Page 49 of Allison

“Something like that,” he chuckles. Another announcement for her flight blares overhead. “I guess I’d better let you get on your plane. You’ll let me know when you make it home?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you later,” Allison pauses, contemplating her next words, before saying them. “Bye, Russell.” She chickens out, not saying anything more.

“Later, sugar.” Her phone beeps as the call ends. With a sigh, she puts her phone into airplane mode then tucks it into her pocket and boards her flight.

Worm

Hours later,after the good-bye brunch and Wallace’s send off, Worm is in the hotel lobby along with many of his teammates and their wives. The room is noisy, bustling with activity. They’re all checking out and preparing to travel home. He’d gotten a call from Allison after his shower. The call was brief, because she had to catch her flight, but she’d promised to let him know when she arrived in San Diego. His phone alerts to an incoming text.

Finally landed. I have an errand to run and the meeting with my source, but I’d like to call you later tonight if that’s okay?

Yes, I’d like that, doesn’t matter how late, talk to you soon.

Worm pockets his phone. Despite knowing he’ll hear from her later, he can’t keep from worrying about her. Straw and Tank approach with suitcases in hand. Worm schools his features.

“Everything alright?” Tank asks, setting down the bags he’s carrying. Worm’s teammates know about his family’s situation and have often offered to help him, if he’d let them.

“Yeah,” he replies. Tank gives him a concerned look. “That wasn’t one of my sisters,” Worm adds, unsure why he feels the need to disclose that detail. Tank nods, but stares at Worm a little closer. Worm grins like an idiot, thinking about Allison. He can’t keep the smile off his face. Tank tilts his head, opening his mouth. Worm walks away. He isn’t ready to talk about him and Allison, not that there’s really anything to tell.

Several minutes later, the luggage is loaded in the vehicles. Worm is still smiling when he slides into the driver’s seat. He is taking the first shift driving with Virus riding shotgun. Bull, Susie Beth, and Mercury are in the second row of seats while Hack and Lisa are in the very back. He can’t wait for Allison’s call.

Allison

Allison finally landsin San Diego. She has arranged for an Uber pickup at the airport. The driver is standing at the back of his vehicle waiting for her. The man is tall with broad shoulders and dark hair. There is something about him that has her danger meter pegging off the charts. Frowning, she hesitates. He is dressed in a suit.Who dresses in a suit to take Uber fares?

Holding her phone up, looking at the app to compare, he matches the picture. Still, he is scary looking in real life. She bites her lip. Her gut is churning, but everything checks out. She makes a split-second decision and opens her camera app, snapping a picture of the man and his car.

Instinct tells her not to get in the car, but she’s in a hurry. She’d sent Butch a text letting him know she’d landed and would be ready to meet with him soon. She doesn’t have time to find a taxi or request a different driver. Another thought occurs to her. She still needs to find a pharmacy unless she wants to potentially become a mommy in nine months. Shaking her head to clear her fear, she moves toward the waiting man.

“Allison Simpson?” the man asks as she approaches, stepping toward her. She nods. He takes her suitcase. “Here, I’ll just put this in the trunk.” She hands it over.

He opens the back door for her, waiting for her to take her seat. She offers him a smile as she slips into the back seat. He doesn’t return her smile.

When she’s seated, he closes the door, then puts her case in the trunk. Allison is still feeling anxious about the situation so she takes a screenshot of her Uber app giving the driver information. She considers sending the screenshot and the picture she’d taken of him and the car to her neighbor, Amelia, but she doesn’t want Amelia freaking out and calling the police to stop them, only to find out Allison had been over reacting. No, she won’t send the pictures unless the man does something more to worry her.

The driver opens his door and slides into the driver’s seat. He pulls out of the pickup line, driving a bit faster than Allison would like. Since she knows he makes his money taking as many fares as possible, she doesn’t complain but makes sure her seatbelt is secure.

Allison busies herself checking emails as they make their way through city traffic. It should take about thirty minutes to reach her destination. After about twenty minutes, Allison remembers her very important errand that she has failed to ask the driver about.

“Um, could you do me a favor?” she asks the driver. He grunts looking up at her in the rearview mirror. “I need to stop by a pharmacy.” He looks back at the road without answering. “I’ll make it worth your while. Give you a nice tip.”

“Sure.” Comes his clipped reply. Allison begins searching for one on her phone. It takes a minute for her app to load. She begins to scroll through the listings, but she notices the addresses aren’t on the way to her apartment. The address she’d used when she’d ordered the car. Looking up, her heart skips, nothing looks familiar to her.

“Where are we?” Allison asks, hearing the panic in her own voice. The driver glances at her in the rearview mirror, but he doesn’t reply. “Hey! I said Where. Are. We?”

Real panic is beginning to set in. The man glares at her in the rearview. “Stop the car! Let me out!” Allison demands. The car begins to slow, giving her hope. The light up ahead is red, and there are several cars between them and the light. This is her chance to escape. Allison reaches for the door handle, fully prepared to leap out as soon as the car slows down enough.

The car rolls to a stop, she pulls the handle, but the door doesn’t open. She jerks on it repeatedly, screaming out her frustration. “Please, just let me go!”

“SHUT UP!” the man roars loudly, increasing her fright. “I do not get paid enough for this shit. Just sit back and keep quiet. You’ll find out everything soon enough.” Dread and fear swamp her.What is happening and why? Is this guy a serial killer?

She replays his words in her head. ‘I don’t get paid enough for this shit.’Someone has hired him to abduct her?That doesn’t make sense. Why would someone want to abduct her of all people?The story?

She begins to review what she knows. The man knows her name, but he could’ve gotten it from the Uber app. Maybe he just nabs women who are alone, but wouldn’t that get him caught if his fares keep going missing?There has to be a way out of this mess.

Tears form in her eyes, but she can’t break down. She has to stay focused, and keep an eye out for an opportunity to escape. The car moves down the street. She needs to do something to help herself.

Opening her text messages, she creates a group text and sends the screen shot and picture she’d taken to Emma and Amelia with a quick text outlining her situation. It’s too late to save her life, but letting them know that she’s in trouble is her only hope of the police finding her killer.

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