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ALLISON

T he silence in the limo is deafening. Allison’s ears are ringing and she wonders if she’s about to pass out again. She sucks in a deep breath, realizing she’s been holding her breath in the aftermath of Bruno’s threat. The men continue to stare at one another without uttering a word.

A car horn blares along with the squealing of tires in the opposite lanes. “Uh, boss?” The driver of the limo speaks up as he lowers the divide between him and the back. “I think we have company.” Bruno, Senator Claymore, and Allison all turn at the same time to look behind them. A large black SUV is fishtailing across the grassy divide between the lanes of the interstate.

Disbelief and hope flare in Allison’s chest. Russell is coming for her. He knows where she’s at! A frown forms on her face, but how? Her hand rises up to finger the sapphire hanging around her neck. Ever since, he gave it to her. Allison has found comfort in the necklace Russell had placed on her in Denver. When she concentrates really hard, she can almost feel his lips on the skin of her neck where he’d kissed her after clasping it into place.

The necklace! Maybe the earrings, too! Allison remembers Emma saying that after her abduction by the man who’d raped her, Curtis had given her jewelry to wear that contained a GPS tracker, so if she should ever go missing again, he’d be able to find her.

Ordinarily, Allison would be pissed to know Russell had basically chipped her like a pet, but right now? She could kiss him for his insight and thoughtfulness. He might have pushed her away, denied what they shared by his words and actions, but he’d been lying to her and likely himself. He wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of getting her something so expensive, so personal if he didn’t care for her.

“Damn!” Bruno exclaims next to her. “Another vehicle has joined the first. Get us out of here!” The driver glances back with a nod, then presses down on the gas. Allison is pressed into her seat as the vehicle speeds up, but the limo is no match for the SUVs that have come up on either side of them. Allison looks back again noticing a third SUV is behind them. She narrows her eyes, noting Curtis is driving with Hawk in the passenger seat. She’s about to turn her attention to see if Russell is in one of the other two vehicles flanking them, when she sees him lean up between Hawk and Curtis.

Their eyes lock. The look of determination and devotion she sees in his eyes takes her breath away. How can he look at her that way, do all the things he’s done to keep her safe, but not want to have more with her? She can’t understand it, but in this moment, she isn’t worried about their relationship or non-relationship. She just needs him to be her savior.

“Boss we are about to be jammed up in traffic,” the driver informs them. “How do you want me to play it?”

“I said, get us out of here!” Bruno yells. “I don’t care what you have to do. Just make it happen!”

“We can’t be caught with the woman!” Claymore chimes in. “It would be a career ender for me!” Bruno ignores him, focusing on the vehicles that are keeping pace with them, even at the high rate of speed and increasing traffic. The limo swerves to the right, going onto the shoulder of the road, to go around slower moving cars.

Allison winces when the SUV on their right drops off into the grass along the highway bouncing roughly. Fear for Russell and his teammates fills her. These men are insane and have way too much to lose to allow themselves to be caught.

She looks back at Russell. His eyes are still on her even when their vehicles weave around other cars. Her mouth drops open when Russell mouths, “Sugar, can you understand me?” Allison nods. “I’m coming, sugar. Just hang on for me and trust me.” Allison nods to let him know she understands. He gives her a weak smile in return. Without overthinking it, Allison mouths back, “I love you, Russell. I’ll be waiting.” If she’s going to die today. She needs him to know how she feels.

Russell’s mouth drops open in a huge ‘O’ before snapping shut with a firm nod. She thought she’d seen determination on his face before? She hadn’t seen anything. His expression becomes so intense, she can feel the weight of it despite them being so far apart.

Russell turns slightly speaking to Wallace, but never takes his eyes off her. She can’t read his lips from this angle. Russell’s SUV and the vehicles flanking the limo suddenly slow, letting the limo pull away from them. What’s happening? Why aren’t they forcing the limo off the road or making them stop?

Allison shakes the fear and disappointment away. He’d asked her to trust him and despite how much he has hurt her; she does trust him. She knows he is doing what he thinks is best to get her free as quickly and safely as possible. Claymore and Bruno are arguing back and forth about the best options to get away. Please Russell, hurry!

Worm

“Allison is pregnant?” Emma questions, having recovered from the shock. She looks at Worm, then to Charlotte, who drops her eyes, biting her lip. “Charlotte!”

“I can’t confirm or deny,” Charlotte answers softly, looking up at Worm and Emma with a pleading look. “Don’t give me that look, Emma, you know this!”

“I do, but…” Emma sighs heavily. “It doesn’t matter right now. Getting her back safely is most important.”

“Yes, it is,” Worm agrees. “Guys, I don’t want to but we need to back off. We can’t risk them crashing and hurting her or the baby.”

“Worm, I have a bird in the air with real time footage,” Tex rejoins the conversation. “You can safely back off. We won’t lose her.” Wallace eases off the gas. The other two vehicles back off as well. Worm swallows hard, seeing the flare of fear in Allison’s eyes as the limo pulls away from them. Please let this be the right decision.

“How’d you manage that so quickly?” Hawk asks, with a bit of amusement in his voice. They all know Tex is highly resourceful.

“I have connections,” Tex answers with a chuckle. “We will track the limo and see where they take her. I’ve been using Allison’s articles and research looking for who is behind the sex trafficking ring. I’ve gotten the name of one of the powerful players.”

“Who is it?” Hawk demands, beating Worm to the punch.

“Senator Henry Claymore from California,” Tex tells them. “He lives in a very affluent neighborhood in San Diego. A couple of homes away from where I’d tracked the car that had dropped Allison off when she’d been taken after the wedding. It was clever on Claymore’s part. If anyone traced the car, like I did, they would assume a Jonathan Milton would be to blame. Claymore uses his friendship with Milton to help him cover up his deeds.”

“Is Milton in on the sex ring, too?” Worm asks, not that the answer matters, but if the man is involved, he needs to pay for his deeds.

“I believe that he is,” Tex adds. “From the texts between them, Claymore provides him with favors, meaning a string of young boys, for allowing him to use his vehicles and properties.”

“Motherfucker,” Bull mutters over the line that’s connecting them all together. “We need to take these fuckers out. How can this be happening in America? The selling of children? Forcing them to perform sex acts with adults? This has to be exposed. We can’t just get Allison free and not shut this down!”

“We will shut it down,” Tex confirms. “I’ve been relaying what I’ve found to a trusted source who has been getting people involved that despite the Senator’s reach and influence will move against him and expose him and his associates for the sick bastards that they are.”

“Good, we will help as much as we can,” Hawk states. “I can reach out to some of my superiors, see if we can be sanctioned to move on them, but I highly doubt we’ll be allowed to make a move on someone on American soil, especially with him being a Senator.”

“Don’t worry about your involvement,” Tex interrupts. “I have people in play to take the Senator and his lackeys into custody. Your only role will be getting Allison to safety.”

“Thank you,” Worm adds. “for telling me about the baby and for helping us find a way to get her free.”

“You’re welcome, but you don’t need to thank me,” Tex asserts. “I’m happy to help. I’ll send you my bill.” He chuckles, everyone knows Tex is joking. He never takes payment for helping those in need.

“Send it, even if it takes the rest of my life to pay it, she’s worth every penny.” Emma and Charlotte sigh, while the men in the vehicles grunt their approval. “I just need her back with me where she belongs.”

“We will get your woman back, Worm. Now, I have an idea where they might be headed,” Tex informs them. “Claymore has just called fellow Senator Alisha Mingham, who has a home near New Bern. I’m running a check on her as we speak, but from what I can tell, she isn’t involved. At least, I haven’t come across her name in the last few weeks while I’ve been digging through all of this.”

“So why would Claymore reach out to her,” Wallace asks, “If Mingham isn’t involved?”

“I believe it’s to give himself some credibility,” Tex replies. “He thinks if he has someone who isn’t involved as his alibi then he can get out of any involvement in all of this. From what I’m gathering, he’s been courting Mingham for months. They’ve been seen together at several social events. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago and she hasn’t dated anyone since.

“Claymore is clever. I believe he is using Senator Mingham as part of his outward persona to the world that he is an upstanding guy,” Tex continues. “He’s done well to cover his tracks. I’m just really good at following his convoluted trail. I have enough evidence to expose him in the sex trafficking ring. I’ve already been sending some preliminary files to my contact at the FBI who handles cases like this. I just need to send him the rest and ask him to get involved.”

“Do it!” Worm demands. “I want him taken down by any means necessary as long as Allison isn’t harmed in the blowback.”

“Calling them now,” Tex announces. Worm continues to stare through the windshield at the limo which is getting progressively smaller as they increase the distance between them. Allison has to be okay. Worm won’t accept anything less than her being whole, safe, unharmed. He’d denied his feelings for her long enough. He knows that he loves her, needs her more than air, water, and food.

How could I have been so stupid? Worm wonders to himself. So much wasted time. Time that put Allison in danger and kept the knowledge that we created a life together from me. God, let me get her back, let her be unharmed. I’ll take whatever punishment is needed for my foolishness, even if she doesn’t forgive me. Worm knows if he can just get her away from these bastards, she will forgive him, likely already has. She had mouthed that she loved him after all. Hope grows in his chest. Hang on, sugar. I’m coming!