Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I don't really have any other comments at this point and time…just thanks! On to the chapter…
Chapter Three: Something's Wrong
Jackson could sense that something was off as soon as he pulled into the driveway. He had always prided himself on, well, everything pretty much, but especially on his impeccable instincts. There was something wrong. He stepped out of his Jaguar and let his eyes run a quick scan of his front yard. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but something definitely was. He decided to go in through the side door at the garage as opposed to the front door as he usually did. He saw that Lisa's car was tucked safely away in the garage as it usually was. He passed by it, running his hand along the bottom to feel for any loose or out of place wires at the same time checking the backseat for anything that didn't belong. When he didn't find anything, he stuck his key in the door lock with a shake of his head. Maybe he really was paranoid.
As soon as he walked through the door, reflexes kicked in and he hit the ground at the same time a bullet hurtled into the doorframe, barely missing his head. He drew the K-bar from its sheath attached to his ankle and leapt to his feet, knees bent in crouched ready position as his eyes landed on his would be attacker. It was Lisa. She was perched on the dining room table, her legs tucked under herself, pistol in hand. There was still smoke billowing from the barrel and it was aimed right between his eyes.
"Mommy!" came the terrified shriek of one of their daughters.
"Go back to bed, baby!" Lisa called without breaking eye contact with Jackson. "Mommy's just having a little talk with daddy."
Jackson straightened his stance, his pretty eyes narrowing into dangerous looking slits as he studied his wife. His grip tightened on his knife and he moved to take a step toward her with every intention of inserting the blade into some part of that pretty flesh of hers. He only got one foot forward when Lisa pulled back the hammer on the gun and he halted immediately. It was an unnecessary movement seeing that the gun was a semi automatic and didn't require cocking, she was just letting him know that if he came any closer, she would shoot him. He knew that she had missed him on purpose. His wife was a damn fine shot. Had she wanted to, she could have splattered his brains all over the eggshell colored wall behind him. She had just been giving him a friendly warning shot. Jackson popped his neck and tried to relax his shoulders, which was no easy feat considering the adrenaline that was rushing through his body at the moment. He was ready for action.
"What's up, Leese?" he said, flashing her the cocky little smirk that he was so famous for.
One corner of Lisa's mouth tipped upward in a smile. She knew him too well. He was trying his best to look relaxed and as though he weren't examining her from every angle, looking for a weak point from which he could attack…but his knuckles were white he was gripping the handle of his knife so hard. He was pissed. The tension that was mounting in the room was so thick, Lisa wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to breathe. If Jackson got hold of her, she knew that he wouldn't play around. He would be in it to do some serious physical damage. She did not lower the gun or break eye contact. She wasn't going to let him get out of her line of sight.
"Do you see the gun I'm holding?" she asked.
"Clearly." Jackson said, taking a step to the side.
Lisa moved with him, having positioned her legs so that she could easily pivot. She had changed from her work clothes into a pair of sweats and a tank top that gave her more freedom for movement. Again, she knew her husband well enough to know that he would begin to circle her like a shark. She needed to be able to maneuver if he came at her. All he needed to do was throw her off balance somehow and he had her. She wasn't going to let that happen. "I came home earlier and found it in the hands of our five year old daughter!"
It suddenly hit Jackson what it was that Lisa thought had happened and he looked more closely at the gun in her hand. It was black, not silver. He was suddenly once again down in a crouch, taking in every corner of what he could see of the house. "That's not you gun, is it?"
"Does it look like my gun? Don't be an ass, Jackson, you know it's not my gun."
"Leese, you know me. I don't own a gun."
His words slammed into Lisa like a slap in the face and she sprang at once from the table. Holding the gun out in front of her, she maneuvered herself to press her back against Jackson's.
"Jackson?" she said.
"Yes, babe." He replied, trying to peer around the corner into the kitchen.
"Someone was in our house."
There was a momentary pause as they both inspected the rooms of the house that were in their line of vision. Lisa's heart was pounding so hard, she was certain Jackson could hear it.
Then, Jackson spoke up. "Get the kids."
Lisa snapped into action, but as she moved to pass Jackson, he caught her by the elbow and forced her to face him. He pointed the tip of his dagger in the direction of the bullet hole in the wall, his clear blue eyes boring down into Lisa's. "We're gonna talk about that later."
"Fine." Lisa said through a clamped jaw as she tried to wrench her arm free from his vice like grip. "You're hurting me."
Jackson held tight for another second, then let her go with a slight shove. Lisa watched him run silently up the stairs to their bedroom to gather some things for the two of them before she made her way to Luhki and Mariah's room first, tucking the gun into the back of her waistband as she went. Both girls were wide awake and sitting up in Luhki's bed. The gunshot had startled them and Lisa regretted it. She would never be able to explain to them why she had felt the need to shoot at their father. They gaped at her as she walked in.
"Mommy?" Luhki asked, her voice small and frail sounding. In a heartbeat, Lisa was on her knees beside the bed with her arms wrapped around her two daughters. They were so small and defenseless and knew nothing about the dangers of the world that they had unwittingly been born into. Lisa fought back the tears that were welling up against the backs of her eyes, gave the girls a final squeeze and jumped to her feet.
"All right. Mommy needs you two to be big girls now, okay?" Lisa said, her voice trembling. Both round faces nodded. "Okay. Get up. Luhki, help Mariah put her shoes on while I pack a bag for you."
The two girls did as they were told; Mariah didn't even put up her usual struggle against the shoes. Once Lisa had thrown some of their clothes into an overnight bag, they followed her into Jack Jr.'s nursery and waited patiently by the door while Lisa packed a bag for him as well. Jackson suddenly appeared in the doorway with a duffle slung over his shoulder. Luhki looked up at him for reassurance and comfort, but Jackson was in survival mode and barely acknowledged her existence other than to count her present in his own mind. He moved over to Jack Jr.'s bed and lifted him from the mattress without waking him, then gestured to Lisa with a jerk of his head for her to go ahead of him. Lisa scooped Mariah into her arms and grabbed Luhki by the hand and they all began to make their way down the hall toward the garage.
"What's going on, daddy?" Luhki asked, looking over her shoulder at her father.
Jackson shushed her with his lips and whispered, "I'll tell you when you're older. Just be a good girl and stay with mommy."
Luhki's little mouth tightened into a white line as though she knew that he was holding out on her. Jackson smiled at how much she resembled himself at that moment. She was a bright kid. She really was the best bits of himself and Lisa mixed together. He had never thought that he would have the feelings that he had for his family. Hell, he had never thought that he would have a family. But, now that he had one, he would be damned before he let some dissatisfied client come in and hurt one hair on any of their heads. It was the hardest job he had ever had…being a dad.
Lisa grabbed her keys off the end table by the door that led to the garage and moved to open it when Jackson stepped in front of her to go out it first. If there was someone waiting for them out there, he wanted to be the first one that they saw. He needed to be in front of Lisa. He needed to shield her. He used his foot to nudge the door open and peeked his head out. There was no one there. The garage was completely void of life and sound and the heaviness of the silence was eerie. He stepped through the door to better gauge the room, tightening his grasp on his son as he did so. With another jerk of his head, he gestured for Lisa to come on out and the two of them set about getting Mariah and the still sleeping Jack Jr. into their car seats. Luhki crawled into her seat willingly and buckled herself in. Lisa handed Jackson her keys and climbed into the passenger seat, letting her face fall into her hands. She had never asked for this life. She didn't want her children to go through this. But what was the alternative? To give up the only man who had ever challenged her? The only man who had ever really protected her? The only man she had ever loved? No. No, she would fight for him until her dying day. That is, if he didn't kill her first for shooting a gun at his head.
She discreetly shoved the offending weapon into the glove compartment as Jackson peeled out of the driveway. It had just started to rain and the slick pavement caused the tires to momentarily lose traction and the SUV fishtailed as soon as it was out of the driveway. It took Jackson less that one second to get the car back under his control and straight on the road again. He spotted Lisa glaring at him from the corner of his eye but didn't acknowledge it. Lisa knew that he was purposely ignoring her, but she was too concerned with how reckless he was driving to give a damn about the consequences of speaking up about it to him.
"Slow down!" she hissed, turning in her seat to check on the kids, "Is this speed really necessary?"
Jackson didn't answer her. Mariah and Luhki were both giggling from the way the centrifugal force from Jackson making a turn too fast was throwing them around in their seats and Jack Jr. was still snoozing away happily. It took a hurricane to wake that child up. When she turned back to chastise Jackson further, she found that he was checking on the kids via the rearview mirror and she decided not to lecture him on what he already seemed to be concerned about.
She chewed on her bottom lips for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Jackson said shortly.
Lisa took a breath to steady herself, "I mean…about the gun."
Jackson looked at her for a brief second; so brief that Lisa could have very well imagined it. She didn't know how he was going to respond to her apology or if it had ever registered in his brain that she really was sorry for doing it. His mouth was drawn into a tight straight line, then he said, "You gotta do what you gotta do, right?"
That wasn't exactly the response that she had been wanting to hear.
"So, you gonna kill me later?" she asked, trying to make it come out as a joking question but her voice trembled from the very real fear that was churning about in the pit of her stomach.
It did not go unnoticed by Jackson. He looked over at his wife and saw the fear on her face. Too much had just come pouring into their lives all at once. She didn't need to be worrying about pissing him off right now. She had been protecting her children and that's all that there was to it. He put one hand on the back of her head and stroked her hair. "Nah," he said flashing her a smile, "I was thinking more along the lines of light torture."
Lisa let out a breath of relief and grabbed his hand, bringing his palm to her lips and kissing it. She didn't want to be afraid of Jackson tonight. She needed him right now. She needed him to make her feel safe; to make her feel like their children were safe. He could be mad at her later, but not tonight. "Where are we going?" she asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"The Lux."
"No." Lisa said shaking her head, "It's too big. It doesn't feel safe. I mean, do you even know who's after us?"
It killed Jackson inside to have to tell her 'no' but he had to. He didn't know who it was. He didn't have a clue. He hadn't pissed anybody off lately; not that had the power to track him down. At least, he didn't think that he had. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Lisa. "Call Cynthia."
Lisa was practically dialing the number before he had even let go of the phone. She told Cynthia that they needed a place to stay and of course Cynthia told her to come over before Lisa even asked if they could. That was just the kind of friend that she was. Lisa hung up Jackson's phone and dropped it in the console before rubbing her hand against her forehead. Jackson reached over and squeezed her thigh. Mariah and Luhki giggled in the backseat, but they were both starting to look sleepy. Mariah's eyes were red and heavy lidded. Lisa stared at them in the mirror and was overwhelmed by the sudden feeling that all she wanted to do was get her babies somewhere where they could go safely to sleep. Her stomach twisted into knots when she thought about someone skulking through her house while her kids were there. If she ever found out who it was, she would sharpen Jackson's knife for him and even be there to hand it to him when he went to work on them. No one messed with her kids.
They pulled into Cynthia's driveway ten minutes later and got out of the SUV. Mariah had since fallen asleep, so Jackson got her out and Lisa lifted the comatose Jack Jr. from his seat, Luhki climbed out on her own after. Cynthia was standing at the door in her pajamas waiting for them as they crept silently up the walk. Once through the door, Jackson dropped all of their bags from his shoulder beside the large plant that stood at the side of the doorframe and focused all of his energy on the sleeping child in his arms. They put Jack Jr. in the crib that Cynthia had had when she was a baby, even though he was far too big for it. The sides would keep him from rolling out in the middle of the night and that was the important part. They tucked Mariah and Luhki into the spare bedroom where they usually stayed when they spent the night with Cynthia and Rick.
Lisa sat at their dining room table with her forehead braced on one hand while Cynthia held the other comfortingly. Rick stood in the kitchen fixing them all a pot of coffee. "You're lookin' rough, Lisa." He said.
"You ever just have one of those days?" Lisa said, trying her best to work up a smile. Jackson was outside, taking a walk. He had told Cynthia that he just needed a breath of fresh air and Lisa did not tell her the truth. She knew that he was currently walking around the exterior of the house, checking the perimeter, making mental notes of escape routes and possible obstacles. Cynthia knew who Jackson was and what Lisa and he had been through. She didn't approve of their relationship at first, but once she had seen how truly devoted to each other they were, she had come to understand them…and even like Jackson.
"What's up, Leese? I know you hate questions, but…I'm worried about you." Cynthia said, her eyes big and wide with concern.
"It's nothing." Lisa lied, "It'll all blow over. Thanks, though. I mean, you know, for letting us crash here for the night…for caring….for everything basically."
"Hey, it's not even a question. If you ever need somewhere, I'm here."
"I know." Lisa said. She sniffled and held back a tear before leaning over and wrapping her arms around Cynthia's neck. It was about then that Jackson came back in from his 'walk'. Lisa pulled away from Cynthia and looked at him. She didn't need to speak for him to know that she was asking if everything seemed all right.
He gave her a quick nod and then put a broad smile on his face. "I smell coffee." He said walking over and sitting down beside Lisa, kissing her bare shoulder as he did.
"Yeah," Rick said, carrying four cups and the fresh pot of coffee over to the table and setting them down. "Lisa was just about to tell us what was goin' on."
"Was she?" Jackson said, staring into Rick's eyes, seeing the look on Lisa's face in his peripheral vision. Lisa wasn't about to go blabbing that kind of thing for everyone to know. She especially wouldn't tell Cynthia because she didn't want to drag her friend into whatever it was that was going on. Jackson detested liars and he already didn't like Rick. He was not earning himself bonus points. All he was doing was making Jackson want to cut out his tongue. Cynthia spoke up before Jackson or Rick could get anything else out.
"It's okay." She said, "We don't need to know."
Yeah. Jackson liked Cynthia. She was smarted than a lot of people gave her credit for. She understood that Lisa needed her and that she couldn't necessarily tell her why and that was okay with her.
"Thanks, Cynthia." Jackson said, "Uh, if it's all right, I'd like to speak with my wife in private."
"Sure." Cynthia said, pushing herself up from the table and leading Rick from the room by the hand.
They weren't out of the room for more than a second and Lisa was out of her chair and collapsed into Jackson's arms. Jackson hugged her to him, ran his fingers through her hair, and cupped her face in his hands. He brushed some fresh tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and kissed the tip of her nose.
"Hey," He whispered, "it's okay. I'm gonna figure this out. You know I'm gonna take care of you, don't you?"
Jackson was dangerous. He was the most dangerous man she had ever met; deadly in more ways than one and completely unafraid to use his power. But with him, she had learned not to feel the danger but the warmth of his protection. It was a true contradiction, the way she felt about Jackson. Taking comfort in him was like feeling safety in a mine field…but she did.
"There's something I don't tell you enough," he said, breaking her from her thoughts, "I love you, Leese. You know that, right?"
Lisa nodded, but her chin was quivering and there were new tears forming in her eyes. "I'm uh…I'm just gonna go wash my face, kay?" she said, "Are you coming to bed tonight?"
Jackson chuckled and Lisa almost smiled at her own question. She knew what Jackson would be doing for the rest of the night. He would be sitting up with all the lights and tv and radio, basically everything, turned off and he would be listening. He would be waiting for the slightest noise; the slightest indication that something was amiss; that someone was out there and he would spring into action. It was the same way he worked which was the only was he knew how to protect his family.
Lisa hugged him again and gave him a kiss before walking out of the room and toward the guest bathroom. Jackson watched her walk away and nearly lost his breath. He didn't want her to have to go through all of this again. She was the mother of his children for the love of everything holy. She needed to be sitting at home reading Jack Jr. a bedtime story, not worrying about whether or not there some creep lurking outside of Jack Jr.'s bedroom door.
The sound of a creaking door rang through his ears as loud as if it had been a foghorn. Jackson was out of his chair and crouched against the wall in the blink of an eye. A small dark head appeared around the corner and turned toward him, blinking those big green eyes at him. "Daddy?"
"Hey, precious." Jackson said, straightening and scooping Luhki up into his arms.
"What were you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing." He replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He carried her into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, setting his daughter on his knee. "What are you still doing up?"
"I wanted to ask you a question." She said, sounding so much older than five.
"All right."
"When is it okay to tell a secret?"
"Well, I suppose that depends." Jackson answered.
"On what?"
"Well, who told you the secret? Was it me…or mommy?"
"No." Luhki said, shaking her head for emphasis.
"Was it one of your friends?"
Luhki thought about that for a minute, then, with big sad eyes, she shook her head again. "No."
"Is it hurting someone?" Jackson asked, his concern growing with every word that came from his daughter's mouth.
Luhki nodded her head, her eyes cast downward staring at her hands. "Daddy?" she said gently.
"Yeah, baby." Jackson said, putting his arms around her in an attempt to make her feel safer.
She looked up at him, her eyes so huge and green and shining with her innocence. "I think I need to tell you a secret."
Author's Note: Please let me know what you think…Please…!