Bad Things Happen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Twelve
Jackson carefully laid Lisa in the passenger seat of his silver car and tossed their bags into the backseat. After he made it into his seat, he quickly checked her over. Nothing short of a decent-sized bomb could harm either one of them in his car. He knew that he should have already hit the gas, but he had to check her first. He was worried about her condition.
Her breathing and pulse were normal and there appeared to be no life-threatening injuries as far as he could tell. He smoothed back her hair and swore to himself that nothing would ever happen to her again. This ended now.
Satisfied that she would live, Jackson reversed at an alarming speed and spun the car onto the street. Two suited hit men pursued him on foot, but he quickly gained speed and left them behind.
Now, where to go? Where to go? Where could they be safe?
Not Joe's house, not Lisa's apartment, not the Lux Atlantic… Where could they be safe in Miami? They had to stay in Miami for Jackson to be able to finish off his employer. But where?
"Jackson?" muttered Lisa, beginning to stir in the passenger seat. "Jackson?"
"I'm here, Lisa," he said softly and reached out to touch her hand.
"What happened back there? I remember eating breakfast then…"
"All hell broke loose? Yeah. That was just a few hit men. Are you okay though? Did they hurt you?" Jackson's tone changed from teasing to concerned in a few beats.
"I don't think so. I feel okay."
Jackson nodded. He knew better than to ask if she were sure. He would trust her word. Hopefully she was done with lying to him.
"Where are we going?"
"Um, I don't really know," he admitted sheepishly.
"How about a hotel? Is it safe to hide in a hotel?"
"Just not the Lux Atlantic, the Hilton, the Marriott, or any swanky place that comes to mind," smirked Jackson, bringing up the same names as he had in the airport check-in line.
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Just an average hotel—nothing rundown."
"In other words, not something that charges by the hour, huh, Leese?" Jackson's smirk grew wider and Lisa turned around to cuff him upside the head.
"Not funny."
"I didn't say it was."
"You're perverted, Jackson Rippner."
"What can I say? I'm a guy," he joked and Lisa glared at him.
"Maybe I should have hooked you up with that blonde woman on the plane. What was her name again? Shelby…? Shauna…? Sherri…?"
"Sheila," Jackson answered glumly. He could not believe that Lisa was reminding him of that horrible woman. She looked so…fake for the lack of a better word.
"Sheila, that's right. I'm surprised she didn't drag you off to the bathroom and way she kept looking at you…" teased Lisa, a bright smile upon her face. If it felt odd to be joking around with him, she showed no signs of it.
"Like you did? Shame on you, Lisa. You have a dirty mind…"
"I did not drag you!" she protested. "You followed me!"
"I didn't see you stopping me."
"It was kind of hard to with you pressing into me and strangling me," commented Lisa, her tone snarky.
Jackson smiled and turned into a parking lot. There was a hotel in the distance, a descent-looking one. He killed the engine, stepped out and hurried around to help her out.
"Always the gentlemen, huh?" Lisa questioned.
"Just one of my many sides," he smiled back and wrapped an arm around her slim waist.
"What, what are you doing?" Lisa jumped when she felt his arm.
"Just go along with my story. Okay? Just pretend that we're a young couple trying to get away for a few days. Gotta it?"
"Sure," mumbled Lisa. "But you'd better explain to me what's going on afterwards."
"I promise."
Jackson and Lisa walked into the hotel's front lobby and strode up to the desk, smiling. Jackson held her in a protective, possessive grip that appeared loving. Lisa had slung her arm around his waist as well.
"Hello, how may I help you?" asked the man at the front desk politely.
"Hi, we'd like a room. We're in town for a few days and we thought we'd stop here and a get a room early in the day before sightseeing," Jackson said warmly.
"Understandable. What is your name?"
"Edwards, Jonathan Edwards."
Jackson took care of the registration and then they went to their room. Jackson left Lisa in the room and told her to lock the door and let no one but him in, while he went back for the bags.
Jackson returned ten minutes later with the bags and plopped down beside Lisa on the large bed.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lisa questioned.
"Yeah, I promise I would."
"So?"
"Well, my employers are pissed that the job went wrong. They'll stop at nothing to kill us both. We're loose ends, Leese. These people are ruthless."
"What do you suggest we do?"
"We set a trap, and make them come to us, where we'll take them out. It's rough but the only way to stop them is to kill them. And we've only got a few days before they find us."
"How did you get into this line of work?"
"It was mistake—I was young and stupid. I had nowhere else to turn to and I fell into it."
"And you couldn't get out?" Lisa urged, trying to discover what she could.
"The Keefe job was supposed to be my last. I was retiring early. But, now I can't. They won't stop until we're dead."
"So, what's your plan?"
"Well, you're bait…"
Author's Notes:
Sorry about the rushed pacing of the chapter. I'm in the middle of a few crises, but I will finish this story out. Only another three chapters to go, then there's a sequel, but I'm not going to do the sequel right away.