. What is it?”

“I was wondering if you would meet me at Albert J. Ellis airport in Jacksonville when I arrive? I’m booking the next flight out. I just need to get away from here…to be somewhere I can feel safe.”

“Yes, of course,” Russell answers immediately. “Why don’t you let me come out there and get you?” She’s already shaking her head before he can even finish the question.

“No, I want to get away as quickly as possible and besides, it’s too dangerous,” Allison hurries to tell him. “I shouldn’t have called you on this phone. It’s probably been bugged.” She’s about to hang up in her panic, but Russell’s voice catches her attention.

“No, don’t hang up baby, please,” Russell begs, “We’ve all been so worried. We’ve all known something is wrong. Just let me look at you a little longer. I don’t care if someone is listening in. I want them to know I’m coming for them. I will find out who they are and they will pay dearly for laying a hand on you.” Allison is shocked at the utter determination she can see and hear in his declaration. He fully intends to get retribution against the men who’d held her captive. Her heart warms at the knowledge he is so outraged for her.

“Please don’t say things like that,” she begs. “We don’t know their reach. They threatened everyone, Emma, Curtis, my parents, my siblings…you. They knew about my sister being on a mission trip, Russell. They know you and Curtis are in special ops in the Marines. They knew about you and me…what happened between us at the wedding. I can’t let any of you be hurt because of something I’ve done.”

Emma and Curtis appear at Russell’s side. He moves the phone so they can all see her and she them. “Oh, Allison are you all right?” Emma cries. “Your face looks bruised. What happened?”

“It’s a long story, one that I’m not ready to discuss right now,” Allison says. “I’m sorry, Emma, for not being honest with you.” Emma’s face softens in understanding. Allison knows Emma will understand how she’s feeling. Although what Emma went through had been so much worse than anything Allison has suffered over the last week or so.

“I want to come out there for a while, if that’s okay? I know you just got married, but I don’t want to go to my parents. You know they’ve never approved of me living out here or my career. This will just add fuel to their fire. I have some money saved up and I can get a hotel room for a little while.”

“No.” This one firm, demanding word coming from Russell. “You can stay with me…if you want to, I have plenty of space.” Curtis looks over at Russell with a frown, but doesn’t say anything, because Emma is talking again.

“Oh, Russell, that’s so sweet of you,” Emma gushes. “It’s Allison’s choice to make, but you definitely won’t be staying at a hotel,” Emma says as she looks at Allison. “You can stay with Curtis and meor with Russell. It’s whatever you want to do.” Emma waits patiently for a reply, but Allison isn’t sure what to say. “You don’t have to decide this second. You can think about it on the way here, okay?” Emma looks at her expectantly.

“Yes, all right,” Allison murmurs. “I’m just going to make flight arrangements and I’ll be seeing you soon.”

“Let me worry about the arrangements,” Russell jumps back into the conversation. “I’ll email you everything you’ll need.” Allison can see he is making gestures to someone in the background. “Go ahead and pack, we’ll get the earliest flight possible.”

“Thank you,” Allison whispers, her emotions trying to get the better of her again. Russell’s face softens to a tenderness she’d seen when they’d been in bed together that night. It causes her eyes to fill with tears again.

“Don’t cry, sugar,” Russell pleads, “It kills me to see you crying and I can’t be there to hold you. Now, don’t hang up the phone, just go pack your things, and I’ll stay here on the line until you make it to the airport and we absolutely have to hang up, all right?” Allison nods, her tears causing his face to be all wobbly. Just knowing he is on the phone with her makes her feel safer even though he is thousands of miles away.

She quickly packs a few more things into her already full suitcase. “Get everything you want, sugar. I had Hack pay for extra bags, so get whatever you need.” Allison gets her smaller suitcase from the closet and stuffs more of her things inside. She isn’t sure when she’ll be coming back. The way she is feeling right now? She may never be back.

“I think I have everything,” Allison says after a few minutes.

“Alright, I have someone coming to pick you up and take you to the airport. They will come to your door and knock. I’ll let you know it’s okay to answer the door, okay?”

“You don’t have to go to all that trouble,” Allison protests softly, though she is very grateful he is doing all of this. “I-I’ll be fine to get a ride. I can ask my neighbor, Amelia, to drive me.”

“No.” Russell’s tone brooks no argument. “Everything has already been arranged. He is almost there.” Allison waits by her door, pacing nervously, even while Russell tries to keep her calm. A few minutes later, “He’s about to knock, sugar.” There’s a sharp rap on the door. “It’s okay to open the door. I’m still going to stay on the phone with you.”

Allison opens the door to see a hunk of a handsome man standing outside her door. The man is older than Russell and Curtis as evidenced by the greying around his temples and in his goatee. He is around 5’11” or 6’. His muscles are attempting to burst from his clothes, much like all of Russell’s teammates.

“Hi, Allison?” She nods. “I’m Rupert, a friend of Wallace’s. I’ll be escorting you to the airport.” Allison opens the door a little wider. Rupert steps inside and takes her bags. He leads her down to a waiting SUV, after greeting Russell and Wallace who is apparently hanging out with Russell. When they reach the airport, Rupert makes sure she gets inside and through the security checkpoint before leaving her alone.

True to his word, Russell stays on the phone with her the entire way to the airport and even while she places her phone in the security box as she goes through the security checkpoint. He’d talked to someone just out of view at times, and she couldn’t always hear what he and whomever he was talking to were saying, but having him on the line made her feel safer. When they announce her flight, she gets up to board. “Keep the line open until you get on board, all right? Unless they instruct you to turn it off,” Russell requests.

“I will. I’m just going to put my phone in my pocket until I’m seated,” Allison replies, dropping it in, as she reaches the attendant to scan her boarding pass. When she has her carry-on stowed away and she has taken her first-class seat, she gets her phone out. “I made it.” She looks at Russell’s handsome face as he stares back at her.

“I’m glad you made it, sugar,” Russell rumbles his reply. “Do you see anyone suspicious around you?” Allison looks up taking in the surrounding passengers. No one seems to be paying her any attention, the seat next to her is still vacant for the moment. His question has ramped up her fear, but it is beginning to subside now that everything seems normal.

“No, everything seems to be okay,” Allison relates, looking back to him.

“A buddy of mine will be in the seat next to you,” Russell informs her, which is shocking. “He hadn’t been able to get free in time to pick you up at your apartment. He just texted that he’s made it through security and is about to board.”

“Why?” It’s the only word she can get out.

“I didn’t want you to be alone on the flight after everything so he is going to fly with you as far as Denver. I’ll meet you there and we will fly here together.” Allison knows her mouth is hanging open at his declaration.

“What do you mean?” she questions. “That’s a lot of tickets and expenses, not to mention your time. I’ll be okay until I get there.”

“It’s already done, sugar. So don’t argue,” Russell demands, just as a tall muscled man stows a bag in the compartment above her. He smiles down at her. The man is Hollywood handsome, but he doesn’t do anything for Allison, not like seeing Russell does to her. The man has a kind face and warm smile.

“Hello, you must be Allison,” the man says, holding out his hand. “I’m Dude, a friend of Worm and Wallace.”

Allison shakes his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Dude.” Allison doesn’t want to admit it, but she does feel safer, now, knowing this man will be with her on the flight, even though she’d told Russell she’d be fine on her own.

“Oh good, he made it,” Russell says from her phone. She turns the screen so he can see his friend. “Thanks so much, Dude. I really appreciate it.”

“Glad to help,” Dude replies.

Allison turns the phone back to Russell. “I’ll see you in Denver, sugar.”

“Okay, see you soon.” Allison ends the call just as the flight attendant gets up to make her speech. Allison can’t wait to get to Denver. She really won’t feel completely safe until she is with Russell again. Is she crazy? Does he even feel remotely the same? She can only hope their night together meant something to him, too.