Love Rock'ollection: The Brutal Strength Rock Star Trilogy, books 1-3

by Michelle Mankin

  “I need to talk to Sara. She’s not answering her cell. I was hoping you might know where she is?”

  “Yeah, I do. We’re at Billy Bob’s together. Hold on a sec. I’ll go find her.” Chris headed backstage and spotted Sara in the far corner, talking to some of the band members. He made eye contact with her and pointed to his phone, waving her over.

  Noticing the concerned look on his face, Sara was frowning when she reached him. “What is it Chris?”

  “Mary Timmons is on the phone.”

  “What…”

  “I don’t know,” he interrupted. “She didn’t say.” He handed her his phone.

  “Hello,” Sara said, brows knitting together.

  In the span of one short moment, Chris watched her relaxed body tense. He put his arm around her, listening to the one sided conversation with a growing sense of dread.

  “What? That son of a bitch. No, I haven’t heard from her. That worries me, too. Yes, call me back.” She blinked and handed Chris back his cell.

  “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

  “JR, the bastard, called my sister a whore in front of everyone at the BS press conference today.”

  “Why the hell would he do that? I thought the two of them were pretty tight?”

  “They were… until yesterday. Sam was crushed. She had no clue what went wrong.” She shook her head. “Apparently, Danny set both of them up. Made JR think Sam slept with him.”

  “What a lying asshole! Needless to say, I’ll be looking for a new drummer.” Chris scowled. “He’s going to have a hard time playing anyway minus his thumbs.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Mary’s concerned because she hasn’t been able to get a hold of Sam.” Sara pulled out her cell phone and punched in her sister’s number with a shaky hand. “I don’t understand. None of this makes sense.” The call went directly to voicemail. Her shoulders slumped. “Beth saw her right after it all happened and said she seemed ok. But now she’s not answering the door or her cell.” She looked at Chris, her eyes filled with foreboding. “Sam loves her job. She would never ignore calls from Mary Timmons.”

  “Maybe she just needed some time to herself and turned off her cell,” Chris said, trying to console her.

  “That’s not like her. I’m really worried. I need to go back to Vancouver. I never should have left when she was so upset.”

  “Stop worrying.” Chris pulled her into his arms and rubbed his chin on the top of her hair. “They’ll find her. Finish your set with Cash and then if you still want to go back to Vancouver we’ll go straight to the airport. But I’m sure Mary will call any minute and tell us that they found her.”

  “Ok, Chris. I hope you’re right.”

  AFTER JR HAD learned the truth from Fred, he stormed out on a mission to find the douche that was responsible for getting him into this whole mess. He found Danny in the lobby putting the moves on Cynthia. He had murder on his mind, but Dwight managed to pull him off before he could do any serious damage.

  Unfortunately, the altercation didn’t go undocumented. Several opportunistic photographers caught the entire thing on film.

  “Dammit, JR!” Marcus hissed, his face filled with rage. He gave JR a shove.

  “Don’t Marcus,” Dwight rasped. “Don’t give the parasites more ammunition.”

  Marcus glared once more at JR before pushing his way back out through the growing crowd. Looking disappointed, Dwight shook his head and turned to follow his brother as hotel security arrived.

  JR managed to slip out as well. Without even pausing to think, he took the elevator up to Sam’s floor, planning to beg her to forgive him. Unlikely, but he had to at least try. He knocked several times, but she didn’t answer. He paced back and forth down the narrow hallway feeling restless and uneasy. He tried her cell, too, but the call went directly to voicemail. Fear tightened his throat. He was beginning to think she wasn’t even going to hear him out. The thought of being completely shut out of her life made his stomach roil.

  Hearing the elevator ding, JR glanced up and saw Mary step out.

  “Still not answering the door is she?”

  JR shook his head and rubbed his neck. His expression was desolate.

  “I’ve already been up here once myself. I’m starting to get more than a little concerned,” she confided, frowning. “Her sister hasn’t heard from her, either. With the emotional state she was in, I just hope she hasn’t done something rash.” She flashed JR a stern look.

  “Oh, please God, no.” Not being a part of her life was one thing. JR pulled his hair through his hands. This was entirely his fault. “Shit!” He sighed dejectedly and slid to the floor, draping his arms over his raised knees.

  “Security is on their way up. They were delayed clearing reporters out of the lobby. I’ve talked them into letting me into the apartment, and I also asked them to start looking through surveillance tape. I want to know where Sam is, right now. I don’t like this. She’s not an irresponsible girl. She wouldn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily.” She knocked on the door again, frowning when no one answered. She glared down at JR. “I can’t believe you…and Danny. What a psycho. When I’m done with him, he’ll be lucky to get a job sacking groceries.”

  “I’m sorry, Mary.” JR swallowed. “I really screwed up this time. What I said about Sam,” he shook his head, “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Really, JR. A little thinking before you act would save us all a lot of grief. Beth said you got into it with Danny, too. Not your finest day, for sure.” She gave him a long look. “You’re a talented drummer, and I’ve made a lot of allowances for your behavior in the past, but that ends today. When we find Sam, the first thing you’re going to do is make a public apology. And from then on, you’d better toe the line.”

  A tense silence filled the narrow hallway as they waited for security to arrive.

  “I love her so much, Mary.” Staring down at the floor, JR’s voice was raw with emotion. “It’s not a feeling I’ve had before. It’s very unnerving. With just one word, she could destroy me.”

  Mary nodded. “Welcome to the world of real relationships.”

  CHRIS HAD A grim look on his face when Sara came off the stage.

  “What’s going on?” Sara asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  He took both of her hands in his and squeezed. “Sara, you need to sit down.”

  She gulped.

  Guiding her gently to a chair, he sat down across from her. “I’m so sorry, babe. They still haven’t found her. But there was evidence of a struggle in your apartment. The phone was off the hook and a lamp was knocked over.”

  Sara gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. She felt like she might throw up.

  “Mary’s called the police.”

  “Hey.” Startled by the interruption, they both looked up.

  “I’m sorry I missed the concert, Sara. Traffic was a bitch on thirty five.”

  “Oh, Leann,” Sara croaked to her manager with eyes brimming. “Sam’s missing.”

  “No!” Leann turned pale. “Oh, no, Sara, you don’t think it’s your…” She stopped and glanced at Chris.

  “Leann, please. It’s ok. Whatever news you have, you can tell me in front of Chris.”

  Despite the dire circumstances, a sudden surge of emotion clogged Chris’ throat, making it difficult for him to swallow. He knew for a fact that Sara was not a woman who gave her trust easily.

  Leann knelt down and took one of Sara’s hands. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, honey. They’ve got a new guy in the DA office. He just now called me. Your father made parole several days ago. And he never checked in with his parole officer. You don’t think he could have taken her, do you?”

  Sara face drained of all color, and she slumped forward. Leann glanced over her shoulder at Chris.

  He slid between the two women and scooped Sara into his arms. He sat and cradled her limp body in his lap, not knowing what else to do or what h
e could say. Her back pressed against him and then she began to shake.

  “Leann, I think she’s going into shock. Could you go to the bar and bring back a whiskey?”

  “Absolutely.” Eyes wide, Leann nodded and scurried off.

  Chris began rubbing Sara’s arms. She looked up at him. Her grey eyes were large and her teeth chattered. “He’s got her, Chris. I know he’s got her.”

  SARA SPENT A long time on the phone with the Vancouver city police, telling them everything she could remember about her father. Then she called Gram to tell her the bad news. After that she’d been so emotionally exhausted that she’d fallen into a restless sleep on the chartered jet Mary had arranged to get her and Chris back to Vancouver.

  Suddenly, she bolted awake. A nightmare featuring her sister in her mother’s place had her shivering all over again. She closed her eyes tightly trying to shut out the images. Her tossing and turning woke Chris and he looked at her with concern.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Sara climbed out of his lap and moved to the other seat. She pulled out her cell and tears silently fell down her face. No new messages. Terrifying scenarios whipped through her thoughts, snapping the thin thread of control she had over them. The more time that passed the slimmer her hope Sam would call and say that everything was ok. It had been way too long now since anyone had seen her.

  Chris reached over and took her hand. She held onto him like he was her lifeline.

  When they arrived at Vancouver International and stepped off the plane, the major crime unit lead investigator was waiting on the dark rain slicked tarmac along with Mary. The news wasn’t good.

  In a voice filled with foreboding, the uniformed officer told Sara what they’d found on the surveillance tape at the hotel. “We’ve got video of him taking her out of the building. He hid her in a linen hamper and took the service elevator out of the building. There was blood on her face.”

  Sara gasped.

  “The video quality isn’t great, but it appears she was just unconscious. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that he has her.”

  Sara closed her eyes, swallowed, and said another silent prayer for Sam’s safety. When she opened them she noticed JR standing in the background behind the others. Her eyes narrowed. She walked over and shoved him in the chest, putting all her anger and fear into it. “You bastard! I blame you,” she sobbed and started hammering against his chest with her fists. Though he visibly paled, JR made no move to stop her. “If, if you hadn’t…”

  “Sara, come on,” Chris interrupted, taking her by the shoulders and gently leading her away. “He was an asshole, I agree, but you know this isn’t all his fault. I blame Danny the most.”

  “Mary’s already on that problem,” Beth said succinctly.

  “I’m so sorry,” JR said shoulders stooped. “You’re right. It is my fault. I screwed up really bad. Sam never told me about your father. If I had been with her, I could have stopped him.” His voice choked to a stop. A moment later his gaze lifted, and his expression was somber when his eyes met hers. “I love her, Sara. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “That’ll make two of us,” Sara said without an ounce of sympathy in her eyes.

  “Enough.” Raising a brow, Beth moved beside JR and put her hand on his arm. “All of you stop it. Assigning blame isn’t going to help. Besides, we’re going to get her back. We just have to figure out where he’s taken her. We’ll get the word out. Someone has to have seen something.” As she led JR away, she glanced back over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sara. We’ll find her.”

  After several hours of looking through computer records at the station, Sara’s vision started to blur. Where are you, Sam, she screamed hysterically in her mind. Her limbs felt heavy, like they were encased in blocks of ice. Every time she closed her eyes, an image of her mother’s lifeless body kept invading her thoughts. Surely life wouldn’t be so cruel as to take her sister from her, too? She refused to consider the possibility.

  Sara rubbed her neck and pushed back from the monitor. Looking around the busy room, she found Chris deep in conversation with some of the officers. He hadn’t been more than a few feet away from her since Mary had called. His eyes connected with hers. He said something to one of the men before turning and walking toward her.

  “You’ve gotta get some rest, babe,” Chris said taking her hand and pulling her up.

  “No. I’m fine.” She shook her head.

  “Just for a bit.” Tucking a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear, he pressed, “Babe, you’re so tired, I bet you’re having trouble seeing straight. You remembering that he was a big hunter, well that’s a huge lead. There was nothing about that in his file. The police are expanding their search to include remote hunting areas. They’re also checking to see if any of the inmates he was friends with have any connections in the area. They think someone must be helping him. Let them do their work. You need to get some rest.”

  As he led her away, he hoped for the best but inwardly braced for the worst. He feared they might never find Daniels unless he wanted to be found.

  “DO YOU REALLY think this will help?” JR asked Beth, squirming in the green room chair as the makeup technician applied a final brush of powder to his face.

  “I hope so.” She shrugged. “I’ve got Avery and Marcus making a national public appeal. But I also wanted to make a local statement. The investigator in charge seems to think there’s a real good chance they’re still in the area.”

  “They’re ready for you on set, Mr. Raymond.”

  JR nodded as the makeup technician unsnapped the apron from around his neck. Looking determined, he followed the aide down the news station hall. The tech crew scurried around making final preparations as he took his seat on the busy set of CTV news. Local anchorman, Mitch Connell, an attractive middle aged man in a suit and tie, hopped up and shook JR’s hand. “Sorry to hear about this dilemma.”

  JR nodded. “I just want to get this over with. I’m not real comfortable being interviewed.”

  “Right, right. No worries.” Mitch turned to his director. “Ready, Carrie?”

  The tall woman with reading glasses on the tip of her nose gave him a nod over her clipboard and made a rolling motion with her hand to the cameraman.

  “We’re live in downtown Vancouver with Brutal Strength’s drummer, John Raymond,” Connell began. “In a shocking development, Samantha Daniels, a twenty one year old intern at Black Cat Records, has apparently been abducted today by this man,” he narrated as a picture of Pace Daniels flashed behind them on the set. “The alleged kidnapper is Pace Daniels, the victim’s father, recently paroled from the Texas state prison system after serving seventeen years for the killing of Samantha’s mother.”

  Mitch leaned forward. “We’ve posted the surveillance tapes from the hotel on our website. Daniels should be considered armed and dangerous. The authorities have reason to believe he may still be in the area. We are encouraging anyone who has information on his whereabouts to notify the police as soon as possible.”

  He turned to JR. “Would you like to add anything, Mr. Raymond?”

  JR nodded. “Mr. Daniels, if you’re listening, please let Samantha go. There’s no reason for you to keep her. She’s done nothing to you. Please don’t harm her. We need her back. I need her back. Sam, if you can hear me, I wanted you to know that I love you and I’m so sorry…” Overcome with emotion, he couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “We can edit that emotional stuff out,” Mitch said, making a motion with his hand across his neck for the cameraman to end the taping.

  “No, we won’t,” the set manager countermanded. “A heart felt appeal like that will keep people engaged.”

  “I hope they find your girl real soon.” Mitch leaned over tapping JR on the knee. “We’ll repeat this on the ten o’clock news and again in the morning, too.”

  SAM OPENED HER eyes in total darkness. Throat dry as sandpaper, heart pounding wit
h fear, she struggled to sit up before realizing that her hands and feet were bound. Her slight movements sent a stabbing pain through her head that made her eyes water. For a moment she worried the blow had left her vision impaired, but gradually her eyes adjusted to the low level of lighting. Glancing around at her surroundings, she could make out the vague outline of four walls. Apparently, she was in a small room, maybe ten by ten, that didn’t appear to have any windows. A muted glow came from under the lone door. Someone was watching television in the other room. Her father. The mere thought of him sent her into a panic. How would she ever forget the cold calculating look in his eyes? Was that something that haunted Sara’s memories as well? How had he gotten here? Surely, he hadn’t escaped. He’d only served seventeen years. She thought it had been a twenty year sentence. Had the legal system deteriorated so much that they’d let a monster like him out early?

  She wondered what he was going to do with her. Nothing good, she was sure. She needed to get away. Shimmying across the bed on her rear end, she made her way to the edge. She sat up slowly. Even then the room began to swim. For a moment, she feared that she’d pass out again. Mercifully, the dizziness passed, leaving only a mild nausea in its wake.

  Staggering to her feet, Sam hopped around the room, trying not to make a sound. The only additional furnishings she found were a chair and a tall chest of drawers. They were bare. Tears of frustration spilled from her eyes. She had hoped to find something lying around to help her cut her bonds. Maybe there was something in the drawers, but she didn’t know how to get them open with her hands tied.

  As Sam mulled it over, footsteps approached. Heart beating frantically, she took two big hops backward and flopped back onto the bed. The door opened slowly. She closed her eyes trying to breathe evenly. Maybe he would think she was asleep.

  “I know you’re awake,” he said in a gravelly voice. He switched on the overhead light, momentarily blinding her. He stood next to the bed, his six foot three frame casting a sinister shadow over her.