Free Front Man 3 : Full Frontal (Part #3 of the Front Man series) by Adora Bell

Sara’s eyes flickered open. The room was in complete darkness,
save for a dim lamp with a doo cracked shade in the far corner. What
the hell was this place? Sara’s head ached, her mouth was dry
and she felt like she might throw up. As she attempted to sit up, she
quickly realized that her hands and feet were bound, and a wave of
panic made her stomach clench. Shit. Whoever did this meant business.
Sara felt tears well up, but she fought them back down. Crying wasn’t
going to get her out of this mess. She wondered how long she’d
been held captive . The room seemed to be windowless, so there was no
way of knowing. At least she’d told Erica where she was going.
While Sara guessed they’d moved her from the strip club after
they’d knocked her out, at least that would be a starting
point. Erica knew enough about her mission to raise the alarm. Sara
exhaled, feeling at least a little relieved. She’d never been
so glad to have confided in her best friend. Hunched on the floor of
this cold, dark dungeon, it was hard to believe only twenty-four
hours had passed since they were curled up on the couch, sharing a
bottle of wine…
    ***

    “Oh my god, I
am so glad we finally got to do this! I feel like I never see you
anymore.”
    “Erica, we
live together, you see me pretty much every day.”
    “Yeah, but
not properly. You’re always working, and since Jack you just
sit in your room and mope the whole time…”
    “Hey! That’s
not fair, I’m not that bad. I just haven’t felt like
partying, that’s all.”
    “Look Hun, I
wasn’t trying to be mean. You do what you gotta do, I’m
just worried about you. And I miss our talks. Matt’s great and
everything, but when it comes to helping me choose outfits, he may as
well be completely blind.” Erica giggled, reaching over to top
up Sara’s glass.
    “Oh shit,
I’ve been a crappy friend, haven’t I? I’m sorry. I
guess I’ve thrown myself into work so I don’t have to
think about the whole Jack situation. I didn’t mean to shut you
out too. “
    Erica smiled and
threw her arms around her best friend. “Don’t be an
idiot, you haven’t done anything wrong. I just want to be there
for you, you know? “
    “I know.
Thanks Erica. I didn’t realize how much I needed this.”
    The girls clinked
glasses. Erica had outdone herself, stocking their little apartment
with Chinese food, wine, chocolate, and a selection of romantic
comedies on DVD. All the ingredients for a perfect girls’ night
in. Sara would normally still be at work at this time of the evening,
burying herself in the extra projects she had volunteered for. Each
night she would come home, exhausted, stuff some food in her mouth
without tasting it and collapse into bed. Even then, in the quiet of
her room, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from turning to Jack.
Goddamn Jack Carter. He had got under her skin, sucked her in with
his sob stories, and then kicked her to the curb with no explanation.
Just when she had started to think that their connection might be
real, that he felt the same way she did…he had cut her out of
his life. When the papers had broken a story that accused him of
being involved in dealing drugs, Sara had been there for him. He had
flown her to Paris in the middle of the drama, and while Jack seemed
like a man on the edge of a breakdown, Sara had been his rock.
Somehow, though, Jack had come out on top, while Sara was left
heartbroken. The scandal he thought would end his career had put Jack
back in the spotlight. Fans warmed to his honesty, the way he refused
to hide from the press. As he opened up to TV interviewers about his
troubled past, the death of his parents and the loss of his little
sister, press and public alike lapped it up. Almost overnight, he’d
gone from complete pariah to national hero. Compass albums were
flying off the shelves; they had 3 singles in the top ten downloads,
and had added extra dates to the tour. Every time she switched on the
radio, or surfed