I am so sorry that it has been ages since I've last updated...life and school are in the way of my writing, but isn't later better than never? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I would love to get constructive reviews (they keep me from becoming a total lazyass writer). Enjoy!

It was almost the long weekend and the beginning of Lisa's first vacation since the airplane incident. After months, Cynthia and her father finally convinced her to extend the long weekend by a few days to get some extra rest. She had three hours left before she would drive to a spa resort for a five-day holiday. She was surprised at the fact that she was actually looking forward to leaving her work and her pretend social life behind. Lisa just hoped that nothing would prevent her from leaving the hotel before rush hour. No guest complaints. No system crash. And no Jackson…or so she tried to convince herself.

While absently playing with the pen set on her mahogany desk, Lisa thought about how she felt like she was being watched ever since her encounter with him nine days ago. Maybe it was just paranoia, but she nevertheless made sure to keep her blinds closed at all times at home. She even made sure to always change in the bathroom without lights on, where she hoped that even Jackson could not observe her. Lisa was just about to consider changing her see-through shower curtains to blue opaque ones when she heard someone knock at her door.

Since she was in her office at the back of reception, only hotel staff could come to her. As she got up to open door, she prayed that there were no problems with the group of guys who were here for a bachelor party. Yet somehow she knew that there was something else going on. She opened the wooden door and was surprised to see Detective Richards. Actually, it was more than just surprise - it was pure shock. Detective Richards was the officer in charge of her rape case and she had not seen him in over two years.

"Hello Lisa," the detective said tentatively. He was a tall and slim man. His toned body made him seem young, but his eyes and hair gave away his seniority. The dark circles and the graying hair showed a man who saw too much violence on a daily basis. Since she reminded him of his younger sister who had also been raped when he was but a teenager, Lisa's case had always bothered him. He never forgave himself for not finding the man that had hurt her, just like he never forgave himself for any unresolved case. After the Keefer incident, he tried to find a link between Lisa's rapist and the man that she called Jackson, but to no avail. But this morning, he found the rapist.

"Hi Detective Richardson," Lisa replied with wide eyes. Her heart was beating fast. She had no idea why he would meet her at the hotel, unless if he had a new clue about the man who raped her. The thought itself made her feel overwhelmed, but she quickly composed herself and invited the detective to take a seat on the chair facing her.

"I'm going to cut the pleasantries and get straight to the point Lisa. I received a letter this morning with no return address and no fingerprints. It said that there was a gift for me at an address on Cider Street, so I went to check the place out. I found a man chained to a pipe in the basement." Richardson stopped speaking for an instant, trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say. "He had pictures of seventeen girls posted on his wall, and you were one of them."

"Did he have a cross and skull tattooed on his chest?" Lisa asked a bit too loudly and a bit too coldly.

"Yeah, he did. It was exactly like the one you had sketched for us. Lisa, I think we have the man who raped you." He watched Lisa release her breath slowly, and saw a glimpse of pure rage. Not that he blamed her, but he saw violence in her eyes. "The thing is that he was in a bad shape when we found him, in a really bad shape."

"What happened?"

"Someone stabbed him seventeen times. Nothing serious enough to kill him, but enough to make him suffer and almost bleed to death. Somebody punished him. The bastard deserves worse, but he begged me to lock him up. He said he was sorry he ever touched Leese and none of his victims have any name close to Leese, except you."

Lisa slowly sat down after seeing the Detective off. She did not understand what he was trying to tell her, or more like she did not want to understand what he was implying. But when she put the fact that someone had almost killed the man that had raped her and that there was only one person who called her Leese, she could not lie to herself.

Lisa thought back to how she was about to tell Detective Richardson about Jackson, but just as she was opening her mouth to explain what had happened to her at the club, she changed her mind. It was as if she needed to protect him. She instead made some sob story about how she had completely cut off from all her friends after being raped, so she highly doubted that anyone would help her, especially after two years. She saw that detective Richardson was listening to her intently, but she also saw that he did not believe her completely.

Lisa closed her eyes and rested the back of her head on the chair. So many questions were flying around in her head. What was happening? Why did Jackson hurt the man that raped her? Why did he avenge her?

She exhaled loudly and opened her eyes. A quick glance at her compact mirror showed a lone tear traveling down her cheek. It also showed Lisa's half-smirk.

(a few hours earlier)

Jackson quickly glanced at his rear view mirror before turning left into the underground garage. He parked his black two-door Mercedes in his reserved spot next to his private elevator and went up to the top floor. His apartment was the only one on the floor so he was not worried about anyone seeing his bloodied clothes.

He went to the washroom and started a bath without even looking at himself in the mirror. He stripped out of his brand-name clothes and threw them in his fake fireplace. He never kept clothes that had "seen" violence. No point in having proof lying around the place, even though he doubted this apartment would ever be searched, and even if it did, he would be long gone.

Jackson dimmed the lights, entered the shower and closed his eyes. He thought about how long it had taken him to find the man who had raped Lisa. He did not even realize when finding the rapist became such a priority in his life. He just could not live knowing that there was a man roaming around free - one that had raped Lisa. His Leese. It infuriated him so much that the thought alone made his fists tremble with rage. Fortunately, being an assassin did have its advantages – he was able to find a person who knew a person who knew a person who was a serial rapist. All it took was the right interrogation technique and a bit of persuasion.

When Jackson finally found out his name and address, he could barely control his beast. He wanted to barge in and just strangle the rapist, but he knew better. He could not leave any evidence behind so he had to make a plan, like he always did. He also had to make sure that Lisa realized that this would be a gift for her. A gift to make her realize that he was the only man for her. Thankfully he was able to control his beast or else he would have killed that asshole the second he laid his eyes on him, instead of leaving him to be found by Detective Richardson.

Finished with his shower, Jackson wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the window of his room. He only had a few hours to finish packing and find Lisa. He had to make her belong to him for once and for all. There just was no other option.

Jackson sat in his car with his laptop open in his lap, hacked into the hotel surveillance system. He watched Lisa close the office door as Detective Richardson left and sit in her chair with her eyes closed. For a moment he was worried that she was upset that he found her rapist, but then he saw her smirk. That's my girl.

He observed her carefully for the next two hours. He watched how she seemed to be livelier, how she walked a bit quicker and how she looked around every few instants. Expecting to see me Leese? Jackson followed her every movement on his screen with the same obsession as he had before the airplane incident, but this time he did not question his feelings, he just allowed them to be. As she packed up her belongings and said bye to the hotel staff, he quickly closed his laptop and put it in his glove compartment. He drove soundlessly to the staff's parking lot and stopped a few cars away from Lisa's vehicle.

I told you I would steal you.