Rock Star: The Deal (Book 3 of a Bad Boy Romance) (6 page)

“Do you think someone might have let them in? I mean it seems a little strange that they could have snuck into the back lot without anyone seeing them. Have we checked cameras?”

“The police are looking into it.”

“It’s not enough. I want to know who has access to the lot. Who might have known that she was in the tour bus?”

“I’m on it.”

“You might want to check this out.”

The TV was blaring. The news came on. It was a local station that reporting on the recent kidnapping. A large photo of Meghan appeared in the right-hand corner of the screen as the presenter began.

“We go to Birmingham, Alabama, where Meghan Sullivan was kidnapped in broad daylight. Police don’t have any information so far and are seeking the public’s help. Most of you will remember Meghan as one of the contestants on the hit show,
The Next Country Star
. This has come as a shock to the public. Chase Bryan, Luke Claybourne and Meghan Sullivan had just kicked off the first leg of a three-month tour. So far no word from management as to whether or not the tour will be canceled.”

I flicked off the TV. Rage came over me. Where are you, Meghan? Who has you?

I
awoke
to a smell that was rancid. I was cold. It felt damp and my head was pounding hard. The sudden realization of where I was made me cry out. Fear and pain, and being in complete darkness, once again shocked my system.

“You are OK.”

I stumbled back, hearing a voice in the dark.

“Who’s there?”

A flashlight switched on, illuminating a young boy’s face. He couldn’t have been more than thirteen years old. He then shined it in my face, almost blinding me. He came close.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

He brought a warm, damp cloth close to my face and touched the bruises. It stung. I winced. The young boy studied my face.

“Who are you?”

“Edwin.”

“Edwin, those people who have put me here, are they your parents?”

“She’s my mother. He is her boyfriend.”

“Who are they?”

“I’m not meant to say. I really shouldn’t be here. He will hurt me.”

“Who will? Duke?”

“How do you know his name?”

“I heard it.”

“He’s Duke. Talia is my mother.”

“Can you help me get out of here?”

“I can’t.”

I noticed the expression on his face became scared.

He moved back and I tried to grab him but I felt something sharp cut into my leg. There was a chain around my ankle. I remembered the woman had fastened it before leaving. The boy was about to go up the ladder.

“Please come back.”

“Shhh. Quiet, they will hear you.” He turned the main light on. “I’ll leave this one on. But you must be quiet. He doesn’t like it when you cry.”

Once again I heard the wood cover closing over the opening. I took in my surroundings. A single light bulb moved ever so slightly. It was hanging by a wire. It made the whole place feel like a war bunker. Maybe that’s what this was? There was a small table across from me. On it was what looked like a ham radio. Another room looked as though it had been used to stockpile food. There wasn’t much left in there. A few rusted cans. Some torn boxes where cereal had poured out onto the floor. I could hear the sound of scratching. It had to be mice, or rats? I lifted my feet up onto the couch. They had removed my socks and shoes. No doubt to make it even harder to escape.

People couldn’t run fast when stones, glass or branches stuck into their feet. Had they rigged this whole place? What was outside? Where was I? My mind spun in turmoil. I just wanted to be back in my café in Lakeside. I wished I hadn’t gone on this damn tour. If this was the price of success, I didn’t want anything to do with it. This was what Ernie was talking about. The crazies. How long had they been watching me? Who were they working for? They had mentioned a woman. Mia? Could Mia be behind this? No, that was ridiculous. A businesswoman wouldn’t have gone to this amount of trouble to put me out of her life. She would have tried to buy her way out, or have me fired. The way most businesspeople handled nuisances.

An hour passed and I heard the wood being shifted. My heart began pounding in my chest. I curled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. Then I noticed the boy again. This time he had food in his hand. A plate with a sandwich, and a juice box.

“Here, eat.”

He handed it to me and took a few steps back.

“It’s not exactly the Ritz, is it?”

I chuckled. I don’t know why I laughed, if it was nerves or just the irony of my situation. I shoveled the sandwich down fast. I didn’t know when I would be fed again, or if I would. It wasn’t bad. Just baloney and white bread. But it tasted good.

“Where are we?”

“Arkansas.”

Two states over?

“Do you know if they are going to let me out?”

“I don’t know anything. I was told not to come in here.”

“Then why did you?”

“Curiosity. You are the woman, aren’t you? The missing one?”

“You know me?”

“Everyone knows you. Your face is all over the news right now. You were part of that competition. Singing with Chase Bryan.”

Chase. I hadn’t even thought about him in all this time. He must have been going out of his mind wondering where I was.

“Do you know why they took me?”

“I don’t know. But I think they are going to let you go soon.”

“How come?”

“I heard them. Saying something about dropping you off.”

“Probably dead.”

“My mother is not a murderer. He might be. But she’s not.”

“This is about money, isn’t it? They want to extort money from Chase or someone else? Good luck with that. I don’t have a penny to rub together.”

“But you are a singer. Singers have money.”

“Not this one. I’m new to this. I shouldn’t even be out on tour right now. I run a coffee shop in a small town.”

He frowned.

“All I know is that they see you as big money. If you don’t have money, then they must be planning to get it from someone else. My brother is ill. He needs a good doctor and my mother doesn’t have that kind of money.”

I found it hard to feel sorry for them. Hundreds of people were in the same boat. That didn’t excuse kidnapping someone or killing a gas station clerk. “And so they decided to kidnap me?”

“It must be more than money they need.”

“You think?”

He could tell that I was finding it a little tough to swallow this sob story.

“Look. I don’t agree with them doing this. They told me you were a friend they were hiding from the law. The moment I saw your face I knew that was crap.”

“Then help me get out of here. I can make sure the police go easy on your mother.”

“No, they will toss her in jail and then me and my brother will be put into the system.”

He continued talking about how bad it was already. That Duke had beaten them several times and that he had even turned on their mother. While he told me about the past few years of living with him, I became distracted by a draft of cold air. It was coming from an air vent high up on the wall. It was large enough for a person to crawl into. A metal grid covered it. Four screws held it in place.

If that air was coming from the outside, and this was a makeshift place, perhaps that was how I could escape. I needed to get this chain off first.

* * *

M
ia had convinced
me to keep playing. The sponsors will pull out. The record label will drop you. She used every excuse under the sun. As much as I wanted to ignore what she was saying I knew she was right. There was little that I could do to help in the investigation. Though it hadn’t lessened the sting. I wanted to get out there and help. Do a press conference and offer money in exchange for her. I just needed to know what they wanted. We hadn’t heard yet. We had no clue who they were. Everything had been quiet for the past two days until the phone call came in.

“We’ve just heard from them. They want three million in exchange for her. It seems the same woman you had a problem with back in Atlanta is at it again.”

“That crazy bitch.”

Three million. These people weren’t going to hand her over. I had a lot of money but the police had said that negotiating wasn’t something that usually worked out. I had said I would do whatever it took. If they wanted three million, I would get it. But I would be the one to deliver it.

Agent David Wakefield of the FBI had been put in charge. When the call came in again to say when and where the drop off would be, we were told some place in Mississippi. Was that where she was? I had asked to speak to Meghan but they refused. I had told them they wouldn’t see a penny unless I heard her voice. How could I know she was alive?

That’s when they agreed and said they would phone back.

The waiting was the hardest. A day passed and no call came. Another day. In that time I was meant to put on a brave face and play to audiences. What Mia hadn’t counted on was the backlash from the media.

* * *

C
hase Bryan continued
to play in light of the kidnap.

It didn’t go down well, the news was abuzz and people had taken to social media to say that it wasn’t right.

“I told you this would backfire. But no, you wanted me out there playing. Keep the fans happy, you said. Well, it’s not making them happy. They think I don’t care.” I paused. “The tour is canceled. If they want to kick me off the label, so be it. I don’t give a shit. Right now I can’t think straight let alone play music.”

When I stormed out of the tour bus, Ernie was following close behind.

“You are relieved of your duties. Go home.”

“But sir, I’ve been instructed to keep an eye on you. If they took her, they are liable to try and take you.”

“Maybe they should.”

I left him behind while I walked into the hotel. I returned to my room. Once inside I grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and filled a glass. I needed to get my mind off this. I was no detective. This was out of my control. The only thing I could do was come up with the money and hope they would be true to their word.

I scoffed. “True.” They were likely going to grab the money and kill her. This was all my fault. I shouldn’t have forced her to come out on tour. I was the only one to blame. I lay back against the headboard on my bed and downed the glass in one go. I quickly filled it up again.

There was a knock at the door.

“Go away.”

“It’s me. Luke.”

“In that case, go away.”

Luke came inside.

“You don’t listen.”

“It’s Meghan. They have her on the line.”

I jumped up as though I had springs under my ass. Luke led the way until we reached the tour bus. The FBI agents were there with recording devices to try and trace the call.

The phone rang again. The officer gave the nod and I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Listen up. You play any tricks and she dies. You don’t show up with the money, she dies. I have already killed one person. I won’t hesitate again to kill her.”

I then heard her voice.

“Chase?”

“Meghan. Are you OK?”

“I’m alright. But…”

Before she could finish the kidnapper was back on the line.

“Now you have heard her. Here’s what I want you to do. Tomorrow at eight, you are to be in a small town in Mississippi called Cruger. There is a gas station called Walden’s Gas Station. Drop the money in the ice vending machine outside. Raise your hands as you go back to the car. Drive away and return in fifteen minutes. You will then find her there. Don’t try anything funny. I will be watching. If you show up with police, she dies. Do you understand? I will phone you on this line.”

“I got it.”

“Good.”

The phone line went dead. My eyes flicked over to the FBI agent who was in the process of tracing. He shook his head. Nothing.

“So I will gather up the money and have it ready for you.”

“We’ll have you travel in a car. Two FBI agents will be inside with you. Both of them will be armed. We’ll also have two snipers on location. You won’t see them. Neither will the kidnappers. The moment they go for the money, we’ll nab them.”

“Have you done this before?”

“Of course. Many times.”

“Did you recover the victim?”

“Most of the time. Sometimes they had already been murdered. But we stand a good chance of getting her back. There is a lot of money at stake here. I wouldn’t worry too much. They need her to be alive.”

I got a sense those weren’t exactly good odds. But we had little choice.

Mia pulled me aside. “This will all be over tonight. She will be back unharmed and with you. I promise.”

“You say that with such certainty. You don’t know.”

When I stepped off the tour bus, Luke was waiting outside.

“You want to go grab a bite to eat?” I said to him.

He nodded. “Sure.”

Ernie came with us. We traveled into the city and stopped a local Chinese buffet. One of those all you can eat places. We took a seat in the corner. Ernie was constantly scanning the room. Under his watch I had never been in a situation where I felt my life was in jeopardy. This was the first time anything had gone wrong.

“I’m sorry if I was a little hard on you a few days ago.”

“That’s OK, boss. I wish I could have been there to prevent this.”