Sara was aglow with amorous thoughts from the long night spent in the company of the man she loved. He'd explained everything. She knew he had no reason to do so… no reason other than to be true to her. She did love him, she knew that now. He was as perfect as her memory had been telling her he was for all these lonely days. With a hazy glance around her, she fumbled wearily for her house key and finally managed to open the door and let herself in.
As was her habit, she looked around suspiciously before slipping inside the door and turning to shove it closed and latch the various locks. Before the door fully closed, however, a man roughly thrust his foot through the door jamb. Sara screamed. The man had his heavy palm plastered cruelly across her nose and mouth within seconds, effectively silencing her. Now he did close the door all the way and dragged a fighting yet losing Sara fully inside. She tried to bite his hand and he hit her hard. Stars flew in front of her line of vision, but not before she identified her assailant. John Abruzzi. He hit her again and the world went black.
Sara came to in her own bedroom. For the first minute or two she sleepily lay on her coverlet, relishing the dawn of the new day, groggily wondering if she had time to make a pot of coffee before reporting to work. Then, as consciousness waxed more fully, the frightful events of the predawn hours rushed into her mind like a dam breaking. It was then that she realized her arms and legs were tied to the four posters of the bed. With a frightened gasp, she struggled against the bonds, but they held fast and were painfully tight.
Abruzzi chose that moment to enter the room and stand at the foot of her bed, gloating at his now trembling captive. He stared at her with evil eyes.
"Well, well, doc," he sneered. "I guess you can be the first to know. I'm backslidden." He laughed with a croak, enjoying the look of horror and disgust on Sara's features.
"But don't worry," he said in a malicious drawl. "I ain't gonna mess with you. I just need you to smoke out your boyfriend. He done me wrong. He's gonna pay." Abruzzi laughed a horrible laugh and sat down on the bed next to her. Sara tried to move as far away form him as her limitations allowed.
"He didn't do anything to you!" Sara cried out angrily. She yanked ineffectually at her ropes, giving a cry when the rough bonds bit into her wrists.
"Don't hurt your little self," Abruzzi cautioned sardonically. "Maybe you don't know your loverboy as well as you think. He lied to you, to me, to everyone."
"You're a liar," Sara sobbed.
"Sure I am. But I admit it. He's the worst kind of liar. Lies to the ones he loves." This last bit was said in her ear, causing Sara to shudder and jerk her head away from his foul breath.
"Leave me alone."
"Why should I? Why should I, I'm askin' myself. He's gonna be dead anyway, 'cause I'm goin' to kill him. I'm goin' to kill his brother too. So maybe I should just indulge myself a little…"
He leaned over Sara and licked her cheek from jaw to temple in a bold, sloppy motion. She cried out. With agonizing deliberation, he reached across and played with a lock of her hair, all the while smiling dangerously into her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed against the bile rising in her throat.
"Now, now, what are you closing your eyes for?" He taunted, his hands lewdly running down her sides.
"Maybe what she sees is making her sick, Abruzzi," Michael's quiet but deadly voice filled the room. Abruzzi jumped clumsily off the bed, clearly out-maneuvered, and turned to face his unexpected visitors. There stood Michael, Lincoln, and Veronica, the latter two with guns trained on the kidnapper, all with murderous frowns.
"Untie her, Michael," Lincoln directed. "Veronica, tie him up with the ropes Michael gives you." Lincoln continued to train his gun directly on Abruzzi's forehead while Michael and Veronica got to work.
Michael wasted no time cutting through the ropes restraining the shaking woman on the bed and handing them to Veronica so they could be used again. Soon he had Sara free and scooped her up against him, whispering sweetly in her ear as she shuddered in his arms.
"How did you find me?" Sara asked.
"Something told me to follow you home and make sure you got in safely. When I saw what happened, I knew I couldn't take him by myself. I went and got Lincoln and Veronica and we came back as fast as we could. He didn't… hurt you, did he? I hated leaving you here," Michael whispered painfully.
"He didn't hurt me," Sara confirmed. "You did the right thing. You saved my life, Michael. And I think you may have saved all our lives. He was talking like he intended to kill us all." Once again Michael drew her against him securely and buried his face in her neck. With a great sigh, he breathed out his relief against her still trembling frame.
"Time to go," Lincoln announced curtly. "Veronica is about to place a call to the police. We'll leave Abruzzi here to be found, all tied up like a Christmas present."
"You're dead!" Abruzzi mumbled against the gag around his mouth, his face purple with rage. "Dead!"
"And you're going back to Fox River," Michael coolly informed him.
"Let's go." Lincoln led the way to their car across the street. Veronica joined them a few minutes later and they were on their way.
"What do I do now?" Sara asked Michael, who sat next to her in the back seat. "What will the police think when they find him in my apartment?"
"What do you want to do?" Michael questioned, picking up her hand and playing delicately with her fingers. "You could disappear with us, or you can go back."
Sara was silent. The temptation to simply disappear with Michael was strong. Her whereabouts would remain a mystery if she left now. But what kind of life would that be? Always on the run, never sure what the next day would bring. She loved him. Could she really give up her life for him?
Sara could barely breathe when the realization hit her. That was exactly what Michael had done. He'd given up his life, his reputation, and his livelihood to rescue his brother. From what he'd told her, it had been a good life. Sara's life, however, was not that kind of life. She was estranged from her family and struggling with the aftereffects of having been an addict. She worked in a prison.
Maybe it wasn't that hard of a choice after all.
"I'm with you," she said quietly.
Michael's eyes widened with the realization that she had chosen him.
"Really?" He asked incredulously, the beginnings of a dazzling grin twitching at his mouth.
"Really," Sara confirmed.
"Uh, you two gonna wait 'til we get to the cabin or should we raise the privacy curtain?" Veronica asked with syrupy sweetness while Lincoln laughed heartily at the sight in his rearview mirror.
There was no answer from the back seat.
