A mass of light slowly rose over the trees to their right as they drove on. Lisa refused to look or speak to Jackson, choosing to stare out the window at the land and cities that slipped by. None of it felt real. Images of Ethan's burned and deranged face floated over her mind's eyes, and she gave a shutter. Then there was Jackson, seated right beside her. Now if only the man who raped her would suddenly show himself, it really would be the perfect nightmare.
They drove on, only stopping to tape up the broken back window with a piece of cardboard and sweep the glass off the back seat. Lisa's thoughts wound their way around the fact that Jackson had saved her. It was a very farfetched concept in her mind, but she couldn't deny that it had happened. Her voice cut through the silence, "Are you going to kill me?"
For a moment, Jackson did not answer or even react to her speaking. His right hand gripped the steering wheel, and his eyes stayed glued to the road ahead. "I value my life more than a quick revenge. Though I'm already in deep shit being near you."
She finally turned to him, a questioning look on her face. "Then why were you there when I ran from Ethan's condo? Why are you out of jail?"
Jackson sighed, seeming to be bored. Indeed, he was bored of the reason. He had played the excuse to why he had to see Lisa many times in his head just to convince himself that he had to do it. "I was recruited by an organization called the League of Courage. I know, stupid name they gave themselves. They're the opposite of who I use to work for. When I was released, I was told there was a restraining order against me that if I came within 300 feet of you, I'd be thrown back in prison." He paused for a minute. Lisa wondered why no one had told her about this restraining order let alone about Jackson being free.
"I was only checking on you once, just to see if you had moved on with your life or if the damage I did was permanent." He glanced Lisa's direction, and caught her eye. "You were leaving one evening from work, so I followed you to this restaurant. I would have left right then having my answer, but that's when I saw him. You were with that damn Ethan Ramsey. I knew he couldn't be with you because of a job. He wasn't part of the cleanup crew. Whenever I had the chance, I came back to Miami to check on you. You were still seeing Ethan. Sooner or later his purpose for being with you would come out. It just happened to come out the night I was going in to kill him."
"You were the one who sent me the flowers," Lisa said, shakily. "You were warning me about Ethan."
"If only you would have figured that out before you went home with him."
Lisa scowled his direction. "Like I would have connected the flowers to be a warning about Ethan."
"Okay, I forgive you for your ignorance, Leese." Jackson heard Lisa sigh frustratedly. It made him grin. "I'd forgotten how much fun it is to play with you."
"I didn't forget how much of a nasty jerk you could be."
"Do you enjoy our foreplay as much as I do?"
Bile rose in Lisa's throat. She leaned against the door, holding her forehead and taking deep breaths. Jackson's comments were cutting too close to personal for her liking. She could try to escape, but then what? Ethan was out there and she hated the thought that he was more dangerous than Jackson. What if Jackson wasn't bringing her to a safe house? What if he took her to kill her or keep her for himself? His words from the lavatory echoed in her ear - I've never lied to you, Lisa. Out of everything he had done to her, he hadn't lied. He even told the truth about what he did for a living. Grudgingly, she believed they were headed to a place where she'd be safe from Ethan.
"Haven't we ran out of gas yet?" asked Lisa after her stomach calmed.
"No, but we'll need to stop soon," replied Jackson, switching to the turn off lane. "We'll stop at the next exit."
A few minutes later, they were veering off the exit to Switzerland, Florida. There were a some gas stations and fast food restaurants, but not much else on the strip. They pulled into an empty gas station.
"Can I use the restroom and get something to eat?" Lisa asked.
Jackson climbed out the car, and said before closing the door, "Wait until I go in to pay." He was gladly surprised that she didn't try to run away or steal the car. They walked out the convenient store a few minutes later, each holding a cup of coffee and a high-fat snack food. Jackson opened the door for Lisa, and to a bystander, they'd appear to just be a loving couple. The only thing suspicious was the several bandages on Lisa's right leg, and the convenient store worker hadn't noticed.
"You should get some sleep."
Lisa took a sip of her coffee. "I'm not tired. Shouldn't you be?"
"I can stay awake for over 48 hours. Comes with the job."
"What other talents do you possess that 'comes with the job'?"
Jackson flashed her a rare mischievous grin. "That's for you to find out."
Sorry it took so long to get this posted, but my net access wasn't working. growls at net connection Thank you to everyone who is still sticking with this fic! It's gonna slow a bit, but trust me, the action will pick up big time soon enough ;)