Rock Star: The Deal (Book 3 of a Bad Boy Romance) (9 page)

I
crouched down over Chase
, who had a welt on the top of his head. Duke was standing over him with a gun. No doubt, he’d hit him with it.

“Was that necessary? Hitting him?”

“You both are going to make us filthy rich.”

“You can’t leave them together,” the woman said.

“Why not?”

“Do I have to be the one to explain this?”

He grumbled and grabbed Chase.

“Wait!” I yelled.

Chase looked back at me. “Get your hands off me.”

“Shut the hell up. You’re going in the house basement for tonight, until we can figure out what to do with you then.”

“I don’t think she will keep them here that long.”

“I don’t care as long as I get paid.”

And just like that they all disappeared back up the ladder. For a moment I thought things might get better. To have someone to talk to would have been a vast improvement over silence. When I heard the sound of the wood seal over the top, I screamed. Frustration, tears and days of being stuck inside here, just boiled to the surface.

Once I had calmed down, I started to think of ways to get out again. That was all you could do. There had to be a way. I yanked on the chain. It was tied into the concrete. There was no way I was going to be able to pull it out.

I gazed back at the vent. That was the key to get out of here. I just needed a key to get out of these chains. I examined the lock. It was just your typical lock. I had seen people pick locks many times. This one was old. I started searching around for a piece of metal. Something thin. A hairpin. One was still in my hair from the updo I had been wearing for the show. I reached up and pulled it out. I had no clue if this was going to be strong enough. I jammed it into the opening of the lock and started twiddling it around. It caught on something inside. That’s it, I’ve done it. Then the metal hairpin bent. Damn! I tossed it across the room. There had to be something else I could use. As I was having that thought, the wood slid open and I heard someone coming down. I straightened up and pretended that I was not doing anything.

It was Edwin.

“I saw them bring someone in. Who was it?”

“Chase Bryan.”

“No way.”

“Yeah. Listen, Edwin. I need to get out of this chain, it’s hurting my ankle.” I wasn’t lying. The metal was rubbing at my leg. He looked down, then up at me.

“Please.”

He walked across the room to where Duke had placed the key and brought it over. He handed it to me, then hurried up, covering the top with the wood and barrels. Smart kid. I guess he figured if he let me out, I could have grabbed him and got out again.

I unlocked the padlock and felt relief. I stood up and stretched out my aching muscles.

There was no way I was going to be able to shift that board off the top. I went over to the vent and noticed that it was screwed in. I began searching around for anything I could use to loosen the screws. That’s when I saw it. It was a small gardening tool. Metal, slightly bigger than I would have hoped for, but it would do. I might not be able to unscrew the screws with it but I could jam it into the crack that was around where the metal touched the wall. Maybe I could pry it away, or break the concrete.

I began jamming it into the concrete around the vent. Every time I hit the concrete a small piece would chip away and fall to the floor. It wasn’t solid. It was water-ridden. I would listen carefully, just in case Duke returned. Then I would resume hitting the concrete.

* * *

I
n the house
, it smelled of pee. It was like an old people’s home. He had strong-armed me up to the house and taken me down a flight of steps in the basement. Down there it was dark, except for light that came from a small window at the far side. He chained both of my legs and covered my eyes with a blindfold.

“That should do it. You aren’t going anywhere. Forty-eight hours from now we will be rich and you… well… we’ll see if you live.”

I heard him stomp away. Back up the stairs. The door slammed and bolts were shifted into place. I felt like such an ass. To think that I could save her. To think that by giving myself up that they would let go of Meghan. If anything, I had probably placed her in danger. Now they had me, did they really need her? I didn’t imagine my record company was going to fork out whatever ransom they would now want. Three million I could cover. But now they would want a heck of a lot more than that.

My head dropped.

* * *

M
ortar crumbled
and dust came down around the vent. I was beginning to worry that I wouldn’t be able to get it underneath the metal. The concrete was softer than most, but it still had caused me to build up a sweat. I was baking hot. Sweat was dripping down my back. I was sure Duke was going to come in any minute now and see me doing this.

I wiped my face, covering it with a fine white dust. I must have looked like a real mess. With all the dirt in this place I had to wonder what I could catch, or what was down here with me. If I could just get through this concrete, I could crawl out of this prison and then in a matter of minutes from now I could be looking up at the sky.

My stomach was beginning to grumble. That only motivated me more. Had it not been for Edwin, I was sure I would have starved by now. The sandwich he had brought wasn’t exactly fresh but it hit the spot and gave me energy. And right now that was what I needed. Energy.

It was nighttime, the kidnappers wouldn’t be coming back down. At least I hoped. They would be crawling into bed. Dreaming of all the money they were going to make from us.

Finally, the garden tool was underneath the metal. Enough of the concrete had come away. Now I just leveraged it and began pushing the handle closer to the wall. I pushed my entire weight on it. I just needed to get one side up. As soon as that corner was up, I would move the metal further along the edge and pry up more until I got all the screws out.

Though I was heaving as hard as I could, it just wouldn’t move. I was grunting and shoving it as hard as possible. Sweat was pouring down my face, and getting into my eyes causing them to sting. I was starting to think this was a bad idea. If Duke came back now, he would clearly see that I had been trying to get out the vent. The wall was damaged. Pieces of mortar were everywhere. Maybe I didn’t have enough strength to do this.

That only frustrated me more, and I really put my shoulder into it. I gave it a really strong push, then a pull and then pop, it came away. I put the tool down and hooked my fingers around the metal vent, put one foot on the wall and began pulling as hard as I could. Suddenly I lost my grip and fell backward. I got back up and tried again. One corner had been lifted up. I knew it was getting close. I grabbed the tool and started working on it again, excavating the brick and tossing all the crumbled pieces to one side.

In no time, I had the next corner up. Now I was feeling hopeful. I was grateful that the wall was wet, it had softened it over the years. Now that I had the bottom half of the vent up, I put both feet on the wall and started yanking hard at the metal. I could feel it loosening from the wall. Any second now it would come out.

I pulled at it with all my might. Immediately I heard the crunch of mortar as the final screws scraped, while I was trying to keep hold of the concrete. Then pop. It came off and I tumbled back. I groaned. It had knocked the wind out of me.

But, I’d done it. There was now a big, wide entrance. It was completely dark, and there was no way of knowing what spiders could be in there. But I was just so ecstatic that I had managed to get it off. I heaved myself up as I tried to get into the vent opening. I balanced on a table and then vaulted up into it.

Inside it was filthy. Cobwebs spread across my face. I felt a chill wash all over me. There were very few things that spooked me. Confined spaces and spiders were two. And I was facing both of them now.

I kept crawling further into the darkness. My hand touched something wet and I yanked it back. I didn’t want to think what could be lurking in the darkness so far below the ground. The vent took a sharp left. I followed it out. I felt like a rabbit in the earth, pushing my way through, trying to make it to the surface. The air inside was stale, musty and smelled like mold. I felt small pieces of web getting in my mouth. I pursed my lips closed. The last thing I wanted was a spider crawling in there.

My excitement grew once I saw a glimmer of light. I quickened my pace even though I was exhausted. Please tell me this goes to the surface. I had read about rock climbers and how they got lost down inside caves. I wondered if this was what it was like. Sure, I was inside a metal passage but it had all the scariness of going down in a mine, or searching through caves. I had no clue if the walls around me would hold up.

And then I saw it. A shaft of vertical light. I quickened my pace and moved underneath it. The light came from the moon outside. Straight up. The vent went to the surface. There was a grated top covering the vent. But there it was. I was nearly out.

I moved fast, desperation taking over. I clawed my way up. Pushing my body against the side and using my feet. I was sure I was going to slip. Once I reached the top, I braced myself against the sides of the vent and pushed against the opening. It was stuck.

You’ve got to be joking? This is not my day, week or month. Why the hell is it closed?

I was feeling hopeful up until that moment. But now panic was taking hold again. All I could think of was Duke finding me. His gun barrel pointing down and then nothing. I pushed and pushed hard. I was not going to stay down here as a victim. I would survive this and live to tell the tale.

T
he basement was large
. I couldn’t have been down there more than ten minutes when I heard footsteps and a voice.

“I just want to bring him some food.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.”

“Shut up, Duke.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, not to use my name?”

When she pulled off the blindfold, I shook my head. It was the woman from Atlanta. She looked older, but it was her alright. She didn’t say anything at first. She placed down beside me a blue plastic serving tray. On it was a cup of coffee. Black. There was a small bowl of sugar, and a cup of milk. A plate with what looked like a taco.

“I didn’t know if you liked your coffee black, with or without sugar? I’m usually pretty good with what you like.”

What planet was this woman on?

“If you knew what I liked, you wouldn’t have me in these chains.”

“Right. About that. I’m sorry, it’s precautions. We can’t have you running off and bringing the police. That bitch tried that. I sorted her out with a shovel to the head.”

I screwed my face up.

“Here, let me help you.”

She didn’t untie my hands. She took a hold of the taco and brought it up to my lips. I kept them closed.

“Open up,” she said as if she was feeding a child.

She slapped me. It stung like hell.

“Now don’t make me do that again. Open. We have to keep you well fed. Can’t have you losing weight.” She rubbed her hand down my arm and squeezed. I could see she was finding some sexual satisfaction in it.

“Now open,” she yelled.

I reluctantly opened my mouth and she placed the taco inside. I took a bite, I chewed just a little.

“Good. Chew. There we go. Not so bad, eh.”

She was down at face level when I spat it in her face. The next thing I felt was her hand across my face. She then hit me several times.

“Now look at what you are making me do.”

She was furious. She grabbed the tray, turned and stormed away. I coughed out the few pieces that were still in my mouth. For a small woman she could hit hard. Ten more minutes passed and both of them came down the steps.

“What do you guys want?”

The guy sneered at me. “What do you think?”

“If it’s money, you blew your chance there.”

He paced the basement floor, while she scrutinized me from the stairs.

“Oh. That three million was just a ploy. We knew you would get the FBI involved. But it wasn’t the three million we wanted. You are worth so much more than that. Let me guess, you make three million every three months?”

I remained silent.

“Four?”

“Does it matter?” I asked.

“What about the girl? What do you think she’s worth?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you go and ask her?”

He pulled at his crotch. “Maybe I’ll do that. Maybe, I’ll make a large deposit.”

Sick fuck. “You lay one hand on her. I will—”

Moving fast he came down to my level and grabbed my face.

“You will do what?”

I scowled.

“That’s right. You better get a hold on that temper of yours.”

He pushed my face away and I nearly lost my balance. I was on my knees.

I had difficulty straightening myself up. “So who have you got on the inside?”

He let out a maniacal laugh. “What makes you think that?”

“No other way you could have known she was in that tour bus.”

“Maybe we lucked out.”

“Maybe you’ll grow a conscience,” I said before he swiped me with the back of his hand.

“A singer with a sense of humor, I like that,” he said.

I spat some blood out of my mouth.

“Well, this should all be over soon.”

“What, when you give yourselves up?”

He laughed, and wagged his finger at me with a big smile as if he thought I was joking. I watched them go back up. I could hear them upstairs. The floors were thin.

“I don’t want you going down there again, you hear?” he said.

“Duke.”

“Do you hear?”

She hesitated. “Yeah. I got it.”

* * *

R
emoving
the cover on the vent was the hardest part. I had to retrace my steps and go back and retrieve the gardening tool so that I could do the same thing that I had done with the other cover. Except this one I had to push out and up.

When it finally lifted and clattered to one side, I reached up and pulled myself up. Outside it was dark, except for the moon. I could see that I had come up just a few feet away from the main entrance that they used. I looked over to the farmhouse. The lights were on. I could see movement inside. A part of me just wanted to take off. I had an urge to run, but I knew I would be running from Chase. I couldn’t leave him here. I wouldn’t allow him to go through what I had. These people were lunatics. Who knew what they would do to him.

I covered up the hole, crouched low and approached the house.

* * *

T
he woman was insane
. She had been sitting on the edge of the stairs for the past ten minutes just staring at me. I couldn’t tell if she was thinking of something to say or thinking of ways to cook me. Everything about her was horrid. Her hair was a tangled mess. Her teeth looked yellow. She no doubt was into meth. She had a tattoo of someone’s name on her arm and she dressed like she was a hooker. Duke hadn’t been much better. Thin, long hair, sunken face, a mischievous look in his eye. They both had to be half-baked to think they could get away with this. The FBI would be scouring towns. Our faces were all over the media.

“Ever thought about turning yourself in?”

“No. But I have thought about keeping you here.”

She came over and began unbuttoning my shirt.

“I just want a little peek.”

I tried to push her away with my head as my hands were tied behind my back but it was useless. I felt this leathery hand go into my shirt. Her lip curled up revealing a gap where a tooth should have been. She tweaked my nipple, before pulling away.

“Duke has to go out in the morning. Meet with our contact. I’m thinking you and me can have a little play time.”

I raised both eyebrows.

“Come now. I’ve seen the way you have been undressing me with your eyes,” she said.

The woman was really crazy.

She came in close, tore open her top and shoved my face into her breasts. I wanted to vomit right there and then. Her skin smelled like a dirty ashtray. She hadn’t washed in days, maybe weeks. It was sick. When she let go I spat at her. I don’t know why I did it, as I knew what would follow.

She put her whole body into it this time, and brought a fist down that split my lower lip. I spat blood on the floor.

“Oh you like it rough, don’t you,” she said.

“Fuck you, you nasty bitch,” I replied.

I regretted saying that immediately after she throttled me a few more times.

* * *

W
hen I reached the house
, I hugged the wall with my back. I edged down to see what was going on down in the basement. The window was dirty, covered in soil. I wiped it and bolted back when I saw the woman. I peeked again, and this time I saw Chase. He was on his knees. I could see a small amount of blood on the floor. She was shaking her fist at him. Her face was full of rage.

I needed to get in there. Get him out. Get us away from here. The whole farmhouse and location reminded me of the
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
. It had that creepy, inbred feel to it. I moved around the house until I was at the back door. They had one of those creaky wooden storm doors. The screen was torn. I could still hear them moving around inside.

Should I wait until they had gone to bed? But then they might hear me.

If I went now, and they heard me moving, unless they were together they might think it was just the other one.

I decided against it. It was better to wait until they were asleep. At least that way I could sneak in unnoticed. Until then I would wait just beyond the tree line. I would make sure, that if they did come out, they wouldn’t be able to spot me. Under the shadow of night, I could then get in and out without them knowing.

Sitting in the brush I had to wonder how it had all come to this. Never in a million years could I have imagined myself out on tour with Chase Bryan. Add to that being kidnapped by two crazy lunatics. All I needed to do was take a trip to rehab and I would have experienced the entire country rock career in a matter of a few months.

I must have sat there for an hour. I watched a deer pass by. I couldn’t see any homes in the area. They must have lived way out in the boonies. I had considered running. Seeing if I could find another house. Someone might have a phone. I even moved through the trees but the branches cut into my feet. My joints were aching, my feet cold. Where my shoes were was anyone’s guess. Though I had a feeling she had taken them. I kept having to get up and walk around. I heard the sound of a wolf. It sent a chill up my spine. I was out in the open. A bear or a wolf could attack me easily. Who knew what kind of animals were out at night? Owls looked down. Their eyes lit up. I thought I heard the sound of a car, but I think it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

The snow was freezing. I had been rubbing my feet nonstop. They were frozen. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I approached the house.

The lights were out which was a good sign, I guess. I pulled back on the door ever so slightly, doing my best not to make it creak any more than it was. I twisted the handle on the door. It was loose. I stepped inside and felt the warmth of the wooden floorboards below my feet. I just wanted to linger there and allow myself to warm up, but I knew that I didn’t have that luxury. I placed each foot down in front of the other as quietly as I could. It was hard to be completely silent as the floorboards were old and every touch meant a creak.

Inside it smelled bad, like someone had been cooking up old broth bones on a stove for too long. There was garbage everywhere. They had old papers stacked waist high along the corridor.

When I saw the door to the basement I repeated the same careful process I had taken when entering the house. Before I ventured down, I closed the door behind me. When I reached the bottom Chase glanced up. His eye looked swollen.

“Meghan?”

I put a finger up to my lips to indicate that we needed to be quiet. I didn’t waste any time undoing his restraints. I used the key that Edwin had given me and undid the padlock that held the chain around his ankles. I hugged him, and for those brief few seconds, I felt normal.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Going back up the steps, it was hard not to make them creak. It reminded me of the first home my parents had bought. The one time I had tried to sneak out late at night. It didn’t matter where I stepped. On the side, front, back or in the middle. The stairs would always creak.

We reached the landing and were about to make a run for it, when a light switched on. Standing at the far end near the door was Duke, holding a shotgun. We spun around to find the woman leering over us, holding a handgun.

“Thought you were just going to mosey on out of here, didn’t you?”