Free Front Man: The Complete Trilogy by Adora Bell Page B

seat. Jack crossed his arms over his chest
and stared out of the window as they travelled back towards the
hotel. Then he felt a soft touch on his shoulder, and Sara wrapped
her arms around him.
    "I'm sorry," she whispered in his
ear, "I'm trying to understand, I am. It's just hard when I
don't know the whole story. But you're Jack fucking Carter. You can't
give up on your life like that, you just can't."
    He squeezed her tight, breathing in the scent
of her, feeling her soft hair against his cheek.
    "Driver?" he said suddenly, eliciting
a Gallic grunt from the front seat."Not the hotel. The Diamond
Club. Fast,please."
    "Oui
Monsieur." The driver sounded almost gleeful as he pulled an
illegal U turn and raced off into the night.

***

    Michael stepped back from the
microphone and raised his hands above his head. The crowd hollered,
and he felt his heart leap in his chest. This was the best night of
his life. At last, he was the front man, the centre of everyone's
attention. All those hours spent working on his vocals had paid off.
The fans were loving it. Soon they would forget all about Jack. Once
this scandal blew over, the press would tell the dramatic tale of how
Compass rose from the ashes, with Michael at the helm, to start a new
and even brighter era. Then maybe, in a year or so, it would be time
to go solo... He was so busy fantasizing, that at first Michael
didn't notice the stirring at the back of the club. Ripples spread
through the crowd, whispers and gasps turning to screams of
excitement that travelled towards the stage. Squinting through the
bright lights, Michael could see the audience part as someone
shouldered their way through.
    “No fucking way,” he
growled under his breath. Assisted by a sea of hands, Jack Carter
hauled himself up on to the stage and grabbed a microphone from the
stand. A sudden hush fell over the auditorium.
    “Um, hi. Sorry I'm late.”
Laughter from the crowd.
    “I wasn't going to come here
tonight. I thought, after the allegations that have been printed
about me, that Compass would be better off without me. Luckily,
someone convinced me otherwise. I don't have time to tell you the
whole story tonight....I think most of you would prefer to hear some
music. But what I can tell you, is that I have never in my life sold
drugs. I've never even taken drugs, if you want to know the truth. I
know you have no reason to believe me...but I hope that you can trust
me on this one. And whatever you might think of me, I hope you can
still enjoy our music. Thank you.”
    For a moment, everything was still.
Then the applause started, just a few people at first, but the others
joined in until the clapping of hands thundered around the room.
Micheal’s face was white with rage as a sound man rushed unto
the stage to hook up Jack's microphone.
    “Nice one, douche bag,” he
hissed, “Couldn't bear to be out of the spotlight for a second?
Oh, and if you're going to do a heartwarming speech, maybe save it
for a crowd that actually speaks English? These morons don't even
know what they're clapping for.”
    “I'm sure someone will translate
for them,” Jack said with a shrug. Someone handed him his
guitar, and he eased the strap onto his shoulder. He had felt naked
without it.
    “Shouldn't you be taking care of
your little piece of ass? We can manage fine without you.”
Michael spat at Jack, casting a desultory glance at where Sara waited
at the side of the stage.
    “Shut the fuck up Michael,”
Andy, the drummer, suddenly butted in. “Let's just get the next
song going, ok?” The band all turned to their instruments. Andy
didn't normally say much, but when he did, they listened. As they
launched into What Comes Next, Jack felt a tiny glimmer of hope. The
crowd sang alongside him, just as they always did. Perhaps things
hadn't changed all that much.
    Watching Jack hold the crowd in the
palm of his hand, Sara was glowing. She knew if he just faced them,
the public would see through all the lies