by Bell, Adora
Jared was silent for a moment. Jack could almost hear the cogs turning in his head, analyzing situation before he dared to speak.
“Jack…of course, I don’t want to believe it either. But I have to admit, there’s been something a bit off about him, especially lately. When the whole scandal broke, the rest of the boys were upset, worried about you and about the band’s future. But y…he didn’t seem worried at all. He was so ready to push forward. I thought he was just trying to think positive, to keep the band on track…” Jared trailed off. Jack could see the pain on his face, and he felt almost guilty for raising the question. Jared had been like a father to them all, guiding them from a naïve bunch of kids with a little talent to the stars they had become. But then, hadn’t Jack and Michael been like brothers? Once…it seemed like such a long time ago now. Fame had strained that bond to breaking point. Jack hadn’t wanted to admit to himself how far apart they had really grown. But still. After everything they had been through, would really betray him like that?
“Do you want me to talk to him?” Jared said at last. “Not that I know exactly how to broach the subject…if Tanaka’s wrong, well, it’s not an accusation you can take lightly. There’d be no going back for the two of you.”
“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, w
hatever 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."
"Bastard. I knew he was jealous of me, that much was obvious, but I never thought he'd stoop to this."
"I'm so sorry, Jack."
"Sorry? What have you got to be sorry for? If it wasn't for you, I might still be none the wiser. I owe you everything, Sara. And if you'll let me, I'm going to try my hardest to make it up to you."
"Well, I have to say, I like the sound of that. Listen, Jack...can I ask you something? Something personal?"
"Of course. Anything."
"Backtrack...the song...it's about Laura, isn't it."
The haunted look returned for a moment, before Jack smiled.
"Yeah, yeah it is. I wrote it for her, just before she went missing. Nobody ever got it before." He looked at her with something like admiration.
***
At the hospital, Sara was cleaned up. A kindly doctor stitched and bandaged her hand, and a nurse applied an ice pack to her swollen cheek. Jack hovered around her the entire time, much to the delight of all the female staff. He was clearly agitated, checking his phone every five seconds for news of Laura. But he still took the time to sign autographs, and popped up to the children's ward to say hello to the awestruck patients.
"I should do this more often." He sighed, as he returned to Sara's side. "I don't give enough back, I really don't. But anyway, how are you feeling."
"Almost human again, " Sara said, smiling bravely. "Although I must look terrible."
"You look beautiful, as always," Jack whispered. Leaning towards her, he pressed his lips g
ently to hers, and Sara's heart melted.
"Sorry, is that allowed? " Jack asked.
"Well, you did just rescue me, so I'd say I can allow it."
"Sara. It's you who rescued me. I know it's cheesy, but its true. I was so stupid to let you get away."
"You sent me away." Sara hadn't meant to say it, but all the hurt of the past months welled up inside her, and it just slipped out.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I was scared. Scared that I'd hurt you, that I couldn't make you happy. I'm still scared, to tell you the truth. But if you can find it in you heart to give me another chance, I will try to make you the happiest woman on earth."
Sara answered him with a kiss, deeper this time, their tongues caressing eachother as Jack ran his fingers through her hair. He pulled her gently on to his lap, wrapping one arm around her waist as the other gently cupped her breast.
A pointed cough interuppted their happy reunion, and Jack looked up to see Jared hovering in the doorway.
"I see you two are getting on okay." He said with a grin.
"We were just...um...waiting for Sara's discharge papers," Jack mumbled, blushing, "but are you okay? Is there any news."
"Everyone's fine. In fact, there's somebody here to see you."
A young policeman wheeled a chair into the room. The girl sat there looked a lot younger without all her stage makeup. Sara spotted a couple of scrapes and bruises, but she didn't seem seriously hurt, and she felt a wave of relief. She looked over at Jack, and saw his lip was trembling.
"Laura," he said, and his voice cracked with emotion. Setting Sara down gently, he approached his sister cautiously, as if she might flee again at any moment.
"Oh Laura, I thought I'd never see you again."
"Jacky, I'm so sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought you didn't want me any more." Laura began to sob, and her big brother took her in his arms and held her tight. Sara saw there were tears in Jared's eyes as well; they'd all been imagining this moment for a long time.
