Chapter Seventeen - I love you

Well,don't make me close one more door
I don't wanna hurt anymore
Stay in my arms if you dare
Or must I imagine you there
Don't walk away from me...
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you

The weekend past and no one had heard from Mia since the breakup of her and Zac. Robyn had convinced Zac that whenever Mia breaks up with one of her long-term boyfriends she dissapears for days without contacting anyone. As much as Robyn disliked this aspect of Mia she has had to put up with it for over 6 years and has learned to deal with it. This was all new to Zac. For the whole time they were together Zac never went a day without speaking to Mia, one way or another. As his brothers and him practised in the Studio, Zac's mind was elsewhere. His phone was layed out infront of him and his eyes were glued to it. He wanted the familiar ring tone of Nicki Minaj - your love, which he personalised just for Mia. He sighed a deep moan as he placed his hands on his face. He called her at least 6 times in the last 3 hours only to find her phone had been switched off.
All of a sudden he heard a noise from his phone 'shawty ima tell you once that your the illest" he wasted no time in answering. 'Mia? Hello!? Where are you' he heard sobs and blubbering against the phone. 'Mia what's the matter' then he heard an unfamilar voice say 'Say it' and a whacking sound, like a slap round the face. The cry of Mias scream jerked Zac into standing up.
'Zac' Mia whispered into the phone. 'Zac, I've been kidnapped. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But they want 10 million dollars in exchange of my freedom.' She carried on but was crying hysterically. All Zac could do was listen in horror as his ex girlfriend told him the details of her capture. 'And if you don't have the money by the end of tomorrow, they're...Zac...they're going to kill me' her voice quivered as she spoke the words. A different voice spoke into the phone, clearly disguised with auto tune to make them sound different. 'You ever want to see your pretty girl again, you'll do as we say. No police. No funny buisness. Just follow the rules and no one gets hurt.' Zac, still in shock spoke up 'I swear if you have hurt her, I'll..' He was interrupted 'you'll do what? I have a gun to her head as we speak, one little movement of my finger and..BANG' a whimper from Mia sent shivers down his spine. 'Do we have an agreement?' When Zac heard the revolver click from safety mode it felt like a dagger in his heart. 'Yes, yes I'll have the money for you by the end of the day.' Zac jotted down the time and place he was to give the kidnapper the loot. All he could think about was emptying his bank account and giving it to them straight away. But first, he had to tell Robyn and the guys what's going on.
Robyn hung her head in-between her legs clasping her hands together and sighing softly after hearing the story from Zac.
'Why is this happening to us? first me, now Mia. Is this what our life is always going to be like? Constantly in danger because we're dateing a couple of band members.?' Everyone was silent when Isaac got out his phone to call his wife. He wanted her to be safe, for all he knew, she could be next. Once he confirmed that her and the kids were safe at his mothers house he flipped down his phone and turned to Zac. 'We have to get the police involved' he said with his wise voice. Zac stood there shaking his head 'No way! The kidnapper said no funny business, I'm going to get the money, like now' He turned on his heel and made his way to the door. Taylor, snapped out of his thoughts and followed him. Noticing him, Zac turned and said 'no, this is something I want to do on my own!' He said beginning to yell. Taylor looked in confusion. 'Why? Why on earth would you want to be alone right now? We're all in this together and we have got to save her' Taylor saod looking around at Robyn. Zac replied with a simple answer 'your not the one responsible for her.' With that, Taylor sighed and nodded his head. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a seat next to Robyn. 'Be safe, Zac" Robyn said with tears in her eyes. Zac exhaled deeply and made his way to his car.
His thoughts were all over the place. He kept hearing Mia's screams and crys and felt completely responsible. With her around he could always keep an eye on her and knew she was safe around people he trusted. Now she was afraid and alone. He wished he said one thing to her. Three words that would mean the world to her. He shook his head, realising how stupid he had been.
As he stood outside the Hilton hotel down town he looked up at the tall building and let out a deep breath pursing his lips whilst doing so. He was told by the kidnappers that in pigeon hole 466 there would be note for him with further instructions. As people brushed past him casually through the hotel lobby Zac stood there waiting to be seen by the concierge.

‘Hey, I’m Zac Hanson. I believe there is something for me in pigeon hole..466’ Zac said looking down at his sheet of paper and back up at the man in the ridiculous tie.

‘Right you are, Mr Hanson’ the concierge said taking the envelope from its place and handing it to Zac. ‘Have a lovely day’ he said with an uneasy smile on his face. Zac didn’t respond and took the envelope and tore it open, moving out of the way of the front desk. Inside he found a room key and a note saying ‘We’re waiting. Tic toc.’ Zac immediately turned on his heel and made his way to the elevator. The calming tune that played in the lift just made Zac even more anxious then he was. He finally reached the 12^th floor and ran down the hall, looking for room 201.  He sprinted to the door and without hesitation put the key in the lock and swung the door open. What he found broke his heart almost instantly. Mia was in the middle of the room tied to a chair, like a common hostage. Her face was blotchy with tear stains and the black dress she left Zac in had been torn in various places. She lifted her head drearily. The sight of Zac made her  sigh in relief.

‘Zac...’ she whispered through a broken voice.

‘Oh god, look what they’ve done to you’ Zac said rushing over to untie her and then helping her stand up.

‘You’re here..You came for me’ Mia draped her arms across his broad shoulders and then clasped her hands around his face.

He took a moment to take in her beauty and took in a deep breath. ‘I love you’ Zac said with tears in his eyes and brought Mia to his lips and kissed her with such passion. He continued ‘I would do anything to make sure you were safe Mia. I’d die for you.’ Hearing these words brought Mia to close her eyes and smile.

‘I wanted to hear that for so long Zac. Maybe not under these circumstances. But I love you too Zac.’ After she said this Zac realised they were still in danger and before he could react he heard the door to the room creaking shut. He reverted his eyes to a bald, big man dressed in black.

‘So glad you could join us, Mr Hanson’ he smiled and his double chin wobbled as he chuckled to himself. Instinctively Zac stood in front of Mia to protect her.

‘I have your money.’ Zac said coldly and chucked the messenger bag towards him. He watched as the big man walked up to it and opened it up. He looked through to inspect it was all there. Once he had counted the money he dialled a number on his cell phone and began to talk. ‘Yeah, it’s all here. Mmhm. Mhm. No there was no trouble. Plan 3b? If thats what you want’ He slammed his phone shut and smiled at the couple who clung onto eachother.

‘Now, i’m in a bit of a dilemma here. I’m meant to kill you both, right here, right now’ he said taking his gun out of his belt and scratching his head with it. ‘...But i just got this suit dry cleaned, so if you could be so kind and not make a fuss, you’d make my life so much easier’ He said grinning cocking his gun and pointing it towards Zac.

‘WAIT! Don’t shoot him’ Mia said pulling herself infront of Zac.

‘It doesn’t bother me which one of you I shoot first.’ And with that he shot his gun in their direction and Mia and Zac instantly held onto each other. They just about dodged the bullet as it kissed the side of Zac’s arm.

‘Your a bad shot’ Zac said grinning and grabed a paper weight from the desk next to him. The hit man didn’t have time to react and shoot again and watched as Zac lobbed it at his head. He fell to the ground in pain and passed out instantly.

‘Let’s get the fuck out of here’ Mia said grabbing the money bag. She looked at the man’s body on the floor and hoped he wasn’t dead. Only so he could feel the pain when she stepped and kicked really hard on his genitalia area.

‘Come on, babe. Please .’ Zac said as he dragged Mia away from her raging kicking. The two left the hotel and called the police, to say that there was a man in 201 they needed to pick up.

--

‘What do you mean there wasn’t a body there?’ Zac said  to the police officer with rage in his voice. ‘I saw my girlfriend kick his lights out after i threw a very heavy object at him!’

‘And we have prints and evidence from the room to prove who he is, sir’ the officer said to calm down Zac. ‘We’re on the case to find him and his boss.’ And with that Zac sat back down next to Mia and waited for the officer to finish.

‘Now, we all know that both of you girls have been threatened in one way or another’ he directed this comment and Robyn and Mia who sat there holding one another’s hands. ‘we are doing our best to keep both of you safe. But i’m afraid that you do put yourselves in danger by being with these two gentleman.’ He said pointing at both Taylor and Zac.

‘What are you saying? I break up with my fiancée and Mia to leave the man she loves?’ Robyn said sarcastically looking over at Taylor who smirked at her comment.

‘Both of you, I must ask...are you willing to stay with these men even though your lives are in grave danger?’ the officer said bringing his hand to his face to play with his large moustache.

‘Of course’ Mia said and Robyn nodded along with her reply.

‘If some people did their Job right, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!’ Taylor said standing from the uncomfortable chair and made his way to the door. Robyn rolled her eyes and turned to the officer. ‘Thanks for all your help, but I think we’re done for now.’ The officer nodded and let the couples go. He had informed them that there would be 24 hour security on watch. Like it helped so much before.

--

On the way back to Mia and Zac’s apartment, Mia solemnly rested her head on the back of the car seat and closed her eyes. When she was away from Zac, she had missed every small detail about him. From how quiet he could get when he drove in the car, to his bad taste in music that would always blare out of his stereo. She smiled as she heard NSYNC play in the background of her thoughts. Since she was rescued, Mia had been on cloud 9. Zac had said something to her that made her so happy and content in life. She turned to him and placed her hand on his lap. He looked up at her and smiled.

‘You meant what you said didn’t you?’ Mia said looking out of her car window.

‘Hmm? Whats that sweetpea?’ Zac said looking straight ahead of him.

‘What you said in the hotel room...did you mean it?’ Mia said with a slight worry in her voice. She watched as his eyes reacted to her words and soon they were on hers and locked in a deep stare. He cracked a smile and replied ‘Of course’ and nothing more needed to be said. That night Zac and Mia had very passionate sex. She was shocked when Zac whispered in her ear afterwards ‘I prefer making love then sex’ she giggled and smacked him jokingly and the two fell asleep in each other’s arms. Finally the two had moved on from their childish games and their relationship had turned serious. I hear wedding bells. Don’t you?

INDEX or Chapter 18