I May Have To Steal You
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Thirty-six
"How are you feeling today, dad?" Lisa questioned as her and Jackson entered the hospital room. Joe's eyes flew wide open at her voice.
"Much better. I can't wait to get out of this room and go home," said Joe, smiling at his daughter. "Did you make it home okay?"
Jackson and Lisa shared a worried look before facing Joe. They had discussed what to say beforehand.
"Yes, except for a small incident in the parking lot," Jackson spoke, his voice calm and his face expressionless. He had slipped back into manager mode. "Nothing that Lisa couldn't handle."
"Lisa?" questioned Joe in amazement.
"Yes, Lisa. She saved my ass in the parking lot. If she hadn't been there, well, let's just say I wouldn't be talking to you right now."
"Leese? What happened?"
"Jackson was attacked while helping me into the car. I woke up and they were about to kill him. So I shot them to save him. I helped Jackson into the car and took him home and tended to his head wound," Lisa told Joe, careful to leave out details. They had decided to tell him the truth but that did not mean he had to know all the details.
"How badly were you wounded?" Joe asked Jackson, surprised to hear of his injury. The younger man looked perfectly fine to his glasses-covered eyes.
"Bad enough to pass out," Jackson admitted and showed Joe the gradually fading bump upon his head—a reminder of last night's fight.
"Ouch. I'd say we're even now," joked Joe, referring to his healing bullet wound.
Lisa shot Jackson a warning look. Jackson and Joe got along fairly well, but Jackson was still known to make snarky comments. The last thing she needed to deal with was the two of them fighting because of some nasty comment Jackson made. She understood that it was part of Jackson's nature, but she still did not approve of it.
"Lisa! Jackson! What a pleasant surprise!" cried Wendy in joy as she entered the room, breaking Lisa's attention.
"Hi, mom," said Lisa as Wendy crushed her in a hug.
"Hey, sweetie, do you mind leaving the guys here and talking with me?" Wendy asked, looking her daughter straight in the eye.
"No, not at all," replied Lisa before slipping over to Jackson's side and giving him a little kiss. "Now be behave."
"If I'm a good dog—does that mean I'll get a treat?" inquired Jackson, raising an eyebrow at Lisa while smirking at her. He enjoyed the dog joking.
"We'll see."
"Come on, Leese," called Wendy and Jackson reluctantly released Lisa from his hold. He had grabbed her when she kissed him in an attempt to keep her from leaving right away. After the parking lot attack, Jackson worried about her safety though he would not admit it. He did not want to lose her.
"I'll be back," she whispered and followed Wendy out of the room.
Jackson sighed deeply and returned to talking with Joe.
"What's going on, mom?" Lisa questioned as they wandered down the stark-white hallways of the hospital. The smell of antiseptic filled the stuffy air.
"I'm just worried."
"About?"
"You and Jackson," sighed Wendy, unable to look at Lisa.
"Why would you be worried about us?" Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Wendy rarely showed her concern about Lisa. Wendy rarely showed concern about anything.
"I know that you are a good match, but I worry about how his job is affecting your lives. Leese, you couldn't even get through your wedding without problems! Are you really going to live like this everyday—wondering who might get hurt or killed by his job—or do you have something else in mind?"
"Mom, I love Jackson and his job was never part of my decision," said Lisa, shocked by her mother's words. Was Wendy questioning her sanity?
"It should have been. What happens if one day Jackson never comes back? Or you are attacked at home by yourself?"
"Mom, my life's in danger whether I'm with Jackson or not," said Lisa, trying to remain calm. What was her mother trying to get at? Did she want Lisa and Jackson to separate?
"Lisa, I think it would be safer if you disappeared for a while and thought things over. If Jackson loves you, then he'll understand," suggested Wendy, finally getting to her point. "I just don't want to see you hurt."
"You think I'm crazy, don't you? You think that I made a mistake when I stuck with Jackson after everything. You think that I'm insane because I married him and am carrying his child!" cried Lisa, upset. How could her mom speak like this? How could she suggest that Lisa leave Jackson? If that did not say that her mother thought she was insane—then what did?
"What?" asked Wendy, caught off-guard by Lisa's last statement.
"You didn't know?"
"No," said Wendy, shaking her head. "I had no idea."
"I love him, mom. I'm not leaving him."
"It's okay. I guess I overreacted," apologized Wendy, still shocked that Lisa was pregnant.
Lisa nodded. She had been shocked when she had learned the news herself. But, she had begun to think that Jackson was dead when the doctor told her. Wendy knew that they were both alive and married so why was she surprised?
"Miss Reisert? I mean Mrs. Rippner," stuttered a man, waking Lisa up the following morning from her impromptu mid-morning nap at the hotel desk. She had been up most of the night worrying about her safety and Jackson's.
"Yes?" she said, blinking the sleep from her eyes.
"There's someone here to see you," he said, jerking his head towards the direction of one of the meeting rooms. "He's requested a meeting with you."
"Have Cynthia watch the desk," Lisa muttered as she headed towards the room, high heels clicking against the tile floor. Who could want to speak with her? Jackson would have just snuck up behind her. And her father was still in the hospital.
Lisa entered the meeting room, feeling for the pen in her sleeve. She hoped that she would not need to fight someone at her work, but she was always prepared.
Inside the room sat a well-dressed man who Lisa could tell was wealthy and used to getting his way. Every strand of his light-colored hair was perfectly slicked back in place and he smiled at her, displaying straight, shinny white teeth. Lisa was instantly reminded of Jackson's boss back in Texas. This man looked like the type of man who could afford to throw good money away on assassinations and spend his extravagant free time organizing them.
"Lisa Rippner, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you," spoke the man, his voice smooth as the finest silk.
"Who are you?" questioned Lisa warily, starting to slide the pen into her palm discretely. She was not going to be caught unawares by this stranger. She could sense the danger emanating from him.
"A friend of your husband's. At least I hope to be. He would hate to have me as an enemy."
Lisa shivered. This was not a good meeting. She had a bad feeling about this man. He knew her and clearly knew Jackson. He left threats unspoken, which allowed the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach to worsen and she found herself unable to keep her breakfast down any longer. Lisa lunged towards the black wire wastepaper basket and began vomiting profusely into it.
"Mrs. Rippner," the man continued once Lisa was silent for a moment. "I'm not here to harm you. Trust me, if that were my intention, you would already be dead. Now I need you to listen to me."
"Who the hell are you?" Lisa questioned again, turning her head to glare openly at him from her position on the floor.
"I'm your husband's new boss. My name's not important. I have a message for Jackson though. Give him this envelope—no peeking—and tell him to call me. Everything is explained inside."
"What do I look like to you? A goddamn gopher?" snapped Lisa, refusing to take the envelope from his hand.
"No," replied the man, flicking a blade out and pressing it against a vein in her slender neck. "You like a person who should use their brain if they wish to live long enough to see their husband. Now take the damn envelope before I kill you."
Lisa swallowed hard and took the proffered envelope. The man smiled and the blade disappeared. He strode out of the meeting room without another word whilst Lisa returned to vomiting into the wastepaper basket. He was sickening and the unspoken threats he made disgusted her. She knew that he would have had no qualms with killing her and leaving her body as a message to Jackson.
She was sick of being threatened. Lisa finally understood why her mother worried so much about her and had tried to convince her to disappear. She could not even go to work for one day without her life being in danger. It was not Jackson's fault nor was it hers. It was the assholes that decided to ruin their lives. She could not help but wonder how much longer she could take the unneeded stress that hit men brought to her life.
"Lisa?" called Cynthia; her voice worried and surprised as the redhead stuck her head into the meeting room. "What's wrong?"
Lisa looked up from the remains of her breakfast and tried to smile at her friend. "Nothing. I just think that I'm going to have to give Jackson a call and yell at him."
"What for?"
"Several things—starting with my breakfast. I told him that it tasted funny," lied Lisa as she gestured towards the wastepaper basket.
"Do you want me to watch the desk?" offered Cynthia. "And give maintenance a call?"
"That'd be great," said Lisa with a sincere smile. It was great to have a good friend like Cynthia at her work. Cynthia never asked questions whereas other people would. She never felt the need to question Lisa ever since the red eye.
"Okay," said Cynthia as she left the meeting room and Lisa slipped her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Jackson's number.
"Rippner," answered Jackson lazily. He hated his cell phone but he always answered it because he knew that Lisa would have his head if she were calling him.
"Would you care to explain why your boss visited me at work today?" Lisa questioned, her tone conveying how upset and pissed off she was.
"My boss?" replied Jackson, clearly confused. Last time he had checked, he had no boss.
"Yes, Jackson! Your boss!" yelled Lisa, trying to keep her wacky emotions under control.
"Where are you, Leese? I'll come and get you," said Jackson, worried about her safety. If his boss was brave enough to approach Lisa and rattle her at work, there was no telling what he would do.
"In a meeting room at the hotel. Use my car."
"Why yours?"
"I doubt that he knows my car. It might help dispel tracking of us. I know that we're being watched," said Lisa, managing to think clearly.
Jackson's blue eyes widened in realization as he jumped into Lisa's car. His boss was up to something and the implications were not known and could not be good…
Author's Notes:
Sorry that I took so long to update. Hope everyone likes it! I'm going to try to update early in the morning when I get up.
Reviewers!
Captain Oblivious – I would too! It'd would awesome to have someone who knows everything that you like. Thanks for the review!
Julia.E.Gallagher – Yes they are! If Lisa couldn't shoot a gun—they'd be in deep shit. Thanks!
Laer4572 – Thanks! I'm getting better!
be11011 – Thanks!