"I'm not here to hurt you, Lisa."

It couldn't have been his voice. Not the man who had tortured her so readily aboard that red eye flight, who had mocked her tears, who had ripped her from her home. And yet all she heard was his voice, shrouded in what sounded like compassion, rattling around in her mind like some sort of mystical lie, wishful thinking incarnate. He had seemed to care so much before that flight. He showed the same faux compassionate side, the side she was so convinced was a manipulative lie. The memory of the room, and the men, and Logan were a twisted blur, but Lisa was certain she had heard his voice.

Lisa opened her eyes slowly, wincing as the afternoon sun burned her eyes. She curled up on her side on a large bed she didn't recognize, in a room that looked unfamiliar. The events of the previous day flashed through her mind as she took in her surroundings.

Her kitchen, Jackson, Cynthia, the car ride, Logan, the two men advancing on her. She shuddered as flashes of the two men towering over her filled her mind with abject terror. Her mind went blank and Lisa wondered frantically what had happened. She propped herself up on her forearms too quickly, and winced as a brown haze appeared at the edge of her eyelids. She blinked several times and inhaled deeply, trying to clear her head. A pounding dizziness threatened to overtake her.

She clutched the edge of the bed and looked around the room uncertainly. Her lower body was half obscured by the dark green duvet. Her shoulder felt stiff, and Lisa felt the scratch of rough fabric as she moved her arm forward. She examined her shoulder and was horrified to see a large bandage taped to it. Lisa felt sick at the thought of Jackson touching her while she slept.

That bastard.

As if invading her life again weren't enough to torment her. There was the soft patter of shoes on a hard floor, and Lisa quickly glanced toward the source of the noise. She quelled the nausea and panic that threatened to overtake her and quickly lied back down. She shut her eyes as the footsteps drew nearer, desperate to avoid whatever sick confrontation Jackson had planned for her. Part of her wanted to spring up from the bed and tackle him. She wanted to wrestle him to the floor. She wanted to punch him, kick him, kick in his teeth, torture him like he tortured her…kill him. No.

No, she didn't want to kill anyone. No one. But she wanted so badly to harm him. But she knew that beneath her wild bravado, she couldn't beat Jackson with strength alone. It would take strategy.

Lisa's heart hammered wildly in her chest as she felt the weight of the mattress shift disproportionately behind her. She could feel the warmth from his body as his rock hard abdomen brushed against her half-exposed body.

She tried to stay calm as his hand found the small of her back, and gently edged her blouse up.

Please don't. Please don't.

Lisa pleaded silently to whoever would listen, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. To her relief, she felt his hand stop once her blouse was pushed up to her neck. She shuddered slightly as his fingers prodded the gauze around her shoulder. Was he really checking her wound?

After what seemed like a slow, agonizing eternity, Jackson finished examining the wrappings and Lisa prayed he would leave. Her wishes went unanswered however, as he lingered beside her, stroking her back gently. She felt his body lean forward against hers, and suddenly felt his hot breath on her neck. His cologne invaded her nostrils, and she fought the urge to crinkle her nose in disgust at his closeness, at his scent, at him.

She swallowed hard as his lips pressed tenderly against her vulnerable neck. Lisa tried to think of anything else in that moment. Her mind flooded with images of her job, her home, Cynthia, her father. All of the images seemed like fragments of a sped-up movie she couldn't pause.

Jackson moved his lips slowly up her neck, as he planted several surprisingly soft kisses on her exposed flesh. He inhaled deeply as his lips reached her ear, and he paused. She felt excitement and fear pound wildly in her chest as he lingered there for several moments. His soft breath tickled her ear and she wanted to scream at him, slap him away.

"I'll never let you go." Jackson whispered softly, as he tucked a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

It was almost too much. Lisa wanted to jump up, to scream at him to stop, to tackle him, anything. She tried to think of anything but his touch, anything but the nausea pounding in her stomach, and the adrenaline coursing through her body. His fingers lightly stroked her hair and she wanted to slap him away. To her immense relief, his hands slowly and finally moved away from her face.

The mattress gave a soft squeak as he stood up. Lisa heard his feet hitting the floor, slowly echoing away from her. There was a click of a door opening, then closing, and Lisa felt a frantic energy course through her veins as she heard the sound of water falling from a shower.

This was her chance.

Lisa peeled herself from beneath the covers, taking great care to keep her footsteps quiet. She quietly stepped onto the soft carpet, and almost toppled over. Her legs felt weak and rubbery beneath her. She briefly wondered how long she had been asleep. She balanced herself against the bed and twirled her ankles quickly in small circles. This was no time for her body to betray her again. She needed to move now.

Lisa forced her shaking legs to carry her away from the bed and out of the bedroom. She listened carefully, making sure she could still hear the water running. Her balance improved as blood rushed back to her tired legs. She quietly tiptoed toward what looked like the entrance to the room and paused to listen for Jackson. The water was still running.

Lisa gently grasped the door handle and slowly pulled at it. The door didn't move. Lisa tried again with a bit more force but the door did not budge.

Locked. Damn it.

Of course it was locked. Jackson was clearly taking every precaution to keep her imprisoned in this place. For what, Lisa had no idea. Still, Jackson couldn't have stripped the room of everything useful.

Lisa quietly stepped into the kitchen, and scoured it for anything that she could use as a weapon. She tugged gently at a large drawer handle and frowned. It was locked. She tried another but it was locked too. Desperately, she moved toward the cabinets, and tugged on the handles, but found they too had been secured. Jackson was clearly taking no chances.

Shit.

Lisa pranced quietly back to the bedroom. The water was still running, but Lisa knew her escape window was rapidly closing. She stepped past the bed and pressed her forehead against the panoramic window. The ground beneath them looked miniscule, and Lisa wondered how high up she was. The area a few stories beneath her was angled in a pyramid pattern. If she could somehow make it to the top of the pyramid, she could hypothetically slide down the rest of the way and escape this place.

Lisa frantically glanced around and noticed a long series of what looked like decorative metal girdles sticking out from the sides of the windows. They ran down the length of the building, and Lisa quickly glanced from the girdles to the ground, silently mapping an escape route.

It was a stupid plan. It was incredibly reckless, and Lisa was terrified of heights. But the thought of spending one more minute in this place with this man terrified her even more. Lisa was desperate. She knew Jackson would emerge from the bathroom within minutes. He already tormented her dreams nightly, and now he seemed intent on tormenting her waking life. Lisa looked down from the window and felt her body shudder involuntarily in fear. She hated heights, and it was a long way to the ground, but the metal girdles looked sturdy, and Lisa was certain if she just stayed calm, she could likely shimmy her way down to the glass pyramid.

What were 5 minutes of fear compared to forever with this psycho?

"I'll never let you go."

Lisa felt her skin crawl as his words echoed through her mind. He wouldn't let her go. And once he noticed she was awake, Lisa doubted she'd get such a clear opportunity for escape again. Jackson would undoubtedly kill her eventually. If she died scaling this building, then at least she would die on her own terms.

Lisa swallowed hard and pushed the thoughts from her mind. She couldn't afford to think like that right now. She would survive.

I will be ok.

She inhaled deeply and looked around the room for anything she could use to break open the window. Jackson would undoubtedly hear the ruckus, so she knew she would have to climb out fast. Her eyes settled on a lamp perched on his dark wooden nightstand.

Lisa curled her fingers around the cool ceramic base and quietly unplugged it from the wall. She looked down again and tried to quell the dread that pounded through her. She glanced backward suddenly as she heard the water shut off. It was now or never.

Lisa held the lamp in one hand and swung it toward the large pane. She cried out in surprise and pain as strong fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist, and another hand twisted her free arm behind her back.

"No!" Lisa cried as Jackson pressed her into the glass. She could feel hot water droplets from his wet skin dribble down her back.

His breath was hot on her neck as he hissed violently into her ear. "Going somewhere, Leese?"