Page 53 of Allison

“See!” Emma exclaims, her voice softer as if she’s turned away from the phone, likely talking to Wallace. “I told you I’m not overreacting!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, if I made you feel that way,” Wallace says, joining the conversation. “I just meant that since you’d been so worried, that your fear might still be clouding your judgement on her text, which would be totally understandable under the circumstances.”

“What did your text say, Worm?” Hack asks, in an apparent attempt to get the conversation back on track and keep the newlyweds from arguing, not that Wallace and Emma would actually have an argument. Those two were like two peas in a pod, always on the same page.

“Um, well,” Worm mumbles, not really wanting to share the note with the class, but Allison’s life could depend on it. “She said she was fine, to stop blowing up her phone, and she’d text me in a few days.” He chose to leave out the ‘it was just a fling’ bit. His friends don’t need that detail.

“You were blowing up her phone?” Wallace asks, anger clear in his voice. “Maybe that’s why she’s acting all weird. What’s wrong with you, Worm? She’s Emma’s family. I told you already to not be making her uncomfortable. What happened? Did you put the moves on her? Is that why she took off early?”

Anger and embarrassment rise up in Worm. Wallace has been a good friend for a long time, but the accusation and tone of his voice triggers Worm’s annoyance. How can Wallace just assume that Worm has done something inappropriate to upset Allison?He should know I wouldn’t hurt heron purpose.Even if he had upset her, Wallace should know Worm would do whatever it took to fix it.

“I didn’t upset her,” Worm denies, vehemently. He did hit on her, but she liked it. She was definitely on board for everything that went on between them. “I mean, yeah, I didn’t hide the fact I found her attractive, but it was a two-way street. I didn’t do anything she wasn’t in agreement with.”

A loud groan comes over the phone. This from Wallace, but before he can light into Worm again, Emma defends him.

“Allison was definitely into Russell, honey,” Emma informs them. “She confided in me that she felt a connection to him. She wanted to explore it, but was worried how he’d feel about a long-distance relationship.”

Whoa! She’d talked to Emma about him?Knowing how close the two women are makes Worm feel ten-feet tall. Allison had felt something for him, too.

Deep affection wells up inside him. Somewhere along the way over the last few days, he has begun to care for Allison. He’s been freaked out by how quickly those feelings have grown, but hearing she’d been thinking about more than just the week, makes his feelings grow bigger and deeper.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Emma asks, softly. Worm clenches his teeth with indecision. He doesn’t want to violate Allison’s privacy by sharing their special moment, but he needs their help in figuring out what’s going on with Allison. Besides, Emma, Wallace and the rest of the team are as much his family as his mom and sisters so he can’t lie to them.

“Yes,” he admits, but doesn’t elaborate. What they’d done was between them, no one else.

“Was she upset when she left?” This coming from Hawk, who’d been uncharacteristically silent all afternoon while the rest of the team had been searching for clues as to what had happened to Allison.

“No,” Worm replies. “I woke up and she was gone, but she’d left a note with her number so we could stay in touch. I texted her when I got the note and she responded. Later she called me from the airport in Nashville. We talked for a bit, until it was time for her to board her flight.”

“She wouldn’t have given you her number if she was upset with you,” Emma assures him. “She doesn’t give it out to someone…you know, who she’s only going to see the one time.” Worm doesn’t have time to process this comment, before another question is thrown at him.

“Did she say why she left so suddenly?” Hack asks, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yeah, she’d gotten a lead on a story,” Worm answers, more thoughts coming to him in a rush. “Why? What are you thinking?”

“Well, I’ve finally gotten into Allison’s phone records,” Hack informs them. “She received a phone call in the early morning hours. It didn’t last long, less than five minutes. Security footage at the hotel shows her leaving within thirty minutes of getting that phone call. I’m just wondering what was so important that she would need to change her flight arrangements. It was only a few hours difference. What was so important that she needed to get back immediately?”

“That explains it,” Emma offers. “Allison takes her work very seriously. If she got a lead, she’d definitely drop everything to follow it.”

“Do you know what she’s currently working on?” Hawk asks.

“Not exactly,” Emma murmurs, sounding thoughtful, “She mentioned she is still looking into the missing kids. You know the story she’d been working on when we were in California?”

“Oh, yeah, I remember,” Tank adds, “she was looking into a possible sex trafficking ring, right?”

“Yes,” Emma answers. Worm can hear the worry and fear in her voice. It mirrors his own concerns.Why hadn’t she told him that she was working on something so dangerous?

He nearly snorts, thinking to himself, she didn’t tell you because you’d have gone all caveman on her and demanded she give up such a dangerous story.

“Oh my God!” Emma exclaims. “Do you think someone has abducted her and they are pretending to be her? Is that why she texted both of us, but didn’t call?”

“I don’t know, Emma,” Hack answers, “It is possible, but we won’t know without more information. Worm why don’t you text her again. See if you can get more from her.” Worm picks up his phone and types out a message.

35

WORM

Come on sugar just tell me where you are?

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