Unexpected Repercussions - Chapter 10

“Sara,” he breathed out disbelievingly.

A wavering smile graced her lips as she locked eyes with him. Questions whirred in his mind, fast and demanding. How? Why was she there? Was she alright? How did she get out? Did Veronica get her out? How did she do it?

“Michael,” she greeted, her eyes flickering uncertainly.

He ran his eyes over her. She looked much healthier than when he had last seen her in the hospital, much to his relief. Dressed in a black jumper and blue jeans, she looked as healthy as anyone could be if one did not see the shadows under her eyes and the tired expression in them. That was the only thing that gave her away. Her eyes.

He took one step towards her, and then stopped, suddenly unsure how to proceed with this latest development. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he asked quietly, almost shyly, “Are you alright?”

She shrugged wordlessly. Then she stepped in and closed the door behind her, leaning against it.

Michael flicked a confused glance at Veronica. “You got her out?”

Sara interjected, “I know you have questions.”

That was definitely an understatement, Michael thought wryly. “Your arrest. Was that because they suspected you of being an accomplice?”

Sara nodded. “Yeah. I wondered how they figured out that it was me who left the door unlocked. I guess when pushed, even your friends would turn on you,” she scoffed cynically.

“Who?” Lincoln asked with a frown.

“My guess would be Katie.” At Lincoln’s and Michael’s blank look, she clarified, “The nurse. Not that I really blame her. She probably did not have much of a choice in the matter.”

“I’m sorry, Sara.”

The corner of her mouth lifted. “Spent a couple of days being interrogated before my kind father decided that having a daughter in prison would not reflect well on him. So here I am.”

Lincoln asked, “Your father pulled strings and got you out?”

“He pulled some strings and cut some strings while he was at it,” she clarified, stepping away from the door.

Cut some strings? Michael frowned. “What do you mean?”

Veronica replied instead of Sara. “Vice-President Tancredi made her change her name,” she supplied, looking disgusted.

“What?” Michael exclaimed, shocked that her father was so cruel.

Sara sighed as she sank down onto the dusty couch. “Yeah, it’s good to know that I’m loved.”

Michael grimaced. If he had not involved her, this would not have happened. Sara would not have been effectively disowned by her father. The repercussions of his plans were careening out of his control and Michael hated to think what might happen next. All he knew was that it was all his fault.

Overcame with guilt, he said softly, “I’m so sorry, Sara. I got you into this.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Michael saw Veronica flash a meaningful look at Lincoln. Silently, the two of them moved to the kitchen, leaving him and Sara alone in the living room.

Sara looked up at him and shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. I had time to think about it. I made the decision myself. Wanted to make a difference, remember?” she remarked with a forced laugh.

Michael’s jaw tightened. “That decision landed you in an interrogation room.”

She sighed wearily. “Michael, I can think for myself. I know what could happen when I left the door unlocked. There were risks, and I took it.”

“You were angry when I saw you in the hospital,” he pointed out, remembering the pain in her eyes when she had refused to believe that he really cared for her, and that it had not been all about the plan. It pained him that she would never believe it. But then, why was she here?

Sara shook her head, a sad smile gracing her lips. “Not really at you. I had time to think things through. I was angry at my father and at myself. At my father for being such a prick and at myself for being stupid enough to believe in things I shouldn’t have believed in.”

She suddenly laughed, a self-mocking sound that made his heart clench painfully. The recent events had scarred her, he could tell. The Sara he knew before had been cynical, but this woman in front of her even more.

She sobered up briefly, and then continued quietly. “But I guess that’s not the first time I got fooled like that.”

Running a hand over his head, Michael sighed regretfully before he sat down beside her. “Sara, I meant what I said before. It started off like as one thing, your part in the bigger picture of the escape plan. But once I got to know you, it became harder for me to carry on with the plan where you were concerned.”

“But you had to.”

He held himself stiffly, as if he was afraid that he might break if he did not. “It pains me to know that you’ll always have this distrust of my motives. I don’t blame you. But do you think I went through with all the deception not knowing that I’d hurt you in the end? I knew what I was doing and I felt guilty. It was eating me up slowly, one day after another. I didn’t want to hurt you. You have no idea how much I wished that I hadn’t asked you to help when I saw you in the hospital.” He inhaled, and then exhaled slowly, anguished. “This is all for Linc, Sara. It’s not about me.”

She looked pained. “Michael,” she started. “I-”

Interrupting her, he pressed on. “I looked forward to our visits, as short as they had been. There was something there, Sara.” He gestured in the space between then two of them. “There’s something right here between the two of us. You mean to tell me you don’t feel it?”

He grabbed her hand, and then pulled her closer. To his relief, she did not resist. Their faces were only inches away from each other when he stressed earnestly, “I feel it, Sara.” He brought their linked hands to his heart. “In here.”

She inhaled sharply at his words, and then slowly blinked. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out apart from a soft puff of warm breath.

Michael found himself drawn to those lips. Both of them were so close that their breath mingled. Swallowing hard, he raised his eyes to meet hers. Their eyes locked, and Michael found himself unable to pull away.

And neither could she, from the look in her eyes.

The drumming of his heart was loud in his ears as he closed the small gap between them. All his senses seemed to be focussed completely on the woman in front of him. He hesitated for a second when he was just a hair’s breadth away from her lips, watching, mesmerised, as her eyes fluttered shut.

The first brush of his lips against hers was tentative, like he was just remembering how she felt against him. A heady feeling rushed over him as he ran his lips over hers. He could feel her trembling slightly and suddenly wondered if he was rushing her. He had not meant to do so.

When he reluctantly pulled back a little, he could hear the unsteadiness of her breath, telling him that she was just as affected as he was. He raised a hand to brush a strand of her hair away from her face, his eyes searching hers questioningly, needing her assent for him to continue.

“Michael…” she whispered softly, her face flushed.

He decided that he could not wait, and then lowered his head to capture her lips in his again. She was soft and pliant beneath him, and a surge of possessiveness coursed through him. Wrapping his arms around her, one hand on the small of her back and the other at the nape of her neck, he pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. Her response was passionate, clouding his mind, making it hard for him to maintain control.

A soft moan escaped her lips when he lifted his head. Her eyes were glazed with the remnants of their passion when he gazed into them, making him hungry for more. But he refrained from continuing. It was too soon, and the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off.

“Sara,” he whispered, still holding her face in his hands. “I-”

She interjected breathlessly, “No. Don’t say anything anymore.”

His heart twisted in pain. Was this the point where she told him that she did not feel the same? Had he messed things up by kissing her? Sighing heavily, he let his hands fall from her face and steeled himself for her rejection.

She cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable. “I…um…I need to clear something up.”

Michael averted his gaze, not wanting her to see the feelings that were bound to be displayed in his eyes. “Go on,” he prompted calmly, masking his anguish.

Inhaling loudly, she started. “It hurt when I realised that you sent Nika to get my key. I thought you were just using me. Just playing with me feelings.” Her lips twisted. “But what hurt the most was how I felt for you and the fact that I could do nothing about it. I’m angry at myself for falling for the wrong guy. Not at you, but at myself.”

A glimmer of hope began in his chest. Perhaps there was a chance for them after all. “Sara…”

“Let me finish.” Then she looked directly into his eyes. “Before I unlocked to door, I thought a lot about it. Like what will happen if you all really managed to escape. Part of me was wondering how am I supposed to wait for you when you’re on the run for who knows how long. It was awful to know that once I unlocked the door, I might never see you again. But the alternative of leaving the door locked, knowing that you won’t be able to get Linc out, was worse.”

Her words had lifted the heaviness in his heart, given him hope that there was chance for them. But he did not want her to think that he would hold anything like that against her even if she had not left the door unlocked. “I wouldn’t have blamed you, Sara,” he said sincerely, hoping that she would believe it.

A self-mocking smile twisted her lips. “In a way, I felt like I failed Linc, when I remembered what my father didn’t do to help. For what it’s worth, I do think that Lincoln’s innocent too. And although my father refused to do anything about it, that doesn’t mean that I should just sit back and do nothing. Especially now that he had cut me off.” She took a deep breath. “So, the second I was released, I called Veronica.”

So it was Sara who had approached Veronica. Not the other way round. “And you managed to get her to bring you here?” he asked, incredulous. How did Veronica know who to trust?

“It was her idea, actually. Linc told her that…” she paused, and then said evasively, “Nevermind.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” she said insistently.

“Tell me,” he pressed.

She sighed in resignation. “Linc told Veronica that you’d be worried when you hear about my arrest. And that you’ll probably find some way to break me out of prison.”

His brother knew him too well. Shrugging, he said with a small smile, “I might have.”

She laughed. “Your recent track record doesn’t look too bad, either,” she joked.

Michael grinned.

And then they fell silent.

There were so many things he wanted to share with her. So much that he did not know where to begin.

“You look well,” she said softly, breaking the silence.

Michael smirked. “Being on the run suits me.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “That’s not funny, Michael.” Her eyes swept over his beige shirt and the black jeans. “For someone who had just recently busted out of prison, you’re surprisingly well dressed,” she remarked dryly.

Michael told her about Westmoreland’s money.

“I guess you won’t be having money problems for a while then.”

He grinned. Then, remembering what Veronica had said about Sara’s father, he asked, “So, do I still call you Sara? Or are you doing by another name now?”

She shook her head. “I just changed my last name. Sara’s common enough to keep Vice-President Tancredi’s reputation safe.”

“I still can’t believe you father made you do that,” he muttered, his distaste unmasked.

Sara smirked. “He has his own funny way of showing how much he loves me.”

“So what is it now?”

A mischievous twinkle lighted her eyes before she said with a straight face, “Michaels.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “My name?” Suddenly he was at a loss for words. What did she mean by taking his name? He opened his mouth to say something, and then not knowing what to say, he clamped it shut again.

Sara laughed at his expression. “Figured that it would rile my father to no end.”

Vice-President Tancredi would no doubt be put off by her choice of name, Michael thought, his lips twitching in mirth. “Oh, I thought you were trying to tell me something,” he teased.

Raising her eyebrow, she asked, “Oh? And what might that be?”

He shrugged carelessly. “You tell me.”

She looked away evasively. “You’re reading too much into it, Michael.”

“Am I?” Studying her intently, he continued, “I meant what I said, Sara.”

“Michael…”

“We’re not in Fox Rivers anymore.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “No. Now you’re a wanted man.”

Impulsiveness was not something Michael usually indulged in, but this time, it felt right. Sara had not been part of the post-escape plan, but he realised now that she needed to be. Especially now that he knew that she felt something for him.

“So come with me,” he urged softly.

She looked down at her hands. “I can’t, Michael. I can’t,” she whispered.

Confused, he asked, “Why?”

To his surprise, her eyes flashed fiercely when she pinned her gaze on him. “You know why, Michael. You have a wife. Nika, remember? I won’t be the other woman,” she declared harshly.

“I’m not asking you to be.”

She let out an exasperated sigh as she threw her arms up. “Then what, Michael? I run with you to who knows where while your wife sits home and worry about you?”

He grabbed her hands to still them. “I told you it’s not like that, Sara. Nika and I, it’s an arrangement of convenience only. Not to mention that at this minute, we’re probably divorced already.”

Sara looked sceptical. “I can’t believe you found time to meet up with your lawyers and to sign the papers in the last ten days.”

He shook his head. “No. We signed it months ago. I just told Nika to get it to our lawyers for processing a few days ago.”

“You planned on separating all along?” she asked softly.

Michael nodded.

Sara fell silent.

Exhaling loudly, he leaned back against the back of the couch. Slanting a glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, he asked, “So, does that mean that you accept my offer?”

She studied him for a moment before she replied softly. “It’s not much of an offer, Michael.”

He raised his brows in mock surprise. “What? An exciting time on the run with a hunted convict? What more could you ask for?”

Her lips twitched. “Some stability might be nice.”

He shifted closer to her, and her subtle fragrance assaulted his senses. The urge to kiss her again came back, but he stifled it. This was not the right time.

Crouching down in front of her, he said regretfully. “Sara. I would love to give you everything, but right now I don’t own much, except close to a million in cash. Even if Linc gets exonerated, I will still go back to prison if I get arrested because I really did hold up a bank. So, the only thing I can think of is Mexico.”

Her eyes widened at the implication.

He inhaled deeply, disliking what he was asking of her but unable to stop now that he had started. “We can lose ourselves in the crowd there and start over again. But you need to leave everything behind. Your friends, your job and your father. Everything. I know I don’t have the right to ask, especially after what I’ve made you go through. But-”

“Stop, Michael,” she said, pressing a finger to his lips. “Please stop,” she whispered painfully.

Deciding to let it go for now, Michael withdrew quietly. “Okay. I’m not going to press you, but just think about it, okay?”

She gazed down at him, the turmoil in her eyes clear for all to see. Then, after a long silence, she said with a nod, “I’ll think about it.”

Knowing that it was the best he could expect out of her for now, Michael returned her nod. She had been through a lot in recent days. And Michael knew that what he was asking of her was not something trivial. She needed time to think things through. Hopefully, they would be able to exonerate Lincoln, and then, he would broach the subject again.

He got to his feet and went to the kitchen, leaving Sara alone in the living room with her thoughts. Just as he reached the door, Lincoln and Veronica stepped up to him.

“Everything alright?” Lincoln asked.

Michael nodded.  Lincoln sound a little concerned, but Michael could also detect an underlying hint of excitement in his voice. Veronica must have told him what she had found.

Turning to her, he asked, “So, how are things going? Linc said you found something.”

She brightened. “Yes! Terrence Steadman is alive and I’ve got something to prove it,” Veronica said triumphantly.

Michael felt a smile growing on his face. “So, what do you have?” he asked as they moved to the living room to join Sara.

“She got the security tape from Montana,” Lincoln supplied with a grin.

“What? What’s in Montana?” Sara asked curiously.

Veronica clapped her hands together. “Terrence Steadman was in Blackfoot, Montana, all this time. We found the lead just before Nick started behaving strange. I saw Steadman with my own two eyes. He’s very much alive. Minus his teeth, which now explains the body we dug up.”

“You went in alone?” Michael asked, incredulous.

She nodded. “There was a gun in the bag of files Nick gave me. I guess he wanted me to be able to protect myself.” Then she frowned worriedly. “I’ve been trying to call him but he’s not answering. I just hope that he’s alright.”

Michael’s brow furrowed. Perhaps Abruzzi had done something to him. Giving Veronica a questioning look, he asked, “When was the last time you spoke to him?”

She thought silently for a moment before she replied, “Around the time you guys broke out. Been trying to call him since then.”

“Can’t be Abruzzi, then,” Michael muttered under his breath. But what else could it be? Who else would be after Nick? Could it be the same people who was after their father and Lincoln?

Sara’s question broke Michael’s train of thought. “How did you get the tape?”

Veronica grimaced. “Pointed a gun at him and tied him to a chair while I searched the house. Found the surveillance equipment in a small room off his study. The thing is, there’s only one tape. The security cams had been set to record over the previous day’s data.”

 

“Is that actually enough to prove that Steadman’s alive?” Lincoln asked.

Nodding, Veronica said, “I watched the tape. It contains the recording of that day from the early hours of the morning till the time I took it. We have footage of him watching news and reading papers, and we can make out the date. If that’s not enough, we have the picture I sent to LJ.”

“Did you get anything else?” Lincoln asked.

Veronica shook her head. “Not much. I grabbed some paperwork from his desk. Those turned out to be bills, but I didn’t have the time or resources to run through the phone numbers. We should go through it soon, though.”

Deep in thought, Michael paced the length of the room, his linked hands pressed to his lips. Pausing mid-stride, he said, “We need a plan. Now that we know that Steadman’s alive, all we need to do is to convince the authorities.”

“Not easy when you’re an escaped convict,” Lincoln pointed out. “I doubt they’ll listen to us.”

“We can get it to the press. Let them broadcast it,” Sara suggested.

“They’ll want to know where he is. And from the sounds of it, he’s probably halfway across the world by now,” Michael guessed, thumping the wall in frustration.

“We need to find him,” Lincoln said with a frown.

“I left him tied up, but someone would have found him by now, I think. So now they realise that we know he’s alive.”

“We need to find out-” A faint rumbling sound suddenly caught Michael’s attention, halting him mid-sentence. His senses went on the alert. Instantly, he held up his hands, signalling to the other three to stop talking. As they quietened down, Michael made out the sound of the engine of a car, which was seemingly coming closer. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Michael snapped his head towards Veronica. “Were you followed?”

She looked alarmed, her eyes wide in her face. “No,” she exclaimed, and then shook her head, obviously flustered. “I don’t know!”

A feeling of trepidation grew in the pit of his stomach. It sounded like someone had been trailing Veronica or Sara, and had now found all of them. Exchanging an anxious glance with Lincoln, Michael remarked gravely, “This is not good.”

Lincoln nodded, his expression grim.

“Maybe they’re just passer-bys,” Sara suggested nervously.

“We can’t take the chance,” Michael stressed.

“Let’s just see if it comes closer,” Lincoln said, gesturing for Michael to follow him to the front of the cabin.

Just as they were about to reach the window, a flash of light from the distance swung towards them.

Michael and Lincoln immediately flattened themselves on either side of the door, their breaths suspended in their chests. Sara and Veronica dropped to the floor, gasping in surprise. Michael darted a glance at the back door, wondering if they would be able to make it there without being detected.

“The kitchen,” Michael ordered urgently to Veronica and Sara. “Now!”

The two women stared at him for a second, their anxiety clear in their widened eyes. And then without a single word, they got up and dashed to the kitchen.

When Sara and Veronica had left the room, Michael peered out of the side of the window. It was now completely dark. Whoever that was out there had switched the headlights off, fuelling Michael’s suspicions. “They’re out in the front,” Michael said grimly as his looked at his brother, then at the kitchen.

His eyes landed on their bike. “Linc, we need to get Veronica and Sara out first.”

Lincoln followed his glance. “We can’t all fit on the bike, Mike,” he pointed out worriedly.

“I know. But three can fit. You go with them.”

Lincoln’s eyes flashed. “No,” he refused vehemently.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Michael let out a frustrated exclamation. “We don’t have time for this, Linc,” he snapped impatiently.

Unperturbed by Michael’s tone, Lincoln retorted, “You take Veronica and Sara with you and go on the bike.”

 

“You’re the one on death row, Linc. You can’t afford to be caught.” Michael inhaled loudly, then in a harder voice, he said, “Linc, please. We don’t have time to argue about this.”

“I’m not going to leave you behind, Mike,” his brother declared heatedly.

“You’re not leaving me behind,” Michael said in exasperation as he pulled Lincoln along with him to the kitchen. “Come on,” he urged, grabbing their two backpacks on the way.

“What’s going on?” Veronica asked, her eyes wide in apprehension as her glance landed on them one after another.

“We need to leave,” Michael said as he wheeled the bike to the back door. “Linc! Get on.”

“I said I’m not leaving you behind. Veronica and Sara can take the bike and go.”

“No!” Veronica and Sara exclaimed in unison.

Ignoring them, Michael stressed, “It’s too risky with just the two of them. They’ll be charged with withholding information if they get caught.”

Lincoln looked torn between staying and leaving.

Michael understood his dilemma. Lincoln could either go with Veronica and Sara, hence saving three of them. Or Lincoln could stay with him and make a run of it, leaving Veronica and Sara to fend for themselves. It was a hard decision for Lincoln to make, but Michael had no intention of letting him choose.

“You know you can’t leave the Veronica and Sara by themselves, Linc. Go with them. They need you more than I do, and I have your number. I’ll call,” he said calmly, shoving the two backpacks containing their money into his brother’s hands.

“No, Michael!” Sara protested, her stricken eyes landing on Lincoln for support.

But Lincoln nodded slowly. Taking a step to close the gap between them, he gave Michael a fierce hug. “Be careful.” Then he released him and took the bike from him.

“Michael, we’re not going without you,” Sara exclaimed stubbornly, clamping her hands around his arm.

“The more time we spend arguing about this, the higher chance it would be for us to get caught,” he said, looking into her eyes. Then, lowering his head, he brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Go. I’ll find you all as soon as I can.”

“But-”

“GO!” Michael yelled urgently, detaching her hand from his arm. They were coming closer. He could sense it.

“Michael,” Sara called with, her eyes large in panic as Veronica pulled her towards the bike.

“I’ll catch up,” he quickly said. “Get them out of here, Linc!”

Michael could see the reluctance in Lincoln’s expression. “You’ve got to go,” he insisted again.

Lincoln’s jaw tightened. And then he spun around and straddled the bike. “Get on,” he ordered to Veronica and Sara as he gunned the engine.

“We can’t just leave,” Sara protested angrily as Veronica climbed on behind Lincoln. She gave Michael as pleading look. “Not without you.”

“You’ll have to. I can take care of myself, Sara. Go with Veronica and Linc. I’ll be right behind you,” he said. He cupped her face in his hands and planted a quick, desperate kiss on her lips before he helped her onto the bike behind Veronica.

Smacking his brother on the back, Michael ordered, “Go!”

As the bike roared off, he dashed out of the door into the forest surrounding the cabin.

His heart pounded wildly, his breath exploding from his lungs at a frantic rate as his feet skimmed the forest floor. Twigs snapped under his feet and tree branches whipped past, grazing his face, but Michael hardly felt any of it. His main focus was to run as far as he could, as fast as he could, away from the cabin.

The sound of a single shot startled him, making him stumbled. As he righted himself, he tossed a quick glance over his shoulders, but could not make out anything in the dark. That worried him. How was he supposed to know where to run when he had no idea where his enemies were?

Another shot cracked through the air, spurring Michael on. He forced himself to remain calm, but his heart continued to hammer rapidly and the adrenaline continued to course wildly through him. His feet pounded the ground as he raced in a random direction. He did not know where he was going but he just had to run.

Then Michael thought that he heard a voice. A male voice.

They were coming closer. He must have been running in circles, or else he would have been much further ahead considering the head start he had on them. Grimacing, he slowed down, searching for somewhere to hide until his eyes caught sight of a tree with very dense foliage around it.

He needed to get to the tree. He might have a chance if he could hide up there until his pursuers left.

A shuffling sound from behind startled him, and he tensed reflexively.

Suddenly searing pain exploded at the back of his head.

And then everything faded out to darkness.

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