1

"I'm afraid your mom is going to wait for a while to see you," he grinned at her and sped up.

"Stop the car, now," she ordered him. She'd been right.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he told her. "An old friend is very anxious to see you."

Lisa paused, her face frozen. It couldn't be-

"Jackson ordered me specifically to keep an eye on you," Nick said, taking her purse.

Yup. It could.

"Let me go, right now," she ordered, her voice deathly low.

"Or what, sweets? Your mom isn't expecting you, your Miami friends and family don't expect you home for a week and you, my dear, are weaponless," he grinned toothily at her as he finally pulled to a stop in front of an ordinary brick house. He opened Lisa's door and roughly pulled her out. She kicked at him and fought tooth and nail as he opened the door and guided her in.

They'd entered a living room that was not decorated too differently from Lisa's. Jackson sat on the couch, but stood up when Nick and Lisa entered. Nick threw Lisa from his arms and rubbed a spot on his face where Lisa had hit him. She tumbled to the floor. Jackson towered over her so she stood up.

"Let me go," she repeated. Jackson laughed.

"Um...no," he told her simply, his eyes cold and mocking. She glared at him.

"What could you possibly want now?" she spat at him. "To kill me?"

Jackson chuckled and cupped her chin in his hand. He tsked.

"Now, Leese, you know me better than that," she pushed him hard in the chest to get away but he still held her face. "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have gone to all the trouble to bring you here." She finally wrenched away from him and slapped him across the face. He glared at her and pushed her up against the wall. Jackson looked pointedly at Nick, who tossed him Lisa's purse and left the room.

"No, Lisa, I just want revenge," he whispered as she kicked for him to let her go. He opened her purse and pulled out the pen. "I'm just still figuring out how to get it."

"Now I suppose I could," he pressed the tip of the pen to Lisa's neck and she fought hard to hold back the cry in her throat. "Stab you with a pen."

"Or..." he twisted Lisa's leg to look at her shoe. She heard her ankle snap. "Stick a heel in your leg."

"Or better yet, maybe.." he pulled a gun from his pocket and pressed the cold barrel to her chest. "I could shoot you. Over and over then watch you die." Lisa closed her eyes. He tucked the gun back into his jacket.

"All of which seems pretty fair," he told her. "Considering what you did to me."

Lisa rolled her eyes, her strength renewed. "Or Jack, I could...choke you, throw you down a flight of stairs, or headbutt you! How does that sound?"

Jackson's eyes flashed. Lisa stared strongly back at him despite the throbbing in her ankle.

"Listen, Leese," he slammed her head on the wall. "I won't kill you as long as you cooperate, hear me?"

Lisa glared at him but nodded as the grip tightened on her neck.

"Peachy," he told her, then knocked his head against hers.

Lisa awoke two hours later to the sound of someone entering the room. She was in a bed, not hers, but still comfortable, with her head and leg aching.

Jackson kneeled by the bed and touched Lisa's ankle. She cried out and glared at him.

"Have to wrap it, Leese," he sighed, wrapping a thick layer of gauze around her foot.

"Since when do you care?" she muttered, sitting up. He ignored her and tied it together.

"I think you sprained it," he told her, sitting at the end of the bed.

"No, you sprained it," she accused him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you just take me to the hospital?"

"You know as well as I how risky that would be," he told her. "You're lucky you didn't break it. I would have had to set it, and that would be painful."

"Oh, thanks for your chivalry, Jack," she thanked him, her voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness. "But I think you watched one too many episodes of ER."

Jackson dodged the insults and just smiled at her. "Actually, General Hospital."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Cut to the chase. Why am I here?"

Jackson sighed. "Sorry, you're going to have to be surprised."

"What if I don't want a surprise?" she gritted her teeth.

"Well that's just too goddamn bad, isn't it?" he sneered at her. Jackson stood up. "I already told you that my ultimate plan is revenge. Now, I have some things to do, so I suggest you go back to sleep."

Jackson left the room and locked behind him. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. For the past month all he could think of was Lisa. Revenge was number one on his list, but in a sick, twisted way, he also wanted her. Though his clients for the Keefe job had been uber-pissed, they'd decided to give him another chance. This was where he needed Lisa.

Back at Joe Reisert's house, he picked up the phone and dialed Susan's number. Over the years, despite their divorce and constant bickering, they'd still remained friendly.

"Hey, Sue," he said cheerfully when she picked up.

"Joe," she acknowledged him.

"Were you surprised?"

"Surprised?" Sue's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"By Lisa, were you surprised?" he pressed. Sue was such a ditz sometimes.

"Was..she supposed to call, or something?" she rolled her eyes. Joe was so vague sometimes.

"No, she should be there, visiting you," Joe checked his watch. It was well past five, she should be there by now.

"No, Joe, she's not here," Sue's heart thudded in her chest.

Joe thought for a minute and suddenly his stomach dropped. "It's him. He's got her."

Lisa scolded herself for falling asleep. She needed to be awake and aware. She pulled herself out of bed and stared around the vacant room as the door opened. Lisa attempted to lean on her other leg, but couldn't stand with her injured ankle. She collapsed to the bed.

"I see you're up," Jackson said. Lisa glared at him. "I'm glad you slept. We've a long journey ahead of us."

Lisa frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jackson tossed Lisa her suitcase from the plane. "Come on. We have a flight to London to catch."

Lisa said nothing as Jackson lifted her from the bed and carried her outside to Nick's car. He shoved her in as they took off down the road.

"What's in London?" she said as they pulled up to the airport.

"Your sister," he grinned at her.