𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄- 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄. She rarely answered phone calls from numbers she did not recognize. The only person who ever really called her was Rhiannon, and that was because she was one of the only people who she'd given her real number to. Well, Rhiannon and one other person. But that person had yet to call yet. Frowning, Alana answered the phone, wondering if the person on the other line was the one she'd been expecting to call for four days. I'm going to prove you wrong, he had told her, but the man had yet to do anything yet. And it had been four days. 

"Hello?" Alana greeted, meeting Rhiannon's stare. She was met with silence for a moment, and just as she was about to hang up, a voice on the other end spoke up. A very familiar voice. 

"So you did give me a real number," he mused. Rhiannon pointed to the computer screen, her very subtle way of asking if Alana needed her to trace the call. Alana shook her head and excused herself for a moment, because their stalking could wait for a few minutes. They had one month to get Jackson right where they wanted him. 

"Of course I did," she scoffed. "Although, I was beginning to wonder if you'd use it, Dr. Reid." While Alana wasn't an expert in the field of dating, she knew it was common sense that when you didn't get a phone call after three days, he's usually not interested. 

"Because I waited longer than the conventional three days?" He guessed. Alana predicted he'd had an ex-girlfriend, or at least female friends that let him in on the secret that most men were oblivious to. "I didn't do it intentionally, just so you know. I've been meaning to call you since that day." Stupidly enough, Alana believed him. "I've barely slept in the last twenty-four hours."

"Late night?" Alana hummed. She'd had her fair share of those in the last two years. Sleep wasn't something that came easy to her, especially on those nights where all she could hear were the sounds of two young girls screaming whenever she closed her eyes. But then again, it was the sounds of those screams, the reminder of all that they'd done that kept Alana going all this time. She refused to let the sound affect her, not when they had already taken so much from her. She'd be damned if she let them take her vengeance away from her. 

"I guess you could say that," Spencer replied. In the background, she'd heard the sound of a door slamming and the sound of an engine starting. "My team and I were pulled away on a case. We only just got back this evening." So, he'd just gotten back from a case and the first thing he did before going home was call her. The thought brought Alana a flicker of joy that she didn't even think she was capable of feeling. "That happens a lot, by the way."

"What does?" Alana questioned. She quietly shut her bedroom door behind her as she approached her bedroom. The apartment she shared with Rhiannon was spacious, and probably cost more than they ever should have been able to afford, but stealing a dead girl's identity did give them the funds they needed to start anew. Besides, it seemed liked a waste of a perfectly good life to let it all go to waste. 

"With my job, I spend a lot of time on the road. We get pulled away at weird and random times," he continued to explain. "I figured I should let you know in advance, before asking you out on a date. Just in case I have to cancel." Strangely enough, his work schedule was fine with Alana, especially since her and Rhiannon were typically out of town scouting their next victim. If anything, cases would keep Spencer busy, and keep him out of her way. 

"That's fine," she assured him. "I tend to be out of town often, as well, so I understand." Alana was hoping that her response wouldn't come with follow-up questions, because she wasn't exactly eager to answer questions about what she did for work. Because she couldn't exactly be truthful with him about what she really did in her free time. And Alana wasn't a fan of telling unnecessary lies, unless the situation desperately called for it. "But I think you're jumping ahead of yourself."