Front Man: The Complete Trilogy (13 page)

"Cat got your
tongue?" Laura giggled, tracing a finger provocatively over
Sara's lips.

"Sorry,
I...um, is Lola your real name?" The other girl stopped writhing
for a moment, looked confused.

"I mean,
sorry, did you ever go by Laura?" Now the girl jerked back as if
someone had slapped her. Her face hardened into a scowl.

"Who the fuck
are you?" she hissed.

"It is you,
isn't it? Laura...Laura Carter. Jack's sister."

"I don't know
what the hell you're talking about," she snapped, but there was
real emotion in her voice. Sara knew she was right.

"Laura,
please. I don't know if you've read the papers, but....Jack's never
stopped looking for you. He's driven himself half crazy over you. He
misses you so, so badly Laura."

Laura had slowly
backed away from Sara, until she had her back against the door of the
small room. She looked frightened, ready to flee, but there was
curiosity in her eyes.

"Jack sent
you? You his girlfriend or something?"

The thought stabbed
at Sara's heart, but she forced herself to concentrate on the moment.

"I...not
exactly. I mean, he doesn't know I'm here. But I'm a friend of his,
and I know how badly he wants to find you. A friend of mine happened
to recognize you from a photo, and I had to come down here, just in
case."

'Well you wasted
your time, sweetheart."

"You won't
even talk to him? He's your brother for Christ’s sake!"

" He hasn't
been my brother for a long time. Anyway, he's better off without me."

"Believe me,
Laura, he isn't. He's a mess."

"Don't look
like it from where I'm standing. Seems he's got everything he
needs.|"

"He needs
you."

"Well it's too
late. Family's the most important thing, that's what he always used
to say. I'll always be there for you. Then the minute they wave a
record deal under his nose, he hasn't got time for his dumb, druggie
sister anymore. That's not good PR for a rock star. He wanted me out
of the picture, so I went. And I've done just fine since, thank you
very much. He doesn't want me, and I don't need him. Don't believe
everything you read in the papers."

Sara was taken
aback. Had Jack really tossed his own blood aside, just like
that...for what? Fame? Money? She couldn't believe it. But then,
hadn't he tossed her aside just as easily, as soon as things started
going his way, as soon as he no longer needed her...

"I...I'm
sorry," Sara stuttered, "I guess I misunderstood."

"You sure did,
sweetheart." Laura growled.

"Listen I'm
really sorry for bothering you. Here, please, take this," Sara
pulled a handful of twenties from her wallet and held them out, "for
your trouble."

Laura scowled, but
accepted the money, stuffing it into her sparkling bra.

"I'll get out
of your way now." Sara picked up her purse and reached for the
door handle.

"He didn't
even have the guts to tell me himself."

Sara spun round at
Laura's gruff remark.

"Sorry, what
did you say?"

"I said, your
precious Jack Carter wasn't even man enough to tell me he wanted me
out of his life. Too much of a fucking coward. Can you believe that?
Sends his poor friend to let me down easy, as if I was some kind of
silly groupie..."She spat the words out, clearly still seething
years later.

"Laura...which
friend? Who actually told you Jack didn't want you around any more?"

"Who do you
think? We all grew up together, he was almost like a brother to me.
Treated me a whole lot better than my real brother, in the end. Yeah,
always looked out for me. Gave me some money, helped get me started.
Still checks in with me every now and then."

"Sorry,
Michael, as in..."

"Yeah, , from
Compass. The bass player. "

Sara had a sudden
flashback. Michael Anderson. Her, waiting anxiously in Jack's hotel
room. Michael leering at her, the disgust in his voice as he talked
about Jack. His arms wrapped around an unconsicous Erica. Holy shit,
Sara thought, I have to talk to Jack. She grabbed the piece of paper
in her pocket, on which she had carefully printed Jack's email and
cell number.

"Look, Laura,
I can totally understand you hating Jack. But you've got it wrong, I
promise. Please, just keep this. Reconsider. Your brother really,
really wants to hear from you."

Laura stared dumbly
at her for a moment, before taking the piece of paper, folding it,
and stuffing it into her bra alongside her money.

"Just in case.
No promises. Now fuck off, I'm working."

"Thanks,
Laura. You won't regret it."

As she left the
room, Sara saw Laura typing urgently into her cell phone. She hoped
to god she was putting Jack's number in there. She hurried over to
the bar, where Brandi was waiting, and settled her tab, leaving a
generous tip. Sara barely noticed the heavy-set guy watching her from
the other side of the bar.

It was raining as
Sara stepped out of the club, the sky dark by now. She pulled her
phone from her purse, and scrolled through her address book, looking
for Jared's number. Jack might not pick up, but she knew his faithful
manager would be able to help her. And of all the people in Jack's
life, Jared was one of the few her really trusted. As she hurried
across the parking lot, her eyes glued to the screen, Sara was
oblivious to the footsteps behind her. She was rummaging for her car
keys with her free hand, when a blow knocked her to the ground, and
everything went dark.

***

Jack rolled over
and looked at the clock. 1 am. Dammit. His body clock was screwed up
from crossing so many time zones. He'd got back to the apartment
around nine, too tired to do anything but peel his clothes off and
fall between the sheets. He'd dreamt, as ever, of Sara, her hot
little body writhing on top of him. He was painfully turned on, his
cock hard and throbbing between his legs. But he didn't feel like
masturbating. It only left him feeling more lonely. His cell phone
was flashing, showing three new messages, but he didn't feel like
talking to anyone. He padded into the kitchen in only his underwear,
and opened the fridge. The only thing inside was beer; he hadn't told
his housekeeper he was coming home today. He cracked a can and
settled himself at the kitchen table with his laptop. Jack wasn't
much one for staying connected while he was travelling; he relied a
lot on Jared to keep on top of things for him. His personal email had
over a hundred messages sat waiting. Since he'd stopped expecting
messages from Sara, Jack had stopped bothering to check. Sara. He
tried to push her image out of his mind. Instead, he scrolled through
his inbox,, deleting old bits of news that no longer mattered,
flagging things he would come back to later. Then one message, marked
URGENT, caught his eye. It had been sent a couple of months back, not
long after the whole drugs scandal blew up on him. Some 'anonymous
tipster' had sent a photo of Jack to one of the daily rags. The
picture was old and blurred, but it clearly showed Laura and her
friends, his poor sister high as a kite no doubt, crowded round a
table covered in drug paraphernalia. Jack was handing a bag full of
something that looked like cocaine to one of the girls; Katie, was
it? Something like that, one of Laura's high school friends. Jack
sighed at the memory. He had hated those nights. Laura was going to
go out, there was nothing he could do to stop her, so he'd tagged
along. At least that way he could keep an eye on her, try to keep her
out of trouble. It was the same with the drugs. If he didn't give her
cash for the good stuff, the pure stuff, then she'd be out on the
street doing god knows what for those bastard dealers. All in
exchange for a bag of shitty dope, cut with rat poison, the kind of
crap that could kill her. He'd known then that he was treading a fine
line, but it seemed worth it to keep his sister close and out of
harm's way. He couldn't have known he would lose her anyway, and that
those nights of keeping watch would come back to bite him in the ass.
He was lucky that Jared had talked some sense in to him, convinced
him to speak up and reveal that painful piece of his past to the
public. It was tough, but it had been the right move. By some
miracle, he had kept his career.

Jack flicked his
focus back to the email. The sender was a journalist he'd worked with
years ago, back when Compass were just starting out. She'd been a big
help to the band, profiling them for one of the big music magazines
and giving high praise to their first album. It had been a long time
since they'd spoken. Jack read the contents of her message carefully.
Then he read them again, to make sure he hadn't mistaken the meaning.
No. Surely not. If it hadn't been such a trusted source, he wouldn't
have believed the accusations, but he couldn't deny they had a ring
of truth to them. Jack felt sick. Was there really nobody he could
trust? Jared. He could always rely on Jared. No matter what happened,
his manager was always on his side, believing in him even when he
didn't believe in himself. He practically sprinted to the bedroom and
grabbed his phone. Four messages now, and all from Jared, urging him
to call. It was important, he said. It was about Sara. Jack's heart
sank lower as he registered the panic in Jared's voice. First the
email, now this. What the hell was going on?

***

When Sara hadn't
arrived home by midnight, Erica began to worry. She tried her
friend's cell numerous times, but it just rang and rang, until
eventually her calls went straight to voicemail. She made Matt drive
her out to the Pussy Parlour, but the place was closed early, the
doors and windows securely locked behind metal grilles.

"Maybe she met
some friend, went for a drink after? Maybe she met a guy?" Matt
suggested, trying to calm his frantic girlfriend.

"Yeah, because
Sara's exactly the type of girl to pick up a random dude in a strip
club. Can you picture her just going home with some stranger?"
Matt had to admit she had a point. They had called all Sara's
friends, even her parents, but nobody had heard from her.

"Something
bad's happened Matty," Erica said quietly, trying not to cry.
"She went looking for that douchebag's sister and now she's
missing as well."

Matt didn't need to
ask which douchebag she meant. He had heard the whole sorry story
enough times, including the latest update on the Laura situation.
Sometimes he regretted being such a good listener.

"Come on baby,
I'm sure she's fine. Look, if she's not back in half an hour then
we'll go down there and look, okay? I'll drive you. Sara's a smart
girl, she can look after herself, you know that. Try not to get
worked up." Matt slid his arm around Erica's waist and pulled
her close, pressing his lips to hers. He felt her respond, sliding
her soft tongue into his mouth as he cupped one of her full breasts
and squeezed gently. Matt took Erica's hand and slid it down to his
crotch, so she could feel how hard he was. But Erica pulled away, her
face creasing into a frown.

"I'm sorry
baby. I just can't get in the mood, I keep thinking about Sara. I
know it's stupid, but I've just got this bad feeling. Something's
happened, I know it."

Matt sighed, trying
to will his erection away. Erica could be a little overdramatic, but
she had a point, it wasn't like Sara to be out of touch like this.

"Maybe we
should try calling the cops. If she's broken down, or - God forbid -
there's been an accident, they'll know."

"Thanks Matty.
You call the police, I've got one more number to try."

***

Jack couldn't wait
for the elevator, choosing instead to sprint up the stairs to Jared's
modest penthouse apartment. He was getting out of shape, he thought
to himself, feeling the burn in his thighs. He paused to catch his
breath before knocking on the door.  Jared wore a grave
expression as he ushered Jack into the lounge. 

"Oh,
hey...it's Erica, right?" Jack felt awkward seeing Sara's best
friend again. Last time they met, the vivacious blonde was beyond
wasted, and Jack had to put her to bed in his hotel suite. 

"Hi Jack. Nice
to see you again. Um, this is my boyfriend, Matt." Matt looked
slightly starstruck as he shook the lead singer's hand.

"Nice to meet
you. Now, would someone please tell me what the hell's going on?"

Erica took a deep
breath, and cast an anxious look at Jared before she began. "Sara's
missing. She went out this evening and she's not come home. Her
phone's going straight to voicemail. I'm worried she's in real
trouble."

Jack furrowed his
eyebrows. "Look, I don't mean to sound cruel, but might you be
overreacting a bit? She's a grown woman, is it really a national
emergency if she's not checked in by 2am?"

"I should have
known you'd say something like that.Why would you even care?"

"Hey, wait,
that's not what I meant! I just mean, she probably just met up with
some friends, or, you know, met someone... "

"She's not
like that. But look, that's not all, I mean..."

"Jack, she
went looking for Laura." Jared cut through Erica's mumbling.
Jack felt like he'd been stabbed in the gut.

"Sorry, what?"

"She went
looking for your stupid sister, because despite the fact you treated
her like a complete asshole, she still seems to care about you."

"Erica thought
she'd spotted Laura in a bar the other day," Jared clarified,
"so Sara went to check it out. She knew how much finding Laura
meant to you."

"Yeah, and now
she's fucking missing. Some strip joint sleazeball could be doing
god-awful things to her right now, and it's all your fault."

"Woah, Erica,
I'm sorry but...wait, a strip joint? Laura was at a strip club?"

"We don't even
know that it was Laura, Jack," Jared said levelly, ever the
voice of reason. "But we do know that Sara went to investigate,
alone, and now nobody can get in touch with her. That probably isn't
good."