Front Man 3 : Full Frontal (Part #3 of the Front Man series) (5 page)

“No.”
Jack said, suddenly decisive. “If it was Michael, then his
attempt to squeeze me out failed. He knows that. There’s
nothing to be gained from dragging the whole thing up. I owe it to
the rest of the boys to keep the band together, especially when
things are going so well. I’ll just have to be careful what I
say around him in the future.”

“Maybe you’re
right. Let’s just hope none of the press get wind of this,
rumour or not. You know how much they love a bit of band
in-fighting.”

“Tell me
about it. No, for now, let’s focus on tracking Sara down.
Erica’s got me really worried, I don’t mind telling you.
I just want to know she’s okay.”

Jared nodded, and
pressed a little harder on the accelerator.

“If the cops
pull us over, let’s hope they’re Compass fans. “ he
said, and Jack returned his grin. “Autographs are a hell of a
lot cheaper than speeding tickets.”

***

Sara sat in the
dark, straining to pick out sounds from above her. There were the
occasional shuffling sounds and footsteps, but nothing that would
give her any clue to her location. She could only hope that they were
still somewhere near the strip club. Suddenly, the chilling sound of
a woman’s scream pierced the air.

“Get off me!
What is wrong with you guys, take your hands off me!” Sara
recognized Laura’s voice instantly. It was hard to get her
bearings in the dark, but the sound seemed to be coming from outside,
travelling through the vent on the far side of the room. The screams
cut off abruptly as a car door slammed shut, and Sara heard the
screech of tires as the vehicle sped off. She shuddered, hoping Laura
was okay. There was no way of knowing where she was being taken.
Truly alone now, in the dark, Sara gave herself over to the rising
tears.

A noise in the
corridor made her stop. Footsteps were drawing closer, until she
heard a key in the lock, and the door swung open. Flicking on the
light switch, Michael strode into the room, a smug grin on his
handsome face.

“Well hello
there. Sara, isn’t it? I believe we’ve met. Do let me
apologize for the actions of my, um, colleague. He has a tendency to
be rougher than necessary. Here, let me untie you. “

Sara said nothing
as he released the knots at her feet and ankles. She was seething
with rage, but knew that at that moment, Michael was her only hope
for escape. She stood up gingerly, rubbing the life back into her
arms and legs.

“There,
that’s better, isn’t it? Again, I wish we could have had
this conversation under more…civilized circumstances. But
then, I wasn’t expecting you to come barging into my club and
bothering my girls.”

“You own this
place?”

“More or
less. I have business partners. These enterprises can be surprisingly
profitable.”

“Where are
you taking Laura?”

“Well well,
don’t beat about the bush. I like it. It’s time for
Laura to move on, I’m afraid. My associates will find room for
her somewhere nice and safe. Away from people who like to interfere.
Poor Laura’s been through quite enough.”

“Thanks to
you, you mean?”

Michael’s
expression darkened. Sara shrank away from him, holding on to the
back of the chair for support.

“I don’t
know where you got that idea from. Laura lost her parents young, as
I’m sure you know. And her brother, well, he’s not
exactly the responsible type. I’ve looked after her, that’s
all. Kept her safe, and out of the spotlight. You know how judgmental
people can be, and Laura has a bit of a weakness for certain
substances.”

“She should
be in rehab, not dancing in a fucking strip joint!”

“Laura’s
happy here. She has friends, earns her own money. Dan looks out for
her, keeps her out of trouble. More than Jack ever did for her. No,
as soon as fame came knocking, he had no time for his little sister
any more. She was an embarrassment, the black sheep. Sure, he acts
like the doting brother now, when the cameras are on him. But come
on, Sara, you’re a smart girl. If Jack really wanted to find
Laura, don’t you think he’d have done it by now?”

“But you’ve
been hiding her all along! Why wouldn’t you tell him? Why would
you just let him keep looking?!”

Michael smiled
again, so calm that it was extremely unnerving. Sara kept a tight
grip on her chair. She would fight her way out of the room if she had
to.

“Laura didn’t
want to see him, Sara, and who can blame her? I had to obey her
wishes.”
“You lied to her. She told me. You’ve
been lying to everyone all along.”

“Are you
sure? Jack’s been a perfect gentleman to you, always told you
the truth, is that it? Because the way I heard it, he couldn’t
wait to get rid of you once he’d had his way. That’s what
Jack Carter does, Sara. He uses people. All he cares about is getting
what he wants, being the centre of attention. He’s not bothered
by who gets hurt.”

“You’re
full of shit, Michael. I know what you are, remember? I saw what you
did to my friend, trying to take advantage of her when she was too
drunk to even stand up? Or have you forgotten about that already?”

“Holy shit,
that was you! I do remember your friend, great girl, but I guess we’d
both had a few too many. Look, Sara, I can see you think I’m
the bad guy here. You’re not the first woman to fall under
Jack’s spell, believe me, I’ve seen them come and go over
the years. But I can help you. There’s plenty of papers and
magazines that would pay top dollar to hear your story. Ordinary
girl, seduced by a rock star, then cruelly cast aside…they’d
lap it up. I can put you in touch with the right people.”

Sara took a deep
breath, trying to regain her composure. Her mind was racing, weighing
up different scenarios. But she knew what she had to do.

“Well that
sounds really interesting. I guess I never thought about the other
side of the story. I’m sorry if I jumped to conclusions. Um,
look, I’m feeling a bit woozy still, any chance I could get
some water?”

“Sure thing.
Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Sara willed herself
not to pull away as he slipped his arm around her and guided her to
the door. They emerged into what looked like a boiler room in the dim
light; Sara noted a workshop like area in the corner. Up another set
of stairs and a through a security door, and they stepped out into
the Pussy Parlour. Sara felt her heart leap in her chest; she was
still at the strip club! At least Erica knew where she could be
found. Michael deposited her in a chair while he switched on the
lights around the bar. Sara scanned the room, looking for any
potential exits. But she could only see the main doors, which were
securely fastened with a chain, and a fire exit wedged shut behind a
pinball machine. Safety first, Sara thought ruefully. She watched
Michael as he moved behind the bar, pouring water into a high ball
glass. How could someone so handsome, so charming, be capable of
something like this? For Sara had no doubt that Michael was behind
her kidnap, whatever he said. He was determined to ruin Jack’s
life, it seemed, and he didn’t care about the collateral
damage. Michael passed the glass to Sara, grinning at her once again.
Just looking at him made her feel ill; did he really think he'd taken
her in with his innocent act? The man really was delusional.

Sara whipped round
as a noise came from outside. Someone was banging on the door, making
the glass rattle in its pane. With surprising speed, Michael hit the
light switch behind the bar, before rounding on Sara.

"Sara! Laura!
Is there anyone in there?" Sara's eyes widened; it sounded like
Jack's voice! But the glimmer of home turned to fear as Michael's
hand closed over her mouth and he forced her to the ground.

"Keep quiet,
or you're dead." He hissed in her ear, the feel of his breath on
her neck making her skin crawl. Outside, Jack continued to hammer on
the door. There were other voices, too. Sara's heart leapt as she
heard Erica scream her name. She was so close to safety. She couldn't
miss her chance. Calling on her college self-defence classes, Sara
slowly let her muscles relax. She felt Michael loosen his grip ever
so slightly as he looked around him, plotting a way out. Then Sara
seized the moment. She threw her upper body forward, at the same time
kicking out with her heel, delivering a forceful blow to Michael's
crotch. He howled with pain, and she shook him off, running toward
the door screaming at the top of her lungs. But Michael was only
momentarily thrown off, and he came after her. Desperate, Sara
grabbed the only object at her disposal; the water glass he had left
on the bar. Whirling round, she swung the glass into the side of her
pursuers head, felt it smash and heard him cry out before stumbling
backwards. At the same time, she heard an enormous crash as the door
was forced in, and suddenly the room was full of people. She was
safe. Safe at last.

Jack burst into the
dark bar, aware only of the chilling sound of Sara's scream echoing
in his ears. It took him a moment to locate her as his eyes adjusted
to the low light. He could just make out her slim frame, cowering by
the bar, and he ran towards her. As Erica flicked on the lights, he
gasped. A livid purple bruise marked Sara's delicate cheek, and her
clothes and hair were covered in dirt. Even worse, there was blood
streaming down her right arm, and shards of glass embedded in her
fingers.

"Sara, oh my
God, what the hell happened?"

He wrapped the
sobbing girl in his strong arms, only then noticing the unconscious
form on the floor beside her. His worst suspicions were confirmed.
Michael. So, it was true.

"Sonofabitch."
He muttered, stroking Sara's hair, reigning in his anger in an effort
to comfort her. Suddenly, she pulled away from him.

"Laura. Jack,
you have to find Laura. She's...Oh God, I don't know what he's done
with her." A chill ran through Jack. Seeing the state Sara was
in, he feared even more for his little sister. He lowered Sara into a
chair, aided by Erica. He grabbed Michael's lifeless form by the
shoulders and shook him as hard as he could.

"Jack, be
careful!" Jared reprimanded him, but Jack didn't care. That
bastard would pay for what he'd done, but first he had to make sure
Laura was safe. Eventually, Michael's eyes flickered open.

"Wha...oh,
Jack, oh shit...."

"Damn right,
you're in the shit now," Jack growled. "Now tell me where
the hell Laura is before I beat the crap out of you!"

"Woah, Jack,
hey, what makes you think..."

"Shut it
Michael, it's over." Sara cut in. "We know all about your
little games now. So tell him where you sent her. You got Dan taking
her somewhere, right?"

"Tell me you
little shit!" Jack yelled, tightening his grip on the other man.

"Okay, okay,
look I'll give you the licence plate number. They're heading west,
can't have got too far. He'll stop overnight at that little motel by
the creek, remember, we stayed there once?"

"I'll get the
cops on the line." Jared said, pulling out his cell phone.

Jack looked his
former friend hard in the eye.

"Just tell me,
y? What happened? When did you start hating me so much that you
wanted to destroy everything I loved? Just tell me why, y. Why?"

"It's always
about you, Jack, isn't it? Ever since day one. We were on the verge
of getting a record deal, finally achieving our dream. But Jack Carer
didn't want to go on tour, didn't want to go to L.A. You were ready
to throw it all away so you could hang around your home town and
traipse around after Laura. You would have ruined my whole fucking
career, and for what? Your fucking stupid junkie sister!" For a
moment, it seemed that Jack would punch him in the face. Nobody in
the room had much heart to stop him. Taking a deep breath, Jack
dropped Michael to the ground disdainfully. Then he turned to Sara.

As shaken as she
was, her heart went out to him. Jack was looking at her with such a
mixture of guilt and admiration. He came closer, knelt down beside
her, and took her uninjured hand in his.

"Sara, I...I
don't even know what to say. I treated you like shit, and you put
everything on the line just to help me. And Laura. My god, you could
have been killed. I know no amount of apologies is going to make up
for that, but still. I am so, so sorry. For everything."

Sara squeezed his
hand and gave a little smile.

"You're
forgiven. I just hope Laura's alright. And bear in mind, I didn't
realise I was walking in to a kidnapping. I thought I was just going
to see some boobs."

Jack laughed, and
pulled her close to him. She breathed in his musky scent and felt a
thrill in the pit of her stomach just to be near him again.

"The police
are on their way," Jared said, hanging up the phone.

They watched
Michael be bundled into the back of a cop car. Jared, Erica and Matt
remained at the scene, answering questions, while Jack rode with Sara
in the ambulance. She hadn't wanted to be taken to hospital, but one
look at her shredded hand and the officers had insisted.

"I can't
believe you're here." Sara said, as they raced along the
highway.

"I can't
believe you knocked Michael out with a pint glass." Jack
retorted. Sara smiled.

"Look, Jack,
the police are going to find Laura. They're bound to. From what I can
tell, Michael's been controlling her all these years. Telling her
that you don't care about her, that she was best to stay away. But I
don't think he ever hurt her."

"If he laid a
finger on her, I will kill him. Look what he did to you. That...ugh,
that lowlife scum! You know he gave those photographs to the papers.
Seems like the anonymous source was him all along."

"Holy shit. He
was trying to talk me into going to the papers too, doing some kind
of kiss-and-tell about you."